People being shown various pictures can have the resultant activation of different parts of their brain monitored.
So a picture of a kitten might trigger a certain part of the brain for one person, and a different part for another. Po and 8th of 7 for instance would probably chart differently for this section of the test. (Po, if I'm incorrect in my assumption that you like kittens, my apologies)
Tracking the subjects reaction and to a series of pictures would create a unique profile of that person.
To use this, they'd put the helmet on, look into the viewer and be shown the slide show. Their brain's reaction to each respective picture would be compared to that recorded in their file and if it matched, then the vault, missile launch panel or whatever would open up.
Pictures would be more effective if they were of scenes or re-enactments from significant events that particular person's life. For instance, if a clown tried to drag you away from your parents and kill you at the circus when you were a kid, a clown picture would be included in your picture set. Your reaction to that picture would illicit slightly more terror than the baseline for the population and this metric would be one of dozens making up your profile.
So basically a biometric key system that measures your personality rather than your fingerprints.-- doctorremulac3, Oct 06 2011 Yessss... - although putting your finger on a fingerprint reader is arguably more convenient (and cheaper and quicker) than climbing into an MRI scanner to answer a long list of questions while experts analyse your brainwave patterns.-- hippo, Oct 06 2011 You can wear a fake fingerprint pretty easily though.
But I'm not suggesting using these in the checkout line at the supermarket to validate your ATM card. This would be for very critical high security access to missile silos and stuff.
I think what you'd have is is a kind of half helmet at the door with the viewer built in that you just set your head in. Your biometric brain responses would be automatically compared to those on file, there wouldn't be any humans involved. It would probably take about a minute.
It's not convenient obviously but I think it would be un-crackable.-- doctorremulac3, Oct 06 2011 Nothing is uncrackable.-- Voice, Oct 06 2011 //Nothing is uncrackable//
Well, uncrackable-er.-- doctorremulac3, Oct 06 2011 //This would be for very critical high security access to missile silos and stuff.//
So it shows you a picture of a missile, and if you think "Woohoo! That looks like fun!" it lets you in?-- Wrongfellow, Oct 06 2011 If that's what your original profile showed you'd think, yea.
That being said, I'd propose this technology be used for screening as well. If the person's sexual centers get activated by the sight of a mushroom cloud, he probably shouldn't be trusted with anything more dangerous than a butter knife.-- doctorremulac3, Oct 06 2011 There speaks a man who clearly has absolutely no idea of just how dangerous, indeed lethal, a butter knife can be in the wrong hands.-- 8th of 7, Oct 06 2011 Sometimes the best weapon is the one that doesn't look like a weapon.
Sometimes the best lock is one that doesn't look like a lock. [+], even though I doubt it would work.-- Alterother, Oct 06 2011 Sp. right hands.-- zeno, Oct 06 2011 Not necessarily. Put a butter knife in the wrong hands and before you know it that sucker's jammed in a light socket, the wall is on fire, the sprinklers are flooding the house, your insurance adjusters are dusting off their abaci, and somewhere, for entirely unrelated reasons, Kevin Bacon is eating a live puppy. Thus, a butter knife in the wrong hands can be at least as destructive and lethal as one in the right hands.-- Alterother, Oct 06 2011 During the Cold War, the US invested staggering amounts of money in a system of "permissive links" for release of nuclear weapons, involving multiple redundant interlocked systems, both electronic and mechanical. These were designed to prevent nuclear weapons being used without permission.
The British system was slightly different.
The British system involved nuclear weapons being armed by the use of the sort of small circular key often found on gambling machines and bicycle locks. The keyswitch had two positions, "Armed", and "Disarmed".
On RAF bases, the keys were kept by the Senior Warrant Officer Armourer, officially in a safe, but more often than not in his trouser pocket.
In the event of a nuclear strike being called, the Base Commander would order the Armourer to go and arm the nuclear weapons.
The failsafe procedure was that, if the Armourer thought that something was amiss, like the Base Commander had lost his marbles, then he would ring up his opposite number on another base and ask, "Hey up mate, is this Bikini Red business pukka, or what ?".
If the reply was negative, then he wouldn't arm the weapons, but would probably drop the keys down the nearest street drain, just to be on the safe side.
The system was simple, cheap, and 100% effective.
"The more complex a technology, the smaller the error needed to defeat it."-- 8th of 7, Oct 06 2011 Well, if there's one thing you can trust the Brits to do right, it's...
Wait, no, you can't trust them at all. My mistake.-- Alterother, Oct 06 2011 //100% effective// What's the denominator in that calculation, [8th]?
As for the idea itself: What technology did you have in mind for measuring brain activation, [Dr R.]?-- mouseposture, Oct 06 2011 I think they have real time MRI technology. Might be able to get some useful info by simply measuring localized electrical activity in the brain with external electrodes.-- doctorremulac3, Oct 07 2011 'They' do indeed have real-time MRI, by which I mean it exists. My mom occasionally gets to use one when she does locum tenens work at the Fort Leonard Wood base hospital.-- Alterother, Oct 07 2011 Kevin Bacon can never be entirely unrelated.-- RayfordSteele, Oct 07 2011 [Dr. R.] Since it's speculative, anyway, whether the measurements would be either distinctive, or consistent enough for this application, I like the EEG idea better. For military application, you could require missileers to keep their heads shaved.-- mouseposture, Oct 07 2011 // you could require missileers to keep their heads shaved. //
"Good morning, I'm [mouseposture], and I'll be your obligatory tonsurist for today. Please, just put the keys down and step away from the console ..."-- 8th of 7, Oct 08 2011 Would take too long! also emotional response must vary as well, because one some days i cry watching wall-e and other days i don't give a crap about anything.-- bob, Oct 08 2011 // i cry watching wall-e //
You think that's a tear-jerker ? Try Silent Running ...-- 8th of 7, Oct 08 2011 Ah, that's good old 70s dystopian family fun. I, too, wondered about variations based on mood, level of anxiety, cosmic radiation, what Jim had for breakfast, etc.-- Alterother, Oct 08 2011 // i cry watching wall-e //
I cry while having sex.
It's not emotional.... I just react poorly to pepper-spray.-- MikeD, Oct 08 2011 You're doing it wrong.-- Alterother, Oct 08 2011 Give it time. Eventually, he'll be unable to enjoy himself *without* pepper spray.-- mouseposture, Oct 08 2011 Ah, yes, illustrating in classic form the difference between a kink and a fetish.-- Alterother, Oct 08 2011 Most likely you will encounter problems with context. Even slightly differing images, even if the content is presumed similar, will ellicit responses from dissimilar neural paths.
Also, there is a significant chance of false positives that fingerprints, for example, will not give you.-- 4whom, Oct 08 2011 My very limited understanding is that just as our thoughts are in a constant state of change, so too are our brains. Dunno if that effects brainwave scans.-- Alterother, Oct 08 2011 I forgot to mention Blade Runner. WIGTTISIAMWIBNIIWR.-- 4whom, Oct 08 2011 I seem to remember this exact debate happening on this exact web-site in the past. I'm not thinking this is De ja vu, either.... more like prior art.-- MikeD, Oct 08 2011 random, halfbakery