Op-Ed

Using the Power of My Mind

This is the happiest day of my life.

Scientists at Brown University have successfully implanted a brain-computer interface (BCI) into the brain of a quadriplegic, allowing the man, Matthew Nagel, to use a computer and play Pong using nothing but his mind.

This, the first successful test of the technology in humans promises great things not only for disabled persons and the US Defense Department (who is funding many BCI experiments), but also for people like myself, who are just plain tired of screwing around with keyboards and mice.

While Nagle is clearly a special case (having been paralyzed in a knife-fight 5 years ago) and the Military clearly has ulterior motives (according to Wired, the Defense Department envisions killer robots controlled by BCI-connected humans), my motives are simple and probably not worthy of such grandiose technology: I'm tired of having to set down my drink to type.

Here's hoping that the technology catches on and I don't have to sever my spinal cord, or join the military to get my hands on it.