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I've tried to combine the alertness advisor idea with EEG, brainwave detector, hardware. So far, I couldn't and here is a some record of failure.
At first, I borrowed an EEG hardware made by IBVA technology from Dano, but it is a quite old hardware (1994) which has old mac PS/2 like connection. I couldn't get a converter and any signal.
Then, I'm trying to do with OpenEEG hardware and using passive electrode, but could get signal from passive electrode. I think I need to do more with this stuff.
OpenEEG hardware
 
Passive electrode DRL
Another failure report, so far
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alertness graph prototpye, using SMS method.
(click to see large image)
basic idea:
- we spend much mental energy in higher alertness level while less in lower.
- also recharge mental energy during rest, sleep, and meditation.
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(editing now)
basic idea: alertness adviser. Idea from Csikszentmihalyi's beeper method, though it's a subjective one, and scuba diver's Dive tables.
1. receive an SMS occasionally 2. send a level of alertness to server
3. get info. Receiving SMS could be, 'how alert you are 1..5' or '31 +
15 - 23' for checking accuracy and agility (but, SMS has a delay
problem). The info of step 3 could be a 'you need a meditation now',
etc. And, convergent with heardbeat sensor. This system could be
improved by applying EEG and fMRI// related page: Alertness Matters, Alertness Solutions, NYT
(decompression table from wikipedia)
(alertness diary. modifed from sleep diary)
(alertness metrics technology ...? )
convergent logging design: While reading Cognition, Brain, and Consciousness Chapter 3 and 4, convergent logging such as EEG and MEG is important. The above basic idea is a subjective biofeedback rather than an objective. So I decided breathing as an objective one. We all breathe unconsciously, but we can also breathe consciously different from heart beat which is always unconscious.
Breath Part (objective):
Nose -> Microphone -> Arduino -> Bluesmirf(bluetooh) -> N80 (Logger Midlet) -> Wirelss LAN -> HTTP -> PHP, Web Server
- Transmitting using bluetooth with a microcontroller.
- Collecting data on a cellphone using the Logger Midlet
- log data:
1190682426896,881
1190682425895,881
1190682428920,1023
1190682427918,474
1190682421245,881
1190682420216,881
1190682424881,881
1190682423817,881
1190682439219,881
1190682438218,881
1190682441269,881
1190682440246,881
1190682433044,1023
1190682432020,1023
Alertness Part (subjective):
SMS from Google Calender -> Cell Phone -> (answer) -> SMS to an Gmail account -> Perl Popper program -> Web server
(google Calender)
(google Calender: SMS Reminder)
- receive SMS and ping back using Gmail, SMS, and Web server
To do:
- use a better sensor
- accumulate the SMS data to a log file
- send SMS randomely (not 1pm, 3pm, 5pm..)
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Cognition, Brain, and Consciousness Chapter 3, 4
These chapters are about neurons and its connections, and tools for imaging the brain in the introduction of the cognitive neuroscience textbook. I come up with several random thoughts.
p63: it reads, in the history of science, new mathematical techniques often help to understand new questions. Then, what kinds of math approaches are useful or necessary to understand our consciousness and unconsciousness that the rest of us? I'd like to apply I Ching but, still need more study.
p65: While reading about a simple reflex circuit (ex. knee-jerk reflex), the idea of sleep and alertness came again in mind. I'd like to dig into those thing by researching, experimenting, and calculating, very similar to the study of nutrition. Most of us don't care about a nutrition precisely, but I think we all have some common sense of it, or automatically controlled by a food culture. Therefore, the study will improve of our sleep and alertness of everyday life. Alfred North Whitehead once said that civilization advances by extending the number of important operations
which we can perform without thinking about them.
p66: It reads, most pathways run in both directions. Recently, I'm curious why a head-phoned friend in library answers so loud. Isn't it an example of this?
p73: (wild fancy) According to the hierarchy of sensory and motor, signals could go forward and backward. Then what about the sense of time? Does the hierarchy allow time go forward and backward in an instant moment made by the floating signals of sensory?
p75: Using ambiguity of visual image, military camouflages are designed.
p120: In the significant word experiment, it uses a combination of sound and brainwave. And also, chapter 4 says, convergent methods such as EEG and fMRI are important. I should make my system a convergent logging design.
Here is quote from James Watson(co-discoverer of DNA structure): We understand the hardware, but we don't have a clue about the operating system.
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Computers for the Rest of You
This class will explore the possibilities of subtle interaction with
computers. Conventional computer interface tends to accommodate
conscious, explicit, intentional communication. Many unconscious cues
and actions that are valued in ordinary human expression are ignored or
filtered by computer mediated interactions. Relinquishing a conscious
gate keeper can be associated with such uncomfortable subjects as
subliminal manipulation, subconscious repression, even a loss of free
will and the insanity defense. On the other hand going past conscious
control can be associated with achieving virtuosity in the arts and
athletics, acquiring insight into your personality, and engendering
trust in conversation. The classes will alternate issues of prototyping
actual devices led by Dan O'Sullivan and discussion on topics like
illusion, consciousness, positive psychology, and meditation led by the
psychologist Zoran Josipovic. In this course students will build on
software and hardware tool kits to create hands-on experiments tapping
less conscious parts of your experience. The prototyping exercises
will include using cell phone as personal sensor logger and visualizing
the results; sensing autonomic nervous responses such as heart rate;
and trapping and analysing language use on your computer. Group work is
encouraged. The last part of the semester the will concentrate on final
projects.
thought in the first class:
A dream in the night is the most interesting subject in these days. It could be a minority report of our body, and is used prediction of the future in some cultures. I think the dream is the key for exploring a connection between consciousness and {sub, pre, un}-consciousness, but prefer to call it communication rather than connection. Talking with asleep seems interesting that I'm proceeding a related game project, psyBridge, now.
In addition, alertness is a exciting subject too. A statistical study of a pattern of alertness could be used for better life in 'consciousness' status. I'll post this idea soon.
While participating the discussion, I realized that I used to think that we are conscious when awakening, and not when sleeping. But, it was an illusion. We are somehow {un, sub} conscious even in awake. I will find interesting rest of our experience in this semester.
Impressive previous project: Sai's Lost Words (seems broken now)
Idea: wearing a sensecam in the back, take pictures every 5 minutes. log the views we can see if we have eyes on our back.
Quote: "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." --John Lennon
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Origins of Consciousness by Julian Jaynes
Book 1: The Mind of Man
Chapter 1: The Consciousness of Consciousness
In this article, analytical and structured approaches to consciousness are quite detail and make me think about consciousness more in different angles.
A pen and writing example(p21) reminds me of the level of abstraction similar to spoon and rice or chopsticks and noodle. We don't think angle, power, speed and others of spoon or chopsticks except when we learned how to use them. In addition to the abstraction, it somewhat sounds like we lost our sensitivity in some aspects. Therefore, I may think about a device or system to listen our body or mind we used to listen before. It sounds that we lost our sensitivity in some aspects. In addition, we sometimes should throw our consciousness away because consciousness actually reduces our earning abilities(p32).
While thinking of a flash light instance(p22), I was trying to find something shining in the dark that we usually don't or can't see but exist and can be recognized. I'm always interested in a sleep. We all have identity before and after a sleep, and it seems they are same one.
identity (sleep) identity
----------------------> time
However, when I see my writings of long time ago I sometimes feel that another identity wrote them. A different between a single night of sleep is small, but between identities of long gap could be large.
While I already know or can understand the concept of consciousness author points out, I doubt about speaking process(p39) that we are not aware of each single word but whole meaning of sentences. Is it also true in second language? I'm a native in Korean and Japanese, I think I do so in these languages, but not in English or Chinese especially I'm not in a very easy everyday life conversation. Or, do I need to change myself to use English in this way?
The author explains several several stages of creative thought(p43): 1. consciously worked over -> 2. incubation without conscious -> 3. illumination which is later justified by logic. How about apply dream? 1. think something before sleep -> 2. sleep (process without conscious) 3. illumination (dream) -> 4. justified by logic after get up before lose the memory of what you dream. In my experiences, the latest step is the most important since we usually forget our dream.
I'd like to research about conversation between consciousness and subconsciousness in related to a sleep. I believe when we know more about it, then we can use it for many usages.
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