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GABRIEL POPESCU: EFFECT OF SCIENCE FICTION ON MODERN TECHNOLOGY

The Effect of Science Fiction on Modern Technology and Engineering Around the World
Gabriel Popescu
Global Connections
Instructor: Gregory Falls
December 16, 2015

GABRIEL POPESCU: EFFECT OF SCIENCE FICTION ON MODERN TECHNOLOGY

Table of Contents
Abstract............................................................................................................................................3
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Limitations of the Study...................................................................................................................6
Methodology....................................................................................................................................6
Literature Review.............................................................................................................................7
Body...............................................................................................................................................10
History and themes of Science Fiction..............................................................................10
Familiarity on the Topic.....................................................................................................13
The Brain-Computer Interface...........................................................................................14
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................17
Glossary of Important Terms.........................................................................................................19
References......................................................................................................................................20

GABRIEL POPESCU: EFFECT OF SCIENCE FICTION ON MODERN TECHNOLOGY

Abstract
Since the dawn of civilization, humans have been dreaming of bigger and bigger things
and have always had a burning desire to innovate and become more advanced. Literature has
historically been a big method of spreading an idea to a whole population. Creative minds often
came up with groundbreaking ideas in literature that had never been thought of before. In science
fiction specifically, writers provided their ideas of future civilizations, including societal customs
of this future generation as well as technological advances. These advances are explained by the
use of pseudoscience, or science that seems factual to the reader, but is based on no hard
evidence or scientific principle. Decades after the publication of such a work, scientists will often
find that they now have the means to bring to life these inspiring ideas in literature using
scientific fact rather than pseudoscience. Jules Verne is often credited as the Father of Science
Fiction due to multiple revolutionary ideas he described in his writing, most notably the idea of
an underwater vessel in his popular novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea which
became the inspiration for scientists who invented the first submarines. Verne laid the foundation
for other science fiction writers such as Isaac Asimov or H.G. Wells to further expand this genre
of literature. Various science fiction films such as Star Trek, Back to the Future, or Star Wars, are
still enjoyed today. The notion of mind reading from science fiction has begun to transcend the
border between science fiction and scientific fact with the invention of the Brain Computer
Interface (BCI) which can allow an individual to control a device purely through their
brainwaves. However, the BCI is still relatively basic in its current incarnation most widely used
to rehabilitate patients with no muscle movement and therefore unable to move or communicate
due to a disease such as ALS. With further advances, BCI has a promising future in the medical
field as well as the entertainment industry.

GABRIEL POPESCU: EFFECT OF SCIENCE FICTION ON MODERN TECHNOLOGY

Introduction
Our global society today revolves around technology and innovation. From cars to
computers all of our technology had to be created by an individual or a group of individuals. But
more often than not, the visionary that thinks of a technological innovation differs from the
inventor that actually puts the technology into practical use. Many innovations first come up in
the writings of creative writers, in works of science fiction. This then inspires a scientist or
engineer to think of ways to create the technology described in a work of fiction. Many films
have also impacted modern technology. For instance, the first NASA space shuttle was named
Enterprise, after the starship in the TV Series Star Trek. The writings of Isaac Asimov have
predicted certain small conveniences that we use regularly as video calling. Jules Verne, another
writer, has inspired scientists to create other technologies that we take for granted today, such as
the idea of a submarine, described in the novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, in
which a fictional Captain Nemo has adventures in a submarine in the depths of the ocean (Verne,
1870). Science fiction will continue to impact technology that groups of scientists work on for
the future. The film series Back to the Future predicted that by the year 2015 people would ride
hover boards rather than skateboards (Murphy, 2015). In the year 2015, we do not have hover
boards yet, but groups of people are attempting to create the technology. Technologies such as a
time machine or a teleport system have been incorporated in science fiction throughout time and
still remain a goal of scientists around the world. Many of the technical innovations we have
today including cell phones, submarines, and Skype have been directly inspired by technology
that has existed in science fiction throughout time because science fiction is created by a writer
who likes to imagine what technology would be beneficial to society, therefore, in the future we
can expect to see more inventions that have been inspired by science fiction.

GABRIEL POPESCU: EFFECT OF SCIENCE FICTION ON MODERN TECHNOLOGY

Much of science fiction has always been concerned with the human mind. For instance,
in Star Wars, the Jedi mind trick occurs when a Jedi knight is able to embed false information in
a victims mind. Similarly, Star Trek shows Spock using a trick called the Vulcan Mind Meld
to exchange thoughts from one individual to the other. Furthermore, the movie Inception shows
the possibility of entering anothers dreams. All of these involve the reading or manipulation of
the mind. Scientists have begun to create technology to start reading ones mind. Such
technology is called a Brain Computer Interface (or BCI for short). BCI has not been developed
to the point of reading specific thoughts, but it can allow an individual to control devices with
thought through electrical signals emitted by the brain. Much technology influenced by science
fiction comes to reality for entertainment purposes. While BCI has applications in entertainment
such as video games, BCI has been created primarily for medical use. Lou Gehrigs Disease, or
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), restricts a victims muscle movements. Once the disease
affected the patients muscles enough, the affected individual has lost control of all muscle
movement. Without muscle control, one cannot speak, or move. With the help of BCI, a
computer can recognize what the patient thinks and can give them a form of communication.
BCI depends on the patient staring at a flashing box on a computer that creates different
electrical signals based on the frequency of the flashing, so communicating full sentences with
BCI will take a long time. Nonetheless, it is a form of communication and the speed of
communication will almost certainly improve with future advancements. A computer can also
communicate with a wheelchair that would allow the ALS victim to move around the room
without the use of muscles. The BCI technology can be used for entertainment as well as
improving the lives of individuals that have unfortunately come down with a serious illness
(Graimann B, 2010).

GABRIEL POPESCU: EFFECT OF SCIENCE FICTION ON MODERN TECHNOLOGY

Limitations of the Study
Although this study takes into consideration the technology our society has today and
technology our society could create in the future, the research is limited by a variety of factors.
First and foremost, all the speculation about future technology is merely prediction, as we have
not created time travel (although it is prominently featured in science fiction) and cannot see
what the future will have in store for the world. Additionally, many science fiction writers that
initially came up with the ideas for the technology that exists today have died, so interviewing
them to understand what they were thinking is impossible. The researcher depends on
information collected about said thinkers and information from experts who have worked with
the technology.
This study focuses on a particular technology, the BCI. Research is done to learn about
both the medical and recreational impacts of the technology. While the medical uses involve
rehabilitating patients that have suffered ALS or other disorders where muscle movement is
restricted, thus inhibiting the patient from moving or communicating with the outside world, the
researcher did not have any particular patients to research in order to observe the effects first
hand. The data is based upon the researcher trying the technology for himself and information
collected on such patients by other parties.
Methodology
The research relies entirely on qualitative data, as there is no calculation involved with
analyzing how science fiction has impacted modern technology around the world and the
technology we have that originates in works of science fiction. The research involves analyzing
similarities between modern technology that exists today and technology that was written about

GABRIEL POPESCU: EFFECT OF SCIENCE FICTION ON MODERN TECHNOLOGY

in science fiction before the invention of the technology. The analysis consisted of watching
science fiction movies, such as Star Trek and Back to the Future, and observing what technology
we have now in the twenty first century that resembles ideas in said works of science fiction. The
researcher also gathered information on the topic to gain a broader insight, research for
information relating to the topic was done primarily in online databases as well as printed books
and magazines in local libraries. The researcher also relies on information gathered from an
experiences during the summer of 2014 in the Advanced Signal Processing in Engineering and
Neuroscience (ASPEN) Lab at Old Dominion University. During this experience, the researcher
explored the uses of BCI in both the medical sense and the entertainment sense, by seeing
aspects of the technology that could rehabilitate patients who have lost muscle movement and
analyzing signals collected with the cap as well as controlling video games with or a computer
screen by simply thinking. The researcher interviewed Dr. Dean Krusienski, faculty advisor at
Old Dominion University in charge of the ASPEN Lab, about BCI and the history and uses of the
technology as well as future hopes for BCI. The researcher also conducted an online survey in
order to see how informed the general public is on the topic.
Literature Review
Perhaps the most well-known science fiction show of the twentieth century is Star Trek.
The original series aired from 1966 to 1969 and was a phenomenal series that people still enjoy
in modern day. This series follows the adventures of the Starship USS Enterprise and its crew
and this exemplifies how advanced people of the 1960s believed society would be in the 2260s.
We have seen some technology displayed in this TV series come into practical use. For instance,
we now have the ability to video conference, just as members of the USS Enterprise did. In the
episode titled The Empath, Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and Dr. McCoy are trapped under the

GABRIEL POPESCU: EFFECT OF SCIENCE FICTION ON MODERN TECHNOLOGY

surface of a planet called Mirana II by a race known as the Vians who perform a series of tests on
the crewmen. These aliens carry a device with them that allows them to teleport, activate force
fields, among other actions, and these actions are triggered by brain waves. This is an early
representation of a Brain Computer Interface in popular media and brain caps developed today
resemble basic forms of this technology (Roddenberry, 1966-1969).
In the year 2015, many have drawn comparisons to what todays society is actually like
and predictions made in the second film in the Back to the Future series, which takes place in
2015 as the writers imagined it. We have created much of the technology in the film, such as
video conferencing, hands free gaming, smart tablets, fingerprint recognition, and fax machines,
which in fact are already mostly outdated. The movie even mentions advanced glasses that can
control computers as well send and receive calls, which resemble the Google Glass. Although we
do not have some technology such as hover boards, various companies have begun work to
create this too (Zemeckis, 1989).
Jules Verne was a prominent French science fiction writer of the nineteenth century.
Verne has been highly influential for scientists and engineers everywhere, and many inventors
have strived to put his ideas into practical use. One of his most notable works is Twenty
Thousand Leagues Under the Sea published in 1870. This book outlines the journeys of Captain
Nemo in his submarine, called the Nautilus. Although we currently take the submarine for
granted as it has been around for about a century, we do not always realize that this underwater
vessel was inspired by the work of Jules Verne along with other technological advancements of
the twentieth century (Verne, 1870).

GABRIEL POPESCU: EFFECT OF SCIENCE FICTION ON MODERN TECHNOLOGY

Some science fiction tends to show the dark side of advanced technology. Isaac Asimov
was another highly influential science fiction writer of the twentieth century, after Jules Vernes
time. While having many ideas of how advanced robotics could become, Asimov also warned us
of the dangers of technology advancing too much, a popular theme in science fiction. In the book
series I Robot, Asimov describes a society that relies so heavily on robots as personal assistants
and has advanced robots so much that robots ended up taking over the human society because
they had become so advanced that they could actually think for themselves. Asimov tries to show
his audience that although technology is great, advancing too much can make tear us away from
what makes us human and can ultimately destroy us. This book was eventually adapted into a
movie starring Will Smith (Asimov, 1950).
The Disney Pixar movie Wall-E takes place in a futuristic society where humans have
advanced technology to the point where they rely on technology for almost everything. While
this childrens movie appeals to a younger audience by focusing on a love story between two
robots, the movie ultimately tries to warn humans about the rapidly advancing technology as it
shows Earth filled with trash and humans living on a space vessel that are restrained to a moving
chair with a screen and are fat and unable to do anything. This movie has a similar message as
Asimov in I Robot (Stanton, 2008).
Mind control and mind reading have been thought of in numerous works of science
fiction. In the past decades scientists have begun putting such technology into practical use. The
article by Bernhard Graimann, Brendan Allison, and Gert Pfurtscheller titled Brain Computer
Interfaces: A Gentle Introduction gives a brief history of the technology starting with its roots in
science fiction works such as Star Trek. The article describes how BCI works. The brain sends
off electrical impulses when performing any task and the interface is made up of electrodes and

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sensors that pick up these brain signals and differing brain signals can lead to different outputs
from the BCI and sent to a computer or any device that the BCI may be linked to. BCI can be
used for a wide range of functions ranging from entertainment to rehabilitating humans that have
lost control of their muscles (Graimann B, 2010).
Body
History and Themes of Science Fiction
Humans have always been dreaming of what the future of society could look like. What
will new innovations hundreds of years from now look like? What cultural norms will there be?
Science fiction writers take questions such as these and put their ideas and imagination into
literature. Some literature is more accurate than others and currently we have evolved as a
society to incorporate many of the technological ideas that these writers have had, including
much technology that most take for granted, and do not realize comes from science fiction.
Science fiction uses what is known as pseudoscience, or a scientific explanation that seems to
make sense, but is not backed by any actual evidence, to explain technology that has not yet been
created. Scientists will actually take inspiration from science fiction and think of ways to turn
pseudoscience into actual fact.
In the nineteenth century, Jules Verne was a prominent author. He often wrote adventure
novels, such as Journey to the Center of the Earth, or The Mysterious Island, but he also had
various scientific ideas that were well ahead of his time. For instance, in his novel Twenty
Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Verne describes a submarine. In this book, the plot follows the
adventures of a Captain Nemo, who grew sick of society and decided to live his life in a
submarine under the sea. At the time that this book was written, technology had not advanced

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enough to have submarines, but around the beginning of the twentieth century, engineers began
to manufacture submarines that took some inspiration from the writing of Jules Verne (Verne,
1870).
With the dawn of television, more and more science fiction began to take the form of film
rather than print. One of the biggest science fiction shows of the twentieth century was Star Trek.
Star Trek follows the adventures of the Starship Enterprise on its journeys throughout space. Star
Trek has influenced many scientists. In fact, the first space shuttle built for NASA was named the
Enterprise after Star Trek, indicating a clear impact of the show on the work of the scientists.
Many other technologies present on board the Enterprise have been adapted into practical use.
For instance, the captain of the spaceships would often communicate with external entities on
other ships or planets through video chat. At the time video conferencing was purely science
fiction, but we can now currently do it with ease through interfaces such as Skype, FaceTime,
and ooVoo. Another form of communication used in Star Trek is the handheld communicator,
which resembles the flip phones we once used that are now outdated (O'Connor, 2014). Star Trek
also portrays technology that we have not been able to create, such as a teleportation ray, but
perhaps one day the world will see such innovations as well (Roddenberry, 1966-1969).
Another critically acclaimed science fiction film series from the twentieth century is
Back to the Future, especially in the current year 2015 because this is the year that Doc and
Marty, the main characters, were said to have travelled to in Back to the Future II. Although this
comedic film did not accurately portray how we dress or what our buildings look like, it did
predict a number of technological advancements created since the release of the film. These
innovations include flat screen TVs, video conferencing, finger print scanning technology, 3D
movies, hands free gaming, and automatic coffee machines. Groups of people have even begun

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working to create the ever so popular hover board from Back to the Future. Perhaps scientists
could even create a time machine one day (Zemeckis, 1989).
While some science fiction describes the positive side of technology, other science fiction
describes a futuristic dystopia where technology has ruined society, and generally scientists tend
to avoid taking influence from such examples of science fiction. Another influential writer that
came after Jules Verne was Isaac Asimov. Asimov devoted all of his writing to science fiction
and envisioned a society in the distant future. Asimov dreamed of very advanced robots. Some
writers have expressed that too advanced technology can be very dangerous, Asimov was one
such writer. In his book I Robot, Asimov envisions a society where robots had become so
advanced that they began to think for themselves and violate the three basic rules for robots,
intended to protect humans. The robots did not want to serve humans anymore, but instead
realized that they could take over society. This film was adapted into a movie starring Will Smith
that depicts the chaos that the robots cause (Asimov, 1950).
A similar theme has transcended throughout time, as can be seen in books such as 1984
by George Orwell that shows how the government can use technology to take away freedom
from the citizens by allowing advanced forms of motorization, brain washing, and punishment.
Some would argue that governments such as this one already exist. As in North Korea, citizens
have no knowledge of the outside world, revere their leader as a god, and are constantly
monitored. Any infraction of the strict laws is cause for strict punishments such as death sentence
(Orwell, 1949).
The theme of technology ruining humanity has even transcended into the twenty first
century, as the Disney Pixar movie Wall-E shows a society in which humans have knowingly

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filled the earth with trash and now live on spaceships with technology that helps them with
everyday tasks, to the point where humans hardly even live their life anymore (Stanton, 2008).
Familiarity on the Topic
An online poll shows that people are generally familiar with science fiction, but have not
necessarily stopped to think of how such works have impacted modern life (General Public,
2015). This may be due to a phenomenon known as technological climate. The technological
climate is the technology that we as a society have come to take for granted to a point where one
can understand what it does without actually considering how it works and the science that has
been put in to making it work. For instance, cell phones, which in modern times, the average
American uses daily, but the vast majority of consumers do not consider how such a device
works. Once a technology has been assimilated into the technological climate, it is no longer
considered an idea of science fiction. For instance, at Jules Vernes time, the submarine was a
revolutionary idea that did not exist yet, but currently the submarine has been in the
technological climate for over a century and is no longer considered science fiction (8 Jules
Verne Inventions, 2011). The technological climate is always a bit behind the most advanced
technology because the public is not fully informed on new technologies as soon as they are
invented. The graph in figure 1 shows the relationship between science fiction, science fact, and
technological climate. Science fiction is always the farthest ahead, followed by scientific fact,
and last technological climate, because not all innovations are immediately assimilated into the
technological climate. It is noted that with the passage of time, all three increase. Although the
graph shows a linear correlation, in recent decades the rate of technological advancements has
grown faster so perhaps the graph would begin to resemble an exponential curve (Purdy, 2013).

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Figure 1: The relationship between science fiction, science fact, and technological climate (Purdy, 2013)

The Brain-Computer Interface

While groundbreaking technological advancements are very interesting to many people,
many innovations can also benefit society and save lives. Much technology goes into the medical
field to help save or improve the lives of the people that cannot live them normally anymore due
to a medical condition. One such example is the BCI. BCI consists of a series of electrodes that
pick up on electrical impulses emitted from the brain. These signals are transmitted to a
computer or other device that will interpret them and produce a desired output. Through BCI, a
patient can communicate if the device is hooked up to a computer that will display what they
wish to say, or even help them move if the device is hooked up to a wheelchair that will move
where the patient wants to go based on signals from the BCI (Graimann B, 2010). BCI has
appeared in a number of science fiction films such as Star Trek, Firefox, and The Matrix. BCI is
primarily used in the medical field, to rehabilitate individuals that are locked in, meaning they
are not able to perform any muscle movements, this can be caused by certain diseases such as
ALS. These individuals have generally normal cognition but no voluntary muscle control, thus

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rendering them unable to communicate, says Dr. Dean Krusienski, Associate Professor of
Electrical and Computer Engineering at Old Dominion University. With the help of BCI, these
individuals can communicate purely through their cognition (Krusienski, 2015).
BCI does however have a number of limitations. First and foremost, communicating full
sentences is a slow and tedious task for a BCI user. A major principle that the BCI uses is the
flashing principle, which involves the patient staring at flashing items on a screen, this
principle bases itself on steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) signals. There are usually
multiple items and they all flash at different speeds. The SSVEP signals differ based on the
frequency of the flashes, so the BCI can tell which item the patient is staring at and create the
desired output. Unfortunately, that means an epileptic patient is unable to use the current BCI. To
communicate phrases, the patient can use a software known as the p300, which requires the
patient to stare at a table such as the one in figure 2. In this table, the different rows and columns
will flash in a specified order and the patient will count the number of times their desired letter
lights up. However, a full sequence for just one character will take a decent amount of time so
typing out phrases would take several minutes.

Figure 2: a screen that a locked in patient using BCI may look at to communicate. The rows and columns all flash in a specific
order to help the technology determine what character the patient desires.

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Another limitation of BCI is that with the most typical method, being the noninvasive
method using an electroencephalogram (EEG), is placed above the scalp, so the signals obtained
from this are not always perfectly clear. For this reason, BCI is not too prominent in the
entertainment industry yet. As Dr. Krusienski puts it, the current state of the technology is not
refined enough to provide any degree of practical control with true non-invasive brain
measurements. BCI does however have a future in the entertainment industry primarily due to
the novelty of such an idea (Krusienski, 2015). There is already a childrens toy called the Star
Wars Force Trainer that uses a basic BCI to allow the child to lift a ball with his mind.
In medical practice, to obtain more accurate signals, the doctor may implant an
intracranial BCI chip to collect signals directly from the surface of the brain. While these
measurements are more accurate, there is a slight risk of brain damage involved so doctors will
often shy away from this method (Krusienski, 2015). In the future, though, invasive BCI
methods are likely to be more widespread as with time the risk of brain damage may be reduced.
BCI can also help patients who have lost a limb regain control of a prosthetic limb. This
raises a number of ethical questions. With robotic limbs, a person can have a wider range of
capabilities than with a natural limb (Krusienski, 2015). A notable example of this in science
fiction is Dr. Octopus in Spiderman 2. In this movie, Dr. Octopus attaches prosthetic limbs to his
spine that he can use to cause more destruction than he could in his natural state (Ziskin, 2004).
Although doctors must do anything to help patients, including providing them with a prosthetic
limb if needed, they are careful to make sure they do not give their patients superhuman abilities.
BCI can potentially take this even further by enhancing cognition, responsiveness, memory, etc.
This becomes the ethical debate about creating cyborgs. BCI currently has no nefarious
capabilities, but it has the potential for some, as it could end up capable of psychological

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terrorism of sorts (Krusienski, 2015). Such an idea is expressed in a specific episode of Star Trek,
titled The Empath. In this episode, Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy, and Mr. Spock are held prisoner
on an alien planet by a civilization known as the Vians. These aliens were ale to keep them
imprisoned with an advanced form of handheld BCI devices that picked up their brain signals.
The captives were only able to attempt to fight back after Spock stole one of the devices and
reworked it to interpret his brain signals rather than those of the Vians (Roddenberry, The
Empath, 1968). BCI is also portrayed negatively in the episode of Star Trek: The Next
Generation titled The Battle. In this episode, a Ferengi named DaiMon Bok is determined to
take revenge on Captain Picard for destroying his sons vessel nine years prior. To carry out this
revenge, Bok uses a BCI maliciously to give Picard flashbacks to the event. These thoughts
control Picard to the point of almost destroying the Enterprise. It is apparent that if BCI evolves
to be able to control minds in addition to just reading them they can have a very malicious use
(Roddenberry, The Battle, 1987). However, devices that control the minds of others are still
merely science fiction. So far BCI has brought hope to those immobilized by diseases such as
ALS through an innovation inspired by science fiction.
Conclusion
Based on how much technology in modern day there is in common with works of science
fiction from the past, there a clear influence that scientific fact draws from science fiction. This
link is stronger than is sometimes apparent, because once technological advances are out to the
public for a certain length of time, they become assimilated into the technological climate, at
which point they are viewed as a part of every day life, no longer a groundbreaking innovation or
a futuristic technology. A large portion of our technology was first portrayed in science fiction
before becoming scientific fact. Even some of the most basic technology that we take for

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granted appeared in science fiction before in the real world. Back to the Future had instances of
fax machines and automatic coffee machines before either of those things had been invented
(Murphy, 2015). The crew of the Enterprise in Star Trek was equipped with long range hand held
communication devices before the invention of modern cell phones that are used on a daily basis
by a vast majority of consumers (O'Connor, 2014).
Technology always aims at improving the lives of those who benefit from it, but in some
instances technology has even saved lives. Medical technology changes faster than other
technology to adapt to new and emerging medical needs. Science fiction has commonly
described mind reading technology. We now have basic forms of this technology that uses
electrical impulses that the brain gives off during thought known as BCI. BCI is a revolutionary
idea that can rehabilitate those that have lost the ability to move their muscles, making them
unable to move or speak. BCI can help them regain their communication and motor skills by
allowing them to control a computer or a wheelchair through cognition. BCI can even give those
wounded control of a prosthetic limb. This is a technology that will affect the lives of many for
the better, all from an idea inspired by science fiction (Graimann B, 2010).
With the advancing technology, one can only ask, when will science go too far? Humans
are growing increasingly dependent on technology and some say that takes away from what
makes us human. This idea is expressed even in childrens movies, such as Wall-E. Some believe
that technology will one day overcome humanity. Books such as I Robot by Isaac Asimov warn
us of a society in which robots develop a mind of their own and rebel against the humans that
once controlled them. This sentiment is even shared at times by comedy shows such as
Futurama, which shows a robot named Bender who has a mind of his own and does as he
pleases. In present day, most technology has been in an effort to improve life, with the exception

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of war technology like guns and bombs. Technology has brought us a long way, from the day that
a caveman discovered he could use sticks and stones as tools to the days in which humans are
learning how to read others thoughts and will continue to advance us further in the future. What
can the future possibly hold in store for the human race? Only time and science fiction will tell.

Glossary of Important Terms

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Brain Computer Interface (BCI) technology that can control devices through ones
brainwaves, can be used to help patients that have lost muscle movement but still have cognition.
Electroencephalogram (EEG) Method of analyzing brainwaves most commonly used by
current BCI technology.
Flashing Principle a principle that BCI works on that depends on the patient staring at
flashing objects on a screen. Brain patterns differ based on frequency of the flashes.
Locked In patients that have lost voluntary control of their muscles due to an illness such as
ALS.
Pseudoscience an explanation that seems to make sense, but is not backed by any actual
evidence, used in many science fiction films to explain technology not yet invented.
Science Fiction A literary work that takes place in a futuristic setting and often has technology
far beyond that of current science.
Steady-State Visual Evoked Potential (SSVEP) brain signals generated when staring at a
flashing item.
Technological Climate - technology that we as a society have come to take for granted to a point
where one can understand what it does without actually considering how it works and the science
that has been put in to making it work

References

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Asimov, I. (1950). I, Robot
Audette, C. (2015, October 15). Mind Control - The OpenBCI lets you plug yourself into your
devices. IEEE Spectrum, 21-22.
General Public (2015, November). [Online survey].
Graimann, B., Allison, B., & Pfurtscheller, G. (n.d.). BrainComputer Interfaces: A Gentle
Introduction. Brain-Computer Interfaces The Frontiers Collection, 1-27.
Krusienski, D. (2015, December 6). [E-mail interview].
Murphy, M. (2015, October 20). What Back to the Future II got right about tech in 2015.
Retrieved October 21, 2015, from http://qz.com/320563/what-back-to-the-future-ii-gotright-about-tech-in-2015/
O'Connor, S. (2014, June 6). How Star Trek predicted the future - Tech Digest. Retrieved
October 21, 2015, from
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