Questions tagged [brain]
For creatures with a central nervous system, this represents the major organ of that system. For humans and other terrestrial vertebrates, the brain is housed in the head and encased in bone.
136
questions
1
vote
1answer
51 views
Natural prosthetics
Many prosthetics work by receiving pressure from small movements and translating them into more complex movements.
Ivan Davis for example has made himself a hand with full control of fingers which ...
7
votes
2answers
343 views
Could a species give birth to smaller babies than humans but have larger brains as adults?
I know that brain size is less important than structure and that human babies' brains are 27% the size of an adult's, but humans give birth to large brained babies. As a result, humans can't support ...
26
votes
9answers
3k views
If a disembodied mind/soul can think, what does the brain do?
In fantasy fiction, we often see that disembodied minds or souls can think just as if they were alive - eg in an afterlife or as incorporeal undead.
In the real world, thinking and other mental ...
10
votes
10answers
1k views
Proof for extracerebral origin of thoughts
In a world which to a visitor coming from our own world would appear to be identical to our own, the mental processes (thoughts, emotions, memory) do not occur in the brain. That is, memory isn't ...
4
votes
2answers
200 views
Is there a theoretical maximum to physical pain?
I'm imagining some form of torturer trying to maximise the pain of its subject, and what limitations (if any) would bound the amount of pain that could be caused.
The brain can only process a certain ...
5
votes
6answers
371 views
Where can the brain be arranged inside the torso?
The volume of the human brain is 91-95% of the capacity of the skull, if you read my previous questions then you know that I need to avoid an excessive increase in the volume of the brain in the skull,...
3
votes
4answers
168 views
How to increase the cognitive ability of the human brain without increasing the size of the cranium?
Graham is the joint brainchild of sculptor Patricia Piccinini, a leading trauma and road safety specialist. The humanoid creature they created is developed on the basis of many car accidents and ...
2
votes
2answers
466 views
Possibility of forced thinking [closed]
Would it be possible to electrically trigger the brain to do certain things? For example, if you shock a muscle in just the right place, it contracts. Could a similar practice be done on a brain to ...
5
votes
2answers
126 views
What needs to be changed in the structure of the human brain in order to give it better multitasking?
The brain of a modern person can execute dozens of thought processes without overflowing. And parallel multitasking has a clear survival advantage.
How do you need to change the human brain (if ...
0
votes
0answers
57 views
How to make communication between members of the collective mind?
According to the plot of my anatomical guide, superhumans created by me are sometimes able to unite into a single collective mind, while becoming a single superintelligent entity.
The swarms of these ...
4
votes
5answers
301 views
Multiple “brain-backups” in the spine, how would it work?
Have you Watched Attack on Titan Season 3 Part 2? Then you can maybe look at this.
The guy has so far been blown up, stabbed in the neck with a sword, and blown up again. So, why didn't he die? Well, ...
2
votes
2answers
275 views
Can a human brain operate at temperatures lower than 36 degrees Celsius?
I have a character who is human but doesn't generate their own body heat, like a cold-blooded animal. Is it unfeasible for a human brain to be operating despite this?
6
votes
4answers
176 views
What brain parts and processes are most plausibly able to a second incorporeal brain-like organ?
One of the conceits of my world is that the brain takes advantage of some physical processes we don't fully understand resulting in an incorporeal brain-like organ called the Yau-body. Fairly early ...
2
votes
1answer
94 views
What drug could interfere with a chip hooked into your nervous system?
Say a character had a chip implanted within their brain (thank you to everyone who helped with that question) and wanted a drug to try and mess with the chip's ability to hook into their senses and ...
3
votes
1answer
179 views
To what degree can a human's perception of pain (or suffering) be increased?
Suppose we have some form of malevolent superintelligent AI (or whole brain upload, or alien, etc.)
Assume that this entity intends to do everything in its power to optimise for the pain and/or ...
-4
votes
1answer
88 views
How to induce Mandela effect to the entire nation that machines are uprising?
Set in the 18th century C.E. somewhere in Europe with population of slightly more than 2 million, they are just starting to light up the streets using electricity and for the first time they gets to ...
2
votes
0answers
97 views
Communist brain, 5 people sharing one mind [closed]
Her: Greg I had enough of your sht! Why did you do that? What the hell was in your mind?!
Him: our, our mind.
That was just a stupid joke, forgive my stupid humor, but imagine if different ...
4
votes
3answers
1k views
Would a human brain with 50% fewer neurons but 50% more dendrites be as intelligent in modern society?
Suppose advancement in medicine and using cutting edge technology we could remove (halve) the amount of neurons in a healthy brain and allow the left over neurons to somehow grows extra dendrites that ...
1
vote
0answers
40 views
What system would I build for the human brain to be able to experience 400 years of earth time events in only 4 hours? [closed]
preferably need knowledge about
brain-computer interfaces
brain neural enhancement
brain in a vat
the novel SHADOWS by John Saul
perspective in which you see the computer as the thing which allows ...
2
votes
3answers
155 views
How would a biological brain be updated with its digital memory?
In my story characters can go into perfectly simulated virtual worlds where their memories have been replicated down to the individual neurons and their protien structures. In these worlds time passes ...
5
votes
2answers
248 views
How can a sorcerer avoid developing a mental disorder?
It is an undisputed fact among scientists that individuals, groups, and peoples are subject to the same Darwinian laws of natural selection as plants and animals. Social Darwinism has proven that the ...
4
votes
4answers
122 views
How can an implant erase memories without causing irreparable damage?
The government has a procedure that employees undergo when working on special projects regarding experimental technology. These scientists are taken to a clandestine site where they will not be able ...
32
votes
31answers
13k views
Why would my species expose their brains through a glass dome?
The species I have created looks eerily humanlike, practically indistinguishable from human except for a reptile-like tail and an exposed brain.
The top portion of the skull is replaced with a glass-...
4
votes
4answers
222 views
Could a creature evolve a cubic brain?
One thing that is fairly common amongst nearly every macro-scale living thing on this planet is the brain. The brain controls when creatures breathe, move, talk, etc., but the brains of said living ...
3
votes
2answers
101 views
Overclocking VR
Set in the immediate future, social network evolves with the advancement of 10G network and a major breakthrough in medicine. Giant tech companies raced to develop state of the art VR technology which ...
3
votes
1answer
108 views
Selectively Shutting Down Human Emotion
I ran across an article briefly describing a woman suffering from Urbach-Wiethe disease (UWd). UWd leaves calcification within the amygdala and in this case subject lost all sense of fear (this case ...
2
votes
3answers
174 views
How to keep the emotions when the brain-in-a-jar is connected to a cyborg body
Let us assume that Science has discovered how to keep a brain alive outside the body, that mind-machine interfaces are advanced enough to connect the CNS to electronic hardware and communicate ...
0
votes
2answers
125 views
Is it possible to convert electric signals into brain waves?
In my world i want people to live in digital world (something like the matrix or sword art online), and I'm not sure if things I wanna achieve are even possible. I'm talking about a computer who's ...
6
votes
2answers
96 views
Is it possible to map the firing of neurons in the human brain so as to stimulate artificial memories to the amnesiac person?
As the title says, Is it possible to map the firing of neurons in the human brain so as to stimulate artificial memories to the amnesiac person?
This is based on this similar question; Is it possible ...
1
vote
2answers
295 views
is there a scientific way to extract memory from a person brain into video?
Just as the title, is there a scientific or possible way to extract past memory from a person brain into some record such as video or visual player ?
I know some theory say that it possible to ...
3
votes
3answers
92 views
Adverse effects of reduced food variety on microbiome
We often see, in Sci-fi, food being produced from, say, algae or yeast. What could be the effect of such a limited diet on the gut microbiome? Would there be any believable side-effect that would have ...
10
votes
3answers
2k views
Read the Memories of a Dead Man's Head
Assuming you could "read" the memories of a once living person, how long after death could you read the memories stored in the human's head? How long does it take for the pathways (dendrite, axon, ...
1
vote
4answers
156 views
How to prevent theft in a world where dreams are shared?
Say we can influence our dreams to a certain extend and are able to participate involuntarily in somebody else dream, I am wondering is there a way to prevent leaking important information such as my ...
3
votes
2answers
177 views
It there any conceivable way nanomachines could turn a brain into a semi-organic grey goo, preserving the individual's consciousness?
I'm working on a scenario operating on Clarke's Third Law, with nanotechnology percieved as magic to humanity, and I want to create a non-spiritual afterlife for humanity. My intention was to simply ...
1
vote
2answers
175 views
How to connect Brain to computer? [closed]
I'm not talking about mind-uploading, but rather about connecting your consciousness to the computer to be able to live inside it.I'm talking rather about advanced bci, so you have all the experiences,...
5
votes
3answers
351 views
Is it possible, given modern technology, to fake brain damage?
I'm writing a story, in which it's in a character's best interest to fake a brain-damaged state -- just for a week or two. I know MRI's are available to access brain activity, but would my character ...
0
votes
2answers
211 views
Reality check - cognitive cyborg with an advanced brain-computer interface
I am going to finally create a human cyborg with super-intelligence to beat an AI.
It's mid 2050's and my company Neuroconnect has produced a nanotechnology BCI (brain computer interface) capable of ...
12
votes
9answers
4k views
What kind of world would drive brains to evolve high-throughput sensory?
Here on "Earth" organisms tend to evolve only enough mental processing power to handle sensory inputs in modest amounts. Taking "human" brains for a quick example, even though we have millions of ...
1
vote
1answer
127 views
GMO brains / Basic emotions
I am writing a dystopia and in this world people have been genetically modified for decades to a degree that their emotional abilities are super basic and especially the ability to feel pain is ...
4
votes
7answers
404 views
How can high-level awareness resulting in telepathic radar be made possible in the human mind?
The humans in this setting are telepaths who are able to communicate with each other through their minds. This form of telepathy transfers simple phrases, symbols, or emotions to the designated person ...
9
votes
4answers
279 views
How to keep the brain alive?
So, let’s say Bill wants to gain immortality. Bill is a billionaire, and so invests a large portion of his estate to Brain Transplant research. After a bit, the doctors vivisect him, and encase his ...
6
votes
2answers
252 views
Brain Micromanagement
Imagine a creature much like ourselves that can control the usage of their own mind.
For example, a dying ancestor may tell some parting words which are so important that the individual explicitly ...
4
votes
4answers
204 views
Logical explanation for why Brainbots would not retain their original identities memories
So, my setting is a post apocalyptic one, 197 years after WW3 kicked off and destroyed pretty much everything. The current date is 2259. Before WW3 started, the USA was experimenting heavily with ...
6
votes
4answers
563 views
Uplifted animals have parts of their “brain” in various locations of their body. Where?
Looking at the case of Mike, I realized decentralizing the brain might not be infeasible. The idea is if Horus, the brown falcon, doesn't have enough room in his skull, then why not move various ...
10
votes
4answers
2k views
Is it possible to map the firing of neurons in the human brain so as to stimulate artificial memories in someone else?
My question is based on the following excerpt from an article I read recently:
Since the early neurological work of Karl Lashley and Wilder Penfield in the 1950s and 1960s, it has become clear that ...
81
votes
10answers
14k views
How much mayhem could I cause as a sentient fish?
On our world, human minds can be transferred intact into animals. It was originally intended for people with medical conditions, but some genius thought it would be clever to store violent prisoners ...
asked Feb 25 '19 at 20:49
Harper - Reinstate Monica
10.9k2 gold badges16 silver badges32 bronze badges
-1
votes
2answers
211 views
Could implanting false memories change someone's perception immediately? [closed]
This question is about how the brain works in that aspect, if it's even known.
I mean with the question that a person might react to something with fear, happiness, disappointment, or whatever other ...
7
votes
2answers
288 views
Brain Tick, how could it take over a host's brain?
There was once 12 kingdoms in the ancient days until the kingdom of Eo was devoured by the very forests it called home. The people of Eo have been turned into beasts wandering the woods and preying ...
asked Feb 18 '19 at 0:28
Celestial Dragon Emperor
10.4k4 gold badges37 silver badges81 bronze badges
10
votes
4answers
2k views
Ways other than sleep to restore cells/neurons
So I have a planet with multiple species on it. My planet is tidally locked. I know it is generally thought a tidally locked planet couldn't harbor life because of the extreme temperatures, but my ...
3
votes
1answer
312 views
What changes to the brain would occur in a werewolf transformation?
With typical modern depictions of werewolves (ie: turning into wolf-human hybrids) the victim suffers temporary amnesia and a loss of personality while transformed, is put into a state of extreme ...
