I saw a video on TED which was recorded in mid 2010 that shows a random volunteer from an audience donning a magic hat and giving basic commands to a computer just by thinking them. This is an amazing accomplishment and I applaud the people who figured it out. It has almost inconceivable benefits for mankind in the potential form of restoring simple communication abilities to those who've lost it through accident/injury or birth defect. The obvious example is the Steven Hawkings of the world who basically can't use any limb nor even speak yet can possess all the intellect that any of the rest of us has (and sometimes more!)
Considering the pattern of computer advancement over the last 50 years it's not hard to believe that the technology will progress to more than simple commands (probably even before I retire, let alone within my lifetime.) Because why stop with allowing the computer to detect when you've thought the concept of forward, backward, left or right? Why not help a quadriplegic write their graduate thesis in six hours rather than six weeks/months? Imagine the potential for the universal translator? (No pun intended.) However it's got to make you wonder. Like any tool, how badly could this be abused? The potential for an abuse of telepathy would seem limitless.
In 1 Corinthians 2:11 the Apostle Paul asked the rhetorical question "who knows a man's thoughts but his (your) own spirit?" Well now we all can, or will be able to soon. The product I mentioned above was selling for retail $200 by the time I saw it a year after the recorded live demo. A true (or perhaps orthodox) Christian would consider the Bible to be the inspired word of God. But it's in our fallen nature that anything we can do to prove God wrong is at the top of our bucket list, because if we succeed then that would mean we're smarter than God. (Of course we can't prove God wrong but what's that to stop us from trying?) In this case Paul isn't saying telepathy will never happen, he's just stating the obvious to make another point, but it's the first verse I thought of when I saw the video. Because while God is willing to give us His character we don't want it, we want His omni's: omniscient (all knowing), omnipresent (present everywhere), omnipotent (all powerful), and this new technology helps us get one step closer, especially to omniscience.
This gets more interesting when rather than being hooked up to a wheel chair or simple word processor we hook this telepathic machine to the Internet, or a Police scanner, or the misguided Christian zealots who were behind the scarlet letters and witch hunts in colonial America, etc. After Star Trek: The Next Generation my favorite TV show was Babylon 5. In the episode 'Face of the Enemy' one of the main characters is told "Information is power and telepaths represent the greatest threat to freedom we've ever seen... The danger before us is nothing less than the death of human liberty and human thought." At the risk of sounding morbid and pessimistic I'm afraid there's a lot of truth to that, whether the "power" is biological in nature or mechanical. Babylon 5 certainly wasn't the first science fiction story to address this issue. (1984 is another that comes to mind.)
While we're on the subject, it's important to point out that we don't need special hardware scanning your skull to read your mind. Amazon, Google, Match.com and others are leveraging mathematical equations based on your behavioral patterns to predict your next purchase (and maybe even push that next thing to you before you realize you even want it.) Jesus pointed out in Matthew 15:18-19 and Luke 6:45 that we advertise what's in our heart all the time anyway, the difference now is it's being recorded and modeled like never before. So next time you're renting a movie on Netflix, Amazon, iTunes, etc. and deciding whether to get the unrated version or not, remember that the seller will remember your decision for as long as they can so they can tailor their advertisements for you. (And don't forget the "recently purchased" lists so many websites have. Who knows who'll be looking over your shoulder next time you go to that website.) And don't kid yourself that those sellers will think twice before selling the history they accumulate on you to anyone willing to buy it. Let's not jump to criticism and pretend there's no benefit to society from this. As long as we're aware of this new reality then the potential for accountability and genuine targeted marketing is pretty cool. The trick is once again we must remember that any tool has proper and improper uses, and we must pity and consider compassion on the poor soul who only learns of this new reality the hard way.
My last thought is this: how long will it be until it they can not only read your mind from their magic hat, but write to it too?
Considering the pattern of computer advancement over the last 50 years it's not hard to believe that the technology will progress to more than simple commands (probably even before I retire, let alone within my lifetime.) Because why stop with allowing the computer to detect when you've thought the concept of forward, backward, left or right? Why not help a quadriplegic write their graduate thesis in six hours rather than six weeks/months? Imagine the potential for the universal translator? (No pun intended.) However it's got to make you wonder. Like any tool, how badly could this be abused? The potential for an abuse of telepathy would seem limitless.
In 1 Corinthians 2:11 the Apostle Paul asked the rhetorical question "who knows a man's thoughts but his (your) own spirit?" Well now we all can, or will be able to soon. The product I mentioned above was selling for retail $200 by the time I saw it a year after the recorded live demo. A true (or perhaps orthodox) Christian would consider the Bible to be the inspired word of God. But it's in our fallen nature that anything we can do to prove God wrong is at the top of our bucket list, because if we succeed then that would mean we're smarter than God. (Of course we can't prove God wrong but what's that to stop us from trying?) In this case Paul isn't saying telepathy will never happen, he's just stating the obvious to make another point, but it's the first verse I thought of when I saw the video. Because while God is willing to give us His character we don't want it, we want His omni's: omniscient (all knowing), omnipresent (present everywhere), omnipotent (all powerful), and this new technology helps us get one step closer, especially to omniscience.
This gets more interesting when rather than being hooked up to a wheel chair or simple word processor we hook this telepathic machine to the Internet, or a Police scanner, or the misguided Christian zealots who were behind the scarlet letters and witch hunts in colonial America, etc. After Star Trek: The Next Generation my favorite TV show was Babylon 5. In the episode 'Face of the Enemy' one of the main characters is told "Information is power and telepaths represent the greatest threat to freedom we've ever seen... The danger before us is nothing less than the death of human liberty and human thought." At the risk of sounding morbid and pessimistic I'm afraid there's a lot of truth to that, whether the "power" is biological in nature or mechanical. Babylon 5 certainly wasn't the first science fiction story to address this issue. (1984 is another that comes to mind.)
While we're on the subject, it's important to point out that we don't need special hardware scanning your skull to read your mind. Amazon, Google, Match.com and others are leveraging mathematical equations based on your behavioral patterns to predict your next purchase (and maybe even push that next thing to you before you realize you even want it.) Jesus pointed out in Matthew 15:18-19 and Luke 6:45 that we advertise what's in our heart all the time anyway, the difference now is it's being recorded and modeled like never before. So next time you're renting a movie on Netflix, Amazon, iTunes, etc. and deciding whether to get the unrated version or not, remember that the seller will remember your decision for as long as they can so they can tailor their advertisements for you. (And don't forget the "recently purchased" lists so many websites have. Who knows who'll be looking over your shoulder next time you go to that website.) And don't kid yourself that those sellers will think twice before selling the history they accumulate on you to anyone willing to buy it. Let's not jump to criticism and pretend there's no benefit to society from this. As long as we're aware of this new reality then the potential for accountability and genuine targeted marketing is pretty cool. The trick is once again we must remember that any tool has proper and improper uses, and we must pity and consider compassion on the poor soul who only learns of this new reality the hard way.
My last thought is this: how long will it be until it they can not only read your mind from their magic hat, but write to it too?