I had an early train to NYC this morning and I needed to
wake up at 5:50AM. My alarm clock is one
of those plug-in radio clocks that annoyingly reset if there is an unexpected
interruption in power.
Well, last night, there was such an interruption which reset
my clock’s time and (unbeknownst to me) wiped out my morning alarm. Remarkably, I found myself suddenly wide
awake at precisely 5:50AM.
It’s funny, I didn’t fall asleep thinking about my trip, or
the least bit anxious about oversleeping. Maybe my waking up was just dumb luck, but this isn’t the first time it
has happened to me. I’ve also heard of
this happening to many of my friends as well.
I’m no neurologist, but I’ve spoken to a number of folks who
know a thing or two about this. One
fellow – Microsoft's Desney Tan described to me the wealth of subconscious brain
activity that goes on without us knowing about it. Although we may only be focusing on one
topic, or one person that we are talking to, our brain is constantly observing,
processing, and storing information about everything going on around us.
The human machine is really an incredible thing. It’s amazing how much we know about the world
and the universe, but also how little we know about our own brains. I hope that I see a lot of progress in this
field in my lifetime. I’d like to know
what’s going on my subconscious and see if there’s anything useful in there (probably
not J
)
Some guys I’ve talked to are working on ways to read brain activity
and convert it into useful medical and entertainment applications. I wish them luck… it’s truly innovation that
is nearly indistinguishable from magic. Check out an early demo.
