Brains

[ysabetwordsmith]

Krakencoder predicts brain function 20x better than past methods

Scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine have developed a new algorithm, the Krakencoder, that merges multiple types of brain imaging data to better understand how the brain s wiring underpins behavior, thought, and recovery after injury. This cutting-edge tool can predict brain function from structure with unprecedented accuracy 20 times better than past models and even estimate traits like age, sex, and cognitive ability.


That ... sounds pretty exactly like something over in Terramagne. It's part of Thalassia's health care system, although they've had theirs for a while. *ponder* I think the ~20 year gap between here and there is holding steady.

Comments

[see_also_friend]

I wonder if that will be able to discern mental features such as neurovariance, mental illness, or gender variances?

On the one hand, a reliable diagnostic tool for such things could be very useful on the other...very problematic.

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

I think it would be preferable to have a clear yes/no test for such things, if it could be devised, than to have it rely solely on some whitecoat's personal opinion. Particularly from the profession that has pathologized running away from slaveowners, having a uterus, being homosexual or transgender, and a wad of other perfectly normal things. >_

Re: Thoughts

[see_also_friend]

Yeah, but imagine going in for a mental health scan and being outed as trans* [or whatever] to everyone in the room /including yourself/.

Heck, what about something even more dangerous? Like being outed as a sociopath?

And records get saved for a really long time in our society, and are networked in ways that are near-incomprehensibly complex.

Once there is a test, some people will use it to persecute others. So, even if a test is useful, I am not looking forward to the persecution part.

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>Yeah, but imagine going in for a mental health scan and being outed as trans* [or whatever] to everyone in the room /including yourself/.<<

That's a problem. I had a hard time learning not to blurt things like that, because it was rough on people who didn't know certain things about themselves that I can often notice.

However, I generally prefer to deal in facts rather than figments. At present, a shrink can slap a label on you and people will treat it as true whether it is real or not.

>>And records get saved for a really long time in our society, and are networked in ways that are near-incomprehensibly complex.<<

I agree that's a problem. I'm not sure how long it will continue being a problem, but climate change is a thing and disasters wreck recordkeeping. How long will they be able to keep it up as the rate of hurricanes, wildfires, etc. increases?

>>Once there is a test, some people will use it to persecute others. So, even if a test is useful, I am not looking forward to the persecution part.<<

We already have that problem. It's just the tests are based on opinions instead of facts.

Re: Thoughts

[see_also_friend]

>>At present, a shrink can slap a label on you and people will treat it as true whether it is real or not.<<

It would be nice if the culture shifted to the point where being diagnosed as autistic/trans/psychopathic/whatever was treated the same as cancer, where you get offered treatment options and support and sure, you might freak out about it, and your family might freak out about it but everyone's going to try and make it all be okay.

But I don't see a quick or clear path to there from here, and a /lot/ of people are going to get really, really hurt.

>>I agree that's a problem. I'm not sure how long it will continue being a problem, but climate change is a thing and disasters wreck recordkeeping. How long will they be able to keep it up as the rate of hurricanes, wildfires, etc. increases?<<

Probably at until the servers get wrecked. So if they're in Arizona, probably fine until desertification drives the humans out, but if in Polynesia...well, hurricanes.

>>We already have that problem. It's just the tests are based on opinions instead of facts.<<

I'm cynical enough to worry that this will allow for more precise persecution. I'm also cynical enough to believe that people will often selectively ignore facts that don't fit their worldview.

[see_also_friend]

Oh, and the coincidence of the algorithm name is funny!

Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

If it's a coincidence. Universes tend to be semipermeable.

Re: Well ...

[see_also_friend]

Well, its interesting however we describe it.