[personal] [random notes] [eeg etc]
I am wearing an EEG headband, a Muse S. This is a very low quality consumer EEG device with 4 channels. I used to use two OpenBCI Cytons, with daisies, for a total of 8-32 channels. A cyton+daisy costs $2000 . I do not have income. I bought more than two. They break, for some reason. The software is designed with poor standards and the company has not been able to find a lead dev to hire. OpenBCI used to sell a direct current stimulator, too. When I began purchasing, they took it off the shelves, citing a research study that it was unhealthy or dangerous. I believe direct current stimulation is a way to entrain channels in the brain to observe areas not near the surface, and was very sad to not have access to the open source equipment once I had saved enough money to buy it.
The muse S breaks too, although I admit it is cheaper. OpenBCI has cheaper products as well, ones that support stacking together and are written in open source software. There are newer products sold now; many kickstarters etc have been making devices. There is also an older community device called the openeeg supported a little by groups I engage a little bit already. The openeeg looks like it hasn't had activity in some time; I haven't found where it is happening, but could ask the connections I slightly have. My Muse S is _turned off_. I do not use it. Putting it on at all has been my step, like the wim hof showers for going outside. I reverse engineered its protocol once. decompiling the commercial binary, so I could make a logger more robust than what is sold. After reversing its protocol, I discovered that it was public but the page had gone down. I had worked with the public protocol in the past and forgotten this. One of the communities I am in is a meshing of researchers and hackers. The people on the chat are very, very experienced, many of them with graduate degrees, and happy and excited to work with people who are new. I never go on, and am scared to internally. I started a conversation with one but waited so long to reply that what they said had left the chat history by the time I got back. That was a few years ago. The chat is the neurotechx chat. It used to be easy to find, then it became hidden deep inside some forms or websites somewhere. Not sure how it is now. They were stuggling to effectively log their slack channel; needs a bridge to a logged community. It often has crucial research streaming by that then gets lost. This is true of other research communities, too.
OpenBCI used to sell a direct current stimulator, too. When I began purchasing, they took it off the shelves, citing a research study that it was unhealthy or dangerous. I believe direct current stimulation is a way to entrain channels in the brain to observe areas not near the surface, and was very sad to not have access to the open source equipment once I had saved enough money to buy it.
There is a class-associated concern with direct current stimulation, too. It can be used to break addictions or form difficult habits, and increase the intelligence. Preventing access to it is oppression comparable to censorship, gun control, etc. I definitely agree that people need to be aware of dangers, however. Maybe proposing a plan to develop systems of certification or licensing or having an age boundary? This could help people form training groups too.
I do appreciate that not having access to direct current stimulation makes it clear that my issues were not caused by it. In retrospect, I did not retain the software skills necessary to use it safely.
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