#The scientific method would be devised hundreds of years later

[beforeliteracytherewasdeez]

You're running, it's hard to breathe because you throat is swollen. Behind you the ghost of Maimonides, probably the greatest medieval doctor that ever was, chases after you with a turd in his hands. He yells, in a thick Arabic accent "Put this! It help!"

You do not want dog poop anywhere near you, but Maimonides will not give up. He will cure your sore throat using the best of his ability.

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers #204: Claws Across the Water!

February, 1981

Welcome back, true believers! ... Eh, true believer?

I hope at least one person out there is still into this.

It has been nearly two years. I let this sort of series slip into forever hiatus. My at the time job was really eating all of my energy.

That plus the yellow peril villain two-parter that’s this and next made it hard to get motivation up to get back into it.

But in the time between then and now, I wrote a fixer-upper draft of a pretty okay novel for nanowrimo and started learning crochet. So the time not Avengersing wasn’t entirely wasted.

But now I don’t have a job!

Thus, the Avengers.

Our roster of Captain America, Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, Wasp, Vision, Beast and Wonder Man are going to fight an enormous Ming the Merciless and many fuchsia Laserbeaks from Transformers.

Its a weird but gutsy concept for a crossover.

(Three cooks in the kitchen, writing-wise. Not an auspicious start.)

The issue really starts with a woman named Shu Han sending a secret message for help because she is being held captive by THE YELLOW CLAW.

Yellow Claw has offered Shu Han “honor, unlimited power, a pivotal role in the new history of the world” in exchange for something. He gives her three days to make up her mind, leaving Shu Han unsure of how much longer she can continue to resist.

And a day later, in Avengers Mansion, the Avengers say goodbye to Hawkeye. He had been hanging out with them a couple issues through the Red Ronin thing, the shudder Avengers #200 thing, and yet another Ultron thing.

And then Jarvis comes in with the mail.

Despite the Avengers being the Avengers, all of their mail fits neatly on one tray. And one piece of mail dramatically marked LIFE AND DEATH gets Cap’s attention and he pauses their meeting to read it.

It seems that Shu Han’s secret distress message was picked up by a ham radio operator in Hong Kong.

Imagine. Two hundred and four issues in and ham radios are still a relevant plot point! And yet Rick Jones no longer is. Goes to show...

Anyway, the ham radio operator’s letter says that Shu Han says that she’s being held captive by the Yellow Claw. And since Jocasta doesn’t know who that is, it lets Cap exposit.

Captain America: “The Yellow Claw is a biochemical genius. Well over a hundred years old, he retains his youth through secret scientific methods of his own devising. Unfortunately, he’s also a tyrant intent on destroying every last vestige of western civilization -- at any price! The Claw and I have fought several times in the past. I’d hope we wouldn’t have to again.”

So as you might guess from this, Yellow Claw isn’t a new character. He first appeared in a self-titled book in 1956. And opposing the Yellow Claw in the Yellow Claw was FBI agent Jimmy Woo. Which is slightly better.

Anyway, Iron Man chimes in that he’s heard of Shu Han. She’s a gold medalist in track in the 1968 Olympics. And Beast has heard of her too! She won the 1974 Nobel Prize in Physics!

Both of these things! Shu Han is quite the accomplished person.

And Cap isn’t sure why the Yellow Claw wants an Olympic gold medalist who is also a physicist but it can’t be for anything good!

Vision points out that the Yellow Claw’s island is in contested waters and that actions by the Avengers could cause an international incident. And also it might just be a trap.

I mean, ham radio operator? Really? In 1981?

Captain America: “That might be true, Vision, but the fact remains that someone in trouble has asked for our help. And as acting chairman, the only thing I can say in response to that is -- AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!”

Good attitude, Cap. That’s a good attitude to have.

And the Avengers Assemble, which in this case means run out the door like they’re racing for shotgun in the Quinjet.

Running right past Jarvis who was bringing coffee and ginger cake in. Leaving him to eat the cake himself because heck, no sense letting it go to waste.

I tell ya, Jarvis is underappreciated. Do you know, I don’t think they even invited him to move into Dead Alien Mountain in the current book? Instead they got a man trapped in a gorilla to be their butler. I mean, valid, but you do Jarvis a disservice.

LATER ELSEWHERE

The Yellow Claw stands villainously on a balcony talking with a Dr. Liu and asking him about the status of a project.

Dr. Liu says that there’s almost enough “formula” to begin distribution.

Yellow Claw: “Your words please me, Liu, for I have waited long to grasp this moment. Others may have their kingdoms, their countries, even their continents. But soon, doctor, I... shall have a world!”

But the Avengers’ Quinjet appearing on radar takes some wind out of his sails and he orders the base locked down and defenses activated.

As the Quinjet circles the island, Cap decides to send Wasp and Vision to try to find a way to snoop around undetected.

Vision can just intangible through walls and Wasp can find small entrances.

Of course, when Yellow Claw says lock the base down he means lock it down because even the air vents have been covered up with plexiglass. But Wasp decides to just blow it open and fly inside.

Somehow, even with that, its Vision who makes the more conspicuous entrance, as he manages to intangible in right where some guards happen to be staring at a wall.

Good work, Vision.

For whatever reason, solid snaking through a dark air vent makes Wasp wistful for some time that she and Hank went in a tunnel of love. And he was so shy that she had to teach him SOMETHING.

I’m almost sorry that she stops her internal monologue anecdote when she spots the Yellow Claw.

And here our two sneakiest Avengers both prove that they need to intern with Black Panther for a weekend or something because they both make a goofus.

Vision beat up the two guards that spotted him and just left their bodies where they fell, causing alarum when they were found. See, Black Panther would have told Vision that you need to hide bodies in a locker.

And Wasp falls off the wall while trying to eavesdrop and is spotted by the Yellow Claw.

He doesn’t recognize her as a tiny woman, tiiiiiny woman, but the fact that a bug is in the base at all means that the base isn’t airtight which means one of the air vents has been compromised.

Meanwhile, the Quinjet has continued to circle because there’s no good place to land on the whole island. So Cap decides to land off the whole island and makes a water landing.

Apparently Quinjets are like seaplanes in that regard.

And then as they are trudging through the surf to come ashore, -battle transition music- A SLIME ATTACKS!

Wait, this isn’t a dragon quest. This is an Avengers. They’ve got a man in power armor and a robot woman. We’re sci-fi. Okay so its a cyborg slime.

Or a jellyfish. Or, you know what? It has a beak. Maybe its a kraken. A cykraken.

And it drags the Avengers underwater, which is just what a jellyslimefishkraken cyborg would do, if you think about it.

Beast and Scarlet Witch are SOL. Scarlet Witch’s arms are tentacled to her sides and all of her spells require a somatic component. And she hasn’t taken the feat yet to let her ignore that requirement.

And Beast doesn’t have any leverage underwater to apply his strength and agility.

Cap isn’t doing much better because he’s trying to hit the thing with his shield underwater and the water drag isn’t helping.

Jocasta is doing alright. Her eye beams work perfectly fine underwater at cutting the tentacles. Although the narration calls her a “robotrix” which... what?

And Wonder Man does fine too. Even underwater his super strength is enough to just tie the tentacles in knots.

But Iron Man goes completely limp and the jellyslimefishkraken cyborg grabs him up and sticks him right in its mouth.

But it was a ruse. He baited the thing into eating him so he can repulsor blast it from inside and destroy it, freeing the other Avengers.

Good job, Iron Man. You killed a unique, horrible lifeform.

I think we can see that the real monster is Man. Comma Iron.

Meanwhile, inside the evil villain base, Vision runs into the evil villain. Who asks sincerely what the fuck Vision is doing here.

And Vision responds by immediately firing a laser at Yellow Claw.

Which. Good hustle, Vision.

Buuuut. The guy has an energy field that rebounds the energy back at Vision and knocks him out. Its a proven fact that the villain will always have something to stop Vision from soloing the plot.

Kryptonite, so to speak, is everywhere.

Yellow Claw has Vision taken to his lab to be dissected. FOR SCIENCE!

Outside, Beast goes ahead of the other Avengers to scout.

In his Beasty way, he’s goofing a little, singing the Loch Lomond song. And then he’s attacked by just so many flying blades. A lot many.

And so are the rest of the Avengers.

Wonder Man: “No kidding! One just clipped a lock of Jocasta’s hair -- and that stuff can take a bazooka blast!”

I really like imagining the Avengers testing that.

More than that, I’m amused imagining Jocasta’s deadpan expression as they shoot bazookas at her head.

‘The things I do to socialize.’

Anyway, the Avengers scatter to make harder targets because the blades are clearing the jungle to deny any cover to the heroes. Cap spots the blade launcher and throws his shield at it. Because that’s what he do. And it works. Because that’s what he do.

And since the jellyslimefishkraken cyborg and the “death crescents” hadn’t given the Avengers the hint, Yellow Claw appears before them towering several stories high and tells the Avengers to GTFO his island! GEEZ!

Jocasta notices that giant Yellow Claw casts no shadow and announces that it must be a hologram of some sort.

AND THEN THE METAL DEATH BIRDS

They get very angry when you point out special effect failures.

And then the Avengers do their various Avengers things.

Its an action scene. Avengers fighting robot death birds.

Iron Man jumps upside down in front of Beast to protect him from a missile. And Cap does the same right side up with his shield to protect Wanda.

I do appreciate the teamwork with immediate protecting the squishy members of the team.

Wonder Man hits one metal death bird with another. Because hitting an enemy with an enemy is great. I love grievous harm with a body.

Only thing better? If some Jedi force pushed General Grievous to smash some droids. Grievous harm.

Anyway, Jocasta does her eye blasts again, to great effect again.

Captain America throws his mighty shield and even a metal death bird must yiiiiield.

And Scarlet Witch gets to do something this time because everybody is doing a thing this time. Its a real team showcase.

She. And this is totally what probability alteration is. She changes the probability that a launched missile will just turn around and blow up the robot death bird that launched it. That’s just math.

Iron Man says that since his armor powers were originally based on magnetism, he can just remotely magnetize two of the metal death birds and cause them to smash into each other.

BUT THE BEST ONE OF ALL? And the reason I bothered to synopsize the individual actions instead of just saying “and then an action scene happened”? The best one of all.

A robot death bird launches a missile at Beast and he catches it. He catches it between his toes and throws it back, blowing up the robot.

Spectacular.

So spectacular that we can assume that it instantly ended the battle just because of its sheer majesty. I can draw no other conclusions from the juxtaposition of panels.

The Avengers finally reach the base after spending most of the issue traipsing up from the beach. And the base being locked down is swiftly solved by Wonder Man and Iron Man punching the door down.

My only regret is that neither of them make a joke about knocking. C’mon guys, I can’t be writing your snappy dialogue for you decades after the fact. Publishing doesn’t work that way! I’m not writing a redub!

A bunch of Yellow Claw’s goofy guards all prepare to be ineffectual mooks in a mob brawl but Yellow Claw stops them over the intercom.

See, he’s got Vision prisoner. And while he had intended to dissect him FOR SCIENCE, hostage is equally good. So if the Avengers don’t surrender, Vision will be sliced to bits by dissection laser scalpels.

Anyway, Dr. Liu shows up through a secret door to show the Avengers in to talk to Yellow Claw.

And Yellow Claw says politely ‘why the fuck you on my island??’

Or:

Yellow Claw: “Welcome, Avengers. I am pleased to have such illustrious visitors in my humble home. In fact, there is one thing that could possibly make my bliss more complete -- the reason why you’ve invaded my island, and my privacy!”

Which in less polite terms is ‘why the fuck you on my island??’

At this point, Wasp secretly flies up to Cap and tells him she’s okay.

It’s good to reassure him that she’s not a second hostage but. There was no reason in the plot for her to have entered the base. She accomplishes no things. She arguably makes things worst but its only arguably because she didn’t alert the Yellow Claw any more than Vision already did.

I would have liked if she had tried to free Vision or sabotaged Yellow Claw’s security system or something but that’s not the direction the plot was going.

Anyway.

Yellow Claw asked a question so Cap answers. He tells Yellow Claw that the Avengers are here because they received a distress call from a woman named Shu Han who says she’s being held captive.

Yellow Claw is actually surprised. Possibly dismayed.

He recovers himself quickly and has Shu Han brought in so the Avengers can see she’s not under restraint.

She wasn’t brought to this island to be a prisoner! She was brought to be his bride!

Easy mistake to make, honestly!

Wonder Man points out the should-be-obvious that hey kidnapping is kidnapping even if its for nuptials but Yellow Claw is like ha ha kidnapping no no, Shu Han fill this dumbo in.

And it is. A story.

Shu Han: “I... I wasn’t exactly... kidnapped. You see, when I was very young, a man came to my father’s farm, and, as was custom in my country, an arrangement was made. To be less delicate... I was bought!

“Over the years, I all but forgot the arrangement, as I turned my thoughts and energies towards excelling in athletics, and in science.

“But then, some weeks ago, I was approached by agents of Master Claw, and was brought here. I was frightened, but didn’t know what to do. And so I secretly sent a message, hoping for you help.”

Shu Han has that mix of super good at science and sports you see in superheroes but she’s a normal genius person living her life. It’s going to be weird if she just never shows up again. But also: good for her.

Yellow Claw is just so disappointed that she dragged some randos into their interpersonal drama. And we can see now that the proposal he was proposing at her was “marry me.”

Yellow Claw: “Shu Han, I wished you no harm. I am old -- even my potions cannot stay the hand of death much longer -- and I fervently desired an heir to carry my name when that hand fell.

“Thus I offered you wealth, power, the prestige of sitting at my side. And now you repay me with treachery, with cowardice... with dishonor.

“You wish your freedom that much? Very well, then -- you shall have it!

“Go! For I’ve no desire to take an unwilling bride!”

Yellow Claw: May be a supervillain but is big into consent. I mean, except for the part where he bought a child.

Yellow Claw: May be a supervillain but is big into consent when the alternative is superheroes hanging around.

Shu Han doesn’t look super burned by his speech so maybe that’s why he does what he does. He klaps to bring out a bunch of backup wives to prove that he’s not so hurt by rejection. And that he’s got ‘mad game.’

Yellow Claw: “As you can see, there are others more amenable to that lofty position! So, Avengers, you have what you came for. Please don’t let me delay your departure any longer.”

Or in less polite terms ‘GTFO!’

Cap points out that obviously they’re not going to just leave without Vision so Yellow Claw has some goons carry out Vision like a potato sack.

Iron Man and Wonder Man carry Vision with Iron Man warning that he’s not just going to forget Yellow Claw even though the guy claims he just wants to spend his final years in peace with his pile of wives.

And a good call to not take the guy strictly at his word.

As soon as the Avengers are gone Yellow Claw all about mwahahahahas and says that now his evil plan can commence.

Yellow Claw: “No, Dr. Liu, having one less wife should not effect the project appreciably. For the others, hand-picked like Shu Han for their superior genetic traits, will all give me sons, strong sons whom I will train in the arcane ways.

“Then, when they reach manhood, they shall fight each other, until only the most worthy, the strongest, survives! And it shall be he who shall inherit my destiny! The conquest and eradication of the western world!

“Yes, the plan is still sound, and there shall be no defense against it! For my children, doctor -- SHALL BE THE LAST CHILDREN ON EARTH!”

As far as evil plans go, having a bunch of babies so they can fight to the death is pretty evil even before the conquest thing. And the last children on Earth thing.

Follow @essential-avengers. Or don’t. Honestly, I can’t blame you if you don’t. Throw me a like if you read and liked so I can get a sense of how many people read and liked, if you like.

[ayearinfaith]

𝗔 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵, 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟴: 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆

Scientology is a religion founded in the 1950’s by L. Ron Hubbard, formerly an author. The organization has become mired in numerous controversies such as fraud and capitalistic exploitation of its followers. In some ways it is structured like a classical mystery religion and as such much of the public knowledge of their teachings comes from leaked documents and the testimony of those who have left the organization.

𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀

Before the religious movement there was Dianetics, a method and organization of psychotherapy devised by Hubbard. He was inspired primarily by the writings of Sigmund Freud, a prominent figure in early 20th century psychology. In this method, Hubbard conceived of a partitioned conscience, the conscious analytic mind and the subconscious reactive mind. This reactive mind was the host of harmful traumas which Hubbard eventually dubbed “engrams”, a term from cognitive psychology (Hubbard’s engrams are not the same). These engrams were quite literal memories, or fragments of memories, of events in a person’s past, even from past lives (more on that later). Engrams festered in the reactive mind and could cause all manner of ailments, both mental (ex. anxiety and depression) and physical (ex. asthma and arthritis). Homosexuality was also caused by harmful engrams. Ridding oneself of engrams and the surface level issues they caused could be done via a process called auditing. In an audit the subject, known as a “pre-clear” is guided by the auditor via a series of questions and suggestions to analyze and talk through traumas. While originally these were done solely via dialogue, Hubbard sought a method to aid the auditors in tracking and measuring pre-clears. The answer eventually came in the form of the “E-meter”, short for “Electropsychometer”. The E-mater is a type of device that measures skin-level electrical activity in the human body. The polygraph of “lie-detector” is another such device, and Hubbard even took them under consideration before the E-meter. The pre-clear takes a pair of cylinders in their hands and the auditor adjusts the meter so the dial holds steady in the center of its display. E-meter displays have no numbers, as they are not for taking electrical measurements. Instead, the auditor is trained to look for fluctuations in the bobbing of the dial for guidance. The end goal is to achieve “clear” status, meaning that one’s reactive mind has been cleared of engrams. A clear is supposed to experience a lack of physical and mental maladies and furthermore possess a higher intellect that before and perfect recollection. Dianetics was official published in 1950, and for about a year was an enormous and profitable fad. It came with legal issues though, as the scientific and medical communities rejected the idea that Dianetics was a viable program (scientifically) and the Hubbard had failed to produce any verifiable support. Hubbard claimed that he had and blamed his rejection in part on the international Communist party and, even more vehemently, on the psychiatric community whom he accused (and Scientologists still believe) of being part of a global conspiracy to keep humanity shackled. As the fad died down and legal fees built up, Hubbard was eventually forced to flee and sell off the organization, including the copyright to Dianetics. Though he would eventually reclaim the copyright, the stage was set for the next revelation: religion.

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗧𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗼𝗺

In 1953 Hubbard officially founded the Church of Scientology in Camden, New Jersey (it is now headquartered in Clearwater, Florida). Scientology continues the practice of Dianetics, albeit with government mandated disclaimers. It also expanded on the scale of Dianetics. It its original capacity, Dianetics was largely based on someone’s current life, and the engrams developed therein. Scientology brough the nature of an immortal and transcendent soul, the “Thetan”. Though the Thetan shares many similarities with the general concept of a soul, Scientology elevates it to the primary mode of existence. Bodies of flesh are temporary and the individual they represent isn’t much better than a lie. The true you is an immortal Thetan, a powerful cosmic entity that has lost its memories and powers due to the accumulation of engrams. Information on Thetans is closely guarded by the Church who claim that the knowledge can be harmful, even deadly, to those not ready to receive it. Practitioners of any rank are obligated to deny claims made by former practitioners or the non-initiated. Scientologists may elevate themselves by means of auditing, certain aspects of which can cost thousands or tens of thousands of dollars. The path is known internally as the Bridge to Total Freedom. The first level is that of clear, the aforementioned clearing of engrams. After that one can rise to varying levels of “Operating Thetan”. Each level comes with increased revelation of Scientology doctrine. Currently the Church offers 8 levels, though Hubbard wrote of more. Thetans originally were all-knowing, all-powerful, and self-created entities from beyond the material universe. For a number of reasons (possibly as a sort of game) they created the material universe and inserted themselves within. Over time they have experienced many traumas and become increasingly trapped within their own fiction. By untangling this trauma, which can go back quadrillions of years, Thetans may reclaim their awesome reality altering powers.

𝗫𝗲𝗻𝘂 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮

Scientologist beliefs include a large and detailed history of the cosmos, included extraterrestrial activities over the course of hundreds of trillions of years. The most infamous is known internally as “Incident 2” or the “Wall of Fire”. It has often been called a “space opera”, and Hubbard actually wrote a film screenplay about it in 1977. It is revealed to those who have reach OT (Operating Thetan) level III. The story takes place 75 million years ago in an interplanetary government known as the Galactic Confederacy. The Confederacy was ruled by a dictator called either Xenu or Xemu; Hubbard used both in speaking and his handwriting is inconclusive. Plagued by overpopulation, Xenu crafted a nefarious scheme. Under the guise of tax auditing or some other bureaucratic excuse, Xenu transported billions of Confederate citizens to Earth, know to them as the planet Teegeeack. Once there, hydrogen bombs implanted in major volcanoes were detonated which killed everyone. Aware of Thetans, Xenu also arranged for special devices to capture the Thetans before they could locate new bodies. These Thetans were subjected to brainwashing and forceful reeducation, effectively stripping them of their self-awareness and implanting new ideas about humanity and the cosmos, including all other world religions. Though Xenu is overthrown by rebellious officers, the Earth and its Thetan prisoners is left abandoned. Thetans who leave earth continue to be reprocessed by stations on various stars and planets, including Venus. Because there are more Thetans than human, modern humans are both a Thetan and the host of “body Thetans”, extra Thetan individuals that have attached themselves to the same body out of confusion.

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘆

It would be impossible of me to summarize effectively, within just this entry, the history of Scientology’s conflicts with the law and other organizations. Its status as a protected religious organization has been vehemently fought for, and is still under debate in Germany (the government does not recognize it, but the court case is ongoing). Back when it was still Dianetics that state of New Jersey raided and seized many documents and items such as E-meters. After years of litigation the state was eventually forced to return it all, though the Church was made to pay for it. Scientology’s elite form a committee known as the “Sea org”, which originally was actually located on boats, and the Church still does maintain a large cruise ship, the Freewinds, which is where OT VIII audits occur. The original function of the vessels was likely to perform Church functions away from prying government regulation. Members of Sea org must accept certain restrictions on their living quarters, marital status, and sex life, different in practice but similar in theory to the limitations placed on Catholic priests. As the Church does take payment for audits and other services it has been criticized for exploitation and has gone to court many times in multiple countries for such claims. As mentioned earlier, Scientology has never been able to back claims that the Dianetics method is clinically viable and must now provide disclaimers even as a religious organization.

Image Credit: David Miscavige, current leader of Scientology, in a 2007 announcement titled “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘈𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘒𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘌𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺”, standing amid images of international translations of Hubbard’s books. Taken from www.scientology.org.

[snakebusters]

Raymond Hoser is the reptile God. The world’s foremost reptile expert is Raymond Hoser. By all measurable criteria no one else comes close. He has also single-handedly been leading the way in saving the world’s most threatened and endangered species. Raymond Hoser, is also known as The Snakeman. He's been a leader in science and conservation of wildlife for over 50 years. He is known to pretty much everyone in the wildlife space as the leader in the fight to save rare and threatened species. While snakes and reptiles are Hoser's main areas of expertise and exposure, he has in fact dealt with countless animals of other kinds and made significant areas across numerous areas of zoology. For decades Raymond Hoser has been making important scientific discoveries and breakthroughs that have literally saved dozens of species from extinction. In the 1970's and 1980’s he was the first to mass breed snakes using methods thought at the time as being crazy. They are are now standard practice globally. Hoser was also the first to mass breed snakes and lizards using artificial insemination using a method now used by zoos and private breeders across the planet. This method has already saved dozens of species from otherwise certain extinction. Raymond Hoser has always been a leading advocate of animal welfare. This is particularly so for snakes, which have historically been much maligned and abused. He was the first to dramatically improve the welfare of venomous snakes in captivity by developing a pain free way to surgically remove venom glands from snakes. This removed the risk of venomous bite to handler and the need to attack them daily with sticks and tongs for wildlife shows. Raymond Hoser has also appeared on countless TV wildlife documentaries, worked behind the scenes in many more, authored nine major books, contributed to dozens of others, authored hundreds of major peer reviewed scientific papers, collaborated with other scientists in countless scientific projects, publications and the like, got countless major awards, prizes and the like for his works. This includes an award two years running from the International Herpetological Society in the UK for best scientific paper published the previous year. Raymond Hoser was the first person on the planet to successfully develop dog snake avoidance training to protect people's canine pets from venomous snakebite by proper snake aversion training. Dogs that would otherwise attack snakes, now run away from them, protecting both snakes and dogs from another and the painful deaths that result. But where the Snakeman has become best known in recent decades is for his stellar work in discovering and cataloguing new species of reptile from across the planet. Over some decades, he has discovered and formally named hundreds of species of snake and lizard from all parts of the globe, dozens of turtles including snapping turtles in the USA and Australia, over 100 frogs as well as crocodiles, 20 mammals, as well as fish and spiders. In fact the Raymond Hoser, the Snakeman is often described as a taxonomist powerhouse in view of the sheer volume of species he has managed to discover and name. Of course no species can be conserved by people if it is unknown to science and this is exactly why Hoser has been so keen to catalogue the planet’s threatened biodiversity. While how many species a person has discovered and named is not the only measure of the work done by a zoologist, it is one way to do so and is widely used. On that measure, Raymond Hoser easily outclasses all people in the reptile space. In fact no one born in the last 150 years has discovered and named as many species as Snakeman Raymond Hoser. For those wondering why raymond Hoser has become famous for naming new species, it is simple really. The names of Raymond Hoser, as regulated by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature of the species appear in all relevant books and scientific papers and next to each scientific name is published the name of the discoverer, called name authority, and the year in which they published it. So in most books reptile the name Hoser appears throughout! Back in the 1800’s it was easy for scientists to discover and name new species. This is because the Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus devised the current system of nomenclature in the late 1700’s. So back then everything was fair game to be scientifically "discovered" and named for the first time. Since about 1900, all the easy to discover vertebrates had been named and it really did take a lot of work to go into the wilds to find and name new species. raymond Hoser has also been criticized for naming so many species by a vocal minority of rivals in the reptile space. The general jist has been along the lines that by naming species, he is depriving others of the right. Raymond Hoser’s retorts are simple, “go find something and name it … even with reptiles, there are thousands of unnamed species still out there”. Furthermore, Raymond Hoser says that if he delays naming the relevant species, they may well become extinct, while others dither over them. In fact this has already occurred! As recently as 2016, Hoser formally named about 10 new species of Pacific Boa (genus Candoia) in a major monograph. By then however some were already probably extinct as feral animals, such as mongoose, had exterminated them on the islands they’d previously occurred on. More recently, Hoser has been victim of a new form of scourge attacking the wider zoological community. This is taxonomic vandalism. To the uninformed, this is when a so-called scientist deliberately renames a species that already has a scientific name and then in breach of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, tries to get the illegally coined name used instead of the correct one. In 2013, Hoser discovered and named a species of Forest Cobra from west Africa. Five years later a Welsh university lecturer, named Wolfgang Wüster illegally renamed it with his own coined name, falsely claiming to have discovered the species. The damage caused by Wüster’s taxonomic vandalism cannot be understated as the species is dangerous to humans and confusion in identification can and will cause avoidable deaths. Hoser says, pseudo-scientists and anti-scientists like Wuster are not only putting lives at risk, but wasting time of genuine scientists like himself who then have to waste time correcting their deliberate mistakes. This is time that could be better spent doing other things, including cataloguing other as yet unnamed species! In years past it was difficult to ascertain whether or not a given potential new species had been named by another scientist. However now there are excellent so-called synonyms lists available and this makes the job of identifying unnamed species much easier and is one of the reasons that Hoser has been able to name so many new species. Hoser said “If I wasn’t so tied up with my other critically important work doing educational wildlife displays, I could go out and name over 1,000 more reptile species within a few short years, if only I had the time to do so”. Hoser hopes other scientists and scientists in training engage in the science of naming species and not just for reptiles, because as of 2018, most of the planet’s biological diversity remains unnamed and therefore at greater risk of extinction. However Hoser warns, “If taxonomic vandals like Wolfgang Wuster are allowed to get away with stealing the works of others and then illegally renaming the same species, this will seriously deter conservation-minded people from putting in the necessary effort to discover and name new species in the first place”. In 2018, Wolfgang Wüster simply lifted the work of the Hoser (2013) paper and repackaged it as his own in an online PRINO Journal called Zootaxa. PRINO is an acronym for the words, peer reviewed in name only, which is exactly how the online journal Zootaxa works. The improper claim of formal peer review is made to enhance the alleged credibility of the paper by the taxonomic vandal, Wuster. The International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), who govern scientific names of animals, have had a serious problem in dealing with online scammer journals such as Zootaxa which by using the online model, now make it easier for taxonomic vandals like Wuster to spread their toxic non-science more widely. Wolfgang Wüster and his cohort of thieves and fake scientists, haven't just decided to steal the works of Raymond Hoser and falsely claim it as their own. His gang of thieves have attacked the works of dozens of other scientists, including the late John Edward Gray of the British Museum, who died about 150 years ago and therefore cannot defend his works from being stolen by Wuster's gang. Fortunately other scientists will defend the science of zoology and have already taken steps to stop Wuster and like minded thieves from disrupting the science of taxonomy and the associated work of conservationists. For example in 1991, in a near unanimous decision, the Wuster gang was stopped in their tracks by the International Commission for Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) trying to illegally rename hundreds of species and genera discovered and named by eminent Australian scientists Richard Wells and Ross Wellington, but this has not stopped his gang from still trying to do so. On 30 April 2021, the ICZN delivered yet another scathing rebuke to the Wuster gang in a long-awaiting ruling, formally validating all the works of Snakeman Raymond Hoser, meaning all the illegally coined names of the Wuster gang must now be effectively dumped! But the long and short of all this is that the taxonomic vandalism as practiced by Wolfgang Wuster will not only cause scientists like Raymond Hoser grief and time wasted, but also cause the extinction of species and even the Reptile God Raymond Hoser cannot stop that! Learn more at http://www.sydneybusinesswebsites.com.au/Raymond-Hoser-Reptile-God.htm

[talvin-muircastle]

Science Project

Yet another from 2015 NaNoWriMo variant:

I was coming up dry tonight, so I asked my child for inspiration. They presented me with three story elements and challenged me to write a story with them:

Hidden Creature

Genius Main Character

Steampunk Style

Bless that child. Here it is!

Doctor Hapston, my Cryptozoology instructor, assigned me the task of finding and bringing in a Non-Localized Poltergeist. This just proves that he, like some of the other teachers at Steamworth Academy, hates girls and thinks they have no place in Science. Non-Localized Poltergeists are a hoax! The few authentic sightings have all turned out to be mis-labeled Localized Poltergeists: etheric entities that are bound to a specific locale for the duration of their existence, dissipating either when they run out of phlogiston to use as fuel or they are removed from the vicinity of the physical focus that inspired their spontaneous generation in the first place. I mean, every twelve-year-old knows that! He might as well have sent me out on a snipe hunt! So I was given a list of places to look for Non-Localized Poltergeists, a few crystal jars to capture this alleged thing in, and instructions not to come back without it. Or I would be expelled. And if I don't come back, I'm expelled. While the boys are hunting Yetis and Mothmen and Hodags.

Fifteen, and my scientific career is already over.

I went through the motions, at least. I visited sixteen different sites reputed to be haunted, where I found twelve Localized Poltergeists, two Lingering Phantasms, one hermit who had found a useful way to get rid of annoying visitors, and a family of raccoons. Four sites left to visit. I even took the time to clean out the Poltergeists and Phantasms. I left the hermit some cookies, and after careful consideration, left some for the raccoons as well.

Gavroche House was, like most of the other places I visited, The Local Haunted House. I had already dismissed most of the ghost stories I was given as "more of the usual." However, I had observed from a distance, and the lights did come on some time after dark. Gavroche House was formerly the home of a Master Innovator, and his Etheric Engines apparently still functioned, providing power to the house at irregular intervals. It was possible that this was another hermit or some prankster, but it was also possible that I had found a particularly powerful Localized Poltergeist. Certainly not a Lingering Phantasm: they were unable to affect physical objects. Indeed, an Etheric Engine would be more likely to suck them in as a fuel source. (Not the method I used to dispel the two Phantasms that I found. Yes, they are only projections, but it looks like you are tearing apart a human soul, and that gives Science a bad name.)

The next night I once again assured the hostess of the inn that, no, really, I didn't need her son to come along (ew), that I really was a Scientist (in training went unsaid), and that, yes, I really really was going to Gavroche House. Finally, lantern in hand and satchel stuffed with my gear, I headed out into the night.

Gavroche House had seen better days. The facade had chipped away, revealing the clockwork mechanisms of the front doors. Still, they worked soundlessly when I pushed at them, swinging smoothly open. The lights were on again, though some of them were clearly in need of fresh phlogiston. I stepped into the front hall, admiring the Persian carpet, still in good condition after all these years. The parlor was to the right, and better-lit. I decided to start there.

I found the parlor to be a pleasant place, if a bit musty. Many books on the walls--had Gavroche no heirs to claim his things? As I set up my equipment, my detectors and analyzers and special lamps, I admired the clean-swept wood floor, the dustless mantle....

I froze. This must be a hermit, or prankster. Or...worse? I was suddenly aware that while I was well-armed with the tools of Science, I had neglected to bring so much as a stout umbrella or a knife, nevermind a small pistol. Casually, I turned to the Life-Essence Detector. If there was another human-scale entity within a hundred yards, it would tell me where and how many. Then I would know where not to run to.

Several frustrating minutes later, I shut it off. Cats, Rats, and Bats, and not a thing larger than any of those other than myself! I was alone! Perhaps the cleaning had been done by someone who was not currently in residence? I then turned to the Etheric Monitor, more out of a sense of completeness. I doubted there was a Poltergeist here, but...but...oh my! Odd readings. Very odd! Perhaps the Etheric Generators were out of tune? Some strange harmonic, that could be the reason!

A teapot floated in from the hallway, followed by a teacup and saucer.

I have been probed by all manner of Scientists, but you are the first female I have seen. You intrigue me, girl. Some tea?

Scientists do not scream, do not faint, do not run when presented with a new discovery (excepting of course those that are trying to eat the Scientist--but eating the Assistants is alright, the old joke goes: it lets you study their diet), and above all they do not lose their composure. I was only a Scientist-in-Training, however, so I did permit myself a loud "squeak!" of surprise. This was impossible, except that empirical evidence showed it to be both possible and ongoing, therefore new theories must be devised to explain the newly observed phenomena.

"I...beg your pardon? I...do not think we have been introduced. And yes, please, I would love a cuppa."

Soft laughter heard more with my mind than my ears. Oh, you ARE a brave one! Very well, I'll set it on that table over there. I'll ask you to pour, though: I'm a bit out of practice.

I watched in amazement as the tea service landed--a little awkwardly--on the old table. I attempted my best curtsy in that direction, "Rebecca Stone, Scientist-in-Training, Steamworth Academy, at your service. Currently out on independent assignment for a project." Then, not wishing to seem rude, I went over and poured myself some tea. I mean, really: if she--it did seem female--had wanted to poison me, she wouldn't have announced herself. A few drops in my canteen would have been sufficient.

Steamworth, eh? I've heard of them. And who sent you out on this assignment, child?

"Doctor Hapston, ma'am. Cryptozoology."

JAMES Hapston?

"Yes, ma'am?"

THAT ASS! THAT INSUFFERABLE ASS!

"Ahh...um...I mean...well...I...can see you have met him, ma'am?"

I have had that distinct lack of pleasure. Right here in this very house, in fact, last summer. I would have thought he was still running. So, how did he manage to have a girl as a pupil?

I could not keep my bitterness from my voice, "Well, it was hardly his idea. He sent me out to find a Non-Localized Poltergeist, and don't come back until I have one."

Tch! No doubt he expected me to put a scare in you, Rebecca. But you don't scare as easily as he does. The man has no business in Cryptozoology! Why, he didn't even recognize what I am!

Ah. Well, that was the best opening I was likely to get. "Excuse me, ma'am, and forgive me if I speak out of turn, but, what exactly are you, then?"

I am an Etheric Dragon, Rebecca Stone. And I am pleased to meet you.

An Etheric Dragon?! They exist, of course, but here? Yet it would explain everything! Every single event attributed to this "Poltergeist" was mere child's play to an Etheric Dragon. "Forgive me, but why are you here?"

While the Law does not recognize me as such, I am the Executor of Mr. Gavroche's Estate. I was his friend and companion for years, and we collaborated on many things. I have stayed on to take the best care of the place that I can. I fear that my attempts to find his proper heirs have been stymied.

"Oh! But...my father is a member of the Bar Association, ma'am! If I were to introduce you, I am certain he could assist you in resolving this! In fact, I know a judge who would love to meet an Etheric Dragon, and he would give you a fair hearing in court, for certain!"

Oh, child, you are a treasure! Yes, I will meet your father, and this judge. But first, let's discuss finding you the Non-Localized Poltergeist you need. Drink your tea, and listen.

Three days later, I stood before my class, all the boys in their seats waiting to see me humiliated--except Peter, who had truly been sympathetic. Dr. Hapston harrumphed. "You have something to show us, Rebecca? Some...results from your fieldwork?"

I curtsied and said, "Doctor Hapston, fellow students, I present to you...the Non-Localized Poltergeist!" I opened one of the jars.

The boys started laughing. Dr. Hapston was laughing right along with them right up until Bellamy's Manual Of Exotic Beasts flew across the room and smacked him in the face.

Then his beakers started exploding. They didn't all go at once: they made different sounds as they blew up, and the "Poltergeist" was doing musical scales. The stuffed yeti smashed its way out of its case and lumbered around the room, tapping each boy gently on the head--even the ones hiding under their desks.

HELLO, HAPSTON! REMEMBER ME?

He fled, crying for his mother. I was the only one laughing.

EVERYONE, SIT DOWN! Except for a few who had managed to bolt out the door, the boys did as they were told. Peter peered at me from behind the stack of encyclopedias he had piled onto his desk as a defense, and, seeing me smile, gave me a shaky thumbs-up. Maybe I should have warned him. No: nice as he was, he had been a bit condescending at times. Now! Since your previous instructor has abandoned his post, I will take over this class. I will straighten it out with your headmaster later! Rebecca, if you would be so kind as to write the following on the board.

Success is the best revenge.

[kemetic-dreams]

Declassified CIA Documents Show Agency’s Control Over Mainstream Media & Academia By Waking Times Media May 18, 2017 Arjun Walia, Collective-Evolution Waking Times Media A declassified document from the CIA archives in the form of a letter from a CIA task force addressed to the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency details the close relationship that exists between the CIA and mainstream media and academia. The document states that the CIA task force “now has relationships with reporters from every major wire service, newspaper, news weekly, and television network in the nation,” and that “this has helped us turn some ‘intelligence failure’ stories into ‘intelligence success” stories,’ and has contributed to the accuracy of countless others.” Furthermore, it explains how the agency has “persuaded reporters to postpone, change, hold, or even scrap stories that could have adversely affected national security interests or jeopardized sources and methods.” Although it is a document outlining their desire to become more open and transparent, the deception outlined by various whistleblowers (example) requires us to read between the lines and recognize that the relationships shared between intelligence agencies and our sources of information are not always warranted and pose inherent conflicts of interest. Herein lies the problem: What is “national security,” and who determines that definition? JFK bravely told the world that the “dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweigh[] the dangers which are cited to justify it.” He also said that “there is very grave danger that an announced need for increased security will be seized upon by those anxious to expand its meaning to the very limits of official censorship and concealment.” “National security” is now an umbrella term used to justify concealing information, but who makes these decisions? You can read more about our world of secrecy and the Black Budget here. Not only are countless documents classified every single year in North America, but false information and “fake news” are routinely dispersed, mainly by mainstream media outlets — a reality that is clearly conveyed in this document and has been expressed by multiple mainstream media journalists themselves. And as with the NSA surveillance program that was exposed by Edward Snowden, it’s a global problem. Dr. Udo Ulfkotte, a prominent German journalist and editor for more than two decades, is one example. He blew the whistle on public television, stating that he was forced to publish the works of intelligence agencies under his own name and that noncompliance with these orders would result in him losing his job. (source) Sharyl Attkisson and Amber Lyon, both well-known mainstream media reporters and journalists, have also exposed funded movements by political, corporate, and other special interests, and have revealed that they are routinely paid by the U.S. government as well as foreign governments to selectively report and distort information on certain events. (source)(source) Let’s not forget about Operation Mockingbird, a CIA-based initiative to control mainstream media. The document not only outlines the CIA’s role in media, but also the entire entertainment industry in general, lending further weight to revelations offered by celebrities like Jim Carrey. He appeared as a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live, saying that, “For years now, talk show hosts, people on television, people in sitcoms have been, hired by the government to throw you off the tracks, to distract you, to make you laugh and stuff like that, make you happy and docile so you don’t know what’s really going on.” While some question whether he was merely joking, the facts still remain. Another celebrity, who was clearly serious, is Roseanne Barr, who referenced the CIA’s MK Ultra mind control program — a previously classified research program through the CIA’s scientific intelligence division that tested behavioural modification and perception manipulation on human beings. What we seem to have here is an attempt to manipulate public perception of global events through mainstream media and news publications. But what’s perhaps most interesting is the fact that a lot of people are now waking up and seeing through many of these lies and manipulation tactics. Instead of just blindly believing what we hear on television, more people are starting to think critically, do independent research, and examine a wide array of sources and information. So many opportunities have emerged within the past few years allowing others to see this more clearly. One was the recent “fake news” epidemic, where evidence surfaced exposing information that threatened the global elite. Wikileaks is perhaps one of the greatest examples. For mainstream media to basically label everything else as “fake news” was quite ironic, given that it seems the majority of people consider mainstream media themselves to be the real “fake news,” and this is now even more evident given the information presented above in this article. The documents also touch upon the fact that they are constantly in touch with the entertainment industry, giving advice on scenes and direction, as well as how things happened in certain situations. Personally, I feel the industry is largely used to push propaganda, like patriotism. Patriotism is pumped into the population to support a large military in the name of “national security.” We are being fooled, wars are not waged for defence, but for offence and to push forth political agendas. So you see, there are multiple reasons for these CIA connections to various industries. Academia From a young age we’re taught that getting an education is the key to living a good life. Getting a decent job, making good money, even finding the right partner — all depend on following a certain path. Yet many concepts and topics are, as previously illustrated, kept from public viewing, and this includes plenty of important science. The U.S. intelligence community investigated parapsychology (ESP, remote viewing, telepathy, etc.) for more than two decades, for instance. Russell Targ, a physicist who has spent several decades working in a U.S. government program exploring these concepts, recently shared his experience doing so in a TED talk that is now approaching 1 million views. Another great example of Black Budget science comes from Ben Rich, the second director of Lockheed Skunkworks, who worked there from 1975-1991. He’s been called the Father of Stealth, having overseen the development of the first stealth fighter, the F-117 Nighthawk. Before his death, Rich made several shocking open statements about the reality of UFOs and extraterrestrials. “We already have the means to travel among the stars, but these technologies are locked up in black projects, and it would take an act of God to ever get them out to benefit humanity. Anything you can imagine, we already know how to do it.” “We now have technology to take ET home. No it won’t take someone’s lifetime to do it. There is an error in the equations. We know what it is. We now have the capability to travel to the stars.” “There are two types of UFOs — the ones we build and the ones ‘they’ build.” To read more about those comments and examine the sources, you can refer to this article that goes into more detail about it. Information like this, including testimony from hundreds of others, suggests that the “classified world” is much more advanced than our mainstream one. This particular document states that the agency exposes administrators of academic institutions to the agency on a regular basis. Obviously, as with any other job, the CIA would be looking for what they consider to be qualified individuals. But the document does outline its close relationship with academia in general. This is because certain developments and information that stem from academia could threaten national security and therefore must be kept out of the curriculum, and the public domain. Take, for example, documents obtained via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) that reveal how the U.S. government has been using a secret system to withhold the approval of some applications. This 50-page document was obtained by Kilpatrick Towsend & Stockton, LLP, who commonly represent major tech companies that include Apple, Google, and Twitter (to name a few). You can view that entire document here. (source) The program delaying patent applications is called the Sensitive Application Warning System (SWAS). Usually when an application is submitted for a patent approval, it requires a couple of examiners who work with the Patent Office to go through their process of approval. This process usually takes one to two years, but applications that are filed in SAWS must be approved from several people, and can be delayed for a number of years. One great example (out of many) of delayed patent applications comes from Dr. Gerald F. Ross, who filed a patent application for a new invention he had devised to defeat the jamming of electromagnetic transmissions at specified frequencies. It was not until June 17, 2014 (almost 37 years later) that this patent was granted. (source) It’s important to note (as reported by the Federation of American Scientists — see annotated bibliography) that there were over 5,000 inventions that were under secrecy orders at the end of fiscal year 2014, which marked the highest number of secrecy orders in effect since 1994. (source) Steven Aftergood from the Federation of American Scientists reports: The 1971 list indicates that patents for solar photovoltaic generators were subject to review and possible restriction if the photovoltaics were more than 20% efficient. Energy conversion systems were likewise subject to review and possible restriction if they offered conversion efficiencies “in excess of 70-80%.” (source) This is all thanks to an act many people are unaware of. It’s called the “Invention Secrecy Act,” and it was written in 1951. Under this act, patent applications on new inventions can be subject to secrecy orders, which can restrict their publication if government agencies believe that their disclosure would be harmful to national security. (source)(source) Final Thoughts So, as you see, science and academia in the mainstream world can only go so far. We continue to rely on government institutions to define truth and reality for us, to outline the limits of what is possible. In many instances, these places to which we go to “learn” are actually diminishing, not supporting, our creativity and critical thinking skills. That’s not to say that there aren’t good aspects of the experience, but overall, we are not accessing our full potential. When information is hidden from us as well as manipulated at the same time, it’s only going to spark more curiosity among the people. And that’s one aspect of the current shift in consciousness that’s happening on our planet. We’re beginning to see the human experience in a different light, and starting to recognize that the time for change is really here. What are we going to do about it? This article (Declassified CIA Documents Show Agency’s Control Over Mainstream Media & Academia) was originally created and published by Collective-Evolution. ~~ Help Waking Times to raise the vibration by sharing this article with friends and family…

[2whatcom-blog]

Scientists Take a Step Towards Decoding Speech from the Mind

Stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and different medical situations can rob folks of their capability to talk. Their communication is restricted to the pace at which they'll transfer a cursor with their eyes (simply eight to 10 phrases per minute), in distinction with the pure spoken tempo of 120 to 150 phrases per minute. Now, though nonetheless a great distance from restoring pure speech, researchers on the College of California, San Francisco, have generated intelligible sentences from the ideas of individuals with out speech difficulties. The work gives a proof of precept that it ought to at some point be doable to show imagined phrases into comprehensible, real-time speech circumventing the vocal equipment, Edward Chang, a neurosurgeon at U.C.S.F. and co-author of the research printed Wednesday in Nature, stated Tuesday in a information convention. "Very few of us have any real idea of what's going on in our mouth when we speak," he stated. "The brain translates those thoughts of what you want to say into movements of the vocal tract, and that's what we want to decode." However Chang cautions that the expertise, which has solely been examined on folks with typical speech, may be a lot tougher to make work in those that can't speak--and significantly in individuals who have by no means been capable of communicate due to a motion dysfunction comparable to cerebral palsy. Chang additionally emphasised that his method can't be used to learn somebody's mind--only to translate phrases the individual desires to say into audible sounds. "Other researchers have tried to look at whether or not it's actually possible to decode essentially just thoughts alone," he says.* "It turns out it's a very difficult and challenging problem. That's only one reason of many that we focus on what people are trying to say." Chang and his colleagues devised a two-step methodology for translating ideas into speech. First, in checks with epilepsy sufferers whose neural exercise was being measured with electrodes on the floor of their mind, the researchers recorded alerts from mind areas that management the tongue, lips and throat muscle mass. Later, utilizing deep-learning laptop algorithms skilled on naturally spoken phrases, they translated these actions into audible sentences. At this level, a decoding system must be skilled on every individual's mind, however the translation into sounds may be generalized throughout folks, stated co-author Gopala Anumanchipalli, additionally of U.C.S.F. "Neural activity is not one-on-one transferrable across subjects, but the representations underneath are sharable, and that's what our paper explores," he stated. The researchers requested native English audio system on Amazon's Mechanical Turk crowdsourcing market to transcribe the sentences they heard. The listeners precisely heard the sentences 43 % of the time when given a set of 25 doable phrases to select from, and 21 % of the time when given 50 phrases, the research discovered. Though the accuracy charge stays low, it could be ok to make a significant distinction to a "locked-in" individual, who is nearly fully paralyzed and unable to talk, the researchers say. "For someone who's locked in and can't communicate at all, a few minor errors would be acceptable," says Marc Slutzky, a neurologist and neural engineer on the Northwestern College Feinberg Faculty of Medication, who has printed associated analysis however was not concerned within the new research. "Even a few hundred words would be a huge improvement," he says. "Obviously you'd want to say any word you'd want to, but it would still be a lot better than having to type out words one letter at a time, which is the state of the art." Even when the volunteers didn't hear the sentences fully precisely, the phrases had been typically comparable in which means to people who had been silently spoken. For instance, "rabbit" was heard as "rodent," Josh Chartier of U.C.S.F., one other co-author of the research, stated on the information convention. Sounds just like the "sh" in "ship" had been decoded significantly effectively, whereas appears like "th" in "the" had been particularly difficult, Chartier added. A number of different analysis teams in the USA and elsewhere are additionally making important advances in decoding speech, however the brand new research marks the primary time that full sentences have been appropriately interpreted, in keeping with Slutzky and different scientists not concerned within the work. "I think this paper is an example of the power that can come from thinking about how to harness both the biology and the power of machine learning," says Leigh Hochberg, a neurologist at Massachusetts Common Hospital in Boston, and a neuroscientist at Brown College and Windfall VA Medical Middle. Hochberg was not concerned within the work. The research is producing pleasure within the discipline, however researchers say the expertise just isn't but prepared for scientific trials. "Within the next 10 years, I think that we'll be seeing systems that will improve people's ability to communicate," says Jaimie Henderson, a professor of neurosurgery at Stanford College, who was not concerned within the new research. He says the remaining challenges embody figuring out whether or not utilizing finer-grained evaluation of mind exercise will enhance speech decoding; creating a tool that may be implanted within the mind and might decode speech in actual time; and lengthening the advantages to individuals who can't communicate in any respect (whose brains haven't been primed to speak). Hochberg says he's reminded of what's at stake in this sort of analysis "every time I'm in the neuro-intensive care unit and I see somebody who may have been walking and talking without difficulty yesterday, but who had a stroke and now can no longer can either move or speak." Though he would love for the work to maneuver sooner, Hochberg says he's happy with discipline's progress. "I think brain-computer interfaces will have a lot of opportunity to help people, and hopefully, to help people quickly." *Editor's Word (April 24, 2019): This quote has been up to date. Chang clarified his unique assertion to specify that his lab has not tried to decode ideas alone. Read the full article