Keeping it to yourself

Or "the elephant in the motor cortex part I"

I’ve just been reading a Nature article about “A mind–reading brain implant that comes with password protection.”

The implant is a BCI (Brain-Computer Interface) to help people who have paralysis or limited muscle control to communicate. The BCI can translate signals in the supramarginal gyrus into text or audio without requiring the user to attempt to speak, which may be uncomfortable or worse.

The elephant in the motor cortex is the need to prevent thoughts being communicated that users would prefer to keep to themselves. Apparently the mechanism intended to prevent that, is a password that has to be given before the BCI generates the text or audio.

I hope I never have to use such a device: I just know I couldn’t stop myself thinking of that password. I suspect it would be exactly the same as being told not to think about an elephant after you’ve been told not to!