What would a computer find inside YOUR mind?
A person's mind is his or her castle. While the workings of a distant star or galaxy can be probed with precision, what goes on within the grey jelly that lies inside our skulls is - or has been until now - profoundly unknowable to the outside world.
But in the past few years, a series of fascinating and shocking experiments have started to breach those castle walls.
Far from being off-limits, our thoughts appear to be as open to being observed as any other function of our bodies. Last week, scientists in Utah announced they have been able to decode words from brain signals. Using sensors attached to a volunteer's brain, the scientists were able to record electrical signals generated when the person read out ten words, such as 'yes', 'no', 'hungry' and so on.
