Why Neuroscience is Relevant to Our Everyday Lives

The Path to a Truly Natural User Interface

Oh hey

Hi, I’m Shahid.

I believe that our interfaces, aka our tech, should resemble how we think.

I studied neuroscience at Brown University with a focus on learning, memory, and decision-making. I’m incredibly excited about how to use insights from neuroscience research to improve the way we perceive and communicate information. For instance, wouldn’t it be great to learn a new language in just a few months? Or use your eyes and hands to mold a 3d visualization of your to-do lists?

So I research and write about natural interfaces — intuitive technologies that engage more of our sensory spectrum, that more accurately reflect how our brains process information, and that feel like a comfortable extension of our own minds.

Perhaps some sort of brain-paper interface? (img source: tumblr)

Why Do We Need Natural Interfaces?

The problem is — we’re still using archaic tools to interact with information, tools that don’t reflect how the brain naturally thinks. For example, computers have the same basic design they did when they were first invented 40-some years ago. Our apps, programs, and emails are chock-full of lists, menus, and folder hierarchies. In fact, even the most basic unit of communication — text — is not very intuitive, and is actually quite neurologically taxing.

We don’t think in lists or menus, certainly not in Times New Roman, and our interfaces should be designed to reflect that. By studying how the brain processes information, we can invent better ways to learn and communicate complex ideas.

There are a group of exciting new tools being developed — VR, AR, etc. — that promise to make communication more fluid and real by taking advantage of things like the fact that we’re very spatial thinkers. But they are still just a first step.

We need to fundamentally reimagine many of the perceptual tools we use to convey information. In other words, there needs to be a perceptual revolution. And neuroscience-inspired tools and technologies will guide the way.

I think I associate orange with neuroscience because my first neuro textbook ever had an orange cover

So I wanted to put together a collection of my thoughts and ideas about how to get there and why it matters.

Among the topics I like to write about are: info processing in the brain and its implications for tech interfaces of the future, insights from neuro/psych research and how we can apply them, and observations and ideas about VR/AR/haptics and other modern interfaces.

The language for this stuff is still pretty new, so there are a few different terms I use somewhat interchangeably. I use the terms virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR = VR+AR), and natural interfaces to refer broadly to this new class of augmentation tools that allow us to see, hear, feel, and manipulate digital scenes around us.

A Guide to the Essays in This Series:

If you’re busy and just want a high-level summary of how neuroscience-inspired tech can improve the way we think, read these four posts:

1. Neuroscience, Human-Computer Interaction, and the Need for a Perceptual Revolution
2. 5 Compelling Reasons All of Us Should Care About Virtual Reality
3. The World [of Augmented Reality] is Not Enough
4. Does ‘Stadium Arcadium’ Taste Like Spicy Food?

The full guide:

Overviews

• Neuroscience, Human-Computer Interaction, and the Need for a Perceptual Revolution
• Computing Interfaces: Past, Present, and Future
• VR, John Locke, and the Value of Neuroscience

Neuroscience

• Does ‘Stadium Arcadium’ Taste Like Spicy Food?
• How Neuroscience and VR Will Open a Better Way to Learn Languages
• We Need to Take Advantage of Auditory Perception — Part 1: Ear vs Eye
• We Need to Take Advantage of Auditory Perception — Part 2: The HOW
• What Neuroscience Reveals About the Hidden Inefficiencies of Text (coming soon)

Virtual and Augmented Reality

• 5 Compelling Reasons All of Us Should Care About Virtual Reality
• The World [of Augmented Reality] is Not Enough
• Data Visualization, Ants, and Synesthesia
• In 15 Years, Tilt Brush is Going to Look Like Microsoft Paint
• I Tried the HTC Vive…and So Should You

Projects

• Monte Carlo Simulation of Penney’s Game
• Prisoner Hat Riddle in MATLAB
• Nanoscience Research: Identifying Nanomagnetic Alignments
• Nanoscience Research: Mapping PLE Shift of Carbon Nanotubes
• Design portfolio

In the Works

• What Neuroscience Reveals About the Hidden Inefficiencies of Text
• Neuroscience, AR, and Experiential Math Learning
• VR and the Witnessing of a New Cave Allegory
• Behavioral Analysis of Rosetta Stone
• VR Calendars — A New Way to Visualize Time

I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas! Email me at mallick.skm@gmail.com or find me on LinkedIn or Twitter @shmallick.