Monkeys Are Finally Writing Shakespeare, Thanks To A New Brain-Computer Interface

You don’t need an infinite number of monkeys to type out the complete works of William Shakespeare.

What you need, according to a team of researchers from Stanford University, is one monkey equipped with a brain implant that allows it to interface with a computer.

In a new experiment described in the journal IEEE, researchers were able to use a brain-computer interface (BCI) to enable thought-controlled typing at a rate of up to 12 words a minute — the highest brain-based typing rate ever achieved. In the experiment conducted on two rhesus macaques, the animals were able to transcribe passages from Hamlet and the New York Times.

You don’t need an infinite number of monkeys to type out the complete works of William Shakespeare.

What you need, according to a team of researchers from Stanford University, is one monkey equipped with a brain implant that allows it to interface with a computer.

In a new experiment described in the journal IEEE, researchers were able to use a brain-computer interface (BCI) to enable thought-controlled typing at a rate of up to 12 words a minute — the highest brain-based typing rate ever achieved. In the experiment conducted on two rhesus macaques, the animals were able to transcribe passages from Hamlet and the New York Times.

You don’t need an infinite number of monkeys to type out the complete works of William Shakespeare.

What you need, according to a team of researchers from Stanford University, is one monkey equipped with a brain implant that allows it to interface with a computer.

In a new experiment described in the journal IEEE, researchers were able to use a brain-computer interface (BCI) to enable thought-controlled typing at a rate of up to 12 words a minute — the highest brain-based typing rate ever achieved. In the experiment conducted on two rhesus macaques, the animals were able to transcribe passages from Hamlet and the New York Times.

When it comes to humans, this technology can be paired with an auto-completion technology used by smartphones or tablets in order to drastically improve typing speeds. On the flip side, however, the typing speeds of humans using the technology is likely to be slowed down by the fact that they need to actually think about what they want to communicate and how to spell words.

“What we cannot quantify is the cognitive load of figuring out what words you are trying to say,” Nuyujukian said.

Lockheed's exoskeleton in action

Speeding up brain networks might boost IQ

Back in 2009 a team of dutch scientists were analyzing the brain. They found that for all the denseness of the


brain doesn't really matter. It does just not as much as they originally thought. Its really about the efficiency of the wired brain. They found that the most intelligent people have the fastest connections not the most

Thus suggests that you may be able to increase your brain performance or boost your intelligence  via drugs. It also suggests that by speeding up ANN's (Artificial Neural Networks) may boost the intelligence of the system

In 2011 There were some studies done by Air Force researchers. They found that they could cut training time in half for air force pilots by delivering a mild electrical current (two milliamperes of direct current for 30 minutes).You can read the full article here

There are already a number of consumer products being created to try and take advantage of this discovery and its starting to hit the mainstream. Wired did an article on it "Inside the Strange New World of DIY Brain Stimulation". As well self described biohackers like Tim Ferriss and Dave Asprey are touting the positive effects it has had on them.

Foc.us has released several product geared for gamers. And Fisher Wallace has release a slightly different product to help people treat insomnia

You can check out foc.us here

You can check out Fisher wallace's product here

So I decided to buy one a year ago and test it on myself. I got a cheaper tDCS ApeX Type A from Amazon. It worked great just like I expected. Being a connoisseur of nootropics(aka smart drugs) I usually run a battery of tests on myself to see if they are actually doing anything like the dual and back test. I did notice some improvement in working memory. I am still using it once a week to this day. I do believe I am gaining a benefit from it.