- A $500–$2000 open-source CNC “robot” kit from Lumenlab was discussed; skeptics noted its printer-style rod frame is unlikely to machine aluminum and lacks servo electronics.  
- Reactome.org was highlighted as an impressive framework for mapping genetic regulatory networks, with yeast knockout libraries cited as a model for analogous brain-circuit studies.  
- Participants debated how to quantify brain “phenotype,” questioning whether psychometric tasks (e.g., Stroop test) or lesion studies can yield context-independent functional descriptors for large-scale genotype-phenotype mapping.  
- A proposal emerged to treat individual humans as data points on a “Google Mouse / Earth”-style 3-D brain atlas, using massive SNP datasets plus behavioral or neurophysiological measurements to constrain research targets.  
- Optical techniques for non-invasive brain monitoring were shared: phase-sensitive optical low-coherence reflectometry that detects action-potential-linked mechanical changes, and back-scattered light methods enabling depth-resolved in-vivo imaging.  
- Neurofeedback was suggested as a practical route to isolate measurable “internal variables” (e.g., pulse control) that could be correlated with genomic data without requiring invasive instrumentation.  
- The idea of a “system administrator’s guide to the brain” was floated—an open, extensible framework combining EEG, MRI, and neurofeedback to manage attention and other cognitive functions.  
- Greg Egan’s novel Diaspora was critiqued for its 5-D physics exposition and the concept of an exhaustive “map” of mind-space; parallels were drawn to current efforts to map genotypes to neural architectures.