# Key Points from #hplusroadmap IRC Discussions

• The CLARITY brain imaging technique was highlighted as a breakthrough method that renders organs transparent by removing lipids while preserving proteins through acrylamide infusion, allowing unprecedented visualization of intact neural connections with supporting resources shared.

• Concerns were raised about Elsevier's $70 million acquisition of Mendeley, with participants questioning the contradiction between Mendeley's open access claims and Elsevier's historically anti-open access stance.

• Participants discussed brain-computer interfaces with skepticism about EEG's practical utility, with kanzure sharing his experience reverse-engineering the Emotiv Epoc device and arguing that despite available data, EEG lacks the reliability needed for effective interfaces.

• A significant review paper covering 100 years of electrical brain stimulation literature was shared, alongside discussion of the Allen Institute for Brain Science's $300 million funding to study visual processing.

• SKDB, an open-source hardware dependency management system, was discussed as needing more developers and a less monolithic approach, with debate about proper documentation standards for open hardware projects.

• The conversation revealed tensions between different educational approaches to technical topics, with some advocating for self-directed learning through multiple simultaneous textbooks over traditional educational structures and video lectures.