# Key Ideas from #hplusroadmap IRC Discussions

• A groundbreaking study published in Science demonstrated that perceptual learning can be achieved through decoded fMRI neurofeedback without actual stimulus presentation, suggesting early visual brain areas are sufficiently plastic that inducing specific activity patterns can cause learning, with better results when subjects were unaware of what they were learning.

• Participants discussed potential applications of non-stimulus neurofeedback training for improving working memory, with speculation about combining it with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for enhanced cognitive benefits.

• The conversation explored innovative uses of smartphone sensors (speaker, microphone, accelerometer, camera, GPS, magnetometer) to create acoustic scanning systems that function like sonar to map environments and measure room dimensions.

• A technical paper titled "mov is Turing-complete" was shared, demonstrating that the single assembly instruction "mov" can be used to create a Turing-complete system, representing an interesting computational minimalism discovery.

• The OpenWorm project was highlighted through its Kickstarter campaign, which aims to create a digital simulation of C. elegans, alongside discussion of Stanford's project simulating Mycoplasma genitalium, both representing significant steps in whole-organism computational modeling.

• Participants discussed challenges in phage therapy adoption despite its potential benefits, noting it faces barriers due to competition with antibiotics, unclear regulatory frameworks, and limited patentability despite potential effectiveness against conditions like tuberculosis.

• The group debated the relationship between diet and cognition, with claims that dietary changes (particularly raw food diets) can significantly alter perspective and cognitive patterns through biochemical mechanisms, comparing the mental effects of certain diets to low-dose psychedelics.

• Discussion touched on pharmaceutical accessibility issues, noting that extremely expensive medications ($10k-400k/month) lead to treatment non-adherence for 93% of hypertension patients in Ghana and approximately 10% of cancer patients in the US, with medical expenses being a leading cause of personal bankruptcy.