My weekly smartphone use…

At the Quantified Self conference a few weeks ago there was a very interesting conversation & social experiment about smartphone use. Ever since I’ve been getting more interested in the good and bad uses of smartphones, even gave a summary of ideas collected over the different sessions.

But I’ve been thinking about my low usage at the conference and decided to seek out an app which just counts the usage and nothing more (most have other types of permissions to do all types of other things). Found Timefactory’s Time used did pretty much this (although I’d like a proper data export option), seems low on resources and very simple.

So above is my regular usage of my Nexus 5X over the last week, and this week was a regular go to work everyday and social event most evenings kind of a week.

Its low, agreed but I didn’t go out to not check it or anything. I carry my Nexus with me pretty much everywhere. But having my pebble smartwatch and other devices around me certainly has a massive effect on how many times I actually have to turn on the phone screen.

Look forward to sharing the month summary too.

Optogenetics the real inception?

Limitless s1ep13

Talking about Limitless from the previous blog, I found Limitless season 1 ep 13 interesting in relation to Inception.

Spoiler alert…!
If you have not seen this episode and interested in watching it, spoiler free. Do not read anymore…

You have been warned…

In limitless s1ep13: Stop Me Before I Hug Again

Brian embarks on his first FBI field assignment when he travels to Quantico to lend his skills to the bureau unit that catches serial killers. However, the trip takes a negative turn when Brian realizes the man he’s working with may have put away an innocent person in the career-making case that made him a renowned profiler. Also, Brian tries to stay one step ahead of Rebecca as she comes closer to discovering Senator Morra’s connection to NZT.

At the end he finds out people are being engineered into commiting murder by optogenetics. At some point I’m sure Brian even suggests this sounds like Inception.

Optogenetics — a radical new technology for controlling brain activity with light. Not as new you may think, by the way.

Its very interesting to think about and conjures up many visions and thoughts including the end of mind alternating drugs? However…

What works in mice and monkeys may not work in humans. There are also open questions regarding immune reactions, how deeply light spreads through brain tissue, and how well opsins will work over time. Optogenetics-derived therapies are far off, and will have to not only face the hurdle of FDA approval, but also prove superior to current treatments like deep brain stimulation.

Wait till the black market gets a hold of this… (this is sounds much closer to inception)