BAM!

In his State of the Union address, Obama talked about the need for high-tech research and proposed a Brain Activity Map (BAM) project.  That is, a project to totally map the brain, figure out which sections are responsible for what, how they communicate with each other, and what kinds of crazy potential lurks in the dark, stagnant, areas of unused, raw power.

Like this, but with more detail

In a way this reminds me of Kennedy’s promise to put a man on the moon and return him safely to earth by the end of the decade.  Kennedy’s statement seemed incredibly ambitious at the time. The U.S. hadn’t even put a man into space yet.  Obama’s proposed project is equally ambitious.

There are differences.  Kennedy’s pledge was far more dramatic.  But, that’s our no-drama Obama.  You can’t deduct points for being low-key.  That’s his strong point.

The moon project brought great technological development to mankind and, despite the fact that most people have lost interest in space, the exploration continues.  Mapping the brain may help us find cures for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, help us to understand addiction, obsession, the religious instinct, the psychological difference between men and women, whether homosexuality is genetic or environmental (I know a lot of people have made up their minds on that, but there is a difference between having a mind made up and having a brain mapped), and much, much more.  It will help us to build a better internet, design smarter robots and, maybe, develop artificial intelligence.

The potential is awesome and Obama is suggesting spending about 3 billion dollars over the next 10 years.  The Apollo program cost a total of about 25  billion (in 1960s dollars).  Nonetheless, it’s the price tag that Republicans object to.  These people object to spending money on anything, if it’s not war.

There’s one big difference, though, between 1961 and 2013.  We are so much further along technologically, and the pace of change is so much faster, that this project may be obsolete before it is completed.  There are plenty of people researching the brain.

Still, it’s a positive step and I applaud it.