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I have been thinking a lot about creating an Alternate Reality that would essentially allow you to experience similar or as close as possible sensations as if in real life, and I really need some help on the topic and if it would even be possible that is. Basically I have been thinking about SAO (Sword Art Online) and if it would actually be possible IRL

If we were to connect to our CNS (Central Nervous System) and intercept signals they could hypothetically be transmitted some place else right? like through an advanced program that would preform them in real time in an alternate reality, like in SAO.

Another thing is that is it possible to emulate sound, taste, smell, touch, and sight signals to the brain? as if we were really experiencing them IRL. These signals would be given off by nerve gear that would be attached to your CNS.

If this is possible you could hypothetically train neuron paths within the brain and essentially acquire skills without even moving. Because skills are just trained neuron paths right?

With technology advancements progressing as fast as they are surely this is somewhat possible in the future, I know it wouldn't be easy but it would be extremely beneficial so I think it would be worth it in my opinion. Just think of it, instead of sleeping you could be resting and in an alternate reality be awake and essentially training neuron paths as in real life and experiencing real senses; you could acquire any skill you want or just play in a MMORPG like SAO enjoy life to the fullest. They say a third of your life is spent sleeping, that sounds like a waste to me.

With Elon Musk developing that brain chip he is basically doing something similar to this. The experiment he did with that ape, the chip was reading the neurons fired by the apes brain and so he was able to play a game on a screen without even moving.

Please I really need your help as I am still very young but please I can't stop thinking about this, if it is in anyway possible I will make it my life's purpose/goal to achieve this and make it a reality for the world, with help of course :)

Broken ECLSS unit
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kirito
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  • for those wondering CNS is an abbreviation for Central Nervous System – kirito Apr 24 '21 at 18:03
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    Possible duplicate. – Escaped dental patient. Apr 24 '21 at 18:48
  • Welcome to worldbuilding kinto, we invite you to take our splendid [tour], and refer, when you have time to the [help] for guidance about how we work. Enjoy the site. – Escaped dental patient. Apr 24 '21 at 18:50
  • Just to say, this is a site about creating fictional worlds, for artists, writers and the like. You're welcome to join us, but be aware, questions about the real world are limited to alternate histories and a few other special cases. In our network there are many sites worth exploring. – Escaped dental patient. Apr 24 '21 at 18:52
  • Hello Kirito. The simple answer to your question is "we have no idea." @WillK's answer is a wonderful way to express the idea in a story - but you seem to be asking if we can do it. We have mathematical theories, but from the perspective of empirical evidence, alternate realities don't exist and you're asking if a fictional technology can be real. It can't. If, on the other hand, what you're asking is how to create a suspension-of-disbelief expression of the idea such that it can exist in your fictional world, that's what we do here! Is that what you're looking for? – JBH Apr 25 '21 at 04:29
  • hello @JBH thanks for the reply. I know alternate realities don't really exist and it would be a stretch to think so but I was wondering if it would be possible to create an advanced program that includes nerve gear attached to your CNS so you could feel all sensations and have it be so immersive it would essentially feel like an alternate reality but it would really just be an advanced program attached to you CNS and act as an MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online) system like in SAO. – kirito Apr 25 '21 at 08:28
  • @kirito I think I must have misread your question. So what you're trying to do is ask if we could believably construct a computer-to-brain interface such that our conscious mind perceives the computer program as reality? Now that's a cool question! – JBH Apr 25 '21 at 15:06
  • @JHB yes that is exactly what I meant to say, Its a really cool question indeed I literally cannot stop thinking abut it. I keep thinking on how to make it possible. If you think about it inside the computer-to-brain interface you will essentially be preforming tasks as normal and training neuron paths as if in real life so hypothetically skills within the interface would transfer into the real world, because skills are essentially just trained neuron paths. The cool thing is these skills would be acquired without you even having to move. – kirito Apr 25 '21 at 18:49
  • @kirito It's a bad idea to share your age on the internet. It's far, far, far safer to just let people think you're a mildly stupid adult – Broken ECLSS unit Apr 25 '21 at 21:11
  • I think you are confusing this site for real world protects, this is about fictional ones. –  Apr 26 '21 at 01:36

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You could do this if you could finely manipulate electromagnetic fields. Technology is getting there.

Functional MRI is already in routine clinical use. One can determine what parts of the brain correspond to what actions or perceptions.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_magnetic_resonance_imaging

Depicted - mapping of the brain region responsible for hand control in the context of a planned tumor resection. This data allows planning of a surgical approach that will not compromise the hand.

brain fmri https://www.cedars-sinai.org/programs/imaging-center/exams/neuroradiology/mri-brain.html

You can switch it around and use MRI to produce electricity in specific areas - motor evoked potentials. In the linked study transcranial magnetic stimulation was used to produce twitches in the hand.

Reliability of Motor Evoked Potentials Induced by Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: The Effects of Initial Motor Evoked Potentials Removal

So it is possible to detect brain actions correlating to thoughts, and it is possible to produce fine motor actions via electromagnetic manipulation of the brain. It is not a wild extrapolation to make detection and manipulation finer still.

This idea from the halfbakery is basically what you propose.

https://www.halfbakery.com/idea/Spinal_20Cord_20Signal_20Intercept_20Passthrough#991242000

For this idea, I envisioned an artificial intelligence or "augmentation intelligence" that could detect and manipulate electromagnetic fields within nerves and brain at a very fine level. Through this, "Augi" can produce any effect in the human wearer ("Isis") that the native nerve and brain can produce.

Attached to this idea are some short fictions I was inspired to write, the Halfbakery being more tolerant of such activities than the WB Stack. I moved those fictions off by themselves here https://www.fictionpress.com/s/3341845/1/Isis-and-Augi for any interested.

side note - there are so many cool ideas on WB stack and so few links to fictional works with some relationship to things on the WB stack. I wonder why?

Willk
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