Who says flying is hard?

[Roger Long]

This from http://www.avweb.com/, my favorite source of aviation news:

Brain In A Bowl Flies Simulator
Someone once said he could teach a monkey to fly but researchers at the
University of Florida have taken it a quantum leap further. The biomedical
team says it has a dish full of about 25,000 rat neurons that can keep a PC
flight simulator on the straight and level. "It's as if the neurons control
the stick in the aircraft, they can move it back and forth and left and
right," Professor Thomas DeMarse told Wired News. Now, the researchers
aren't explicitly looking to replace pilots with rat neurons ... at least
not yet. DeMarse said the team needed something for their neurons to do so
they could try to decode the "language" they use to communicate with one
another. After a few first-flight jitters (we all have them, right?) the rat
neurons got the hang of keeping the simulated F-22 straight and level.
"Right now the process it's learning is very simplistic," said DeMarse.
"It's basically making a decision about whether to move the stick to the
left or to the right or forwards and backwards and it learns how much to
push the stick depending upon how badly the aircraft is flying." Hmm. We
know some pilots who haven't quite grasped those concepts, yet ...

--

Roger Long

[C J Campbell]

"Roger Long" > wrote in message
...
> This from http://www.avweb.com/, my favorite source of aviation news:
>
> Brain In A Bowl Flies Simulator
> Someone once said he could teach a monkey to fly

I thought I was the one who said that -- on this news group!

but researchers at the
> University of Florida have taken it a quantum leap further. The biomedical
> team says it has a dish full of about 25,000 rat neurons that can keep a
PC
> flight simulator on the straight and level. "It's as if the neurons
control
> the stick in the aircraft, they can move it back and forth and left and
> right," Professor Thomas DeMarse told Wired News.

I am not sure I like the implications of what this has to say about pilots.
Now, if they had gotten the rat neurons to file a legal brief, I could
believe that....

[Jim Burns]

> Now, if they had gotten the rat neurons to file a legal brief, I could
> believe that....

Carefull.... don't give them any ideas, you know the next step they'd be
able to take after fileing that brief would be to file nomination papers to
run for President!


---
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[Peter R.]

Roger Long ) wrote:

<snip>
> After a few first-flight jitters (we all have them, right?) the rat
> neurons got the hang of keeping the simulated F-22 straight and level.

I can see it now...

Flight attendant: "Welcome aboard, your captain today will be Captain
Rat Neurons."

--
Peter

[Jose]

> Carefull.... don't give [the neurons] any ideas, you know the next step they'd
> be able to take after fileing that brief would be to file nomination papers to
> run for President!

Didn't they do that already? I think it won.

Jose
--
for Email, make the obvious change in the address

[G.R. Patterson III]

C J Campbell wrote:
>
> "Roger Long" > wrote in message
> ...
> > This from http://www.avweb.com/, my favorite source of aviation news:
> >
> > Brain In A Bowl Flies Simulator
> > Someone once said he could teach a monkey to fly
>
> I thought I was the one who said that -- on this news group!

I thought you said you'd already done it. Several monkeys, in fact. :-)

George Patterson
If a man gets into a fight 3,000 miles away from home, he *had* to have
been looking for it.

[George]

Peter R. > wrote in message >...
> Roger Long ) wrote:
>
> <snip>
> > After a few first-flight jitters (we all have them, right?) the rat
> > neurons got the hang of keeping the simulated F-22 straight and level.
>
> I can see it now...
>
> Flight attendant: "Welcome aboard, your captain today will be Captain
> Rat Neurons."

Pilot in command qualifications will include the required number of
rat neurons for straight and level, climb and descend, turn and bank
with suitable rank markings.
Power control, instrument flying and navigation will each have their
seperate dish of rat neurons with suitable rank markings.. :-))

[Greg Butler]

The biomedical
> team says it has a dish full of about 25,000 rat neurons that can keep a
> PC flight simulator on the straight and level.

At least we know the pilot has all the necessary "rat"ings.


groan

[Bartscher]

>
>This from http://www.avweb.com/, my favorite source of aviation news:
>
>Brain In A Bowl Flies Simulator
> Someone once said he could teach a monkey to fly but researchers at the
>University of Florida have taken it a quantum leap further. The biomedical
>team says it has a dish full of about 25,000 rat neurons that can keep a PC
>flight simulator on the straight and level.

I really hope that whoever gave the instruction to the rat neurons, got proof
of citizenship from all 25,000 of them, and ensured that all of those entries
were kept in a proper logbook. Wouldn't want the TSA getting upset over this
one...

[Dan Luke]

"George" wrote:
> "Rat Neurons."

Great name for a band.
--
Dan
C-172RG at BFM