Reddit reviews Handbook of EEG Interpretation, Second Edition

> Anyone can receive signals from any brain already.

No. Many studies throw away data from patients deemed to be BCI incompatible. This ranges from 10%-20% depending on what the experiment is focusing on for their work. There is no magic tool to get signals from any brain with enough fidelity to ensure signal quality. The massive push to develop painless dry electrodes is underway, but extremely difficult.

link: paper on BCI illiteracy issue

>Nobody understands them.

Again, no. Neurologists understand them. Anyone can be taught to read an EEG to infer a basic understanding of the recording. Seizure versus normal is easy, but it goes as far as resting statues, focus states, alcoholism, pain, motor movement, even understanding artifacts, etc. Lots of people understand basic components of what are EEGs mean, but the underlying concepts remain to be proven.

link: paper on understanding pain response

>If i record your brain signals and say "think of turning on the light" you do, I capture that, program my light switch to turn on the light when it gets that signal, voila. Thought activated lights.

In many studies this works with the help of machine learning algorithms to process what the user thought and match it to a given test case. These studies suffer from a problem of the brain and computer both trying to learn what the other is doing resulting in performance changes over time. The machine attempts to keep learning as the brain keeps adapting to help the machine process the data. This is why very advanced prosthetics on the bleeding edge require setup sessions every day before a patient can perform any objective. And some days it just doesn't work, while other days it works beautifully.

link: Paper on teaching people to use brain to control virtual limbs

>But nobody understands brain waves still,

This isn't true. People understand brain waves to some extent, but not as deep as they would like to help them deal with medical issues and BCIs.

Lots of books on this topic: Reference text for reading EEGs and what they mean

>and nobody can send signals to the brain.

We can send signals to the brain. How do you think all those stim systems work for controlling bladder issues or how we address movement disorders via stimulation. We send all sorts of signals to the brain to help it perform better all the time.

Link: Medtronic's DBS system that helps people on a daily basis

>We are a long way from the technology you're thinking of. Thought control one way through bonded commands is accessible within a decade, imo.

If all you want is one way communication with your thoughts, we've had that for years with P300 spellers. You don't need to do much more than see or hear a signal and we can get you to communicate very accurately, but very slowly through this method. Even the terrible Emotiv stuff can be used for this if you play with the electrode configuration a little bit.

link: P300 speller contest

>What you're talking about is probably centuries away.

Sort of? If there are electrodes implanted in your brain in the correct areas I could turn off your ability to speak or your ability to process language. We could even inhibit your ability to balance. However, if you want to inject a specific thought or make me think of the color red that will take longer to develop.