Ideas/ Thoughts

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I haven't seen any other threads of this nature so I decided to make one myself. I was wondering if anyone has some ideas to share, together we could help elaborate on each others thoughts. I've had a few unique ideas recently. One thing i have thought about in depth is a motorcycle helmet with a layer of liquid or a viscous gel like substance in the centre to absorb forces in a crash, much like the liquid membrane of cerebral fluid surrounding our brains. This would create a double layer of protection against head trauma.

Another idea I've pondered upon is a motorcycle jacket with airbags built in, which inflate to protect the spine and neck from serious trauma. It could trigger much like the emergency stop on a jet ski or treadmill, when your attached to the bike by a cord which activates the mechanism when you fall off your bike.

Furthermore, I was wondering if car seats for babies and small children could have springs built in like the suspension found on the road wheels of a car. This would absorb some of the shock that the seat would experience during a car crash. Gentle movements from driving would also rock the car seat slightly helping the baby sleep. a similar effect could be achieved by using memory foam or a liquid inside the cushions of the car seat; which would absorb the forces and spread any remaining force over the whole body instead of certain areas.

Moreover, I think seatbelts as they are, are quite unsafe, most of the G-force felt in a crash is spread over a thin surface area, with victims of high speed collisions receiving a lot of force on the collarbone and rib area, both of which are dangerously close to vital organs in the body, with a high risk of internal bleeding arising from injuries to these areas. Maybe a seat belt which spreads the force out over the whole body like a waistcoat of life jacket design would save more lifes; the only problem i can see with this is how quickly you could get out after the crash, but with quick release buckles this wouldn't be a problem, this design would also hold you still in your seat to reduce risk of spinal trauma after a crash.

Finally, I am an asthma sufferer and have been for life, this means that although i want to, I cannot scuba dive. This is because you have to come up slowly from deep dives, often taking a half an hour. This means if you suffer an asthma attack deep down you cannot take your inhaler for quite some time. I thought that maybe if you could engineer a valve that releases your inhaler into the oxygen supply it would have a similar effect.

I would like any feedback on the above and look forward to reading some of your own ideas.

You have really amazing and feasible ideas; you could really change things in the safety industry.

Are you familiar with the anatomy of a woodpecker? Their brains and heads are specifically engineered to be able to survived repeated impact against hard surfaces (very informative article here). Would it be possible to implement this anatomy into a helmet or headgear of sorts?

I never realized the flaws you pointed out with seatbelts. Perhaps implementing some of the features of roller coaster seats could resolve some of these issues?

Besides my writings, the only idea I've really been polishing is how I would re-arrange the DSM in regards to autism and pervasive developmental disorders.

This is a very rough sketch, and I am aware that it has several flaws, but the basic gist is that I would widen the criteria so that the Pervasive Developmental Disorders are combined under PDD instead of autism and dividing it into "types" much as A.D.D. was once divided into inattentive type and hyperactive type.
Feel free to tear this little prototype to shreds.

I have not yet decided how many symptoms one would need to qualify for a diagnosis of each type; my current thought is at least three symptoms of a specific type [five if Cognitive is merged into the other two] with the usual modifier of causing personal discomfort or difficulties in social, academic, self-care, or occupational realms.

PDD- Primarily Cognitive Type (C) (comparable to a mixture of OCD/OCPD, processing difficulties, and emotional dysregulation)
[Though I am thinking about merging this into the other two types; merged symptoms will be in italics]
*Restricted and/or unusual interests
*Insistence on sameness/ impairing dislike of change
*Processing delays/difficulties
*Issues with concentration
*Anxiety/Depression/ Other mood abnormalities
*Alexithymia
*Possible IQ divide (such as strong VIQ>PIQ or PIQ>VIQ); possibly scattered scores on specific tasks within subsets
*Theory of mind deficits
*Literal thinking

PDD- Primarily Social Deficit Type (SD) (comparable to Social Communication Disorder in the DSM V)
*Odd/restricted affect
*Unusual prosody/ monotone
*Impaired understanding of non-verbal communication
*Difficulty in establishing and/or maintaining social relationships
*Possible lack of interest in socialization
*Possible verbal delay/ apraxia/ selective mutism; may be non-verbal altogether
*Lack of or diminished social reciprocity
*Difficulty understanding or following established social norms
*Restricted and/or unusual interests
*Insistence on sameness/ impairing dislike of change
*Impairments in theory of mind
*Inappropriately interpreting language literally

PDD- Primarily Sensorimotor (SM) (a mix between dyspraxia, stereotypical movement disorder, and sensory integration disorder)
*Hypo-and-hyper sensitivities in at least one domain (five senses, proprioception, ect.)
*Stereotypical/Repetitive Movements
*Possible tics
*Clumsiness/ impaired
*Distorted sensory perception that may worsen with stress ("visual snow" (static in vision), ect.)
*Gastrointestinal/ digestion complications
*Processing delays/difficulties
*Issues with concentration
*Anxiety/Depression/ Other mood abnormalities
*Alexithymia
*Possible IQ divide (such as strong VIQ>PIQ or PIQ>VIQ); possibly scattered scores on specific tasks within subsets

PDD- Combined SD and SM
(PDD- Combined SD and C
PDD- Combined SM and C
PDD- Combined SD, SM, and C)

The severity designation would also be broken into five(?) levels (is it really necessary to denote severity at all?) ;

1- Not presently causing any serious impairments but causing personal discomfort (what would be called "sub-clinical" presently)
2-Requiring minor support (therapy, social skill classes, extended time on exams/work, ect.); independence in adulthood (being able to survive on one's own without the support of an 'aide') very likely
3- Requiring moderate support (IEP/504 through schooling, multiple therapies and "extra" classes, ect.; has difficulties attending to all personal needs) ;independence possible with life-long supports
4- Requiring substantial support (unable to attend to to all or most personal needs) ;independence unlikely
5- Requires very substantial support (near-constant supervision and care); independence in any domain extremely unlikely

Levels 4 and 5 would be comparable to LFA, whilst Levels 1 and 2 would be comparable to HFA (though I am not sure that IQ in and of itself would be a factor in severity; is there a benefit in having a specific cutoff?). Level 3 would be what comparable to what some have called "Middle/Mid Functioning Autism."

Sorry for hijacking your thread.

Escapist, you have some good ideas. However, I own a scooter, and I have a feeling that the one about the liquid in the helmet would not go over too well. Industries would probably think that helmets are good enough the way they are right now, considering safety. I really do think that your seat belt idea, covering more of the body, is a good one. I have not really come up with a specific invention on my own, but I do have an idea on something that is more broad. It is this: Having a computer type thing that has buttons on it. The computer would be used for indoors, such as a house or building. Each button on that computer can do something that is entirely different than the other buttons on the computer. So, instead of doing certain things that have to be done, I can press the button, and maybe a robot or some kind of machine would do it for me. It is just that I cannot see a computer like that being invented. It seems too complicated. It is a thought, though.

Awesome1
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Escapist, you are a gdenius!
I also am bowled over with ideas
They knock muy littlte brain cells for sixes


One of the things that has been bugging me for ages is :
You know how those industrial buggies make that 'beep,beep,beep' sound when they are reversing?
I was thinking that when you brake in a car your brake lights go on,
but,
that's such a weak signal!
maybe when you brake suddenly at a hundred miles an hour an ELEPHANTS ROAR
or just a car horn, but not a car horn
but some sort of audio signal
could save some lives

Yeah thanks the woodpecker idea is an interesting one, they have reinforced skulls and bills, perhaps making use of graphite materials in a helmet would have similar effects. Graphite is hard, really hard almost as hard as diamonds, it is also lightweight and relatively cheap making it perfect for a helmet.

I just had another idea I was reading about how Sulfurophane, a chemical found in broccoli among other vegetables; has a anti-carcinogenic effect when applied topically (to the skin), reducing chance of malignant melanoma ( skin cancer). Perhaps sulfurophane could be used in sun tan lotions or aftersun to reduce the amount of UV rays the skin is exposed to, thus reducing cancer rates worldwide.

Yeah that's a really good idea an audible warning as well could possibly give you a few extra seconds reaction time, when i was learning to drive, my instructor told me then when you brake harshly you should also flash your hazard lights , not sure what they're called in the US. Maybe these could come on automatically under harsh braking giving the driver behind a warning that you're braking to stop not just slow down. This would save you from removing a hand from the steering wheel to press the hazards button, this coupled with an audible warning would provide much more warning for other road users.