Recently, when a citizen in Shanghai went to the police station to do business, he saw such a scene: a female student claiming to be from Fudan University reported to the police, claiming that her classmate had stolen her privacy through brainwave technology, which seriously affected her daily life. However, faced with the lack of substantiated allegations, the police said they could not open a case.
This incident has sparked heated discussions on the Internet, and people have questioned its authenticity, whether it is delusional or real? Let us deeply analyze the beginning and end of the incident, and explore the scientific possibility and practical logic in it.
According to the girl, she has recently encountered a series of confusing and disturbing phenomena. Whether it's focused thinking in class, intimate thoughts in the dormitory, or details of dreams, it seems that one of the classmates can accurately grasp them. The classmate would also reveal in a subtle way that he knew her inner world, causing her to panic. However, these so-called "evidences" only stay at the level of subjective perception and cannot be transformed into objective and verifiable physical evidence.
In the face of the woman's complaint, the police followed the principle of strict handling of cases, emphasizing that any case must be handled on the basis of solid evidence. They asked the girls if they could provide concrete and direct evidence that their classmates used brain waves to steal their privacy, such as how they obtained information, relevant conversation records, and third-party circumstantial evidence.
The girl admitted that these were inner activities that could not be turned into evidence, and her classmates were vague about this, which strengthened her suspicions. Despite some discussion among classmates, no one witnessed the actual infringement, and the police held that the hypothesis without evidence was not established and could not be filed.
After the incident was exposed, the comments of netizens showed a one-sided trend, and most people thought that the girl's accusations were absurd and purely delusional that the plot of a science fiction movie would be reflected in reality. They criticized the move as a waste of public resources and called for greater scientific literacy and the avoidance of spreading unfounded conspiracy theories.
There are also a few people who remain cautious, believing that with the rapid development of science and technology, the possibility of abuse of certain cutting-edge technologies cannot be completely ruled out.
[Scientific Perspective: Discussion on the Feasibility of Brainwave Stealing Privacy]
From a scientific point of view, electroencephalography (EEG) refers to the weak electrical signals produced by the activity of neurons in the brain, which usually need to be detected by specialized EEG equipment. At present, EEG research is mainly used in medical diagnosis (e.g., epilepsy, sleep disorders), scientific research (e.g., cognitive function research), and limited commercial applications (e.g., brain-computer interface games). Although the research on brainwave decoding technology in the field of scientific research is deepening, the realization of accurate and real-time interpretation of personal thinking content, especially complex emotions, memories and dreams, is still in the stage of theoretical exploration, and is far from practical application.
In addition, even if technology develops to the point where it can interpret brain waves, it will need to establish a direct connection to the individual's brain through a specific device, legally and voluntarily. Under the current state of technology, stealing other people's privacy through brainwaves from a distance and without contact lacks scientific basis and does not have the conditions for implementation.
Of course, we can't simply blame this incident on the paranoia of girls or deliberately fabricated it. In modern society, people are facing more and more psychological stress and distress, and sometimes some unrealistic thoughts or hallucinations may arise. In addition, the speed of information dissemination in the Internet era is extremely fast, and it is difficult to distinguish the truth from the falsehood of all kinds of information, which is also easy for people to misunderstand or mislead.
[Paranoia is shrouded in suspicion, rationality and scientific spirit are indispensable]
The incident of the girl reporting to the police that she was stolen by her classmates through brain waves is more like a manifestation of paranoia than a realistic possibility from the perspective of the current scientific knowledge and technical level. The police's refusal to file a case without evidence is in accordance with the provisions of the law and the principles of handling cases. When faced with similar bizarre incidents, the public should maintain rational judgment, examine information in a scientific spirit, and avoid blindly following trends and spreading false statements.
It can be seen that the object of this girl's request for help is not the police, but the treatment of a psychologist or psychiatrist, so that she can get out of the psychological predicament as soon as possible.