Steven Novella

But just people who have ALS and just can't physically speak.

Hmm.

Depending on the type of damage to your speech area, it doesn't really matter if you have something that a label should communicate.

Some types of aphasia, you can't translate ideas into words and words into ideas.

Really, this is for people with dysarthria, not aphasia, meaning they can't move their muscles.

The speaking muscles are weak.

The speech area is fine.

So this is basically, you know, this is not new.

It's just sort of an incremental advance.

They want to allow these people to communicate more effectively because, you know, this can translate their desired motor movements, you know, into something that could then translate into speech.

Yeah, so we're getting there, but this was a couple of steps ahead of what we can do.

George, these guys have been playing this game for 21 years.

It doesn't matter.

And I always mix it up, you know, so there's no one pattern to it.

It's not always the most obvious choice or the least obvious choice or whatever.

And Bob, you alluded to the flip side, because we also get the, oh, why do you have to spoil the rainbow by explaining it in physics?

It's like, no, adding magic doesn't make it better.

Does it make it better?

And adding science does freaking make it better.

It doesn't take away from the emotional beauty of something.