This is not a line in a science fiction movie, but a proposition that is about to become a reality. Imagine that you are lying in a comfortable bed and wearing a lightweight headset. It doesn't have dazzling indicator lights or complicated wires, but it just fits your scalp quietly. While it is working, the real-time dynamics of your inner world slowly emerge on an App interface: you are entering a deep sleep, and your brain is sorting out your memory efficiently; Your anxiety index has risen slightly, and the equipment suggests that you play a soothing white noise; The most amazing thing is that you can even customize the dream theme tonight-do you want a wonderful Interstellar or meet your first love in Paris?

It sounds like a fable, but it is not far away from us. This is the future that "daily brain wave monitoring" technology is trying to realize. When people are keen to monitor their heart rate with smart watches and record their weight with body fat scales, a deeper dimension is being unlocked-our thoughts and emotions. Brain wave, as the electrical signal product of brain activity, has always been regarded as the mysterious code of neuroscience. Now, with the popularization of non-invasive electroencephalography (EEG) technology, this window leading to the depths of consciousness is quietly opening to the public.

In the past, EEG only existed in the diagnosis room of the hospital, and the cumbersome equipment and tedious preparation work discouraged ordinary people. Nowadays, thanks to the miniaturization of sensors and the progress of wireless transmission technology, brain wave monitoring equipment has become more and more clever and intelligent. From the idea-controlled gamepad that looks like an earphone to the headband that can track concentration, these consumer-grade devices are transforming complex scientific principles into our accessible experiences. They are not to read your specific thoughts, but to infer your mental state by identifying different brain wave frequencies (such as β wave representing concentration, α wave representing relaxation and δ wave representing sleep).

The emergence of these devices has brought unprecedented possibilities to our lives. For professionals who are eager to improve efficiency, it can help you find the best moment of concentration and avoid "false busyness"; For people suffering from insomnia, it can provide accurate sleep analysis, and according to your brain wave pattern, play sleep-helping music or guided meditation to make you have a good night's sleep; For players who love challenges, it can make you really "move at will", control the game characters with concentration and experience unprecedented immersion.

However, the popularity of EEG monitoring has also brought new thinking: when our mental state is digitized, how will the boundaries of privacy be defined? When emotions can be quantitatively analyzed, will we become more "rational" and lose the richness of emotions? When "dream customization" becomes possible, does it liberate our imagination or constrain the freedom of our subconscious?

Brain wave monitoring technology is like a Pandora's box, which is full of miracles and is accompanied by unknowns. It gives us an unprecedented understanding of ourselves, and also puts forward a profound philosophical proposition: when we can see the "storm" of the brain, how far are we from "reading" ourselves?

（Writer：Wanny）