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Hisao's Scientific Future?

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 3:17 pm
by Levy
What if Hisao uses his knowledge of science and math in the future to develop cures for the girls' disabilities?

A special hearing aide for Shizune so she can hear and not be afraid to use her voice.
Electronic eyes that send nerve impulses to Lilly's brain to give her sight so she can read books and papers not written in braille.
Skin cell reconstruction for Hanako so she no longer feels the need to hide her face behind her hair.
Prosthetic arms that are connected to the nerves in the brain for Rin to allow full movement so she can peel her own oranges.
Prosthetic legs for Emi, lightweight and connected to her nerves so she can still run on them and grafted to her bones so they don't contact her skin and cause discomfort.

I dunno, just thinking about the future.

Re: Hisao's Scientific Future?

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 3:29 pm
by purple haired Katawa Shoujo character
They already having hearing aids for the deaf. It's called a cochlear implant and it's very different from a regular hearing aid. The sound is very digital. It sounds nothing like the way we would hear.

They can also make the blind see. It is an implant on the eye itself that protrudes. I think it's made from some kind of tooth and it sticks out of the eye. It's a little gross looking, but right now it only works for people who were born seeing but turned blind.

They have robotic arms for amputees.

They have robotic legs for amputees.

Re: Hisao's Scientific Future?

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 3:33 pm
by Guest
I've only completed Shizune's route so far, so I can only offer an educated answer for her:

There are already such things as cochlear implants for deaf people, but that doesn't mean Shizune would necessarily want to use it. It's a big change in life to handle especially if you're born deaf and never learned to speak properly, and she already seems pretty comfortable in herself (although I'm very surprised her dad didn't try to have one implanted when she was younger - if he's spent thousands on therapists to try and get her to speak to him, it wouldn't be below him to try and "cure her" that way instead ...). I did wonder if she'd identify with Deaf culture too, but it's never mentioned in-game.

Also agreed with purple haired Katawa Shoujo character about the robotic limbs - had no idea about the eye implants, though. Interesting.

Re: Hisao's Scientific Future?

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 4:04 pm
by JustAGuy
A lot of these exist already, though I'm not sure the girls would choose to get them even if they could afford it.

For Lilly, the cause of blindness will matter too; since she was born blind her brain might not actually process sight, or otherwise lack the appropriate nerves.
She also seems pretty adjusted to it.

Hanako repairing her scars would totally lead to some conflicts, if she's lived with them and the accompanying complexes for so long.

Emi would probably be all over robo-legs, though.

Re: Hisao's Scientific Future?

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 4:20 pm
by Levy
Well, I already know a lot of these already exist. I did say the "future." Who's to say Hisao wouldn't go on to develop or help develop better versions of these so the girls would want to try them?

Deaf Girl Hearing herself for the first time.

Robotic Arm prosthetic.

There's also a lot going into working on Biotic eyes. But as mentioned in this article, those born blind would not be able to benefit with current technology.

There is already great advancements in skin reconstruction as well.

Emi's case would be rather easy since she still has her knees and some of the bone connecting what used to be her legs to the knee, otherwise she would be running a lot differently. In fact, now that I think about it, Emi doesn't really need special prosthetics does she? The only problem she has is her problem with her legs getting sore.

Re: Hisao's Scientific Future?

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 4:29 pm
by Evvinartopski
For future cases, it's probably useful. The current ones... nah. They're too well-adjusted.

Lilly would no longer be able to cop a feel with her friends, since she can simply see them.

Shizune is beyond hearing.

Emi is the fastest thing on no legs, giving her legs would nullify it.

Hanako probably WOULD have some use.

Rin never asked for this.

Re: Hisao's Scientific Future?

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 4:30 pm
by Levy
Well, here's something Emi might like for off the track. I doubt she would have enough strength to run in these.

Re: Hisao's Scientific Future?

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 4:36 pm
by Yuno
purple haired Katawa Shoujo character wrote:They already having *this this and this and this*
I think you're really missing the point.

The current technology we have in these areas is limited at best. Besides some very experimental examples, so far robotic arms/legs are extremely basic and cumbersome. Cochlear implants sound nothing like real life, and retinal implants can only cure very specific types of blindness, and even then most subjects can barely see anything that isn't a foot in front of their face (and even then, it's extremely blurry, lacks focus, doesn't work unless lighting conditions are ideal, etc).
Just because these things already exist, doesn't mean they can't be improved. A lot.

We actually need more people working on this technology. What is today just replacements for lost limbs or senses will (tomorrow) become augmented capability. It sounds like a stupid deus ex joke, but It'll happen in the next 20 years

Re: Hisao's Scientific Future?

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 4:41 pm
by C27
Katawa Shoujo II: Cyborg Shoujo.

Re: Hisao's Scientific Future?

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 4:49 pm
by Levy
Katawa Shoujo II: Cyborg Shoujo.
That would be fucking awesome!


I'm a transhumanist, so I am always looking forward to any type of technology that can bring Man closer to their creations. I have to say, the three girls in Katawa Shoujo that would really benefit from technology that can aide them in overcoming their disabilities would have to be Hanako, Rin, and Shizune.

Hanako, although gains confidence in her route as well as Lilly's, would be the most benefited from advanced skin therapies.

Shizune has an amazing charisma and so very few people to communicate properly with. Throughout her arc, Hisao even commented that her emotions were never really conveyed properly through Misha's translations. So if Shizune were to learn to communicate and hear what others are saying, then she would no doubt be happier.

Rin, though seems to be the most able to overcome her disability, still has her limits. Just imagine what she would paint if she could focus on both a foot and an arm. She would be able to properly feed herself and clothe herself. Independence is really what Rin would gain.

Re: Hisao's Scientific Future?

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 4:52 pm
by JustAGuy
That reminds me of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y5H9Sasq5U
C27 wrote:
Katawa Shoujo II: Cyborg Shoujo.
I'd play it.

Re: Hisao's Scientific Future?

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 5:02 pm
by Levy
I was thinking about that, but it only works on fresh burn wounds doesn't it? Hanako's scars are over 12 years old. Though something similar would be interesting to see. Like a spray tan except it gets rid of scars instead of makes you look like an oompa loompa.

Re: Hisao's Scientific Future?

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 9:42 pm
by pedrosorio
Well... He just needs to study biomedical engineering :wink:

Re: Hisao's Scientific Future?

Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 6:16 am
by yuastnav
Levy wrote:What if Hisao uses his knowledge of science and math in the future to develop cures for the girls' disabilities?

A special hearing aide for Shizune so she can hear and not be afraid to use her voice.
Electronic eyes that send nerve impulses to Lilly's brain to give her sight so she can read books and papers not written in braille.
Skin cell reconstruction for Hanako so she no longer feels the need to hide her face behind her hair.
Prosthetic arms that are connected to the nerves in the brain for Rin to allow full movement so she can peel her own oranges.
Prosthetic legs for Emi, lightweight and connected to her nerves so she can still run on them and grafted to her bones so they don't contact her skin and cause discomfort.

I dunno, just thinking about the future.
Doubtful. It is very, very unlikely that one single person can achieve something like that.
He would not only need knowledge of physics, chemistry and biology but also of medicine, bioengineering and neurobiology not to mention access to the newest advancements in the fields of robotics and nanoengineering.
The human body is a very complex machine and it will probably take decades upon decades upon decades to get any significant advancement in that field.
And that doesn't even say anything about the problem. While it is relatively easy to figure out what exactly would need to be done for Emi it is not as obvious as for Shizune or for Lilly because we don't really know why they cannot see. Maybe Lilly's eye just don't function or maybe it is much more complicated in the sense that the part of her brain, that is responsible for seeing, has not developed any such capabilities. In that case it would be nigh impossible to get her to see, not even speaking of the risks that are present when operating on the brain.

As always SF is far more ahead than the real world. It may be possible in games like Deus Ex but that's because there it is just an idea and doesn't deal with the implementation problems in any way. Although the implementation is not the only problem since it would be really, really difficult to construct eyes or limbs and what not that would be able to mirror the characteristic of their respective human counterparts. It would probably be easier to breed human versions of them and try to attach them to another human.

Re: Hisao's Scientific Future?

Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 6:20 am
by crystal
I don't think the implication was that he was a prodigy of any sort. Just your average student, good at Science/Math, bad at English.