Transcranial Direct Stimulation is a way to significantly improve how fast you can learn things by running an electrical current through your skull. Last time we checked, your skull is where your brain lives, and your brain doesn't like being zapped, so don't try this at home. Or pay some company called GoFlow for a kit that'll totally let you try this at home.
tDCS sounds like something you'd definitely not buy from a 2 A.M. infomercial on deep cable, but in fact it's even crazier than that, because reportedly, it works. And when we say "reportedly," we're talking about everyone from DARPA to Nature to The New England Journal of Medicine: studies have shown that using tDCS for 15 to 30 minutes while learning a new task can improve skills and abilities twice as fast without any additional effort involved. This works on everything from memory to motor skills, and it's been used to train drone pilots and make soldiers better at video games.
Of course, tDCS does involve, you know, running electrical current through your brain, and we're not exactly sure what happens if you do that on and off repeatedly, but the consensus seems to be that without knowing what the deal is, it's not something that you should mess around with.
On the other hand, being able to learn twice as fast is pretty appealing: you'd get better at your entire life (job, hobbies, everything) in less time with less effort and less stress, leaving you more time to do some of that "living" that everyone's always on about. To that end, a company called GoFlow is getting ready to sell you a kit for 99 bucks that'll let you take a crack at tDCS in the safety (or whatever) and comfort of your own home. All it takes is a nine volt battery and some wiring that doesn't seem nearly fancy enough, and you're good to go.
No comments:
Post a Comment