Remember that part in The Matrix when Neo got his brain uploaded with martial arts, and whoa, he knows kung fu?
Image Credit: Warner Bros. Studios
What seemed like science fiction may become eventually science fact, thanks to research done at Boeing- and GM-owned HPL laboratory.
Thirty-two right-handed pilots trained on a flight simulator for four days, while at the same time, researchers at HPL administered transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). According to the Telegraph, the researchers “found that subjects who received brain stimulation via electrode-embedded head caps improved their piloting abilities and learnt the task 33 per cent better than a placebo group.” (The results were published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.)
It’s not quite uploading knowledge directly into your brain. But it HPL’s method of applying tDCS to the right region with the right timing seems to enhance their subjects’ ability to learn.
If this particular method can improve your ability to learn, think of the possibilities: Homework? So easy. Second or third language? Mais oui. Kung fu? Whoa. Plus, applying tDCS to people who have suffered from brain injuries or strokes would help them more easily regain their faculties.
But although HRL has successfully demonstrated the potential to enhance new learning, the key word here is “potential.” In actuality, a representative at HRL, who spoke by telephone, said it has no plans to market this technology. “We’re a research and development company. We’re just publishing a breakthrough in our research.”
As anyone who has ever had to cram for a test, only to forget what they learned the next day, can say, we would pay hard-earned cash for the ability to better retain information.
You hear that, developers? Shut up and take our money.
Via Telegraph.
Feature Image Credit: Warner Bros. Studios