Adventures in brain-hacking: how an electrical stimulator boosted my IQ

From the smart drug modafinil to oxygen chambers, interest in cognitive enhancement is growing. But can it actually make you cleverer? I tried to find outPeople have always sought advantages over their rivals. But trying to improve intelligence as a way to do it has been off-limits. An education can be bought, but ability? You either had it or you didn ’t. Now a new science called cognitive enhancement promises that someone who doesn’t have intelligence today could have it tomorrow.Using science to boost intelligence might sound far-fetched, but some people in high places take the prospect very seriously indeed. In the dying days of Tony Blair ’s premiership, British government officials asked an expert panel to look at the possible political impact. Britain wanted to know if other countries – economic rivals – might be willing to introduce national programmes to artificially boost the intellectual “quality” of their populations .Continue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Health & wellbeing Memory Science Technology Defence policy Drugs Drugs in sport Drugs policy Source Type: news