So I was driving my daughter to dance last night, she picks out pod casts for us to listen to and discuss. Last night was 9-Volt Nirvana.
Which reminds me of drouds from Larry Nivens "universe",
Anyway it seemed kinda incredible and I wondered if this august body had any thoughts on the matter. (My daughter wants me to make one for her to help with math.)
George H.
What are the side effects? :D
Michael
Ask a doctor for advice and he'll typically give you a fair amount -- some of it will even be science-based!
Ask him for an explanation of *why* the advice is "correct" and he'll typically be at a loss to give you an explanation that stands up to close scrutiny.
I might be willing to try some ointment to remove foot odor (as long as I can see that it doesn't also STRIP PAINT!) I'm not sure I'd want to have something mucking around with my head without some damned hard facts about what to expect, WHY I can expect it and what can go wrong!
YMMV.
Hi George,
I was involved in some early work using TDCS to increase brain plasticity to enhance recovery for stroke victims. We wanted to make new areas take over for the damaged regions. It looked like it might have some benefits, but it was subtle.
I think you'd be hard pressed to show it helping much with learning math skills. Undergoing TDCS is not that pleasant of an experience.
To help your daughter with math, just make sure she understands the power of the tool. I like to compare it to moving dirt using a hand shovel vs a Cat tractor. There's a learning curve for the Cat, and in fact you could move much more dirt in the short term if you just skipped the lessons and used a hand shovel. After you master the Cat though, you can build things in an afternoon that the unlearned could not accomplish during their natural lives. It's the same with math, except that it is a tool for understanding and creating.
-- Best Regards, ChesterW +++ Dr Chester Wildey Founder MRRA Inc. Electronic and Optoelectronic Instruments MRI Motion, fNIRS Brain Scanners, Counterfeit and Covert Marker Detection Fort Worth, Texas, USA www.mrrainc.com wildey at mrrainc dot com
Arthur Clarke's _Imperial_Earth_ gives an enlightening treatment. It's a good read in a number of respects, having other subplots...
Side effects in mice are well-studied: they turn addictive, and ignore their health.
While I'm fairly ignorant of this modality, it's pretty obvious that the fields produced are not selective- they impact large areas of the brain. This puts it in the same league as psychoactive drugs. There may be some specific conditions that warrant this broad stimulation, but the vast majority of us (thankfully) likely wouldn't benefit.
{It's obvious from electrical stimulation studies that stimulating even microscopically small brain volumes can have significant effects}
George - maybe you could spring for a tutor.
Hah, (thanks Chester) I've been "pushing" math on my daughter for a while now... she knows that... the math from her is pushing my buttons.
My suggestion was to wait ~10 years and see what the side effects are.
Tell her to try TM, probably get more out of it.
I'm wondering if she's looking for altered consciousness. Be on the look out for chemical methods to this end. I remember those times fondly, I mean, I was off track and should have known better. :-) Mikek
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