US military reveals a bizarre device that increases learning by 40%

dailymail.co.uk ^ | Shivali Best

[RoosterRedux]

Full Title: The headband that makes you smarter: US military reveals a bizarre device that increases learning by 40% - and it could be commonly used by 2022

The idea of a headband you can wear to make you smarter may sound like a device from the latest science fiction blockbuster.

But experts have revealed such a device in reality – and claim it could increase learning by 40 per cent.

And it may not be long before you can get your hands on one, with the designers predicting its use will be common in just five to ten years.

he device, which is described as 'non-invasive transcranial direct current stimulation' (tDCS) was designed by researchers from HRL Laboratories and McGill University in Montreal, with funding from the Defense Advance Research Project Agency (DARPA).

The device applies a current to an area of the brain called the prefrontal cortex.

This causes changes in connectivity between different brain areas, and increases learning.

[Gay State Conservative]

Some of the NCOs...and officers...I dealt with long,long ago could have used such a device.

[chrisser]

I wonder if it will help learn from history.

If so, maybe we should mandate it for members of a certain political persuasion.

[gaijin]

Nancy Pelosi should be interested in this.

[marktwain]

Very useful for anyone.

It makes sense that combat soldiers would be early users.

[mplc51]

Pre Programmed to make the students all Liberals.

[Pecos]

The person wearing it probably has to have a willingness to learn, so using the band could be a failure from the start, if you know what I mean.

[fella]

Could have used one of these back on the cusp of the 70’s when I was in college. Could have partied more and studied less . . . uh . . . I meant to say . . . I could have studied harder and brought my grade point up.

[Moonman62]

Nancy Pelosi should be interested in this.

...

Yes. It would destroy the Democrat party.

[captain_dave]

I’m not sure it would help Sergeants Major or Lieutenant Colonels and above. Military plaque sets in making normal functioning difficult. A similar phenomenon is seen among people with liberal arts doctorates where normal reasoning ability is severely restricted.

[Yorlik803]

Nancy would put it around her waist and complain it doesn’t work.

[PLMerite]

You have to be careful not to overdo it:

[vladimir998]

Great. Everyone will use it.

And then they’ll discover it causes cancer. Or something.

[PlateOfShrimp]

With this one weird trick!

[knarf]

C'MON, folks ..... wake up !

[meatloaf]

Especially if it causes cancer.

[KC_Lion]

A book?

[Savage Rider]

So ... our military will be used as test subjects for this device so we can learn the long term effects of overstimulation of the brain?

[Gay State Conservative]

It makes sense that combat soldiers would be early users.

Having served during the Vietnam era,but never having been ordered to SE Asia,I sometimes wondered...and still wonder...how I would have handled combat.For *me*,at least,the main issue probably would have been courage rather than intelligence...but both would certainly be useful.

I,personally,am skeptical regarding this device.Having once worked for a neuropathologist I have a tiny bit of knowledge regarding brain research...but I worked for him long ago,so things might have changed.

[oh8eleven]

Ever hear of Project 100,000?

"... a program devised by the U.S. Department of Defense in 1966 to ease recruitment standards for the United States Army."

The program essentially allowed anyone with a body temp of 98.6 into the Army, and later all services.
The underlining goal was to create a pool of men, not the brightest bulbs in the box (i.e. expendable), to fuel the expanding war in Vietnam.