Brain Zapping Improves Math Ability 202
sciencehabit writes "If you are one of the 20% of healthy adults who struggle with basic arithmetic, simple tasks like splitting the dinner bill can be excruciating. Now, a new study suggests that a gentle, painless electrical current applied to the brain can boost math performance for up to 6 months. Researchers don't fully understand how it works, however, and there could be side effects." We've covered various other potential benefits to having your brain shocked.
How it really works (Score:5, Funny)
OK OK I'll solve your equation. Anything! Please don't shock me again!
*BZZZZZ*
ARRRRGH!
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I know I knew the answer to this one. But I forgot.
huh (Score:5, Funny)
If you are one of the 20% of healthy adults who struggle with basic arithmetic
Wow, I never realized the majority of people struggle with this.
Re:huh (Score:5, Funny)
One in twenty isn't a majority.
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Re:huh (Score:5, Funny)
Woosh ;-)
Re:huh (Score:4, Funny)
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96,57% of all statistics on the Internet is made up.
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Most numbers are not made up. A finite number of people have had a finite amount of time to make up numbers, so there are finitely many made up numbers. Since we know that there are infinitely many numbers, most numbers have not yet been made up.
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If nobody can think of a number, one may question if it exists at all.
How specifically do you have to think of a number for this to count? In vague terms, people have thought of "all" numbers in large classes (described properties of, e.g., real and complex numbers). For "specific" numbers like "a trillion" --- no one ever intuitively understands such a number as they do "four" --- you might know some properties of it, or how to write a symbolic representation of it, but you can never conceptualize "a trillion apples" like you can "four apples". So, where do you draw the line
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I think you're just proving my point: how much does your concept of "trillion = shitload" differ from "trillion and three = shitload"? I can conceptualize the difference between "four" and "four and three," but by the time you hit a trillion, all the integers start to seem pretty much the same --- the only way I can "tell the difference" is to symbolically ignore the "trillion" and ponder only the difference between zero and three.
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A trillion apples is a roughly 4.5-apple-thick layer of large apples covering all of Manhattan.
Now that I've said that, it's easy to conceptualize it. In fact, you've already visualized it in your mind, and if you're from anywhere other than Manhattan, you're also probably thinking that it sounds like a good idea.
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Since the universe is infinite
[citation]
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woosh yourself (1 in 20)
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Clearly, you're not from North Korea.
Although given the fact that you seem to have had a sense-of-humour bypass operation, maybe you are...
Re:huh (Score:4, Informative)
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That's why I never eat Raisin Brain.
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Yiou better get it out of there before it grows into a raisin tree.
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20% isn't one in twenty.
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whoosh
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Everybody but you got it, found it funny, and didn't have to be pedantic.
Well, you and that one other guy. So like half the people.
Re:huh (Score:5, Funny)
It's also a nice practical demonstration that there are, indeed, adults who struggle with understanding humor.
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Indeed, much more so than math.
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Legal adults, yes.
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Shocking discovery!
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How did you stablish that the A/C is an adult?
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There are not enough pictures or other shiny material on Slashdot to attract children that far down the comment thread.
Grown adults with minds of the children on the other hand...
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4 out of 3 people struggle with math;-)
9 out of 10 statisticians cannot count to 10.
Interesting (Score:3)
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If you havent found a correlation between two things, it means you havent ttried hard enough.
When I was in school, they had something like this (Score:2, Interesting)
Not a "gentle, painless electrical current applied to the brain ", more like a smack round the head.
Student performance often improved dramatically, and no permanent damage seemed to be done.
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Not a "gentle, painless electrical current applied to the brain ", more like a smack round the head.
Student performance often improved dramatically, and no permanent damage seemed to be done.
That reminds me of three men in a boat [cleavebooks.co.uk], where the narrator reads an advert for liver pills.
In the present instance, going back to the liver-pill circular, I had the symptoms, beyond all mistake, the chief among them being "a general disinclination to work of any kind."
What I suffer in that way no tongue can tell. From my earliest infancy I have been a martyr to it. As a boy, the disease hardly ever left me for a day. They did not know, then, that it was my liver. Medical science was in a far less advanced state than now, and they used to put it down to laziness.
"Why, you skulking little devil, you," they would say, "get up and do something for your living, can't you?" — not knowing, of course, that I was ill.
I remember reading this as a kit and lamenting that my teachers also had no idea that this was a medical condition. But then he goes on:
And they didn't give me pills; they gave me clumps on the side of the head. And, strange as it may appear, those clumps on the head often cured me — for the time being. I have known one clump on the head have more effect upon my liver, and make me feel more anxious to go straight away then and there, and do what was wanted to be done, without further loss of time, than a whole box of pills does now.
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Swans!
Modern Psychology (Score:2)
Side effects (Score:5, Funny)
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Then read more. To read makes your speaky English good.
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mA=volts?? (Score:5, Interesting)
from the article...
"The electrical current slowly ramped up to about 1 milliamp—a tiny fraction of the voltage of an AA battery—"
Perhaps the article writer could benefit from this electroshock therapy as well....
Re:mA=volts?? (Score:5, Funny)
from the article...
"The electrical current slowly ramped up to about 1 milliamp—a tiny fraction of the voltage of an AA battery—"
Perhaps the article writer could benefit from this electroshock therapy as well....
Perhaps they could benefit from this http://blog.xkcd.com/2013/05/15/dictionary-of-numbers/ [xkcd.com]
"1 milliamp [~ the amount of current applied to the brain to boost math performance for 6 months]"
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Im not seeing the problem, that IS around the amount of power that an AA battery provides.
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I don't know if you comment is a joke or not.
Neither mA nor Volts is a measure of power. A standard AA cell produces about 1.5 Volt of potential across its terminals. Depending on the application, the current draw (Amps) can be anywhere from a fraction of a microamp to around 1 Amp. The power (Watts) that a AA cell delivers is the voltage time the current, and can be anywhere from a fraction of a mircowatt to more than 1 Watt. The energy (Joules) that a AA cell delivers over its lifetime is the power mu
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Neither mA nor Volts is a measure of power
The joke
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About half as much power as a low-current LED.
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Its maybe 0.5% of the current necessary to run a small 80mm case fan. Its 1/500th of the normal current that a dumb USB device will draw. Its 1/10000th the current that a microwave or toaster oven draws.
How about for language. (Score:2)
Because I consistently fail at writing clear and concise grammatically correct monologues.
Extrapolation (Score:4, Funny)
uhh (Score:5, Interesting)
perhaps the subject should just increase their electrolye intake instead of being electrocuted.
Proper electrolyte balance make the brain run smooth.
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Re:uhh (Score:4, Funny)
It's what brains crave! And Brawndo has them.
Frankenstein's monster should have been a genius. (Score:2)
No shit! Researchers don't understand how it works, we don't understand how it works, 60% of biomedical research results can't be repeated...
Is this published in the AIR (http://www.improbable.com/magazine/), by the way? It ought to be, because it sounds unethical and crazy on the face of it. Just the kind of thing they like.
But now that the information is out there, it can't just be ignored. Either there's something weird going on that's useful or there's something weird going on that's not useful. Ma
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The reason it wasn't considered a violation of medical ethics, if I had to guess, is that the voltages and currents involved are ones are brains are naturally exposed to from time to time. Thus if there are side-effects, they are currently widespread and undiagnosed in the population of the first world. It's like how it's not unethical to test(reasonable, non-extraordinary) dietary plans, because people eat anyways.
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The reason it wasn't considered a violation of medical ethics, if I had to guess, is that the voltages and currents involved are ones are brains are naturally exposed to from time to time. Thus if there are side-effects, they are currently widespread and undiagnosed in the population of the first world. It's like how it's not unethical to test(reasonable, non-extraordinary) dietary plans, because people eat anyways.
Suppose the experiment had the opposite result. Would you have considered it ethical then?
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Also, 'to electrocute' means 'to execute with electricity.'
The word 'electrocute' seems to be undergoing a semantic shift. I am seeing more frequent usage where context suggests a meaning of "giving an electric shock". I suppose eventually the medical and electrotechnical literature will be forced to use something like "fatal electrocution" which will then be criticized as redundant (like "Pilotless Drone") [youtube.com].
Practice works (Score:2)
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that's the real reason people are bad at it. lack of practice. the more you practice, the more you retain it. most people studied it once, and then never again, which leads to a very quick very large regression. and most teachers cover math in a one concept a week way, with no tie backs to previous lessons. a reliance on calculators to do the previous stuff you already learned so you can focus ont he current lesson doesnt help either. its helpful on one hand to focus on the current lesson, but when the subj
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That's because the reality is that most people don't use advanced mathematics (or, these days, hardly any mathematics at all) in their day-to-day lives. Most simple mathematical exercises in the modern world have been automated, and the complex stuff is largely the purview of engineers and other specialized pros. Academia is the only place most people ever encounter it, and very few people spend their whole lives as students (my son being a rare exception).
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tip and change calculation is hardly advanced mathmatics, yet people who's job it is to do such math dont know how to do it without the computer (register) doing it for them.
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The article doesn't refer to advanced math, just ba
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When does the Chinese Room [wikipedia.org] go from addition and multiplication tables to "understanding math"?
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The problem with math in the US is that most of the population are unthinking sheep.
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That's a different matter entirely. TFA is actually talking about arithmetic, not math.
Test case (Score:4, Funny)
Supposing 0.1 amp per 6 volts in 39 minutes increases mathematical ability by 2%, at what rate should the current be applied and for how long before you can work this out?
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Where did you get 2%? The article cited take-up speeds 2-5 times faster.
A shocking future (Score:2)
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Smart enough to not let them zap you again (Score:5, Funny)
Hi, you look stupid, would you mind if I zap your brain?
Uhm...
It will make you smarter! promise.
Uh. Okay.
Ouch
Muhahaha.
I don't feel any smarter...
Would you let me zap you again?
No!!
See! You are smarter already
There are three kinds of people. (Score:2)
There are 10 kinds of people. Those who think in binary and those who don't.
There are two kinds of people, those who classify people into two kinds of people and those who don't.
That guy from Real Genius was right!! (Score:2)
Electrical shock therapy WILL make you smarter!
No shortcuts necessary (Score:3)
If you're one of the 20% of Americans that struggle with basic arithmetic, buy some of those flash cards, open a Jr. High math textbook or take some remedial education courses. STUDYING and PRACTICE improve math ability. No brain zapping required.
The idea that there is some physiological impairment which causes 20 freakin' percent of the population to be handicapped in math ability is ridiculous. Brain zap the bureaucratic idiots in charge of our public school system instead.
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open a Jr. High math textbook
For learning the most basic of basic math, a Jr. High math book might be useful. If you want to actually understand what you're doing, though... maybe not.
So then... (Score:2)
Current != Voltage (Score:2)
The electrical current slowly ramped up to about 1 milliamp—a tiny fraction of the voltage of an AA battery.
Looks like somebody doesn't understand the difference between amperage and voltage.
Liposuction for the Brain (Score:3)
Doing Math is mental exercise. The only real way to get any real benefits is to just do it:
http://www.google.com/search?q=the%20secrets%20of%20mental%20arithmetic [google.com].
http://www.google.com/search?q=1001%20math%20problems [google.com]
Splitting a dinner check... (Score:2)
Science Goose (Score:2)
There's something cultural going on here too.
How many of you have experienced a person (in my experience all women, but surely not exclusively) who, when the conversation turns to something they don't understand, always limited to the STEM realms, they make a stupid face, shake/flap their hands in the air, and say something like, "oh, my, tech geek talk. Beep beep, bloop bloop, blah, blah, blah, hahahahahaha"? I've heard them referred to as a "Science Goose" as that's sort of what the behavior looks like,
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Motivation (Score:3)
Memorize your multiplication tables or I shalll shock you again!
Reminds me of a story:
Little Zachary was doing very badly in math. His parents had tried everything...tutors, mentors, flash cards, special learning centers, and more.
In short, everything they could think of to help his math.
Finally, in a last ditch effort, they took Zachary down and enrolled him In the local Catholic school. After the first day, little Zachary came home with a very serious look on his face. He didn't even kiss his mother hello. Instead, he went straight to his room and started studying.
Books and papers were spread out all over the room and little Zachary was hard at work. His mother was amazed. She called him down to dinner.
To her shock, the minute he was done, he marched back to his room without a word, and in no time, he was back hitting the books as hard as before. This went on for some time, day after day, while the mother tried to understand what made all the difference.
Finally, little Zachary brought home his Report Card. He quietly laid it on the table, went up to his room and hit the books. With great trepidation, His Mom looked at it and to her great surprise, Little Zachary got an 'A' in math.
She could no longer hold her curiosity. She went to his room and said, 'Son, what was it? Was it the nuns?' Little Zachary looked at her and shook his head, no. 'Well, then,' she replied, Was it the books, the discipline, the structure, the uniforms? WHAT WAS IT?'
Little Zachary looked at her and said, 'Well, on the first day of school when I saw that guy nailed to the plus sign, I knew they took their math seriously.'
Seems legit (Score:2)
I would do it! (Score:2)
Only if I had a brain. :(
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I wouldn't eat meat from a spherical cow (it would be like someone giving you a bit of snot and putting it in a sandwhich) but I would bang on a power line to remove the tension in the lines to avoid the scourge of heavy electricity.
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Every body has mentel week spots? Your a dandy to think that. Most of us has no such weekness and as such you should shut you're pie whole. philistine!
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The problem here, is getting the public to adopt heatsinks on their heads as fashionable.
But then again, I do remember beanie hats with propellers, polyester leisure suits and platform shoes, and disco.....
Nevermind.
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The problem here, is getting the public to adopt heatsinks on their heads as fashionable.
No problem. Tin foil hats can double as heatsinks.
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I don't, and I have a degree in mathematics!
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It means "ã]6". At least that's what I got after pasting it into a base 64 converter. But I'm not sure I understand it any better now.
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Sort of the way that we use + as an arbitrary symbol to represent the operation where 4+10=14.
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How about you over-energize anything with 6 milliamps.
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batteries have internal resistance. a typical alkaline battery can initially put out about 2 amps. certain rechargables popular with model airplane hobbyists can even get to 10A. The voltage will sag below 1 V under such extreme conditions.
You can look up the discharge curves on manufacturers sites