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POPSFuture Drugs Will Make Troops Want to Fight Their report, “Emerging Cognitive Neuroscience and Related Technologies,” was released today. It charts a range of cognitive technologies that are potentially powerful — and, perhaps, powerfully troubling. Here are the report’s main areas of focus: Mind reading. The development of psychological models and neurological imaging has made it possible to see what people are thinking and whether they’re lying. Cognitive enhancement. Arguably the most developed area of cognitive neuroscience, with drugs already allowing soldiers to stay awake and alert for days at a time, Mind control. Largely pharmaceutical, for the moment, and a natural outgrowth of cognitive enhancement approaches and mind-reading insight: If we can alter the brain, why not control it? Mind control. Largely pharmaceutical, for the moment, and a natural outgrowth of cognitive enhancement approaches and mind-reading insight: If we can alter the brain, why not control it?
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POPSFluoride of the Future: Population Level Cognitive Enhancement It seems likely that widespread population level cognitive enhancement will be irresistible. Studies based on removing lead, which reduces cognitive ability, from the water and paint, have estimated that a 3 point IQ increase would lead to: Poverty rate -25% Males in jail -25% High school dropouts -28% Parentless children -20% Welfare recipiency -18% Out-of-wedlock births -15%
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POPSWant to Enhance Your Brain Power? Give Your Neurons an Electrical Jolt Very little is known about how TDCS works. Scientists theorize that the mild current primes the neurons for action but does not trigger the voltage spikes that neurons use to communicate. "Presumably, it is polarizing neurons and making them more or less likely to respond to inputs," Cognitive enhancement with drugs such as Ritalin, prescribed for attention deficit disorder, is already widespread, of course. A survey published online at Nature in April found that one in five respondents, most of whom were academics and scientists, reported using such drugs for nonmedical use. Electrical stimulation may prove even easier to access. "Half the people in this room could build this type of device with parts from RadioShack," Wassermann told a crowd at a neurotechnology conference in Cleveland last week.
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POPSThe InnerSpace Foundation A founding philosophy of The InnerSpace Foundation is that the shortest and most efficient path to solving humanity's most serious problems--including providing complete and lasting cures for the most diseased and disabled--is through widespread improvement of memory and mind, rather than through the best efforts of people who are well-meaning but of naturally limited abilities.
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POPSOh yeah, and don't trust yourself either! The Chinese philosopher Xun Zi said that human nature is not particularly good, but he went on to argue that doesn't mean that we shouldn't try to make it better. Too many people resign themselves to say "that's just the way things are" because that's easier than challenging their own beliefs. Before we can be an agent for change, our ideas must be relentlessly refined in the furnace of critical introspection. Follow the link to read all these cognitive hazards, and see where you find them in your life!
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