Guest guest Report post Posted April 5, 2004 Scientists put on thinking caps A device that could be the forerunner of a creativity-boosting 'thinking cap' has been built and tested by scientists. The machine applies a magnetic pulse to the left frontotemporal lobe of the brain. In tests it produced notable effects in four of 11 volunteers, New Scientist magazine reports. They appeared to be able to draw more 'natural' pictures of people and animals. Two participants also showed a greatly enhanced ability to spot non-obvious mistakes in a series of written phrases. The theory behind the technique, called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is that by shutting off part of the brain hidden talents are allowed to come to the fore. Allan Snyder, director of Australia's Centre for the Mind, hit on the idea after investigating the phenomenon of autistic savants - severely mentally impaired people who display amazing skills in art, language or mathematics. Dustin Hoffman played the part of an autistic savant in the movie Rain Man. Snyder believes that in some people, autism damages a part of the brain that allows unconscious raw data to shine through. Under normal circumstances, the conscious mind simplifies this information to prevent the "aware" brain being overloaded, according to the theory. But an autistic savant is able to access the "raw" information almost like a computer, making it possible to perform incredible feats of calculation or draw astonishing pictures. By achieving the same result artificially, Snyder believes it may be possible to find the creative genius buried in everyone. He hopes the prototype machine will lead to more dramatic results, and is already working on tests for mathematical and musical skills. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theist 1 Report post Posted April 5, 2004 Snyder believes that in some people, autism damages a part of the brain that allows unconscious raw data to shine through. They also must ask where does the genius potential shine through FROM? People are born with this condition so their brains could not have absorbed it from the environment. Yet more proof of a subtle mind separate from the brain. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
