Can Scientists 'Upload Knowledge' Directly into your Brain to Teach New Skills?
Imagine the world where you do not have to make any efforts to learn new skills or knowledge.
Just like new programs are uploaded to a Robot to teach them new skills, What if new skills are uploaded to your brain to make you learn, say, playing Guitar, a whole language like French or German or anything else you wish?
Do you want a technique, if exists, to make this possible?
Of course, YES! Who would not?
Now, multiple media channels are reporting that a team of researchers from HRL Laboratories in California has developed a new technology that could be used to feed any skill into the human brain without much effort.
But, Is it possible in reality?
Let's have a look at what media is reporting and what scientists have actually discovered.
Here's what Media is Reporting:
Media is reporting that researchers have found a way to "upload knowledge to your brain." Researchers claimed to have developed a simulator that can feed data directly into a human’s brain to teach new skills in a shorter amount of time.
Some are reporting that the technique is similar to that seen in 'The Matrix,' in which Keanu Reeves learns'Kung-Fu' soon after a program is uploaded directly into his brain through a terminal.
Here's what Scientists have Actually Discovered:
In reality, the recent research shows that it may be possible to enhance a human's existing ability to learn new skills, but to upload any particular skill or talent directly into a person via brain waves is outside the scope of the study.
What Did the Scientists Actually Achieve?
Lead by Matthew Phillips, the HRL Labs research team that does R&D for the Boeing Company and General Motors has made use of a neuro-stimulation technique called transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) – a noninvasive, painless shock that makes use of a constant, small electric current to excite specific brain regions.
Using tDCS technique, the researchers excited certain areas in the human brain that are responsible for learning and skill retention.
"When you learn something, your brain physically changes," Philips said. "Connections are made and strengthened in a process called neuroplasticity. It turns out that certain functions of the brain, like speech and memory, are located in very specific regions of the brain, about the size of your pinky.
"During their experiment, the researchers first monitored the brain waves of 6 commercial as well as military pilots and then transmitted those patterns into 32 newbies who were learning to pilot an aeroplane in a flight simulator.
The finding suggests that tDCS technique might work to enhance a person's ability to learn, as the newbies who received tDCS brain stimulation were found with improved piloting abilities, especially landing skills.
However, this definitely does not mean that the researchers uploaded or transmitted any particular skill or type of data via this technique, rather they just excited the specific brain regions responsible for learning, so that a person could improve his/her learning ability.
So, don’t think that using this new technique you could "upload" an entire skill set, like Kung-Fu or French language. For now, you have to make efforts to learn them but, who knows, the study could just be a first step towards this whole new FUTURE.
For in-depth knowledge, you can read the full research paper published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
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