Live data from Hacker News

Neuroscientists' Open Letter To DIY Brain Hackers

wbur.org

1–10 of 149 posts

Re: Neuroscientists' Open Letter To DIY Brain Hackers

#3
I think the thing that a lot of hackers don't understand is unintended consequences. It's fine when you're hacking a computer game, and the worst case scenario is that the game malfunctions. Things like overclocking a PC, or re-tuning a car, have more tangible consequences, but those consequences ultimately mean that the hacker will damage an easily replaceable commodity.

A person's brain is not replaceable.

Re: Neuroscientists' Open Letter To DIY Brain Hackers

#4

""Some people were administering it to their kids," he says. " WTF , fair enough if you want to risk it on yourself but not your children with still developing brains.

The whole thing just reminds me about the radium water craze years ago:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radithor https://67.media.tumblr.com/1899ba50f59df9c88dace35c13c2c1a7...

Re: Neuroscientists' Open Letter To DIY Brain Hackers

#6
post #3

I think the thing that a lot of hackers don't understand is unintended consequences. It's fine when you're hacking a computer game, and the worst case scenario is that the game malfunctions. Things like overclocking a PC, or re-tuning a car, have more tangible consequences, but those consequences ultimately mean that the hacker will damage an easily replaceable commodity. A person's brain is not replaceable.

That's one of the reasons I've stayed away from 'beta blocker' medications even though they're designed to tone down stage fright to a bare minimum. There are, from what I've read, potential side effects that can be rather severe. As in, some real unwelcome motor/cognition changes. That's enough cautionary literature to keep me away. Strangely enough though, I'm not anti-supplement (vitamins, PH stacks, etc) in the least.

Re: Neuroscientists' Open Letter To DIY Brain Hackers

#7
post #5

TDCS seems like using a sledgehammer to tune a piano.

Wait, you're telling me that a highly sensitive organ that maintains a complicated electromagnetic and chemical signaling system within a medium of fragile and compressed axions is difficult to tweak with grossly tuned omnidirectional fields?!

Surely, you jest.

Re: Neuroscientists' Open Letter To DIY Brain Hackers

#9
post #3

I think the thing that a lot of hackers don't understand is unintended consequences. It's fine when you're hacking a computer game, and the worst case scenario is that the game malfunctions. Things like overclocking a PC, or re-tuning a car, have more tangible consequences, but those consequences ultimately mean that the hacker will damage an easily replaceable commodity. A person's brain is not replaceable.

That's one of the reasons I've stayed away from 'beta blocker' medications even though they're designed to tone down stage fright to a bare minimum. There are, from what I've read, potential side effects that can be rather severe. As in, some real unwelcome motor/cognition changes. That's enough cautionary literature to keep me away. Strangely enough though, I'm not anti-supplement (vitamins, PH stacks, etc) in the l…

Can you point to any papers? I'm curious. A friend (actually not me) was just asking about them. He gets anxiety, and wanted to have them on hand in case of a severe attack. But he's wary of medications generally and is on the fence about taking them.

Re: Neuroscientists' Open Letter To DIY Brain Hackers

#10
So the TLDR is its basically like exercise where you can quite easily hurt yourself if you have no idea what you're doing, and you probably do not especially if you're a broscience devotee, and most people make pretty dumb decisions about appropriate levels of repetition, effort, and pain.

Another way of putting it is people with poor judgment can now at some effort and money, destroy their brains, not just their knees and shoulders. Eh.

Another good analogy is alcohol consumption, although unlike alcohol it appears both brain stimulation and exercise can have a net positive effect.

Post reply on HN