Would it perhaps be more appropriate to talk in terms of “disinhibition” rather than “enhancement” of non-verbal functions after damage to a verbal part of the brain? I’m thinking of McGilchrist, ‘The Matter With Things,’ where he lays out a bunch of similar examples, almost all involving lesions to the left hemisphere, where artistic and other abilities arose afterwards. He makes the point that much of our brain activity is (often necessarily) suppressive; savant-like abilities come about when that depression is removed; which implies that cognitive enhancement might be just as much about double negative effects, selectively “inhibiting the inhibitor”, as about excitatory ones.
I often wonder how AI embedded in everyday life will shift forward people's intelligence and recall– like say with Avi Schiffman's Tab amulet. Imagine being able to look at something, ask questions about it, and get immediate, detailed feedback from a souped up version of GPT-4. I think that is the direction we could be heading with (non invasive) intelligence enhancement
People worry that AI assistants could cause natural reasoning and language skills to atrophy (just as our navigational skills have atrophied after the advent of GPS). It's a reasonable worry, but the opposite could also be true; an AI personal assistant could also be trained to encourage a person to exercise their better habits, gently point out flaws in logical thinking, etc., so that the person would become better in the long term even without the AI assistant. Neuro-imaging and neuro-stimulation could, of course, be part of that process.
Well, for cognitive enhancement there is always the Alan Turing long run to sort things out. Can’t be in that state all the time but it definitely trumps modafinal while it lasts.
Reducing the side effects/"downside risk" of stimulants (like adderall) seem VERY high utility (eg melatonin megadoses to reduce adderall neurotoxicity). Maybe if I get the grant I am going to test Adderall and NfL levels
This is an extremely interesting piece. But whether it would be “cool” routinely to enhance mental capacity by such physical interventions as rTMS is highly questionable. Savant-like capacities acquired by injury provide the clue. It is one thing to intervene physically to ameliorate injury or disease, quite another to experiment with turning healthy humans into “superhumans.” Why, besides laziness? Study, logical thinking, meditation, teaching and other careful practices devised by man already enhance mental capacity. But they take time and work. Okay, but why must everything be fast and easy. Neuroscience should help the afflicted more than entertain the entitled, I think.
Would it perhaps be more appropriate to talk in terms of “disinhibition” rather than “enhancement” of non-verbal functions after damage to a verbal part of the brain? I’m thinking of McGilchrist, ‘The Matter With Things,’ where he lays out a bunch of similar examples, almost all involving lesions to the left hemisphere, where artistic and other abilities arose afterwards. He makes the point that much of our brain activity is (often necessarily) suppressive; savant-like abilities come about when that depression is removed; which implies that cognitive enhancement might be just as much about double negative effects, selectively “inhibiting the inhibitor”, as about excitatory ones.
Yeah that's one theory but not the only one, so I just wanted to use a catchall term to indicate that some abilities increased (for whatever reason.)
I have always been skeptical of those who had a brain injury and claimed to speak a language they have never studied before…like Korean.
I assume this is not possible since a knock on the head cannot transmit cultural or linguistic knowledge.
i'd be skeptical of that too!
yeah afaict most of these stories deserve a strong *asterisk. One I remember is of a guy who _learned_ Chinese before in high school and had forgotten a lot of it, and post TBI was able to recall a lot of words he had learned before https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIUrtuFS9zk&pp=ygUdZ3V5IHdha2VzIHVwIHNwZWFraW5nIGNoaW5lc2U%3D
I often wonder how AI embedded in everyday life will shift forward people's intelligence and recall– like say with Avi Schiffman's Tab amulet. Imagine being able to look at something, ask questions about it, and get immediate, detailed feedback from a souped up version of GPT-4. I think that is the direction we could be heading with (non invasive) intelligence enhancement
People worry that AI assistants could cause natural reasoning and language skills to atrophy (just as our navigational skills have atrophied after the advent of GPS). It's a reasonable worry, but the opposite could also be true; an AI personal assistant could also be trained to encourage a person to exercise their better habits, gently point out flaws in logical thinking, etc., so that the person would become better in the long term even without the AI assistant. Neuro-imaging and neuro-stimulation could, of course, be part of that process.
Eminem had a head injury from a fight as a child and it sort of sounds like it turned him into a rap savant.
Well, for cognitive enhancement there is always the Alan Turing long run to sort things out. Can’t be in that state all the time but it definitely trumps modafinal while it lasts.
Reducing the side effects/"downside risk" of stimulants (like adderall) seem VERY high utility (eg melatonin megadoses to reduce adderall neurotoxicity). Maybe if I get the grant I am going to test Adderall and NfL levels
This is an extremely interesting piece. But whether it would be “cool” routinely to enhance mental capacity by such physical interventions as rTMS is highly questionable. Savant-like capacities acquired by injury provide the clue. It is one thing to intervene physically to ameliorate injury or disease, quite another to experiment with turning healthy humans into “superhumans.” Why, besides laziness? Study, logical thinking, meditation, teaching and other careful practices devised by man already enhance mental capacity. But they take time and work. Okay, but why must everything be fast and easy. Neuroscience should help the afflicted more than entertain the entitled, I think.
Would be great if we could find a cure for laziness then. It'd probably triple the world's GDP/capita growth rate if taken by everyone.
Maybe. Maybe not.