Mind, the Gap
Training is needed to exercise our most important organ: the brain, exploit its full potential and sustain it for our later years. Does a gap exist in our capacity for learning, a gap between what our brain could potentially achieve and what we are curren
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Abstract. Training is needed to exercise our most important organ: the brain, exploit its full potential and sustain it for our later years. Does a gap exist in our capacity for learning, a gap between what our brain could potentially achieve and what we are currently prepared to accept? The ‘prototype’ follows an ambitious undergraduate Computer Science student as he gets drawn into psychophysiological experiments that explore brain-training, involving image recognition, cognition, subliminal delivery, and imagined movement. Such technology has great potential for promoting and assessing learning and possibly exploring under performance or dysfunctional learning. However, as with all technology that enhances the human, there is potential for unintended use that we should be mindful of. Keywords: Brain computer interface Immersion Stimulation Brain-training Enhancement Subliminal learning Brain-washing
1 Introduction Our mind is our intellect, our ability to think and reason. In his book exploring the human mind, Professor Robert Winston [1] states, “With the help of science we can now begin to understand the extraordinary complexity of the brain’s circuits: we can see which nerve cells generate electricity as we fall in love, tell a lie or dream of a lottery win. And inside the 100 billion cells of this rubbery network is something remarkable: you.” However, eminent neurosurgeon, Henry Marsh recently stated that we understand more about the universe than our own consciousness [2]. As scientists and educators, we need to further understand the mind and its underlying hardware, the brain. If we do not train our bodies, then such neglect is obvious by sight; quantified by metrics, such as body mass index. Labels to describe poor conditioning are in everyday use: sedentary, obese; this has led to new terms in our vocabulary such as ‘diabesity’. But what happens if we neglect our brain, if we under-stimulate the mind. At the developmental stage (i.e. early years and school) will the brain ever reach its full potential? Peer judgement on intellect is less obvious but ‘measures’ such as Intelligent Quotient (IQ) and examination grades are widely used by society and subsequent labels can be harsh and detrimental to the individual. If a person fails to achieve a pass in an examination then there may be many contributing factors beyond intelligence: motivation, appropriate learning and teaching, even social class and proper nutrition. And what of people with special educational needs, such as Attention Deficit Syndrome (ADS) or dyslexia? Such needs often go undiagnosed leading to inappropriate teaching © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 C. Allison et al. (Eds.): iLRN 2016, CCIS 621, pp. 102–112, 2016. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-41769-1_8
Mind, the Gap
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environment and support. As we mature into adulthood then surely we can achieve even more if we continue to stimulate and train our brains. How does advancing age affect our intellectual abilities: can brain-training reduce the incidence of fo
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