A Shopping-Scanner Darkly

An anonymous reader writes "Using functional MRI scans, researchers have found which parts of the brain are active when people consider buying something and can predict whether or not they'll ultimately bite. One of the main findings was that rather than weighing a choice between the pleasure of making a purchase and the delayed gratification of using the dough for something else, the brain is actually weighing between the pleasure of buying and the pain of forking over the cash."

Comments

Yeah, but

[jhines]

It is really going to be hard to fit the MRI machine in the line at the supermarket.

Is this Philip K. Dick day?

[Anonymous Coward]

Did I miss it? What's next... Slashdot story on immigration visas titled "Minority Import"?

Re:Is this Philip K. Dick day?

[hal2814]

Other upcoming stories:

The Wiiplayers of Titan - A precog and a telepath attempt to figure out the supply chain so they can get their hands on a Wii.

We Can Build You a Border Fence - A robotic Abraham Lincoln gets tired of the immigration debate and builds the border fence himself.

Udik - A story on Jack Thompson and his video game crusade.

The Three Video Game Consoles of Paler Eldritch - An indepth comparison of the Wii, PS3, and XBox 360.

Wal-Mart Can Remember it for You Wholesale - A short piece on Wal-Mart's new vacation package sales plan.

This part of my girlfriends brain

[Timesprout]

Clearly becomes impervious to pain when she takes my credit card and goes shopping for shoes.

Philip K. Dick Day?

[hansamurai]

First Do Electric Sheep Dream of Civil Rights? and now A Shopping-Scanner Darkly? Next article we'll undoubtedly be called Flow My Oily Tears, the Android Said.

Profit?

[Aqua_boy17]

Not only that, you're going to zap every credit and debit card within an appreciable radius and I'm thinking you'll know pretty quickly if the guy in line next to you has a pacemaker or any other metallic implants.

OTOH, a lot of jewelry and loose change is going to fly to the center of the machine when you fire it up in the checkout line, so that may offset your costs somewhat.

Home Depot

[User 956]

shouldn't they perhaps focus a little less on the actual putting of items in baskets, and suchlike, and a little more focus on the actual forking over of cash?

Yeah, Home Depot's got that one nailed with their "self-checkout" debacle. They make you focus on the forking-over-of-cash so hard that it makes you want to leave your pile of crap at the register and go shop somewhere else.