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Mice Brainpower Boosted With Alteration of a Single Gene
Zothecula writes: By altering a single gene to inhibit the activity of an enzyme called phosphodiesterase (PDE4B), researchers have given mice the opportunity to see what an increase in intelligence is like. "They tended to learn faster, remember events longer and solve complex exercises better than ordinary mice. For example, the “brainy mice” showed a better ability than ordinary mice to recognize another mouse that they had been introduced to the day before (abstract). They were also quicker at learning the location of a hidden escape platform in a test called the Morris water maze. However, the PDE4B-inhibited mice also showed less recall of a fearful event after several days than ordinary mice." While many people would welcome such a treatment, the scientists say their research could lead to new treatments for those with cognitive disorders and age-related cognitive decline.
I would laugh so hard if they develop a drug based on this and the only skills that people gain are the ability to recognize mice better and to be less scared of open spaces and cats. Oh and to find hidden escape ways.
But really I do look forward to what will happen someday if these cognitive enhancement drugs turn out to be safe and make people smarter. I am not talking a limitless sort of thing but what happens if a university course ends up be retuned to be just too difficult for most people unless they are taking these sorts of things? If that hasn't already happened with things like Modafinil.
Now the theme to Pinky and the Brain is stuck in my head. Even less conducive to getting work done than reading Slashdot.
And just now my coworker next to me just asked why I whispered "Narf".
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
'Stupid' is not just a matter of low intelligence. It's also a subject of cognitive biases and undisciplined thinking.
For a good example, look at Ben Carson, one of the Republican candidates. He has spouted a steam of policy positions that most people would regard as stupid: He suggested abolishing all taxes in favor of a fixed 10% income 'tithe' because that is what the bible specifies, he said that homosexuality must be a choice because people turn gay in prison, and he has claimed that the affordable care act enslaves people to the government. But is he stupid? Certainly not: Before going into politics he was a neurosurgeon, and a very good one too, one actively involved in research and responsible for developing new procedures. He is literally a brain surgeon.
What Carson shows is that it's quite possible for a person to be of brilliant intelligence, but still come to hold positions that are quite obviously ridiculous. Humans are not logical creatures by nature: Their minds are the product of a process that optimized for reproductive success. A cobbled-together tangle of heuristics.
The mouse was the Slashdot submitter.