This New York Times piece on transcranial magnetic stimulation was about the most fascinating thing I've read all year. My gut tells me that Allan Snyder's probably on to something big. It matches up well with several things I've read about how humans can do complex tasks when they shut down parts of their brains and concentrate.
I've even had experiences like that, where I was learning something very difficult, where my whole entire concentration was on that one subject and everything else in the world almost disappeared for me. While this isn't quite what Dr. Synder's talking about doing, intuitively it seems like there's probably a link. Obviously, lots more study would have to be done, and there'll be controversy over it. But if I were a young brain researcher, I think I'd be trying to find ways to wangle a placement at the University of Sydney.
(Via Jerry Kindall.)
I've been a practicing self-hypnotist for a long time, and the brain-wave patterns that come about when you're concentrating hard on a single task are similar to those when you're hypnotized. The veil between the conscious and subconscious is parted, and the feeling is one of doing with trying, or learning without thinking. Very important stuff -- a way for human beings to maximize their mental capacity.
Last night I blogged an bit about using TMS for military applications, in particular for combatting the need for sleep.
Interesting stuff this TMS, thanks for putting it up Dean.