Five US Navy SEAL Units Are Now Testing Brain-Zappers (military.com) 120
Five different Navy SEAL units are testing "transcranial electrical stimulation," reports Military.com, with one command's spokesperson saying the early results "show promising signs... we are encouraged to continue and are moving forward with our studies." The device's manufacturer says the number of devices being tested is "in the double digits," and believes the "neuro-priming" device could improve shooting performance, adding "it's kind of all about just training a little bit smarter." schwit1 quotes their report:
Transcranial electrical stimulation was one of the technologies touted by then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter in July 2016 as part of his Defense Innovation Unit (Experimental) initiative. Since then, multiple SEAL units have begun actively testing the effectiveness of the technology, officials with Naval Special Warfare Command told Military.com... At a conference near Washington, D.C., in February, the commander of all Navy special operations units made an unusual request to industry: Develop and demonstrate technologies that offer "cognitive enhancement" capabilities to boost his elite forces' mental and physical performance. "We plan on using that in mission enhancement," Rear Admiral Tim Szymanski said.
Admiral Szymanski says experiments found that operators monitoring screens reportedly maintained peak performance for 20 hours -- rather than experience the usual drop-off in concentration after 20 minutes.
Admiral Szymanski says experiments found that operators monitoring screens reportedly maintained peak performance for 20 hours -- rather than experience the usual drop-off in concentration after 20 minutes.
No drugs. (Score:1)
That part is cool at least.
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What do drugs do? Well, in a nutshell, they interact with certain parts of your body, more often than not parts of your brain, causing it to function differently.
What does this do again?
Soooo missleading Title... (Score:5, Funny)
I expected, they want to zapp the brains of the enemies.... For that they could simply use Fox News...
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Yeah, my first thought was this referred to an offensive weapon they were using - not an attention aid for the Seals themselves.
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So why is the US military bothering with this training method, why not just hire OCD types https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]. I am sure there is not problem with the training method in the long term, none what so ever ;D. Why not save cost and just use already mentally disturbed people, rather than creating you own new ones. Just seems like a waste of capital. I wonder what other mental variants the US military can train for to improve kill numbers, psychopathy is really popular, perhaps schizophrenia for s
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Please be more specific, what is morally wrong, zapping people who love the US or loving the US?
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What part of individual freedom and limited government as written in the US Constitution is morally wrong?
So, you're for the individual being nothing more than a cell in the collective body? You, and I, and every other individual (the smallest minority group) have no value, in and of ourselves?
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> What part of individual freedom and limited government as written in the US Constitution is morally wrong?
You are putting words in his mouth. I live here in the US and I certainly don't look at our country and say "paragons of freedom and limited government", not by a long shot.
If anything, the betrayal of those principles is why I would agree, there is no reason to love the US. We are liberties pretenders. We have made an entire industries out of imprisoning people for what they would choose to put i
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The answer is NO.
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If anything, the betrayal of those principles is why I would agree, there is no reason to love the US. We are liberties pretenders. We have made an entire industries out of imprisoning people for what they would choose to put in their own body, then used it to justify more and more surviellance and restrictions on liberty.
You should move to Iran, China, N Korea, or a good number of other countries and give your speech against your new government a try. If you're able, get back to us after you do so.
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How does "not as bad" fit into this at all? We are liberties pretenders.
The ability to complain is requisite for freedom; not sufficient alone. As long as people can be imprisoned, and are at terribly frightening rates; the highest in the world, we are not free.
As long as all the government needs to do to put you in prison is produce a physical object and claim you had it, whether that object is guns, or drugs, or religious symbols or any simple thing....we have no freedom.
As long as we can be survieled and
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The ability to complain is requisite for freedom; not sufficient alone.
And as noted, we have that and others do not. I agree that there's quite a few infringements happening, but the push back is already underway, and hopefully will be rolled back. If it is, we can thank Trump for pushing it to the point where enough people got incensed and decided it was better that the government wasn't able to do these things.
Re:Soooo missleading Title... (Score:5, Interesting)
What passes for patriotism now is merely willful ignorance. And this sort of mindless nationalism passed off as if were patriotism is nothing new.
“Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else.”
-- Theodore Roosevelt
“Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
-- Mark Twain
“He who joyfully marches to music rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism at command, senseless brutality, deplorable love-of-country stance and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be part of so base an action! It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.”
-- Albert Einstein
“I do this real moron thing, and it's called thinking. And apparently I'm not a very good American because I like to form my own opinions.”
-- George Carlin
“It is not always the same thing to be a good man and a good citizen.”
-- Aristotle
“Patriotism ... is a superstition artificially created and maintained through a network of lies and falsehoods; a superstition that robs man of his self-respect and dignity, and increases his arrogance and conceit.”
-- Emma Goldman
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What passes for patriotism now is merely willful ignorance. And this sort of mindless nationalism passed off as if were patriotism is nothing new.
It's called jingoism - extreme chauvinism or nationalism marked especially by a belligerent foreign policy (Websters)
There are plenty of patriotic Americans out there. They just don't happen to be beating their chest and braying about how patriotic they are. The chest beaters are very interesting, in a check out their motives and actions, because they might be doing something.
Always be suspicious of anyone or any group who claims they are a patriot, and for some reason people who do not act like them
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Could you point to some examples of this so-called "jingoism" as you think it applies to the contemporary United States? Where do you think the foreign policy is "belligerent"?
What about examples of "extreme chauvinism" or "extreme nationalism"?
Do you think it is going too far to suggest that people that hope the United States is attacked because "it deserves it" aren't really patriotic? What about people that hope for its military or political defeat?
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Could you point to some examples of this so-called "jingoism" as you think it applies to the contemporary United States?
Thought you'd never ask!
France. While helping us with the war effort in Afghanistan since 2001, when they objected to war number 2 in Iraq, many of us turned on the cheese eating surrender monkeys with a vengeance.
Where do you think the foreign policy is "belligerent"?
What about examples of "extreme chauvinism" or "extreme nationalism"?
Perhaps you weren't around during the runup to the war in Iraq. If not, check some history heaven help anyone who questioned Hussein being behind the 9-11 attack.
As well, imagine Mexico building a wall on Mexican soil, and demanding the US pay for it. Yet that is okay do do in the revers? B
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Actually we gave Mexico $74 Million US to go toward building a wall on their southern border. Mexico has a very big problem with illegal immigration, just like the US.
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Actually we gave Mexico $74 Million US to go toward building a wall on their southern border. Mexico has a very big problem with illegal immigration, just like the US.
Have any photo cites of that wall?
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Sounds more like you're describing a thought terminating cliche. [wikipedia.org]
As for jingoism, it's from a 19th century song. [etymonline.com]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
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As for jingoism, it's from a 19th century song. [etymonline.com]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
Yes, some in Great Britain wanted to invade Russia.
Jingo as a word is a minced oath, which means "by Jingo" was a substitute for "by Jesus.
Here are the words:
"We don't want to fight but by Jingo if we do
We've got the ships, we've got the men, we've got the money too
We've fought the Bear before, and while we're Britons true
The Russians shall not have Constantinople.
Oddly enough, the song starts out with a lie - they really wanted a war with Russia. Wonder how that would have turned out......
A note for readers: (Score:4, Insightful)
In viewing the above post you must keep in mind that the Left has decreed that dissent is no longer "racism" as it was deemed under President Obama. Now that a Republican president holds power, dissent is again the highest form of "patriotism" , and the military and political defeat of the United States is the goal of true "patriots." .
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In viewing the above post you must keep in mind that the Left has decreed that dissent is no longer "racism" as it was deemed under President Obama. Now that a Republican president holds power, dissent is again the highest form of "patriotism" , and the military and political defeat of the United States is the goal of true "patriots." .
Dissent never was racism. Much of the attacks on Obama were, however, at some level based in racism rather than policy. The most legitimate attack on Obama was his red line that he decided not to take action against. A president should never make a threat he is not prepared to keep on some level. That doesn't mean they should never back down, but it is nonetheless important to be taken seriously. Of course that action is a tempest in a teacup compared to Trump.
Dissent for Trump is not because he is a r
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Disagreeing with something Obama said or did is no more or less racist than disagreeing with something Trump did or said is patriotic. If someone does something stupid, it should be pointed out, not ignored or even celebrated for all the wrong reasons.
Then again, the US didn't have a president worth the name since Eisenhower moved out of the White House.
Re: A note for readers: (Score:2)
Then again, the US didn't have a president worth the name since Eisenhower moved out of the White House.
JFK couldn't have been too bad or he'd have played ball and they'd have let him live.
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JFKs cardinal sin was to pick a VP that isn't worse than him.
Take a look at the VPs since and tell me that they are not essentially just assassination insurance.
Re:A note for readers: (Score:4, Informative)
I think the accusations of right wing racism during Obama's Presidency had more to do with the memes giving the President and First Lady various chimpanzee photoshop treatments. I received a lot of ridicule for finding it tasteless and not laughing with everyone else. I takes no effort to attack someone's race, but it has no power any more either as we all see the weakness in that kind of personal attack.
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I think the accusations of right wing racism during Obama's Presidency had more to do with the memes giving the President and First Lady various chimpanzee photoshop treatments.
Did you object to the the same thing being done to Bush?
If not, then you are the racist, since you have a double standard for how we treat people of different races.
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Did you object to the the same thing being done to Bush?
If not, then you are the racist, since you have a double standard for how we treat people of different races.
I did not object, and I was a registered Republican at the time. And no, that's not racism. You severely misunderstand what racism is. Racism is not rudeness or crude insults, it's a type of systematic discrimination.
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Did you object to the the same thing being done to Bush?
If not, then you are the racist, since you have a double standard for how we treat people of different races.
I did not object, and I was a registered Republican at the time. And no, that's not racism.
Of course it is. A fairly minor incident of it, to be sure, but racism all the same.
To be clear, what is racist isn't the comparison of Bush to a chimpanzee. What is racist is the attitude that a white president and a black president need to be treated differently.
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it was of course racist and illegal.
I don't think it is illegal, and I don't agree it should ever be. I just want to point out that it's a shitty thing to do, and that society need not respect people who behave in a racist way. I'm a believer in ostracizing those who practice deviant behavior, rather than overtly punishing them. Of course if you wish to operate a business then you have more limitations placed on you in that sense, as we already accept that you at least need to adhere to various local, state and federal requirements in order t
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I'd have gone with sock-monkey rather than chimpanzee.
Re: Soooo missleading Title... (Score:1)
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Yes, as opposed to melting the brains of the viewer, which is the job of CNN. Kind of like a frontal lobotomy on a screen...
But then pacification of travelers has always been the primary reason for plying CNN incessantly in airports.
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I'd rather have a full bottle in front of me than a full frontal lobotomy.
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Or any of the leftist media... Clinton News Network, Nothing But Clinton, Clinton Broadcasting System, Always Backing Clinton, and foremost... Methodologically Supporting Nothing But Clinton.
Get back in your cave under the bridge, troll. Your candidate lost after an effort that was just as tragic as your cause... the undermining of Bernie Sander's campaign on her way to a candidacy with nothing on the platform except another four years of the failing Obama policies.
If you need to feel better about yourself
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For that they could simply use Fox News...
That would violate the Geneva Convention ban on Joke Warfare: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
"Wenn ist das Nunstück git und Slotermeyer? Ja! Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput!"
Y'all just laughed yourselves to death, after reading that!
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Guinea pigs. (Score:5, Insightful)
And if they don't work, well, I'm sure the VA will be happy to take care of your cognitive capabilities/disabilities, like they do every other soldier. Ahem.
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Yeah, because they had so many other options in life. Take a look at your average US soldier and tell me that this person had a chance to a sensible career outside the military.
Not because he's stupid or lazy, mind you, but simply because he didn't have the money to go to one of the more expensive colleges. I know a few people who served and still serve in the US military. The stories they tell are surprisingly similar.
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Apparently you don't read either. If you did you'd know the attention span limit was true of almost all humans regardless of IQ.
"hyper-elasticity" or placebo? (Score:2)
Sounds like pure BS to me. However, I wonder if the placebo effect extends to this type of training.
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Placebo doesn't improve your shooting/aiming skills. [radiolab.org]
Nor driving skills.
I wouldn't mess with the elite brains (Score:2)
SEALs are the best of the best, odds are dicking with their brains will give bad results more often than good.
Re: I wouldn't mess with the elite brains (Score:1)
Fighter pilots already use amphetamines, and many other chemical cognitive enhancers are in use.
Like in sci-fi, the drugs are electro + chemical, for whatever your goal: performance, high, control, apathy, etc.
Agreed that I wouldn't "test" this on the elite, but if it's gone this far in trials, you know it's been tested on the non-best already.
Wait a minute... (Score:2)
Admiral Szymanski says experiments found that operators monitoring screens reportedly maintained peak performance for 20 hours -- rather than experience the usual drop-off in concentration after 20 minutes.
Was the Admiral perchance wearing one of these devices when he was interviewed? Because this sounds suspiciously like a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode [wikia.com]...
Re: Wait a minute... (Score:1)
I've always wanted to try that game, just to see...
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Not "The Game", but rather the WW III soldiers depicted in TNG.
http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/... [wikia.com]
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pini... [pinimg.com]
http://startrek-originals.com/... [startrek-originals.com]
side effects may include murderdeathkill (Score:2)
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Oh, the military? Well then... (Score:1)
Remember, the military once tried to have a woman co-habitat with a dolphin to establish communications.
So maybe pump the brakes.
A cup of coffee works just as well. (Score:1)
Consequences (Score:5, Insightful)
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Don't worry! With our new budget cuts, they'll be out on the streets in no time!
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In nature it's a bad idea to get continuously engrossed in something because then something else can come along and eat you. The limit is probably not an issue of endurance or health.
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Making the brain work in ways other than our nature intends will yield a crop of disabled and troubled Seals.
he same though occured to me. This is changing some chemistry in the brain. I suspect that if it works, a fair amount of recuperation will be needed afterwards at the very least.
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Making the brain work in ways other than our nature intends will yield a crop of disabled and troubled Seals.
Give me a break. The FDA has probably done more to regulate around the way "nature intends" our minds and bodies to work more than any other single factor. The most popular preservatives and additives in our food supply today aren't natural or healthy.
As far as boosting the attention span of SEALs who are put in situations that mandate intense concentration and alertness, I'd say this is more of a survival tactic than anything else.
ADD / ADHD (Score:4, Interesting)
FTS: "... experiments found that operators monitoring screens reportedly maintained peak performance for 20 hours -- rather than experience the usual drop-off in concentration after 20 minutes.
I've read that TES helps people with ADD / ADHD - it's good to see experimental results from a different field of application that suggest it may be true. It just might be time for me to build my own TES device. [instructables.com]
Hemmingway (Score:2)
Didn't go so well for Hemmingway.....
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The "nice" thing about this is that you can't actually sue the US government for this sort of stuff because of Sovereign Immunity[tm]
You can if they allow you to, the USG is amazingly permissive about such suits.
Terminal Man (Score:2)
No danger? (Score:2)
And so begins the zombie apocalypse.
Sounds as amoral as using drugs (Score:1)
To me this sounds as amoral as using drugs in combat.
Army once again leads the way (Score:4, Insightful)
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"The purpose of the Office of the President is not to wield power, but to draw attention away from it." Douglas Addams
Not a single intersting comment (Score:1)
An interesting technical subject (TDCS seems to well-tolerated) with obvious general applications (long sessions of flow without drugs), and this is the quality of comments? Poor old Slashdot, I think we're done.
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That's oddly named (Score:2)
Shouldn't it be "Defense Innovation, Experimental"? Ooh, wait, bad acronym.
Students (Score:2)
The advertisement: (Score:1)
I just wonder... (Score:1)
This will be used to abuse children (Score:1)
Side affects, what side affects? This will only be used on men and boys, it's not as if society cares about them enough to worry about side affects.
Leary stuff... (Score:1)