[LINK] Learning enhancement using "transcranial direct current stimulation"

Slightly better version here: http://www.ox.ac.uk/media/science_blog/brainboosting.html (includes the link to the actual paper and some others at the end).

One of the concerns they raise is that the required equipment is cheap to obtain or assemble yourself which could lead to unqualified people engaging in potentially dangerous self-experimentation. Soo, any LessWrongers willing to give it a try? ;)

There's a subreddit for this:

http://www.reddit.com/r/tDCS/

Woohoo. Wire me up! Where are some plans for these contraptions?

So how does this square with Algernon's Law? (That any simple change that enhances intelligence must be a net evolutionary disadvantage.)

For example, if the treatment makes it easier for a neuron to fire, it also increases the chances of a neuron firing when it's not "supposed" to (because of random noise or whatever).

The example of math learning seemed pretty contrived to me. Here is an 8 year old article on transcranial stimulation for drawing. If nothing else, look at the drawings made by the journalist.

The Sydney work is about magnetic stimulation, while the Oxford work is electrical, but the effects sound pretty similar. Electrical techniques are cheaper, but harder to control (2d vs 3d). The drawing article appeared in the New York Times Magazine, but the current web page lacks the drawings.