Overclocking the Brain
The apt has been a total geekdom the past 2 weekends. I’ve been building my own computer, because I’m not happy with anything available from the big vendors like Dell and HP, and I don’t trust the smaller outfits. Also, I’m a very hands-on kind of guy. If I can do or build something myself, I prefer it that way. I get a kick out of it.
I also get a kick out of getting the most bang for my buck… squeezing out pennies. A Q6600 quad core processor is like having FOUR 2.4 gHz processors. That’s a lot of processor, especially since you can buy one now for $255. But look around the net, and you see everyone is tweaking bios settings and sqeezing 3 and 3.6 gHz out of the Q6600. 3.6gHz quad? Same price? I’m there!
So yeah, I got my quad core up to 3.2 gHz. I could push it further, but doing so generates more heat, which requires faster fans, which means more noise. I like things quiet, so I’m happy with my 3.2 gHz bargain.
In order to get to those higher speeds, one thing you have to do is boost the voltage going to the processor. The higher the voltage, the faster the speed that can be maintained.
Apparently, you can do the same thing with the brain. Give it a little boost in voltage, and memory and learning increase significantly. This was discovered accidentally, in an experimental treatment for obesity. Electrodes were pushed into the man’s brain and stimulated with an electric current. Instead of a diminished appetite, the treatment resulted in increased brain performance:
Speaking to The Independent yesterday, Professor Lozano said: “His performance improved dramatically. As we turned the current up, we first drove his memory circuits and improved his learning. As we increased the intensity of the current, we got spontaneous memories of discrete events. At a certain intensity, he would slash to the scene [in the park]. When the intensity was increased further, he got more detail but, when the current was turned off, it rapidly decayed.”
I wonder how far this parallel goes? If you “up” the voltage too much on a processor, it overheats. It fries. Tho if you fry the brain, you’re out a bit more than $255.