What is the point of me? I've forgotten

 

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Posted on 8 Feb 2001 at 15:55

The kids of today - fed on a diet of junk food and e-number additives and doing nothing but play computer games all day. No wonder they have the attention span of a forgetful goldfish. Well, help is at hand with a gadget that fights fire with fire - it's a special sort of computer game.

The "Attention Trainer" is a game system - based on the principles of neuro-feedback - that's designed to improve the ability of children to concentrate and pay attention.

The New York Times reports that the game costs $899 and quotes Tom Blue, a senior VP at the game's maker, East3. He believes the device "will teach kids what it feels like to concentrate - the technology will act as a mirror to accelerate learning."

Featuring a bicycle helmet-like set of sensors to monitor brain wave activity, the wearer becomes more successful at a game the more they concentrate. Brain-activity data is transmitted wirelessly to a base station that is hooked up to a computer and software keeps track of the user's progress.

The system is based on a therapy of learning to modify brain waves to achieve particular states of mind, for example concentration. Expect the "Stress Reduction" and "Relaxation" game versions to follow...

Author: Alun Williams