Soon, a 'thinking cap' that will unlock the hidden genius in us

London, Oct 1 : They say the spark of genius lurks hidden within all of us. Now, a group of researchers is developing a "thinking cap" that can make the notion a reality and unlock the potential of the brain.

The revolutionary device works by switching on and off certain sections of the brain, thereby unlocking its hidden potential.

Wearing the hairnet-like cap for a few minutes improved artistic ability and proofreading skills.

Once perfected, the device could be marketed as a cap slipped on to boost creativity and intellectual capacity.

The technique is based on research into savants, like the Dustin Hoffman character in the film 'Rainman', who have extraordinary abilities as well as severe mental disability.

The cap can reproduce the same affect by careful targeting of the magnetic pulses allows over or under-active parts of the brain to be calmed down or jump-started.

Professor Allan Snyder at Sydney University believes the experiments show we all have hidden talents, we just have trouble tapping into them.

"I believe that each of us has within us non-conscious machinery which can do extraordinary art, extraordinary memory and extraordinary mathematical calculations," Telegraph quoted him, as saying.

"We don't normally access these skills because they are the machinery behind our daily lives and everything we do.

"My theory is that there is a lot happening and maybe you could see it by shutting off that conscious part of the brain," he added.

ANI