Weightlessness and Brainpower
Brainpower Contest Winner # 6
Here is the winning entry for the weekly brainpower contest:
(For rules and to see other winnimng entries, visit the page
Brainpower Tips Contest.)
Dear sir Steve!
I have a tip to enter in the contest
to increase brain power which is this..
If we sit in a chamber in such a way
that this chamber is floating in an Epson-salt-filled water,
then the effect of gravity on our mind will be minimum and we
can solve even very difficult problems in no time. Your's truly.
Muhammad, from Pakistan
I don't don't know, Muhammad. I think that gravity would still
affect the brain the same as when we are laying down. Your body
would float, but within the body, everything would still be pulled
downward. However, your idea does propose an interesting hypothesis.
Does weightlessness affect brain function?
Unfortunately, I don't think we have any astronauts among
our subscribers. Their experiences might help answer this. However,
we do know that pressure on certain parts of the brain has been
shown to affect personality and brain function. This makes it
seem plausible that removing all pressure created by gravity
could effect some parts of the brain.
I guess we'll have to wait until they test this while up in
the space shuttle or on the space station. Meanwhile, if any
of you have had any interesting experiences while floating in
an isolation tank, feel free to e-mail me and I may report on
them in the newsletter. Thank you for the idea Muhammad, and
I hope that you like the prize.
Note: In order to get the newsletter put together and have
this page up before that, I have to pick a winner just two or
three days after each newsletter. However, if you sent any ideas
in later, I may use them for the following weeks.
Click here to return to
the Brainpower Contest Page.
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