NPR people are way too jazzed up about a "transcranial direct current stimulation" device.

This is a very cutesy video that sort of acts like these characters are doing a scientific test, while also admitting — twice — that it's "unscientific":



What is NPR for? This seems like a 10 minute ad for a dicey product. The NPR reporter, Elise Hu, purports to want to know how an actual athlete would respond to the product, and then we get to hear from an athlete who is sponsored by the manufacturer! The athlete says, "To me, like, all of a sudden, it was just like everything was a lot easier for me." Later, Hu interviews the co-founder of the company, who, we're told, thinks his product could "actually increase our life span." She invites us to worry about the inequities that might emerge if humans get "upgraded too much."

I watched this so you don't have to. It's 9 minutes, so I'm not recommending it. Maybe scroll to the part I think is most ridiculous, the interview with the co-founder, which begins at 5:50.

This style of ultra-perky video is just atrocious, but it must work on someone. And I'm sending hits their way, so I'm probably encouraging it.