

I've had personal experience with most of these-save cave painting and the more esoteric forms of hardware-and I think I can say with confidence that they have not changed my brain. And external software includes things like calendars, voting systems, search engines, and the Internet. Internal software includes things like education, meditation, mnemonics, and cognitive therapy. Internal hardware includes things like mind-altering substances, cochlear implants, or intra-cranial electrical stimulation. External hardware includes things like cave paintings, written documents, eyeglasses, wristwatches, wearable computers, or brain-controlled machines.

They can be either hardware or software, and they can be either internal or external to our bodies. Brain enhancers come in several varieties. Efforts to change the way we think-and to enhance our cognitive capacity-are ancient.
