Our entry of 2/5/05 spoke about the use of visual challenges for alertness testing. In response to requests for examples of shapes used in the BLT Alertness Test, here are a few. Obviously, these are very simple images, but they are sufficiently challenging when presented in groups of similar images (each row represents a similar Read more

The basic BLT Alertness test uses a set of shapes on the white squares of a small checkerboard. The challenge is to determine if all the shapes are the same or not. Since some of the shapes look similar and are randomly rotated, it can be difficult to tell if they are actually all the Read more

I talk a lot about alertness and its importance to safer work. And we emphasize getting enough sleep and eating properly. But what if it turns out that a simple pill will keep you alert? What if a pill can improve your memory? Well it seems, such medications are not that far away. In a Read more

The recent issue of Oprah Magazine (Jan 2005) has an interesting series on learning and health. Its surprising what you will find in Oprah which is, I guess, one of the reasons for her success – she is always open to new ideas and approaches to life. Learning is one of the best ways to Read more

If a human testing technology is able to measure fatigue, is it also measuring overall performance? I would say yes it is, because fatigue affects many if not all aspects of performance. In other words, if someone is tired his/her performance is going to degrade across the board. And there is plenty of science to Read more