Some thoughts (some of which already brought up)..
What happens if the chip breaks/malfunctions/crashes? After all, that's what computers/software/hardware does, no exceptions, all of it.
What about the fact that the vast majority of the population simply chooses not to think anyway?
As many have mentioned, just what is "power of the intellect"? The mind is capable of so many different functions and kinds of thinking on so many different levels, it could be any one of them. Is it understanding abstract ideas? Doing logical operations like math? Is it creativity? Is it being able to see connections better between seemingly unrelated things? Maybe retaining and recalling information better? Does it make you more curious/excited about learning? Does it make you think the same stupid things you've always thought, just faster (as someone already mentioned)? Maybe give our predator a nice boost then? My point being, we don't know what "thinking" really means, as so much is involved, it's nuts! And until I know what thinking means, I can't simply take something that makes "thinking", whatever that is, 40% better. I have some very very vague notion of what is intellectual ability, or what is consciousness, etc. But the little vague idea I do have is already complex enough to make "raising intellectual capacity" a silly idea, as much as just saying "We make your brain better!".
So what is thought? What is consciousness? What is "intelligence"? What is "smart"? What is intellectual capacity/ability? Personally I have no clue, just some vague ideas from experience. For example, as we learned from Gurdjieff and other esoteric sources, most people do not "think", they react, they process info as a computer - but can you call what a computer does "thinking"? Is reactionary "thinking" the same as conscious thinking? What about critical thinking? What about creative thinking? Abstract thinking? Even if we assume that those who designed the chip are some super-human forces who know the human brain exactly inside and out, it doesn't mean that I do, so why would I be taking something I don't understand? The term "intellectual capacity" means almost nothing to me. Until I know exactly what will be enhanced and in what way, and that it will NOT have any side-effects that the chip creators themselves don't know about, how could I take such a mysterious object?
Plus, I don't need the chip to have common sense. If I myself can be certain about what this chip will and will not do, which means I know exactly how the brain works, know exactly that this chip cannot possibly have side effects because I myself know the brain inside and out on all levels of reality, then guess what? I'm already on 6th density, no need for chip! It seems that the requirement to really know the effects of this chip is to already be beyond the capacity of any such chip to help you. And if you're not, you're blindly doing something you don't understand, filling in the blanks with assumptions and wishful thinking. I think very bad idea. I have only one certain way I know of to "enhance" myself - live life, learn.
Also what about what the C's said about the effect of using drugs to try to get a glimpse into other "realities". Would this chip also be a similar self-imposed abrigement of free will? The chip is not your brain, it's a foreign element, and the brain would rely upon it, and probably would actually become 40% "dumber" just to balance itself out with its new addition. Like a wheel chair - if yo use it when you have healthy legs, you won't have healthy legs for long, the muscles will atrophy since you rely on the wheel chair now. So the brain performed on a certain level cuz it had to, but if it has a crutch, it might, like a muscle, decide to atrophy as the crutch does all the work now. And the result is, when that chip does break as all mechanical/electrical things do, you'll may be so retarded/messed up, you'd probably ruin any and all potential for real advancement in this lifetime.
Having said that, let's not ignore that we can re-wire our brains anyway through conscious effort. We can make ourselves smarter, raise our intellectual capacity through the roof if we really practice and put in the effort. The very little we know about our brain and genetics, is enough to see how unlimited we really are. No need for attempting free lunch experiments, osit.
Not to say that we need certainty to make a choice. We have no certainty about anything in life but we make choices based on incomplete info anyway, we have to. But some things are just unnecessary risks, especially considering that we have no evidence that our brains are in fact, limited anyway. I know my computer is, so I can upgrade it and know exactly what that will do. But I'd not dare mess with the brain, it's not just a "computer", not by far. Just the mere possibility that this is an interface between my soul and the physical world is enough for me to back off and not mess with what I don't understand. It's ok if I mess up my computer, or if I'm tricked into installing a "helpful software" that is actually a virus, that's ok. I'm not gonna take that chance for my brain! :)
