Brain Training Software/Apps

[Douglas]

There's no question about it: I'm getting dumber. And at a rapid pace. The drinking doesn't help, does it?

A couple times in recent years I've run across puzzle games etc. that claim to boost brain performance. I suck at remembering names, I can't do brain teasers like I used to, and sometimes I just can't remember things I would have remembered with no problems a few years ago.

Has anyone tried any of these sites/games/apps? I tried BrainAge on the Nintendo DS a few years ago and was appalled to see it rated my brainpower as feeble - this for a guy who thinks he's a pro at little puzzles and such. I've been goofing around with a trial on Lumosity as well.

Any thoughts on these? Anyone used them and found they work? Which ones? Or are they all wet?

 

[otc]

Dual N-Back exercises are supposed to be fairly helpful.

I have a program for them called Brain Workshop that seemed good although I only had it installed on my work computer and I'm lazy so I have not touched it in a long time.

 

[Thomas]

See, this is one of the big advantages of being stupid. I don't have much smarts to lose, at least not as much as the rest of you big-brains.

I did notice that my computational speed had started to tail off, so I eschewed calculators and spreadsheets for a while to remind myself how the ol' 2+2 business works. Seems to be helping again.

 

[why]

These are all silly and don't actually help you to think. They do help you solve the puzzles they offer, for whatever that's worth.

Also, memory has little to do with mental acuity.

I suggest studying something that requires a bit of thought. Maybe another language, a natural science, or mathematics.

 

[Thomas]



These are all silly and don't actually help you to think. They do help you solve the puzzles they offer, for whatever that's worth.
Also, memory has little to do with mental acuity.
I suggest studying something that requires a bit of thought. Maybe another language, a natural science, or mathematics.

That hits upon a comment I was about to make but decided against.

I think that the best you're going to get from a pre-packaged app is re-training yourself to think in specific ways to solve specific problems. I went through this when I did GMAT review, and to a lesser extent when the Mrs. did her LSAT prep (because she does NOTHING on her own). Post-graduation the GMAT book wouldn't have done much, but 10 years later, it reminded me of some skills I'd let lapse as I started to get more routinized in my thinking.

 

[Pennglock]

Analytical ability peaks sometime around your late teens and fades out fast after that. You're not going to get back to where you were, and the entire industry of brain-training is a crock of ****. Not to mention that the idea of spending your free time with that stuff sounds miserable.

Flynn has a new book on this topic Im considering reading. Review below:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444180004578018480061824600.html

IMO, study something you enjoy for the sake of pleasure and stop worrying if youre not a sharp as you used to be. I imagine ********* doesnt get as hard as when you were 19 either. No reason to dwell on it.

 

[zombie]

If this means anything to you, I earned my best grades when I played a very unhealthy dose of Brain Age and Photo Hunt every night on my iOS device. But I'm admittedly now in a slump and have the brain age of a ≥ 80 years-old, comatose patient.

 

[Pennglock]

Well, you are a zombie after all.

 

[zombie]

hardy har har.

It's the LIVING dead --- not BRAIN dead.

 

[Thomas]



hardy har har.

It's the LIVING dead --- not BRAIN dead.

Well, pretty close, don't you think? I mean, all I ever hear from Zombies is "EAT...BRAINS". Really, not a lot of brain activity going on there.

 

[why]



Analytical ability peaks sometime around your late teens and fades out fast after that.

Nonsense.

 

[imatlas]

hardy har har.

It's the LIVING dead --- not BRAIN dead.

Well, pretty close, don't you think? I mean, all I ever hear from Zombies is "EAT...BRAINS". Really, not a lot of brain activity going on there.

You are what you eat, after all.