Loving the dark
roasted bean ...
roasted bean ...
the teaching ...
and the learning ...
and, one day, the earning ...
and the learning ...
and, one day, the earning ...
Welcome to the last in my Fun Friday series: Enhancing Your Brain After 50. In this series, I've looked at a couple of ways to improve your memory, boost your brain capacity and exercise your brain so that it will remain sharp. And, as a gamer, I always look for so-called brain games to challenge myself. But do they work to improve your brain capacity? Do they help build fluid intelligence? Can they really help you increase your IQ? Well, some say that this one might just be the one that can do all that: Dual n-Back training. This method of training was used in a study by Susanne M. Jaeggi, Martin Buschkuehl, John Jonides and Walter J. Perrig. According to their paper, the ‘‘dual n-back’’ task, "engages multiple executive processes, including ones required to inhibit irrelevant items, ones required to monitor ongoing performance, ones required to manage two tasks simultaneously, and ones required to update representations in memory." Ok, I was up for a challenge so I scoured the internet for an online version (free, of course). I found a demo of the game on soakyourhead.com. You can try it here. It requires that you have Microsoft Silverlight installed and so far it hasn't alerted my antivirus or malware software so I'm assuming it's safe. (Disclaimer: I don't do anything online without having my firewall and live-time antivirus and/or anti-malware software installed, up-to-date and running!! Even then, use your best judgement and if it feels like an iffy site to you, don't use it!) There's also a paid version offered by IQ Mindware. I haven't tried this one so I can't comment on its game play. However, it looks intriguing. It is certainly visually pleasing and offers a running analysis of your progress. Many have asserted that dual n-back training has noticeably improved their focus, memory and perceptual ability. I haven't played it enough to see a difference yet. Be forewarned, this game can be painfully difficult. I suggest you read the how-to information first and then give it a try. I tried it several times and it left my brain tired. But, as with any new task aimed at enhancing your brain, that's a good thing. The game displays both a visual and an auditory cue (a square in a grid and a letter) and you have to remember whether the next cue is the same as the one two steps back, pressing A for the visual cue and L for the letter cue. When I first played, I did really well. But as I tried to improve my score I seemed to do poorly in subsequent runs. I am NOT deterred, though. And, I'm sure I'll keep at it. There are other brain games out there some of which include BrainAge (Nintendo), Lumosity (various platforms), BrainHQ and many, many others. I've played them and they're fun. But do they improve fluid intelligence? The truth is that this is still a controversial topic. For every researcher who claims that brain games do provide a lasting improvement there are many others who refute those claims. My current working assumption is that anything you do that is new and difficult will provide some benefit. The key, I believe, is that once you master something it's time to move on to something more difficult and more challenging. The idea is to give your brain more problems to solve in different areas each day. Included in that is to be active in the real world by walking, running, cycling or any type of physical exercise, which will increase oxygen to the body and improve blood flow to the brain. By keeping your brain working on difficult tasks, both the video game variety and the real-life variety, you can enhance its capacity and/or your fluid intelligence. Are there any brain games or activities that you find helpful? Please let us know in the comment section. I hope this mini-series got you thinking (pun intended) about ways to keep your brain active and sharp no matter what your age. I hope you like it. Thanks for reading! Sources: The article by Susanne M. Jaeggi, Martin Buschkuehl, John Jonides and Walter J. Perrig
Wiki article about n-back Brain Workshop - a Dual n-Back Game Dual n-Back Pro - A paid version of the Jaeggi dual n-back by IQ Mindware BrainHQ Lumosity BrainAge Note: The link to BrainAge, by Nintendo, is an eBay affiliate link.
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Hello! Hola! Bonjour! Ohayo! Wouldn't it be nice to be able to speak a different language? Well, what are you waiting for? Think it's too difficult? Well, maybe. But every journey begins with the first step. And, when you want to keep your brain sharp and working for you, doing new things can achieve that goal. In my previous Fun Friday posts, I've discussed ways to keep your brain in shape. Learning a language is a great way to do that. As you may know I am very frugal, so I try to find ways to do things for free whenever possible (or at least very, very cheaply). So if you feel the same way, let me give you a few suggestions for how to learn a language very inexpensively. My current favorite way is using Duolingo. You can use Duolingo on your computer via your web browser, on iOS or on your Android device. I use Duolingo on my smartphone and, as of this writing, there are over 20 languages I can learn. Right now, I'm actively working on Spanish, French, and Japanese, and sort of puzzling out Portuguese and Danish. I love the way the Duolingo learning method uses both audio and visual learning strategies. Having the audio examples makes it easier to pronounce the words correctly when you see them. The lessons put the words in context as well so not only do you learn the vocabulary but you learn how to use it. The learning is broken up into lessons with activities that I find fun. You get to speak your answers to some of the exercises as well so you can practice your pronunciation. The comment sections let you discuss the activities with other learners of various skill levels and, for the most part, everyone helps one another learn. This is a nice, convenient alternative to a formal classroom setting and you can go at your own pace. It's absolutely free. And, if you choose to opt for a paid plan you can help others learn for free. I love Duolingo! I've also tried using my public library's language learning resource: Mango Languages. The lessons use audio and visuals to help you learn. And just like Duolingo, you can practice your pronunciation by using your device's microphone. So far, they offer over 70 different languages including American Sign Language, Chinese, Tagalog, and Swedish. And if you have a valid library card this resource is absolutely free! In the past, I have also paid for and used Innovative Language. (I used to run an affiliate link here, which has lapsed in recent years.) I love their method for learning Japanese: Japanesepod101.com. I started every day by driving to work listening to the Japanesepod101 podcasts. They were fun, informative and filled with both vocabulary and cultural lessons that have stayed with me to this day.
They also have tons of free YouTube videos where you can learn for free and their website offers many free podcasts as well. Their paid version is pretty economical, especially if you catch it on sale. And I've used that as well. It comes with the line-by-line transcript of every podcast so you can see the language as you're listening to it. So, please check them out as well. Whichever way you choose to learn a new language, please know that it will indeed help exercise your brain and help keep it active and vibrant no matter what your age!! Thank you for reading. Au revoir and Enjoy! When I was a kid, I used to love to do math in my head. It was a way of challenging myself to think better and faster. I was able to, with practice, multiply 3-digit numbers in my head while I stood on the bus stop waiting for the bus--which always seemed like a lifetime. It was fun and it passed the time in a useful way. Although I try to do it now, it has become a great deal more difficult. My mind tends to wander and it seems more rote than it used to feel when I was a kid. But as I pointed out in my last Fun Friday Post (Fun Friday: Enhancing Your Brain After 50. Post #1), the way to keep your brain sharp is by working it, training it, challenging it-- and basically, using it. So, I got on my search engine (which is still SwagBucks Search) and looked up better ways to do mental math. I found some interesting info on math tricks and then I stumbled upon a TED talk that really grabbed my attention: The Magic of VedicMath by Gaurav Tekriwal. OMG, I watched it and halfway in, I got it back! I got back the ability to do math in my head. I used to multiply those 3-digit numbers in my head the old fashioned way. But Vedic math is so much faster and easier. Ever since I watched that video, I've been playing with different 3-numbers multiplications in my head and have been having a blast. So, here's basically how it goes. You use a base system to multiply numbers. For example, 17 x 14 using 10 as the base: Yes, the diagram seems too complicated and the method in it only works in certain cases. But it's just one trick using these principles.
Don't take my word for it. Go see the video for yourself. This method makes multiplying large numbers in your head a breeze. And practicing mental math can enhance your brain capacity. I hope you enjoyed this example. Thank you for reading. Other Sources and References: The magic of Vedic math - Gaurav Tekriwal techmath on YouTube VedicMaths.org VedicMath ~ VedantaTree |
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