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eclair
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Joined: 7 Dec 2005
Posts: 24
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# Posted: 10 Mar 2006 02:02
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I was reading about things people could do to get smarter here http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,1723801,00.html
I decided to take on the challenge by playing Sokoban more often - I am really not good when it comes to matters relating to spaces.
I have also decided to continue my quest to write poetry so I could play with words.
What do you do for brain exercises?
- Clair
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Vishal P. Rao
Joined: 23 Jun 2005
Posts: 958
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# Posted: 10 Mar 2006 07:18 · Edited by: Vishal P. Rao
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Quoting: eclair What do you do for brain exercises?
Meditate. I think we already use our brain too much, thinking of trivial things if not for constructive activities. What we all need is some exercises to slow down our brain than stimulate it. Without sufficient rest any organ will wither and brain is no different.
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agoodsaid
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Joined: 13 Aug 2005
Posts: 50
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# Posted: 10 Mar 2006 09:00
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Read ... read and read some more 
Andrea
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marshamaung
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Joined: 10 Mar 2006
Posts: 2
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# Posted: 10 Mar 2006 09:45
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yoga's good. and i normally go for a run or go to gym for a bit. usually jogs up the mind a little. sometimes we run out of ideas because we're too tired. with a little bit of adrenalin in the blood, some things becomes clearer.
and sometimes i just go tickle my kids a little. 
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A8ch
Joined: 24 Jun 2005
Posts: 537
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# Posted: 10 Mar 2006 10:38
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Quoting: eclair What do you do for brain exercises?
Great question, and already the reponses are insightful. Clair, Andrea and Marsha actively engage in activities to stimulate the brain, while Vishal takes the opposite approach and relaxes the brain through meditation.
In my opinion both methods have merit. Together they represent the push and pull, ebb and flow, or ying and yang that contribute to balancing our lives.
The brain is already performing super human functions regulating every aspect of our unconscious existence, monitoring our body functions and so on. It's also the organ we can command to shape us into improving ourselves on every level.
I like to read, play the piano and meditate. Every now and then I would perform a routine activity in a different way. For example: I'm right-handed, but from time to time I would use my left hand to drink a cup of tea or slice a loaf of bread.
I don't know if any of this makes me smarter, but it does enhance my perspective.
Hermas
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WhitePhoenix
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Joined: 3 Jan 2006
Posts: 168
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# Posted: 10 Mar 2006 17:08
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Hermas, you are so philosophical! I wish I had your energy! By the end of the day, the most challenging brain exercize I engage in to relax is to get through my Majonng tournament in under 32 minutes. That's about all I can handle.
If I want stimulation, I'll put in the most intense action movie I can find in my video cabinet.
Not very philosophical, but hey, whatever works, right?
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Vishal P. Rao
Joined: 23 Jun 2005
Posts: 958
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# Posted: 10 Mar 2006 23:50 · Edited by: Vishal P. Rao
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Quoting: A8ch I'm right-handed, but from time to time I would use my left hand to drink a cup of tea or slice a loaf of bread.
That's an excellent way to exercise both sides of your brain. The left brain, which controls the right side of our body, represents the logical brain. The right brain, which controls the left side of our body, represents the creative brain and is far more superior in intelligence to the left brain.
For example, take the computer for an instance. The computer is purely a logical instrument. Without the person operating it (right brain), it cannot function. No matter how advanced it is, it cannot operate by itself.
Most of us are predominantly right-sided, thereby inhibiting our creative side or the more intelligent side. Therefore you'll see that left-sided people are more creative than right-sided individuals.
Apart from the technique Hermas suggested, there is another breathing technique called Alternate Nostril Breathing to balance both sides of our brain.
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eclair
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Joined: 7 Dec 2005
Posts: 24
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# Posted: 15 Mar 2006 01:45
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Quoting: Vishal P. Rao Without sufficient rest any organ will wither and brain is no different.
That is true too Again, balance is key. Thanks for the reminder. And the link you gave to Alternate Nostril Breathing is interesting too.
Quoting: A8ch I like to read, play the piano and meditate. Every now and then I would perform a routine activity in a different way. For example: I'm right-handed, but from time to time I would use my left hand to drink a cup of tea or slice a loaf of bread.
I don't know if any of this makes me smarter, but it does enhance my perspective.
Hermas: For me, right now, different perspectives are important to see. I know that I am still limited because I mainly interact with people who are my age (more or less) and do similar things. For example, I want to try writing with my lefthand just to get used to it and at the same time find out what one of my classmates in high school felt when he was injured and had to learn writing with the other hand.
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A8ch
Joined: 24 Jun 2005
Posts: 537
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# Posted: 19 Mar 2006 03:14
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Quoting: eclair I want to try writing with my left hand just to get used to it and at the same time find out what one of my classmates in high school felt when he was injured and had to learn writing with the other hand.
Hi Clair,
It's interesting that you should pick that particular activity to pursue. When I was a teenager in high school I broke the radius and ulna on my right hand and wore a cast for a couple of weeks.
In the interim I learned how to write with my left hand and my penmanship was pretty good too!
It's proof that with the correct mental focus and incentive, we can achieve just about anything we desire, so long as we are willing to make the effort.
Hermas
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eclair
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Joined: 7 Dec 2005
Posts: 24
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# Posted: 19 Mar 2006 21:36
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Hermas:
Quoting: A8ch
It's proof that with the correct mental focus and incentive, we can achieve just about anything we desire, so long as we are willing to make the effort.
That is true. I wonder how my penmanship will be...
So you practiced every single day? How hard was it to keep up with all the homework and exams?
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A8ch
Joined: 24 Jun 2005
Posts: 537
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# Posted: 19 Mar 2006 22:53
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In the beginning I was slow and deliberate, and it was difficult to keep up with the teachers when they would dictate notes for the class to record verbatim. But after the first week it was magical to witness the interplay between the brain and the body.
I'd hear a word or phrase, the brain would recognize its shape and the muscles in my fingers would instinctively know what actions to execute in order to form those words on paper.
Perhaps it helped that I had been a piano student back then and was used to performing intricate musical patterns with my left hand anyway.
Hermas
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Kelly66
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Joined: 25 Mar 2006
Posts: 1
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# Posted: 25 Mar 2006 20:22
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Clair
Have a look at the Tony Buzan memory book. I can definitely recommend it. I've learned a lot about remembering lists and often go out with a long list in my head and no written list. Certainly stretches your memory. Also professor Winson ran a great program on the BBC about Omega oil and how it lubricrates the brain cells.
It is certainly important to keep our brains active - because as they say, if you don't use it, you lose it.
On that happy note - I off to -------- Oh! I forgot ...
Kelly
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