Here’s a brain training game which will test the left and right sides of your brain.

Follow the instructions and practice until you get 100%.
If nothing else it will help wake you up in the morning.

http://www.humorsphere.com/fun/8787/colortest.swf

Have fun…

El término “Brain Training” se ha popularizado en los últimos años, debido fundamentalmente a una gran campaña de marketing de la empresa Nintendo con su juego Brain Training del Dr. Kawashima. Como todos sabéis, se tratan de una serie de juegos de lógica y puzzles, donde se les han añadido exámenes o puntuaciones para determinar una especie de “edad cerebral” del jugador. Los juegos engloban ejercicios de cálculo, memoria y retención de datos, rapidez lectora, incluyendo los populares sudokus o los juegos de estrategia de toda la vida.

Esto, que se ha vendido como una gran novedad, en realidad ya existía desde los primeros microordenadores. Tal vez lo novedoso ha sido empaquetarlos en “suites” de varios programas, dotarlos de datos comparativos para determinar una especie de indicador sobre la “edad mental” del jugador y articular una gran campaña mediática para ponerlo a la venta en todos los países occidentales.

En el QL no podían faltar este tipo de juegos, y aunque no dispongamos de tablas de puntuaciones para correlacionarlas con lo que hemos llamado “edad mental”, si que tenemos en nuestra plataforma una gran variedad de ellos.

A los entusiastas del QL ¡no nos haría falta comprarnos una Nintendo DS! para “entrenar” nuestro cerebro, eso podría ser incluso una excusa para desempolvar nuestro viejo QL y empezar a practicar el “Brain Training”.

A continuación pongo una pequeña selección de los que podríamos llamar una suite de juegos para “Brain Training” en el Sinclair QL.

A. Memo
Memo, es un programa para ejercitar la memoria. Consiste en ir descubriendo y emparejando cargas, si son iguales permanecerán boca arriba, si no lo son entonces debernos memorizar su posición y buscar su pareja. El programa está escrito por W.Lenerz y es freeware, requiere PE. Es muy adictivo.

Memo

B. Mines (buscaminas)
El clásico juego “Buscaminas”, desarrolla la rapidez mental y deducción. También funciona bajo PE y es freeware. Su autor es Frank-Guido Dibowski.

Mines

C. Osusq (sudoku)
El clásico sudoku para QL, muy popular en los juegos tipo “Brain Training”. Es un propgrama SuperBASIC escrito por el que suscribe este post con la colaboración de Badaman y Radastan. Por motivos obvios le tengo especial cariño a este programa. Mediante él podemos desarrollar la rapidez de cálculo, deducción y concentración. El programa también es freeware (¡¡e incluso opensource !! ).

Osusq

D. Quzzle (puzle)
Un puzzle de números, se trata de recolocar sobre el tablero los números en secuencia. Es un juego de habilidad espacial. Funciona bajo PE, es freeware y su autor es R.J Weeks.

Quzzle

E. QLTris (tetris)
Otro clásico, está vez en su versión para QDOS. Funciona bajo PE y fue escrito por Wolfgang Lenerz. Fortalece las habilidades espaciales y la coordinación óculo-manual.

QLTris

F. Psion Chess (ajedrez)
Éste es el clásico de entre los clásicos. Tal vez el juego más emblemático del Sinclair QL. Desarrollado, como todos sabéis, por la casa Psion. Se portó a diversas plataformas (PC, Atari, …) y fue muy popular durante los 80. El ajedrez es el juego de estrategia por excelencia.

Psion Chess

The whole process of storing, keeping and calling back data is identified as memory. Many a times we have thought of how bad we fare on our mental capability to recollect things but we rarely accept it in earnest however recessing memory is a crucial health disarray. Prevention adopted early can travel a long way in restoring our mental health.

Experts have planned so many means to surmount the disarray or ameliorate the condition. One of such instruments is called mnemonics it raises our capability to call back affairs situated on similarity. It is the nerve cells in our brain that send out and accept signals. The stronger the nerve cells connections are the better the memory is. If we rehearse means to strengthen and protect them it can travel a long way in securing a stronger memory, which in general reduces with age and mental troubles like stress. So one should try reducing stress and being engaged in leisure activities. try to receive new experiences and skills and go away from routine works. seek new adventures and challenges and grant body and mind new environments to work. Exercise regularly and do brisk walk and heart exercises to raise blood movement to brain to raise its maturation. Excite brain by involving oneself in brainstorming puzzles and quizzes. Read numerous papers and volumes and stay up-to-date with magazines. attempt holding back as much data as possible and recollect on a regular basis by consulting to them in conversation. Ward Off medicines such as antidepressants and sleeping aids, as they tend to dull our mind. One should also seek to flush bad habits like smoking, boozing and getting involved in drugs/doping. Making sure to acquire adequate hours of sleep (minimum 8 hours daily) also make sure to help our brain remain engaged.

Memory can be long term or short term, a couple of souls boast of brilliant memory they recollect affairs as old as 20 years or more. But some individuals might not even remember last week activities. It typically also depends on attention given, it is searched that if one concentrates for about 8 seconds or more the information is stacked away in the memory core of brain. Undistracted attention and debarring multitasking also assures information holding. Trying to involve as many senses to relate to data and remembering it by connecting to it also aids in bettering memory. Organising information in a good way of consulting back to when required for e.g. utilising phone book or appointment diaries. Breaking down compound material into bits and parts and reading them also aids in promoting memory.

Diseases such as diabetes and other heart diseases also strike memory. strain also causes it difficult to concentrate and recollect matters. Consuming healthy can avail in repairing memory and generate healthy brain cells. It also avails to struggle adverse effect of medicines. Leafed green vegetables and legumes assist to establish erythrocytes that carry oxygen to the brain. Vitamin B, C and beta-carotene also works as antioxidants and meliorate current of oxygen through body and brain. These naturally superb materials are detected in fruits and vegetables such as sweet potato, blue berries tomatoes, spinach, broccoli, green tea, citrus fruits, liver and nuts. Omega 3 fatty acids founds in cod liver oil and other fresh water fishes like salmon and tuna is good for cognitive services. It is also found in certain vegetarian food such as walnut and flaxseed. On the other hand there are accessories to overcome inadequacies such as vitamin b and folic acid capsules or health food fortified with such vitamins. These foods if taken in adequate quantity can aid boost heart functions that in turn supplies blood to brain and will ameliorate neuron functions leading to better memory.

Is your body unhealthy and mind healthy? Then you are wrong.

If you are a student troubled to study for a huge examination, you may soon find that you will require the aid of particular pranks to make your study life cozier. Numerous scholars of all years benefit from reading memory exercises . Instructors commonly attempt to aid their scholars by proposing particular exercises that they themselves have exploited or that they have learned since starting to learn.

Of course, each individual must practice whatever appeals to them. What works for one won’t inevitably work for other. This report has been presented in the easy style of instructing a kid to tie a shoe. His focus may be thrown crooked and outcome in frustration when asked to attempt a new means to find. Maybe one parent instructs adistinct way, or the grandparents disagree on what is better.

Babies with discovering impairments must find constructive ways for rising their remembering that are oriented to their own distinct capabilities. A kid who fights may need to link particular things with the identical colorings everyday to remember. Maybe they have particular forms that assist them remember, or smells. A kid who has vision impairment may find to affiliate by contact or odor. Grandmother may use the same fragrance every day or Grandad may put the same cologne or after shave.

There are times when the Instructors have a discovering method that is dissimilar from the parents. When the kid asks the parent for assist with homework, an argument may produce because the parent will use a dissimilar method to produce the comparable outcome. Sometimes if the kid is taught not to debate with the parent, this could result in a bad mark on the work that is turned in. This is where consistency and cooperation is successful in the parent/teacher relationship.

Have you ever made up a foolish, but rough song about someone who offended you? This was a wonderful memory exercise, even though it could be regarded as pathetic. Music is a helpful tool, especially for instructing young Babies to ameliorate their remembering, although it is commonly not exploited in a depreciatory way. Comedians make laughs with rough songs, which often results in the audience remembering the comedian merely because the music worked as a tool to cement the individual into memory. Maybe you don’t even recollect the words, but merely the melody, the outcomes are the comparable.

Rhymed games are a very important memory tool. An endless number of people have grown up savouring the jokes of the characters in Dr. Seuss stories! Numerous of the words don’t even have sense and mean null in realism. But they helped to assist a individual remember the story because of the rhyming outcome.

The key to memory exercises is repeat. You must learn yourself to do the activities over and over. Like always putting your car keys in your purse so you won’t lose them. If you have trouble getting your Babies to school on time because they spend too much time finding their backpack or shoes, have them find to place the items in the same place each evening. These little memory pranks are sure to make your boss happy if they produce you to work on time each day!

By John Sener

[Note: This article was first posted as a comment to Lynn Zimmerman's "Twitter Could Drive You Cuckoo" (1 Oct. 2009).]

Studies like this, and the related reportage and unsupported speculation, are what could drive me cuckoo. More accurately, taking such reportage (and the related study behind it?) seriously is likely to be far less healthy for one’s brain and working memory than Twitter.

Look closely at what’s going on here. The cited articles make no mention of how Twitter was used in the study. So I spent (wasted?) 30 minutes or so looking for the actual study. Still haven’t found it. That’s your first clue: the assertion that Twitter is bad is mostly, perhaps entirely, an echo chamber.

A Google search did not yield the study; none of the articles I found have a link to it. I did find Dr. Alloway’s web site; that should have been promising — except that I couldn’t find a link to the study there either. I found a couple of references buried on her web site and through Google searches, but none which appear to be the related study either. Much more easy to find on her web site are links to all the media coverage she’s received and the talks she’s giving. That’s your second clue.

It appears from her web site that she’s doing some good research to establish the importance of working memory, among other areas. Bravo for that. She claims that it’s more valuable than IQ as a measure of intelligence (although the study I found measures the efficacy of working memory in terms of increased performance on IQ, literacy, and numeracy tests — hmmm). But even this appears to be a double-edged sword: she is also promoting “JUNGLE MEMORY, a brain-training program based on my research and promoted by Pearson Education, improved from a grade C to a B, and a B to an A after just 12 weeks! It is the only training program scientifically proven to raise grades.” So her web site is long on self-promotion and short on links to actual research.

______________________________

Clearly working memory as defined is an important skill. But why is it THE most important skill?

______________________________

But here’s the thing: What does all this have to do with Twitter being unhealthy for working memory? Where’s the evidence, the data? I found someone who suggested that the study did not actually test Twitter (can’t find that reference now). Dr. Alloway herself noted in a comment on her web site that the conclusions are “based on findings from a pilot study, more to follow once the study is complete.” Hmmm. Someone else on her web site asked four weeks ago for a link to the complete study; no response was posted. The reportage also suggests that Twitter was not actually tested, and that its detrimental effects are pure speculation on Dr. Alloway’s part. As reported in the Scotsman, “Paul Allen, editor of ComputerActive magazine, questioned the study and said technology like Twitter was ‘too new’ to make conclusions about. He said: “‘It sounds very spurious. I don’t see a correlation between the length of a message you send someone and the effect on memory. It could be a really interesting Twitter message.’” Exactly.

But in the meantime, the blogosphere has already run wild, and sooner or later you’ll be hearing someone tell you how science has shown that Twitter is bad for your brain. Just like another British scientist ran amok earlier this year with unsubstantiated speculation about how social networking sites were harming children’s brains.

Fortunately, the British have also provided us with several fine words for dealing with such situations: Balderdash. Poppycock. Twaddle.

To me, the worst part about this is that it totally obscures a deeper, more important question. As Dr. Alloway says on her web site, “Cutting-edge research has shown that working memory—the ability to store and manipulate information—is the most important learning skill a child can have. Working memory is the foundation of good grades and a successful life beyond the classroom. Without it, students would fail at every task, and with it they can dramatically improve their classroom performance.”

Clearly working memory as defined is an important skill. But why is it THE most important skill? It makes sense to say that if you believe that classroom performance as currently defined (store and manipulate information as per the teacher’s requirements) is in fact most important. But if you believe that there are more important skills, and that getting good grades is at least as much about social conditioning as it is about learning, then you would be asking a different set of questions. Ones, sadly, which we are not going to hear in this media blitz of misinformation…

Among the issues I’ve heard from my clients, many express a feeling of being stuck.  For some, it’s being stuck in a pattern of behavior and for others it’s an emotional rut that they experience on a regular basis. I know first hand how that feels and how strong the desire can be to create new behaviors or  a new emotional reality. Unfortunately, the strength of desire doesn’t make it easier to free ourselves. Understanding what  causes us to get stuck can help though.

When we think about our behaviors, reactions and feelings – they all originate in the brain. Patterns form when we do things the same way repeatedly, because the neurons that fire together, wire together. As an example, if we respond to stressful situations by eating – a connection between stress and eating is formed.  One client illustrated this by explaining that her habit of smoking was hardest to break when she left the house. It seems that she had a ritual of lighting a cigarette the moment she got in her car, so every time she left the house, the urge to smoke was strongest.  There were certainly more deeply rooted triggers, but for our purposes it was very helpful to identify the time frame that her habit had the strongest hold.

So, how can you get out of a rut? It’s not always easy, but here are a few ideas to get you started:

1. Recognize the rut or cycle you’re experiencing.
2. Determine what the pay-off is for your reaction or habit (think about how it makes you feel and what the results of your habit or reaction are).
3. Identify the triggers that cause you to begin the repeat behavior (are there ways to diffuse or avoid the triggers?).
4. Formulate a plan to react to the situation in a more desireable way. Your plan may involve avoiding the trigger, replacing a habit, reframing the experience, or creating a distraction. Keep in mind, if you’re replacing a habit with a different activity or substance, you’ll want to make sure it’s something good for you (’cause it’s likely to become your new “thing”). If you’d rather avoid replacing one habit with another, identify a variety of replacements and mix it up a bit. 

Hopefully these basic steps will be a helpful start for you. If you have deeply rooted patterns that are unhealthy or interfering with your happiness, it is usually a good idea to get assistance. I invite you to check out http://www.Peak-Brain-Performance.com to see if you could benefit from our help. If you want sessions and you’re not planning a visit to the Columbus, OH area anytime soon, there are several Brain State Technologies affiliates around the country who would be happy to work with you. 

Just let me know if you have any questions or comments; I’d love to hear from you.

Poned las mentes a trabajar ^^

Aquí os dejo unos test de cultura general para ver cuán listos sois

TEST CULTURA GENERAL

También he encontrado una página en la que podéis hacer otro tipo de test:

Psicotécnicos (memoria, visual, matemática…)

Entrenamiento mental (tipo Brain Training)

Coeficiente intelectual

Test del carácter

Test de personalidad

Están muy bien todos^^

Espero que paséis un buen rato con ellos y que de paso descubráis más cosas sobre vosotr@s mism@s

Memory and Brain Training Games is a website to help us all keep our brains in tip top condition while having a bit of fun along the way!

The free games that you can find there are designed to improve memory, speed up your reflexes and increase your ability to complete problem solving challenges.

This page will be the blog og the website, so check back here often, but for now just head on over to the brain training website.

Author : Elderly lady in training 
Comment:

David – glad to see you blogging again – and to read what you have written.
You (and your readers) might be interested in an experiment that the BBC have just set up in the UK to test brain training – see http://www.bbc.co.uk/labuk/experiments/braintestbritain/articles/about

———————

This site allows anyone to register for free. I went ahead and registered and completed the benchmark tests. I’ll probably start the training tomorrow. Looks interesting and fun…………..no harm in trying!

David

If anyone gets bored this Labor Day weekend, here’s a fun logic puzzle to keep you busy. It’s interactive and no need to print it out! Have fun.

We’re going to lay low and perhaps do some grilling out on the back patio. Nothing in particular. No trips. Fortunately for the weekends, they have a lovely end of the summer 3-day holiday. We’ve had either cloudy or rainy weather on most weekends over the past summers. Not good for those who own boats which can only be used here on the lake only several months of the year as it is.

Only in  America ……do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.

Warmly………..David

Brain scanning has revealed how years of music practice have changed the brains of professional musicians.

Research announced to the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting in Philadelphia, US, has shown how musicians have more “grey matter” – or brain cells, in certain key regions.

By BBC News

Read More Here

Unwitting pawn or diabolical mastermind?

The first piece in the puzzle of Nintendo’s most recent bid for world domination was the Brain Training series on the DS. It seemed innocuous enough – players are asked to complete a series of puzzles, and the “age” of their brain is evaluated. A fantastic educational tool which encourages us to utilise more of our brains. Right?

Wrong. The true purpose of these games is to assign us our places in Nintendo’s New World Order. Think about it. The game evaluates your relative intelligence based upon the human brain’s optimum performance. Nintendo can then collect and collate this data, and assign you your role. Those with the “youngest” brains will enter the higher positions – ministers, bureaucrats, teachers, etc.; while those with the “oldest” brains will be consigned to the most menial jobs – manual labour, street cleaners, police officers, etc.

Of course, as of yet Nintendo has no way of collecting this data. But trust me, they’re working on it. You can already share your scores with friends and families who use the same DS. And with the console’s internet capabilities it is only a matter of time until you’ll be asked to send your results to Nintendo.

At first this will take the innocent form of leader boards, allowing players to see where they rank on a local, national, and even global basis. But this will give Nintendo access to this information. And when that happens, what you thought were just a few innocent puzzles will turn out to be your sentence to a lifetime of servitude.

But what will become of those of us who refuse to take part in this charade? When Nintendo finds they have no data on us, what then? Will we be forced to take part? Will our results be fabricated, and they assign us to the most degrading work they can? Or will it be the start of something altogether more sinister. Labour camps? Mass extermination? Or possibly (and this is the slimmest of hopes I can allow myself to contemplate) will it lead to the first germs of a resistance? Will we fall through the cracks, giving mankind it’s only chance at salvation?

This game is for the whole family – from kids to OAPs.

Part puzzle game, part self improvement tool this is the only game that’s both lots of fun and good for you.

The basic idea is that you play through a series of puzzles each day, for about 10 minutes, and at the end of each session the “age” of your brain is calculated.

- Sudoku - Use logic to fill in missing numbers on a grid.
- Syllable Count – Count the syllables in phrases.
- Reading Aloud - Read classic literature as fast as possible.
- Stroop Test - Say the names of colors as they appear on the screen.
- Word Memory – Memorize words that appear on screen.
- Speed Counting – Count to 120 as fast as you can.
- Connect Maze – Draw lines to connect letters and numbers in alphabetical and numeric order.
- Calculation - Perform simple math problems quickly.
- Head Count – Count people as they enter and exit a house.
- Triangle Math – Solve math problems in a certain pattern.
- Low to High – Memorize the position of numbers, then touch them in order from lowest to highest.

Buy Now with Amazon

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/159305.php

MIT study shows brain’s ability to change quickly with correct answers to brain training

Wondering why cognitive skills training works so well? This study shows why we learn more from our successes than our failures. Why would you keep letting your kid fail and expect different results? By retraining the brain (we’re talking about with TRAINED cognitive skills specialists – not tutoring, which is more for one specific academic subject) kids (and teens and adults and seniors!) can actually create stronger and faster neural connections!

Very cool!