Discussion on:

Q&A: New evidence shows brain-training games don't work

" . . .it is impossible to thing brain training doe not work" ... mybe you rite

It's quite possible that "brain training" works, but this study showed that the kind of training used in the original study did NOT work.

It's something when you're answering actual text questions in a subject like math, that you can actually understand. But a lot of these things are just the ability to figure out visual patterns. What's the big deal?

These meaningless exercises are useless precisely because they are useless.

To improve your effective intellegance, learn to play an instrument, take up a form of structured dance (ballroom, Contradance, square dancing, various ethnic dance forms) a martial art (I'm partial to Ki Aikido) even learn a new language (programming or human) or environment (I'm currently exploring the 1&1 Linux ecosystem. . .)

Whatever you learn make it something which is not left behind after the lesson.

This is a very good answer. If you want to learn something just do it.
As an octogenarian I recall those who were called up for military service and had to learn a lot in a short while, and their lives depended on it. They learnt quickly. Those returning from war had lost five years of their lives doing jobs that had no purpose in peace time. They had to learn new skills quickly as their livelyhood depended on it. They learnt quickly.
Learning useless skills takes you nowhere. My granny was brilliant at crosswords as she sat in a chair all day doing them.

Ahh, no wonder the scientific community is the butt of so many jokes. I can't wait to read the articles a year from now which state "oops, we were wrong... brain training DOES work".

This reminds me of all their other flip-floped "findings", like the evils/merits of eggs, red wine, beer, chocolate, vitamin pills, coffee, carbs, yadda yadda yadda. Next, please.

Nonetheless, the scientific method is how progress is made. Theories are postulated, tests are devised to confirm or disprove the theory, results are published so others can confirm those results. Sometimes other tests appear to confirm the results so the theory gains credence. Later, someone may discover a flaw in the methods used and the theory is modified or discarded. Sorry, but that's how it works: short term volatility, long term gains in understanding.

Don't publish unfinished research as fact. If they stated that their findings are preliminary, or started the article with "we believe" it would lend a lot more credibility.

how would they make money in that case. All these findings are just a way to attract more people and make studies into money making business, so, curious George remains curious forever. This is the sole reason they publish any new finding so it gains popularity and more and more money is dumped into the study. How else do you think these so called scientists get money to produce genetically engineered food .. build new weaponry.. space projects. These people do not even know what form of life exists at the ocean beds of earth and they flying out into space to find life.

with due respect to Prof Hambrick & colleagues, it didn't take a study for me to "get"

lumosity. I saw the $signs. but thanx for the report. it would have been nice to think i

might train my brain.

The logic behind these brain games is to help increase a person's capacity for learning, not to make them instantly smarter. How can a person become smarter by repeating the same type of information over and over? Along those lines with an example, how can one swiftly read through a book and instantly "learn it?" They can't without experience and training. When a person reads a book, they have to take time to logically think through the message of the book so that they gain insight as to understand what the author is saying. The logic here is limitless, but going along with the example of the book, these games help the brain to more swiftly break the information down into something more understandable for one to remember. Most of the games on Luminosity's brain trainer mobile app are geared at working faster with fewer mistakes.

I use Luminosity's Brain Trainer app on my iPhone and have done so for roughly 2 months. To me, it was well worth the $10 a year. Some of the benefits I realize I have gained of many are that I do a better job of having conversations with people in that I am better able to process what is being said to me and come back with an intelligent response of my own. I'm also more efficient at memory tasks especially at picture memory. One small example is I can write a note down on a stickie note and even if I can't remember exactly what I wrote, I can tend to pull a picture of the note in my head and read what was written on it. In addition, I no longer have to rely on my wife to remind me of most events (except for those I don't want to do and she makes sure to remind me). In math, I no longer get brain cramps when doing many arithmetic equations. I took statistics last year and only about half of it made sense. I had to break the work down into 15-20 min segments because I'd get a headache and have to stop. Now, I have no issues spending 2-3+ hours working with numbers.

Probably the biggest benefit gained has been getting rid of the headaches. This may also be from me working sudoku puzzles in tangent with doing the training apps. I wanted to get past the point to where I no longer had headaches and be forced to quit working my brain. I forced myself to keep doing both sudoku puzzles and the training apps through the headache doing a little more each day. Now unless I don't get enough sleep (less than 7 hours), it usually takes a few hours before I get these headaches and even then I'm usually able to continue working through them unlike before.

At the end of the day, it all boils down to what you do with this information. If you perceive that it's a waste of time, then it will be. It's also about getting past just being satisfied, and being motivated to learn. For me, these training games get and keep my brain in a state motivated to learn.

If you want to work on being "smarter" a book I'd recommend is "Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Professional and Personal Life" by Richard Paul.

Sorry, but one person's subjective experience has been proven over and over again to be extremely unreliable. That's exactly why the scientific method was established.

that smart planet would be home to so many stupid commentators!

Can't wait to see the study; sounds very interesting.

For me, brain training has really helped. Whether my IQ is higher or not, I do not know. I do know that my quality of life has improved greatly. I did brain training on my android phone first.

I got such great gains in my memory, that I tried Lumosity. With in a few days working with the free trial, I knew I was gaining. I was 49 at the time and it was like a brain fog began to lift.

I read someone complaining money was involved like it was evil to make money on something that is helping people. Well, I am a businessman and my labors and investment need to be compensated. Bill Gates, Steven Jobs, Andrew Carnegie all are business men that took something to the next level and gained. Therefore, why is Lumosity wrong when so many people are gaining in their quality of life.

I signed up for Lumosity at around 20 million users in May. Rachel recently signed up and her number was around 25 million. In only three lessons she noticed that her recall for peoples names she met on the phone were improving greatly. She is a purchasing rep in a very high paced hospital.

Lets look at the success of the company and realize word of mouth is causing Lumosity to grow along with advertising but let's face it, 5 million more users in under a year, doesn't that speak for itself? Both Rachel and I tell any body that will listen what a gain Lumosity is for us.

My memory is the most important part to me that has improved. Overall on Lumosity I am in the 99.3rd percentile. I didn't start there but I have been faithful.

On two world wide android brain training games, I have been on the leader board for months as high as 24th and 14th in problem solving and memory but this Lumosity has taken my brain to another level.

I recommend brain training games highly. They may or may not increase IQ but for myself, Rachel and the guy a ways above me, our lives have been improved.

These 'brain training' games are being aggressively and attractively marketed even though research does not support their effectiveness. I suspect that they are attractive to companies selling them as they are marketable and a good money spinner, whereas we like to buy them because they seem like a fun and easy way to help ourselves. In fact, the research clearly shows that we really don't need to buy anything at all in order to 'train' our brains and prepare ourselves for good cognitive health as we age. It confirms, rather, that cognitively healthy people eat and sleep well, exercise daily, keep socially engaged and are active and learn new things. This is a lifestyle not a product!

Is fluid intelligence determined at conception, birth or during early years?

If it is fixed at conception there is nothing we can do to change it. If it develops in the period prior to birth, maybe we can. If it develops during early years we can influence it by education (in a broad sense).
Seems to me it is one of the most important questions for science to answer.

well even more important question is... what is intelligence??? as for an uneducated person can be intelligent. As, Darwin simply went around the world and collected species and tried to make sense out of evollution. Should intelligence be a measure of how fast and how well you grasp things?? and then how fast you can utilize the info you know in a certain scenario? Intelligence can not be measured, just like how much info is stored in an individuals brain cannot be measured. As, a lot of biotic and abiotic factors play a role when a person is processing/storing info and everyone does it differently. For eg: Some people need the feel of pressure to bring out the best in them and some people perform poorly under pressure.

*** WARNING - my english is not very good - might have commited grammatical murder in the major third degree ***

Stop being so straight-forward, guys and gals.

"Psychologists have been interested in the idea of improving intelligence for over a century."

And yet, only in 2008 we had some research that BARELY scratched the surface. Now it's already proven to be wrong. That does not mean, however, that brain training games don't work. We need more studies about that. I concur with the guy who commented that learning a musical instrument, a language or dance or anything that will require a huge concentration and mind effort will be probably better than a brain-game. The thing is that those activities requires so much time, and in this busy society we live in, for some it's just not possible to commit time to those.

I can see the attractive those brain games have. They don't take much of your time. Only 20 minutes per day and you will get good results eventually, just like the gym (people usually train for 40 minutes to 1 hour).

I guess we need to wait for more research on this are, and just stop jumping to conclusions. Or we can become scientists and help =D

I would like to see this research expanded to include treatment of the ADD/Attention Deficit Hyper Disorder individual. I am using a feedback program called Play Attention with my 8 year old and it has helped tremendously, it is working. Unlike other brain-training programs, this one does not focus on intellect, it is a behavior shaping program that helps her focus, pay attention and avoid distraction. It was developed by a teacher who wanted to help his students with this different nature without the side effects of medication. It is based on NASA technology and the company's premise is that the mind does have the capacity to grow, change and adapt. I believe it because I see it: she now has friends, her grades are up and she is doing great in school.

I think the key to improving memory, at least, is learning new things, therefore creating new pathways in the circuitry of your brain. If all you do are crossword puzzles daily to help keep your mind sharp, you get good only at crossword puzzle patterns. Crossword puzzles by myself are frustrating but I have a friend who thinks differently than I and when we've done crosswords together, they become fun and I found I have learned a different way to think. Trying new things can create these new synapses in your brain. I think you must do different things every day. It could be as easy as organizing a drawer one day, taking a walk somewhere new, taking a class, joining a group of some kind, to stimulate your brain. I read an article in the last year or two in Scientific American Mind that made sense to me, otherwise I can't cite anything to back this up. As the button below says, "Add Your Opinion." This is mine.

oh trust me it definitely makes your brain smarter- im a chess player and i know what it feels like when you are pushing your brain to the limits and i've seen games on luminosity that give me the same feeling but in some ways in a far more intense manner because it is so specified (the luminosity game exercises) ...after training on luminosity i've gone on to play chess and have been much much faster and far more efficient- trust me these brain games really work but you cant be lazy, you really have to use your brain power and you will see instant results- trust me its worth the money

PBS has aired several shows from NOVA and Frontline on the brain including how we learn and the growth spurts that occur in stages that make learning possible... There is no game that is going to make anyone grow more neurons. There is no game that will make anyone smarter. If you want a smart kid, give them proper nutrition (organic foods are far better and more nutritious than anything else), help them develop a love of reading and learning, dont stagnate their learning with a boring classroom, help, love, and nurture them. Learning games are nothing more than snake oil and wishful thinking.

When I was young, my parents did not allow me to play any street game. They always want me to play mind games. But with this study, I think I can now argue this with parents. Thanks for publishing this essay.

I spent one week registering items in a tool lending situation by reading off the numbers instead of scanning, and dialing numbers by hand instead of just punching up the name on my cellie. I found that in just two days, I had pretty much memorized them all with no effort (and just a few mistakes).
Sometimes progress doesn't.

There are two different things being a bit muddled together here. One is memorized knowledge, the other is the intelligence that uses this knowledge. One without the other is not much good. You might be knowledgeable or "wise" in that You have read and studied much. But without intelligence You are just a walking factbook. Or You can be very intelligent, but without facts You have nothing to work with, base new ideas upon.
There are many ways to train Your memory, fewer to train Your intelligence, but by training Your memory and increasing it, You are giving Your intelligence more "building blocks" to work with. So in a way You can expand Your intelligence, even if not actually "train" it. One of my mottos is: "An intelligent person can get out of situations that a wise person never gets into."
As for mindtraining programs: if You enjoy them, use them. An enjoyed life is better than a smart life. Being smart can be very arduous.

There is currently quite a lot of information around this subject on the net and some are most definitely better than others. You have caught the detail here just right which makes for a refreshing change.
mba dissertation

"They take tests of comprehension, and special reasoning, etc."
Should probably be:
"They take tests of comprehension, and spatial reasoning, etc."

I'm surprised you didn't ask about EQ, which is largely proffered as the 2.0 version of IQ. DZH says that IQ is predictive of performance, but I'm fairly certain that EQ is promoted as more accurately predicting socio-economic success in life.

Also, the statement that brain-training doesn't increase fluid intelligence doesn't seem to exclude the possibility of increasing crystallized intelligence. Brain-training might be mode-specific (so if you play solitaire or sudoku all day, that's what you become excellent at) but that doesn't mean it has no application. Probably the "games" available online aren't very helpful, though.

I have found the post very useful and informative. Essay Writing UK

Thanks, you have made it easy for me to understand.custom writer research paper

But it might help those of us with memory transfer problems. See
http://ezinearticles.com/?Improving-Short-Term-Memory-If-You-Have-Aspergers-Syndrome-Or-Nonverbal-Learning-Disorder&id=3098498