The Study of the Mind: A Psychological Book Club discussion

I have been hearing a lot lately about training your brain like you would your body. I know that I have seen Lumosity run on TV and now I have seen an AD on GR for the same site. I know there are a even video games that test your brain as well as apps.

However, is this validity to this or just fun? I admit I play a series of games called Professor Layton for the DSI which consist of numerous puzzles and challenges but I do not think I am "training" my brain just already using what I already have.

My personal views on it I think things like Lumosity are for fun and offer really nothing new, more like a gift re-packaged.

However, I know of situations where people have had to re-learn things due to a stroke or other circumstances but I think it falls into something else and really focuses perhaps more on several areas of neurology.

I tend to view most of these as what is basically a rewording on an idea that has somewhat fallen out of practice recently; practice. It's the same as training muscles; repeated activity increases performance. Although, really it depends on what you're trying to train. Maths and spelling, sure. You can train to be better at those, but I am sceptical about training things like creativity and that style of thing.

Badgerlord wrote: "I tend to view most of these as what is basically a rewording on an idea that has somewhat fallen out of practice recently; practice. It's the same as training muscles; repeated activity increases ..."

Interesting point... if you knew your drawing is not your strong suit... for me I cannot even draw a stick figure properly... can I train my brain to become a better artist?

Possibly. I'm really not sure. You may end up being more artistic, or you may end up drawing like I do; using simple shapes I can draw to piece together alright versions of other things. I tend to view my way as more following a procedure than actually artistic ability, as all I do is remember what shapes I put where.