Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Mu · 08-07-2002, 09:55 AM

I found this article on BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2177878.stm) that mentioned the use of crossword puzzles and learning a foreign language to decrease the effects of old age on the mind.

Mu · 08-07-2002, 10:01 AM

And also to write with your nondominant hand.

Become ambidextrious!

Keith Russell · 08-07-2002, 10:32 AM

Greetings:

In 'Hannibal', author Thomas Harris describes an elaborate system for memorizing a great deal of specific, complex information: addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, the complete layout of buildings, etc.

He calls such a structure a 'memory palace', and attributes the technique to Cicero.

I'm very interested in this, and am hoping to find some time to do some reading this fall to try to learn more.

Keith Russell.

ChrisJGQ · 08-12-2002, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Demosthenes:
<strong>It's me of course.

Nootropics have very few side effects and are known to have the least toxicity for the class of drugs.

They work in your brain to enchance memory, thinking, mood, and improve the glucose uptake of the brain cells.

That and combined with brain stimulating activities, is sure to give your brain a mean workout of it's lifetime.</strong>

If they worked, I'd be very interested, but I've always thought that nootropics were unproven. Could you point me to some articles/research that verifies their effectiveness?

Ought Naught · 08-12-2002, 01:07 PM

Running has been shown to increase neurogenesis in mice. Learning or swimming weren't found to affect the rate of neuronal proliferation, though.

dostf · 08-12-2002, 03:52 PM

Mu:

There are many "methods" available today that claim to improve thinking, attention and generally ones cognitive ability.
Most of these are to be found in "schools" of traditional practice
Without going into details(which may be of no interest to you), i would not recommend them in any way, as i am of the opinion there is strong possibility they will do more harm than good in the long run
- please note i differentiate these "exercises" from commonly available materials that also make the same claims about improving ones cognitive abilities
- these i cannot comment on fairly, but i strongly suspect they are most often than not outright frauds-used to seperate one from their money

Be seeing you...

emphryio · 08-12-2002, 04:13 PM

I would say consistently memorizing something new. "Learning" anything is ultimately memorizing/remembering something.

When I was younger I used to memorize long pieces of music. Later I just learned to read music very well and didn't bother to memorize anything. Recently I started memorizing pieces of music again. These events all SEEMED to correlate with a bit more and less "sharpness" of mind.

One other thing I was interested in was increasing "awareness/consiousness" by thinking of multiple things simultaneously. But its been a dead end for me. Playing the piano would seem to be an example of doing this. But actually maybe it isn't. At any one instant the left hand doing something and the right something else can be thought of as one total action. And maybe truly thinking of multiple things simultaneously is impossible.... (and silly.) But it seemed like a way to strive for what I would call a god-like feeling. It's a feeling I occasionally get from music, (where multiple streams of information are being received simultaneously).

I tried listening to two pieces of music at once. Didn't work. (I'll probably just end up shiziod if I bother with this silly idea much.)

Toad Master · 08-18-2002, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Keith Russell:
"In 'Hannibal', author Thomas Harris describes an elaborate system for memorizing a great deal of specific, complex information: addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, the complete layout of buildings, etc."

I have some books and tapes by Harry Lorayne. You can find a bunch of them on Amazon.com

I've never liked memorizing things and I was never very good at it. I find Harry Lorayne's methods help *alot* when I do want to or need to memorize something. The methods are simple and applicable to many different memory tasks. How good you get at it is just a matter of how much effort and practice you put into it.

-Toad Master

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08-07-2002, 09:55 AM	#11
Mu Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mu Posts: 8	I found this article on BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2177878.stm) that mentioned the use of crossword puzzles and learning a foreign language to decrease the effects of old age on the mind.

08-07-2002, 10:01 AM	#12
Mu Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mu Posts: 8	And also to write with your nondominant hand. Become ambidextrious!

08-07-2002, 10:32 AM	#13
Keith Russell Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Overland Park, Kansas Posts: 1,336	Greetings: In 'Hannibal', author Thomas Harris describes an elaborate system for memorizing a great deal of specific, complex information: addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, the complete layout of buildings, etc. He calls such a structure a 'memory palace', and attributes the technique to Cicero. I'm very interested in this, and am hoping to find some time to do some reading this fall to try to learn more. Keith Russell.

08-12-2002, 01:07 PM	#15
Ought Naught Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: The Winter of My Discontent Posts: 94	Running has been shown to increase neurogenesis in mice. Learning or swimming weren't found to affect the rate of neuronal proliferation, though.

08-12-2002, 03:52 PM	#16
dostf Regular Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: toronto canada Posts: 498	Mu: There are many "methods" available today that claim to improve thinking, attention and generally ones cognitive ability. Most of these are to be found in "schools" of traditional practice Without going into details(which may be of no interest to you), i would not recommend them in any way, as i am of the opinion there is strong possibility they will do more harm than good in the long run - please note i differentiate these "exercises" from commonly available materials that also make the same claims about improving ones cognitive abilities - these i cannot comment on fairly, but i strongly suspect they are most often than not outright frauds-used to seperate one from their money Be seeing you...

08-12-2002, 04:13 PM	#17
emphryio Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: WV Posts: 4,369	I would say consistently memorizing something new. "Learning" anything is ultimately memorizing/remembering something. When I was younger I used to memorize long pieces of music. Later I just learned to read music very well and didn't bother to memorize anything. Recently I started memorizing pieces of music again. These events all SEEMED to correlate with a bit more and less "sharpness" of mind. One other thing I was interested in was increasing "awareness/consiousness" by thinking of multiple things simultaneously. But its been a dead end for me. Playing the piano would seem to be an example of doing this. But actually maybe it isn't. At any one instant the left hand doing something and the right something else can be thought of as one total action. And maybe truly thinking of multiple things simultaneously is impossible.... (and silly.) But it seemed like a way to strive for what I would call a god-like feeling. It's a feeling I occasionally get from music, (where multiple streams of information are being received simultaneously). I tried listening to two pieces of music at once. Didn't work. (I'll probably just end up shiziod if I bother with this silly idea much.)

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