Anybody use lumosity?

[DTEJD1997]

Hey all:

 

Does anybody here use/try the website "Lumosity".  I have done it after my morning workout.  It seems to be beneficial.

 

Evidently, the short games stimulate your mind.  It is pitched as a workout for your brain.

 

Any thoughts/opinions?

[Phaceliacapital]

I used it a couple of years ago but quit after a while, for no particular reason now that I think of it

[siddharth18]

Seen tons of ads for it but never tried it. So it's just riddles and puzzles?

[JBird]

I used to dabble. I stopped when they required a paid-subscription. It's good, but not that good.

[BTShine]

I use it on my phone and like it.  It's good to play when you're on a train, plane, etc.  Though, flappy bird has been cutting into my Lumosity brain workouts!

[infinitee00]

If you are in it for the fun, then great. But if you are in it for improving cognitive ability, it seems according to latest research,  'brain games' do not work.

 

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2013/04/brain-games-are-bogus.html

 

The answer, however, now appears to be a pretty firm no—at least, not through brain training. A pair of scientists in Europe recently gathered all of the best research—twenty-three investigations of memory training by teams around the world—and employed a standard statistical technique (called meta-analysis) to settle this controversial issue. The conclusion: the games may yield improvements in the narrow task being trained, but this does not transfer to broader skills like the ability to read or do arithmetic, or to other measures of intelligence. Playing the games makes you better at the games, in other words, but not at anything anyone might care about in real life.

 

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/apr/21/brain-training-online-neuroscience-elizabeth-day

 

http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/thinking-tech/qa-new-evidence-shows-brain-training-games-dont-work/

[Kiltacular]

I think brain games are cool in general...people have been doing crossword puzzles for a long time and soduku and other brain games as well.  Luminosity is another version of this type of thing.

 

I feel that one good way to challenge your brain (especially as an investor) is to force yourself to approach an idea that you disagree with and "see" the other side no matter how frustrating it may at first be.

 

Here's an example for me.  My "gut" reaction to the idea that soda (Coke) is causing diabetes was: "This is ridiculous".  (I know even that statement will set off some people -- well, try to see my side).  Therefore, I concluded, without much thought, that it posed no threat to Coke's long-term moat and ignored it.  I dismissed it out of hand.

 

Many years have passed.  I do not encounter many people -- no matter the walk of life...25 year-old hip girl in New York City or 70 year old living in Montana -- that agree with me and in fact most people appear to be staunchly against "soda".  The numbers are growing and growing strongly and Coke CSD sales in N. America bear this trend out.

 

Instead of pressing my ideas of why this doesn't make sense to me -- sugar comes into our bodies in many forms, HFCS can be replaced by regular sugar: "Then is soda ok? - NO! they say. Or, don't you see, this is just another way to slap a tax on something which, when done, will ensure that soda continues to be consumed because the "soda bonds" will be paid off the same way the tobacco bonds were -- I spent a lot of time thinking about why it does make sense to those to whom it does.

 

Diabetes is a growing disease problem, the HFCS you get from Soda comes along with no other beneficial ingredients, there is social pressure of simple social happiness which goes along with not opposing this.  If your wife, (potential) girlfriend, sister, mother, other relatives think it is important, it is easier to agree and maybe they're right, anyway.  Who cares is we slap a tax on them?!, etc.  Hey, it just another excuse for a beer, etc.

 

When thinking through how this particular issue is evolving and forcing myself to see the other side, I can see how there is now a possibly serious threat to Coke and therefore, to Coke as an investment.

 

So, my brain games involve subjects like this.  What do I think is obvious that most others disagree with and what can I learn something by thinking their way.  It doesn't always work but it can help you learn something new, unlearn an old idea, see others in a more positive light and help your investments. 

[yadayada]

If you are in it for the fun, then great. But if you are in it for improving cognitive ability, it seems according to latest research,  'brain games' do not work.

 

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2013/04/brain-games-are-bogus.html

 

The answer, however, now appears to be a pretty firm no—at least, not through brain training. A pair of scientists in Europe recently gathered all of the best research—twenty-three investigations of memory training by teams around the world—and employed a standard statistical technique (called meta-analysis) to settle this controversial issue. The conclusion: the games may yield improvements in the narrow task being trained, but this does not transfer to broader skills like the ability to read or do arithmetic, or to other measures of intelligence. Playing the games makes you better at the games, in other words, but not at anything anyone might care about in real life.

 

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/apr/21/brain-training-online-neuroscience-elizabeth-day

 

http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/thinking-tech/qa-new-evidence-shows-brain-training-games-dont-work/

so reading a book would be better"? Fiction or non fiction.

[netnet]

Both the pro and anti brain gain researchers have their positions.  I would not put absolute credence in the anti- camp  -meta analysis can be devilishly difficult to do properly.  What makes me wonder is that one of anti's  states that working memory training does not help working memory, well we know that is most probably wrong, in fact most certainly wrong.  So I would argue that the claims of the proponents are probably overstated, but the anti's seem to have their biases too.

 

We all know multi lingual idiots, but clearly learning another language helps you learn another language; that is not a bad thing!

[DTEJD1997]

Hey all:

 

Thanks for the input.

 

I use it almost every for about 15 minutes or so.

 

I DEFINITELY find it improving my short term memory and attention.  It gets my brain "jogging".  I think it helps get my mental processes going, especially if I do it in the AM.

 

So, I most definitely think there is some small benefit to it. 

[Rabbitisrich]

The Dual N Back test improves your working capital memory, which is useful for tasks like long multiplication/division, and arranging your thoughts. Improving your cardiovascular efficiency helps memory and concentration.

[netnet]

I just happened to be listening to a RSA (Royal Society of the Arts) podcast of Dan Hurley, who wrote Smarter.  He pretty convincingly refutes that meta analysis paper--that at least there is something to braintraining.