A couple of years ago I read an article on "thedailybeast.com", which discussed the debate of whether or not the brain acts like a muscle. An interesting part of the article described a program that was set up for a low-performing elementary school in Oakland. Over the course of eight weeks, twice a week, kids would go into one of two rooms to play board games, video games, and card games. Each room had a particular function: one was to challenge kids' reasoning ability, and the other to challenge their processing speed.
At the end of the program, the results were incredible. The group that trained for reasoning ability saw their non-verbal intelligence scores leap 32%, while the group that trained for processing speed saw their brain speed scores jump 27%. In just a total of 20 hours, the games had had a drastic impact on the kids' IQs.
It would seem that these sorts of game activities are just what today's generation could use. We now live in a distracting, tech-enabled society, in which many cognitive skills are massively undeveloped. Texting, tweeting, etc., are very much in vogue, but aren't making our younger folks any smarter. In fact, one could argue these methods of communication are counter-productive in children's development, as many young people these days can barely carry on a real-life conversation.
The easiest way to build up one's brain muscle is by reading. I am an advocate for reading as much as one can about the issues that are important to us, especially as we get older. Whether you're trying to better yourself financially, professionally, or improve your health, reading up on these topics is no doubt the best way to fill the information void. It's easy to kick back to watch movie after movie, or browse the latest celebrity gossip, but if you don't take the time to read thought-provoking material, your brain will certainly begin to atrophy. At some point, my guess is that your wallet will soon follow suit! Be sure to read about trading and investing. Do it often, and while you're at it, decide to agree or disagree with what you read!
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