SharpBrains

You may have already seen that our Teasers section contains not only our selection of Top 50 Brain Teasers and Games, but also a regularly updated page with latest Games for the Brain.

Below you have the brain games and teasers we have added in 2008 so far. Ready?
- October 2008: Top Brainy Haikus. Yours?.

- September 2008: What is going on with these pictures?.

- September 2008: 7 Brainteasers for Job Interviews.

- August 2008: Can you use mental self rotation to read a map?.

- August 2008: Spot the Differences! how many are there?.

- July 2008 Continue Reading »

Thank you to everyone who has written so many fun haikus over the summer (following the post Top 25 Brain and Mind Haikus. Yours?). These are the 10 I have enjoyed the most:

(Also, Can you write a haiku describing anything crossing your mind now? Remember the simple rules: write 3 lines, which don't need to rhyme, containing 5,7, and 5 syllables. You can leave your haiku as a comment below for extra points...)

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Top 10 Brainy Haikus - enjoy!

- Amit:

Love, college, career.
A new world of transitions.
Will I survive? Yes.

- Kathy:

My release technique,
Forgive, forget, love all,
Meditate on that!

- Alan:

Through the microscope,
slice of brain stains pink and blue,
the wonder of thought.

- Justin:

Justin the genieus
Must spell check the word genius
to post this Haiku

- Tim: Continue Reading »

Today we introduce a  highly evolved version of brain teasers.

How quickly can you provide the correct answer to these 3 questions?

- 1) What is going on in these 2 pictures below?

- 2) what may explain it?

- 3) Is there some element out of place?

Ready. Set. Go! Continue Reading »

Dr. Pascale Michelon recently shared with our readers which brain areas and cognitive functions are engaged as we solve the type of brain teaser known as Spot the Difference, where we have to find the differences between two versions of one image: Continue Reading »

Readers have contributed a good number of haikus on brain-related topics. Below you have my  Favorite 7, and many other fun ones...which ones do you like the most?

Also, Can you write a haiku describing anything crossing your mind now? Remember the simple rules: write 3 lines, which don't need to rhyme, containing 5,7, and 5 syllables. You can leave your haiku as a comment for extra points...

My Favorite 7 Brain and Mind Haikus

- Techne, the philosopher, wonders:

Solve the big questions:
How do I know when I know?
Who knows the knower?

- Steve, the environmentalist, requests:

Neuroplastic good.
Plastic, though lasts forever.
Always recycle!

Continue Reading »

How many differences can you spot?

You have seen and maybe tried that exercise or game in the Sunday paper many times: find 5 differences between the two images.

You may like it or not. You may think it is only for kids. But it is a GREAT brain exercise!

Let’s see what cognitive processes and which brain areas are involved in this exercise:

Continue Reading »

Here you are have the bi-monthly update with our 10 most Popular blog posts. (Also, remember that you can subscribe to receive our RSS feed, or to our newsletter, at the top of this page, if you want to receive this digest by email).

 News and Events

Exercise your brain in the Cognitive Age: The New York Times published two thought-provoking articles on brain and cognitive fitness, one of them featuring SharpBrains.

Continue Reading »

Boost your visuospatial skills and learn about your brain
-- By Dr. Pascale Michelon

Visuospatial skills are used everyday in many ways, ranging from going from one room to another in your house to solving a jigsaw puzzle and navigating in a new city.

One specific visuospatial skill has to do with moving spatial information around in your head. It is called mental rotation.

Let’s take an example. Can you picture in your head an arrow pointing to the right? Now, turn this arrow so it points to the left. Done?

Continue Reading »

Harriet Vines, Ph.D., an experienced author and retired college professor, sends us a few fun brain exercises to train our attention and working memory (the ability to keep information current for a short period while using this information). Given them a try! They are not as easy as they may sound...

1. Say the days of the week backwards, then in alphabetical order.

2. Say the months of the year in alphabetical order. Easy? well, why don't you try doing so backwards, in reverse alphabetical order.

3. Find the sum of your date of birth, mm/dd/yyyy. Want more exercise? Do the same with friends' and relatives' date of birth.

4. Name two objects for every letter in your complete name. Work up to five objects, trying to use different items each time.

5. Wherever you are, look around and within two minutes, try to find 5 red things that will fit in your pocket, and 5 blue objects that are too big to fit.

-- Harriet Vines, Ph.D.   is the Author of Age Smart-How to Age Well, Stay Fit and Be Happy, where she shares results from 15 years of consultation, workshops and lectures at Leisure World, Canyon Ranch, Independent Retirement Communities, and Adult Education Programs.

Note: if you have brain teasers, news, or articles you'd like to share, please email us at information (at) sharpbrains (dot) com. Looking forward hearing from you!

A reader (thanks Mike!) sends us this fun article, titled A matter of training, on how to train our memory. Some quotes:

“It’s a skill, not a talent. It’s something anyone could have picked up ... I’m not born with this. It’s about training and technique,” he says, explaining his unusual ability. Anant holds the Limca Record – the Indian equivalent of the Guinness Record – for memorising 75 telephone numbers, along with the names of their owners, in less than an hour. He is recognised as “the man with the most phenomenal memory in India.”  

“Unfortunately, most people think that memorising is very difficult. The moment they see someone demonstrate something like this, they think it’s out of this world.”

If you want to remember something, you have to link it to something you already know. Association is the natural principal. For example, if you need directions to a place, a landmark is often used as a point of reference. And if you derive pleasure from something you do, there’s a good chance you’ll remember it. Since the brain already works in this manner, why don’t we take control of it?” 

“To me, an intelligent person is someone who is able to put together more of his skills to solve a problem. Intelligence is about using strategies.” 

The key concept here is that memory, as well as other cognitive skills, can be trained through Continue Reading »