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It’s the stuff of self-improvement books and
articles in magazines like the Reader’s Digest but until recently
no one has produced experimental evidence that it may be possible to
train people to become more intelligent than what they were endowed
with at birth.
The New York Times reported on
May 10 that a pair of psychologists at the University of Michigan
found that “structured training” may increase cognitive ability
to a measurable degree.
One of the researchers, Susanne
M. Jaeggi, said that “[i]ntelligence has always been considered
principally an immutable inherited trait. Our results show that you
can increase your intelligence with appropriate training.”
Fluid intelligence, the ability
to solve problems without any previous relevant experience, is not
evenly distributed among humans. Some are more gifted but, if these
psychologists are right, most everyone’s fluid intelligence could
be enhanced.
They key is working memory which
appears to rely on the same brain circuitry as fluid intelligence.
The hypothesis is that by improving memory, fluid intelligence may
also be improved.
The researchers began by
measuring with standardized tests the fluid intelligence of four
groups of volunteers. Then they trained each group in the same
memory games with the length of the training period as one of the
variables. The games consisted of simultaneous auditory and visual
stimuli that each participant was asked to recall later.
As each participant succeeded,
the tasks in the games became harder. But if he/she failed, the
tasks were made easier. The researchers took pains not to demotivate
anyone with very difficult tasks.
The four groups underwent a
half-hour daily training for 8, 12, 17, 19 days, respectively. At
the end of each training period, the volunteers’ fluid
intelligence was tested again. To make sure that they were not just
improving their ability to take tests, the results were compared
with those of control groups that took the tests without the
training.
The results were positive.
Although the fluid intelligence of those in the control groups also
improved, the groups that underwent training made more substantial
gains. The groups that trained longer, scored higher. All
participants showed significant improvement.
What was learned? In the paper
that appeared in The Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences, the two psychologists were reported to have said:
“several aspects of the exercise [were] relevant to solving new
problems: ignoring irrelevant items, monitoring ongoing performance,
managing two tasks simultaneously and connecting related items to
one another in space and time.” (Nicholas Bakalar, NYT, May 20,
2008).
Susanne Jaeggi admitted that the
experiment as designed could not show or predict how long the gains
would last and if more training would result in more gains.
These are obviously preliminary
findings. Until a set of research-validated exercises is devised you
might want to adopt four mind games that I have been playing for
years. They have helped me to keep alert.
Three are harmless, one is
somewhat dangerous, but all four are fun. Best of all they can be
made to fit anyone’s daily routine.
Since working memory is key, why
not give the memory part of your brain a daily workout? I found that
giving up artificial aids to memory forced me to try to remember
harder. It works. I show up on time for meetings. I recall the
results with reasonable accuracy a week later and even who said what
and why. However, I still have to key in details of travel plans and
doctor’s orders for 100-percent precision. Otherwise, I’m
unencumbered by electronic gadgets.
The next game is number
crunching. While waiting for the traffic lights to change, I add,
subtract, multiply or divide the numbers on the license plates of
the cars ahead. I even try to isolate prime numbers but I still have
not done factorization. That will have to wait for a really bad
traffic jam.
At night, on my way to the john,
I sometimes do not turn on the lights. I try to navigate in the dark
by first trying to remember where my slippers are, the position of
the furniture, the distance to the door, etc. Once, I tried to go
downstairs in the dark by just counting the number of steps. I
stumbled. Since then I’ve given up negotiating stairs in the dark.
Finally, I collect words from
what I read. I don’t always use them except to show off—which I
hope is not very often. My latest harvest consists of rallentado,
felicific, ensorcell, hetman and concumbrances. When and where
I’ll ever use them, I can’t imagine but I had fun writing them
down, looking up their meanings, and trying them out in outrageous
combinations.
Try all four—but do not stub
your toes.
opinion@manilatimes.net.
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