Which could train your brain better?

Back in 2001, Dr. Ryuya Kawashima, a neurophysiologist pondered on a very simple question; Which would require more brain power, playing video games or doing meaningless repetitive mathematics exercises? To answer this question, Dr. Kawashima set up two experimental groups. One group was to play video games and the other group was instructed to do mathematical exercises. A control group was also set-up to provide a base line for the two comparison groups. Then Dr. Kawashima conducted the experiment using precise imaging techniques that measured brain response.

Which group do you think had better the better response? Most would probably say that the video games stimulated the mind better than doing mathematical operations because  video games require fine-motor skills, eye-hand coordination, and quick reflexes so it must simulate the mind more. Lo and behold, the math problem group did better! According to brain imaging data, it proved that mathematical exercises stimulated the brain far better than the video games. This means that if we want to train our brains, it could be done simply by doing quick mathematical operations on our heads. Brain training is literally as simple as 1-2-3!

With these findings, Dr. Kawashima became more interested in brain training and its applications. With the information from his research, he postulated that  by doing mathematical operations and similar brain exercises, young children, old people, and even those who are undergoing rehabilitation could boost their brain power further. Figuratively speaking, brain training builds your brain muscles. This is quite interesting for doing something as simple as adding and subtracting.

How to train your brain

If you’re familiar with the Nintendo DS portable gaming console, you’ve probably heard of one of the offshoots of Dr. Kawashima’s research: Brain Age. It’s one of the most best-selling games ever on a console and in effect quadrupled the market for brain training games. What the game does is to provide you with exercises similar to Dr. Kawashima’s experiment. It also includes ways to chart your progress. It’s an instant you have a brain gym on the palm of your hand.

Of course, we don’t need to buy a DS just to train our brains. We could apply the same principles by doing the following during our daily tasks:

1. When doing simple arithmetic, don’t reach for the calculator – do it in your head instead.
2. When buying from a store, add up your purchases before you go to the counter. (Mentally, of course.)
3. Estimate the number of people in a room, then try to calculate the maximum capacity of the area.
4. Do exercises that calculate an outcome: when the next bus will arrive, the next turning of the stop light, etc.
5. Teach math or do math tutoring.

The list is obviously not exhaustive and there are plenty more brain exercises out there. Just be mindful that among all these, there’s only one principle to follow, if your brain is stimulated, i.e. not bored nor anxious, then you’re doing great brain training. Stay young and stay sharp. Train your brain at any age.

Part of this confusion actually lies in how intelligence is defined, and there are two schools of thought on this one. Some say that intelligence is characterized by only one, universal variable; just like the IQ, you could just take a test, and you instantly know how intelligent you are. Others say that intelligence varies in so many ways, that the over-all intelligence of a person can only be known by how varied his strengths are.

How Intelligent Are You?

Howard Gardner, a Harvard psychologist, postulated the latter. Through his research about the brain and about learning, he found out that there are at least 9 kinds of intelligences that people are good at, the same intelligences where different learning styles also stem from. This is something that he states with confidence because, for one, intelligence varies according to different cultures. You can’t take an IQ test to an ethnic tribal group and gauge their intelligence through that, you have to know if they are intelligent enough to master their own habitats. What Gardner tried to point out is that how intelligence is described should be universal and something that could apply to any society, culture, race, or nation.

Enter Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences, which, as we we’ve stated earlier, states that people can be intelligent in at least 9 ways: bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, logical-mathematical, verbal-linguistic, visuo-spatial, musical, naturalistic, and spiritual. Just to let you know, as of this time, spiritual intelligence is still not completely included in the list due to its controversial nature, but for purposes of completion, we are including it here.

The 9 Intelligences

How do these intelligences pan out? Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence is the intelligence of motor action and fine motor skill, the intelligence of athletes, dancers, and anyone who relies on physical skill. Interpersonal intelligence is that which corresponds with social behavior, empathy, and verbal pragmatics – simply the intelligence on relating with other people. Intrapersonal intelligence is the intelligence of individual reflection the type usually used by monks, writers, and psychologists. Logical-mathematical intelligence is the capacity for, as the name suggests, the challenges of logic and mathematics, the kind being employed by scientists, mathematicians, and philosophers. Verbal-linguistic intelligence is the intelligence of communication, of the written and spoken word, prevalently under the domain of writers, novelists, orators, and teachers. Visuo-spatial intelligence is the language of the architect, the painter, and the engineer – skill in the form and function of visuals. Musical intelligence, well, it’s the skill of the musician, the singer, and the conductor, and the capacity for the discrimination and production of musical sounds. Naturalistic intelligence is the intelligence of Darwin, or the capacity to understand and make meaning out of natural and biological phenomena. Spiritual intelligence is fashioned after the wisdom of religious leaders, and is said to be the capacity to recognize the divine.

That knowledge that there are different kinds of intelligences makes us realize that there are other facets of our being that we need to recognize. If each kind of intelligence speaks of a different strength, then there is nobody who could say that one kind of intelligence is ‘better’ than another; intelligence is always a manner of context, and one kind of intelligence cannot suffice for all.