Mental Fitness

[say]

Sometimes I feel like I've become less intelligent from when I was a teen till now (in my 20s). I think I had more challenges back then. Mental and emotional, which kinda kept my mind busy, ready.
The high school was more intense than college to me. I kinda miss the math too, because it kept me mentally focused, fit.
I think the mind needs some exercise, just like the muscles, to stay fit. Also focus helps a lot and I'm already working on that.

What mind work do you recommend, that would stimulate the mind in a 'good' way? Should I just do some math excercises? (I hope there's something more entertaining, tho...)

[Lucinda]

Learn a language or a musical instrument.

[say]

Originally Posted by Lucinda

Learn a language or a musical instrument.

Thanks. Well, yeah, I'm kinda doing both already. But not very intensely, tho, I admit. There's so many things I'd like to do...
Anyway...
I need somethig stronger. Music and languages are too easy. I think I manage those more intuitively, except when it comes to complex grammatical structures, for example.

I need to solve problems, I guess. Do you guys have any problems that want me to solve? What's funny is that I'm quite serious. Winston Wolf is my hero.

Btw, I tried chess, but didn't find it very stimulating. It was some time ago, tho. Might retry.

[Lucinda]

It's not easy to become very good at playing an instrument. It takes many years and a lot of dedication.

[ahimel]

You might enjoy Sudoku more than straight-up math problems.

If you have a google homepage, or are willing to get one, there are several RSS feeds or gadgets to provide brainteasers. On mine I have Wei-Hwa's puzzles (different type of game each week), series of tubes (visual logic), and Nick's Mathematical Puzzles (exactly what it sounds like). Or you could just do a Google search, and bookmark things you like.

There are also TONS of strategy games out there other than chess. Mancala is easier because there are a limited number of moves to search (technically chess is also, but the number is so huge...) I also like go (othello is similar), and blockus is popular this year.

If you do a search for games stores in your area, you should be able to find one that sells strategy board games and card games. This opens up a broad range of options to fit your needs: Settlers of Catan (and expansions), Risk (or Axis and Allies), Stratego, Carcassone (and expansions), Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot (and expansions), Munchin (and expansions), Empire Builder (and variations), Ticket to Ride (and variations).

If tree-based oppositional search games aren't your cup of tea, how about card games? Poker as recreation is fun, but go pick up a book of poker strategy -- it can be a lot of mental work to figure out your best option. Learn to count cards in blackjack. Cribbage, hearts, or bridge are all good options. The advantage of these game is that you can't just memorize strategies -- you have to respond to a random element.

In that same store, they may have a book on "Lateral Thinking Puzzles". Or just a book on general brainteasers. Google search may be helpful here as well.

Or if you're more into video games, go into a video game store and ask for a strategy game. You can get real-time (emphasizes quick thinking and decisiveness) or turn-based (emphaises thinking through your strategy), and the person at the store is much more qualified to help you than I.

As long as you're there, look into games specifically designed to enhance brain performance -- Nintendo has had a brain-building video game out in Japan for a couple years now, but I don't know if it's migrated to the US. (Maybe you're in Japan.)

If you don't like games, or think it would be fun to develop a practical skill as well, pick a new career. You don't have to actually switch careers, but do the work it would take to do so. That'll cause plenty of problems. Or start your own business -- that'll cause plenty of problems as well. Or learn a new job skill -- if you're a marketing major, learn to program a database; if you're a CS major, learn brochure design. If you're in college, take a class in a field you've never taken before. A dartboard might be useful in selection. If you're not in college, take a class. (Ditto the dartboard.) For added challenge, don't take the intro-level class.

Learn how to pick stocks.

Write a book.

Join an improv comedy troupe.

Join toastmasters.

Learn a sport or a new type of dancing.

I'll keep you posted as I come up with other ideas.

[Minsc]

Programming?

(doesn't cost anything too if you use the right tools)
I'd start with BASIC and go on to PHP and then C++.

Google should have some tutorials...

[knave]

I'm trying to start a business, with a friend of mine. We had to do some catching up on the knowledge in the field (a specific computer science field). In the past six months, we've read a graduate level text book and dozens of papers published in the ACM and elsewhere.

I felt exactly the same way you did until recently. I'm 27 and I've been in the software industry long enough to feel like I'm starting to get dumb. I've forgotten how to do integrals, compute eigenvectors, all that good stuff we learned. But doing all this research has gotten me fired up again. We had to (re)learn graph theory, set theory, relations, lambda calculus, and some more specific techniques that build on those.

So my advice to you? You can do it on your own, you just need sufficient motivation. For us, it's the business (the fun of it, and the prospect of it making us rich). For you, it's whatever gets you fired up.

By the way, the internet is an incredible resource. It's a double-edged sword, of course. I tend to waste a lot of time just reading blogs and playing stupid flash games. But when you need information, it's almost always out there. Scientific journals, university web sites that publish course notes (in particular, MIT's OpenCourseWare is incredible), and Wikipedia & friends. Decide how you want to improve yourself, and the resources to do it are at your fingertips.

[Nicketas]

Originally Posted by say

Sometimes I feel like I've become less intelligent from when I was a teen till now (in my 20s). I think I had more challenges back then. Mental and emotional, which kinda kept my mind busy, ready.
The high school was more intense than college to me. I kinda miss the math too, because it kept me mentally focused, fit.
I think the mind needs some exercise, just like the muscles, to stay fit. Also focus helps a lot and I'm already working on that.

What mind work do you recommend, that would stimulate the mind in a 'good' way? Should I just do some math excercises? (I hope there's something more entertaining, tho...)

I don't know about you, but I have REAAAAAALLLY been diggin' the PC Game Company of Heroes. Good god that game is tough, but when you get the hang of it, it's a blast.

That game *WILL* improve your multitasking skills, resource management skills, math skills, and situational/spatial analysis if you stick with it. I promise you that. I've noticed my performance in other areas of my life improving, which is not common for me after playing a non-educational video game that is designed purely for entertainment. It *IS* Mentally challenging all the same.

oh my god it's so awesome.

[Brutha]

Sudoku:
I would also consider the first 20 hours of playing Sudoku mentally challening, afterwards it is just repetition. Sure it can be nice, but you aren't realy learning new things any more.

I would recommend learning mnemonics I you want something that challenges your mind. It is also a useful skill to have.

I you want to play some game I would recommend Go. It has like Chess a high intelletual component, but intuition tends to be a bit more important than in chess. In addition the game is more about finding the best moves than about trying to lure your opponent into a trap.

If you want to try Go here is a link to an online server.

[stephencp]

What are your goals in life? I would make sure that whatever you come up to "exercise your brain" is helping you achieve your goals too.

Stephen
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[RT Wolf]

Develop some new mental models. Each of the big academic disciplines were created to explain certain phenomena or answer certain questions. So, develop other "lenses" or mental models in which to see the world.

Pick up a few "for dummies" or "complete idiot's guide to" books on subjects like psychology, economics, demographics, nutrition, excersize, physics, chemistry, biology, evolutionary biology, mathematics, whatever. Especially look for subjects you might have avoided when younger.

One benefit I've had from learning about evolutionary biology (Mean Genes is a wonderful book) is to learn more about myself and what really makes people and myself tick.

The other benefit of this is that you actually learn to see the world in a larger and more colourful way. And, having multiple mental models allows you to solve a greater variety of problems in a greater variety of ways. So it's not just mental excersize, but also very practical. The benefits just go on and on.

[ahimel]

RT Wolf: Great idea! I'll try that myself!

A few others. They're pretty off-the-wall, but at least consider them before tossing them out the window. They may spark ideas for you.

• Most collectable card games have a strategy aspect to them, and so are effectively a resource-management game. I've often wished I were better at resource-management games in real life. I'm only familiar with Magic: The Gathering, but others should work as well.
• Roleplaying games, although usually frequented by the extremely-off-their-rocker crowd, are actually a very good way to stimulate creative thinking. They also give you an opportunity to try things you're too scared to try in real life. In one campaign, my character manifested a million dollars (silver) in about 3 weeks. Now this is a roleplaying game, where the link between intention and manifestion is pretty clear, since it really is a subjective reality. But I could see exactly how it happened, and the strategy would have worked had I met that situation in real life. So it gave me a lot more confidence that I could actually learn to generate money.
• Memorize a poem, or a book, or a book of poems, or a play. Start at whatever level you feel comfortable at, but if you keep working at it bit by bit, you should be able to memorize anything you'd like. Use it for something you'd like to always have available to you (like your favorite book of the Bible, or Think and Grow Rich) or for something you'd like to use to impress others (like Shakespeare's Hamlet).
  
  Just posting my thoughts.

[say]

Thanks a lot, guys! Many many useful suggestions.

I'll try to get stuff that really motivates me/goes along with my intensions in life, it should be the best option.

[ChefSalad]

How about <a href="http://www.letterboxing.org/faq/faq.html">letterboxing</a>. It involves (or rather, can involve) rubber stamp making, orienteering (map reading and compass use), and ridiculously complex puzzle solving. And, of course, you can make your own puzzle based letter boxes to stump others. While I have yet to go out and find a letterbox, it sounds pretty fun and I'm thinking of going out for my first time today, but first I'll have to complete my personal stamp. I've already made two out of rubber erasers, but they look entirely too crude.

[Alvin]

I wrote a free article with 5 keys to boost your brain's performance:

Your Brain: A Guide to Fine-Tuned Performance

Alvaro runs a keen blog on keeping your mental energy razor-sharp:

Brain Fitness Revolution at SharpBrains

[magi13]

Learn the memory palace technique/roman room/journey system.

I recommend it for your mental fitness.

[dice]

sodoku. Chess! Read shakespeare. Go to a good theatre play and sit front row. Seriously that is so underrated these days!

[magi13]

Originally Posted by dice

sodoku. Chess! Read shakespeare. Go to a good theatre play and sit front row. Seriously that is so underrated these days!

let's add rubix cube and go. :3