DailyDirt: These Things Are Not Really Making You Any Smarter, But Try Them Anyway?

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Wed, Jan 28th 2015 5:00pm — Michael Ho

It's not easy to get smarter, and there are very few things you can do that might make you smarter that have any kind of scientific evidence to support them. (However, you really should exercise more. There's plenty of evidence that points to exercise having benefits to your brain and your intelligence.) If you really want to get smarter, though, check out a few of these links before you attempt anything.

Brain games that are supposed to exercise your grey matter haven't been found to make anyone any smarter. Dozens of leading cognitive psychologists and neuroscientists have published a statement saying that "the scientific literature does not support claims that the use of software-based 'brain games' alters neural functioning in ways that improve general cognitive performance in everyday life, or prevent cognitive slowing and brain disease." [url]
There are some proven ways to appear smarter: 1) look at people when they're talking to you, 2) have good posture, 3) use a middle initial, and 4) wear glasses. Trying to use big words in conversation and talking too much are common things that people do to try to act smart, but those are also the best ways to reveal how dumb you really are, too. [url]
Kids eating Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats for breakfast are not magically smarter. However, if you bought Frosted Mini-Wheats thinking that between 2008-2009, you might be able to get (up to) a $15 refund on your purchase. [url]

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Filed Under: brain games, breakfast, frosted mini-wheats, grey matter, intelligence, iq, smart
Companies: kellogg

8 Comments

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Kal Zekdor (profile), 28 Jan 2015 @ 5:57pm

Brain Games
Just as IQ is really only a measure of how good you are at taking IQ tests, the only thing those brain games improve is your ability in that specific game. You might improve over time in that game, but that won't carry over into anything else.
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Victor David, 28 Jan 2015 @ 9:01pm

Mini Wheats
I hate to break it to you, parents - but if you believed that frosty crapola laced with chemicals and sugar was going to make your kids smarter, you're the ones who need to wise up.
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JoeCool (profile), 28 Jan 2015 @ 10:26pm

Mini Wheats... yeah.
Here's how I explain this cereal to folks: Kellogg had a cereal called "Shredded Dog Turds" that was "healthy" but no one would buy it! So the great minds at Kellogg got together and figured out that the problem was - they weren't frosted. So they came out with "Frosted Dog Turds", but no one bought those, either! So they once more pondered on the problem... it's clearly too big! So they finally came out with "Frosted Mini Turds", thus solving the problem once and for all!
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Rekrul, 28 Jan 2015 @ 11:48pm

Actually, many people seem to be getting dumber.

Back in the 80s, 8-bit computers were the "in" thing. These were all command line driven. Most people who owned them learned these commands, and usually also learned some level of computer programming as well.

Today, most people don't even know how to change their desktop resolution. I know people who can't hook up a computer unless they have a labeled diagram of where everything goes, despite all the ports & plugs being color-coded.
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Groaker (profile), 29 Jan 2015 @ 5:19am

While in the 70s, it was believed that the brain stopeed growing at 16, and after the turn of the century, that the brain stopped at 26, neurosciences now believe the brain continues to grow -- that neurons continue to be reproduced.

Unused, not hooked up into the other neurons, they lie fallow and die within a few weeks.

Few games will provide real intellectual stimulation -- certainly not the one person shooters. Go or chess are likely exceptions if pursued beyond patzer (wood pusher) levels.

I suspect that the best way to utilize the new neurons is to learn to do new things, or to try and keep up one's original field. Continuing challenge and stimulation are likely the most utile mechanisms for retaining intellectual capacity.
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John Fenderson (profile), 29 Jan 2015 @ 1:49pm

Intelligence enhancement
I worked in a brain lab years ago, and at that time there were three substances that were clinically proven to increase intelligence: nicotine, caffeine, and sugar.

Those three were, not coincidentally, the only recreational substances that had been tested for such an effect. The prevailing belief at the time was that you'd see a similar effect with any stimulant.

(The intelligence increase comes with a couple of asterisks: it's only for the specific sorts of intelligence tested, and the effects are very temporary.)
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Gwiz (profile), 30 Jan 2015 @ 7:41am

Re: Intelligence enhancement
...three substances that were clinically proven to increase intelligence: nicotine, caffeine, and sugar.

I have a name for that combination: "Breakfast".
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Dan Audy (profile), 31 Jan 2015 @ 1:48pm

Re:
Oy! I'm not sure if your (stupid) argument proves the point that people are getting dumber or if you are just a special case.

Expecting people to have the same skills to operate a mass market device that has been designed for unskilled users as a tiny population of hobbyists who require those skills in order to do anything useful with it is just plain imbecilic. It is akin to complaining that the fact that people who drive cars are stupid because they no longer know how to properly curry and brush a horse
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