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Training exercise boosts brain power, Johns Hopkins researchers say

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Re: Training exercise boosts brain power, Johns Hopkins researchers say

#91

Post by seanmcdirmid »

thenomad wrote: post #31
taeric wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amusingly, I would not be surprised to find some people need both. In particular, exercise is boring. Very very boring. Anything that can help with concentration during boring tasks is useful. Obviously, that is my experience. Ymmv

Try some exercise in VR. "Thrill Of The Fight", "Holopoint", "GORN" or similar games are a lot of fun and are at least a moderate workout. I've literally just finished a half-hour session of GORN, I'm fairly sweaty, and I wasn't bored once. (I also recommend similar things in IRL with Actual People, but I'm aware that those tend to be both more intimidating and harder to fit into a pre-set schedule.)

I know it looks kind of stupid, but DDR was a wicked nice workout last a certain level (medium or so). And you never get bored because there is always something you haven't accomplished.

Re: Training exercise boosts brain power, Johns Hopkins researchers say

#93

Post by WalterBright »

taeric wrote: post #16
pdog wrote: post #14

Do you know the best exercise for your brain? Actual exercise. Running increases neurogenesis[1] more than anything else. [1]: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/04/well/move/for-your-brains...

Amusingly, I would not be surprised to find some people need both. In particular, exercise is boring. Very very boring. Anything that can help with concentration during boring tasks is useful. Obviously, that is my experience. Ymmv

Running certainly started out painful and boring for me. But after a year, things changed. I started to look forward to it, and it ceased being boring.

I do my best thinking while running, and make use of it to solve problems, write articles, etc.

Lifting weights, however, remains painful and boring :-( and I think that is because it requires mental focus. Running does not, you can just drift off into something that interests you.

Re: Training exercise boosts brain power, Johns Hopkins researchers say

#94

Post by mohn »

dhimes wrote: post #50
mohn wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't played this game myself, but from the description I suspect that "passes the word to someone else" should have been "comes up with and passes a different word to someone else". You end up with a stack of words where no two adjacent words are the same. Players might also try to avoid adding non-adjacent duplicate words to the stack. Eventually, someone decides it's time to start popping backward through the…

But this way you would only hear one word- the one that was passed to you. Unless it went through several rounds, in which case everybody would have their own stack.

Ah, I should not have stuck with the original post's use of the word "pass". I was envisioning each word being announced publicly, and the speaker designating the next person with eye contact or pointing or something.

In this way, everyone does have their own stack and if their hearing and memory are perfect, everyone has the same stack contents. In practice, memory corruption causes the players' stacks to disagree more at the bottom as time goes on, but agree reasonably well toward the top. If a word is misheard, some players might even disagree about the current value at the top of the stack.

Since they used the word "pass" maybe the OP does mean it's private, in which case it's a pretty different game than what I'm guessing at here. In my version, during the second half of the game, the current speaker could designate any player to be the next to pop and announce their top of the stack.

If the passing of words is private, then players need to remember who they interacted with at various points in the first half so they can try to form those same pairings again in reverse. And I guess the signal for the mid-game reversal point would require whispering the word they just got, back into the ear of the same player who just gave it to them.

Edit: Ohhh, I neglected the fact that they "circle up" in the OP. That solves the problem of getting the pairings right. You know exactly who you interacted with if you're all in the same spots in the circle and only interact with your neighbors. Okay, the word passing must be private. Which makes sense if you're hanging out behind the curtain at a theater and you need to be quiet. I wonder if the game that I've imagined would be any good.

Re: Training exercise boosts brain power, Johns Hopkins researchers say

#95

Post by noir_lord »

hinkley wrote: post #43
noir_lord wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In particular, exercise is boring. Very very boring. I regularly spend 2-4hrs on a road bike and I've never found it boring and I have a low boredom threshold generally (outside of programming). It's just a case of finding your niche.

I did when I was younger and my theory is that one of the reasons some people have trouble with endurance exercise is the same reason they can't do yoga or meditation. It's just too much time alone with your own thoughts and it's scary for some people. I'm not convinced that it's the actual running that's predominantly responsible for the neurogenisis (although we know that exercise causes an uptick in HGH so it's pl…

I've always preferred my own company, not been able to get away from everything for a few hours would drive me nuts.

I stopped riding with the cycling club because it became too much of a social obligation, I like doing 60-70 miles on my own, stopping for a coffee somewhere and just watching world go by.

I don't even record my routes anymore, just distance and speed.

Re: Training exercise boosts brain power, Johns Hopkins researchers say

#96

Post by nether »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #89
collyw wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"exercise is boring". You are clearly very unimaginative when it comes to exercise. I find the gym pretty bloody boring. But whitewater kayaking, mountain biking, rock climbing easily beat sitting in front of a computer. If those are too much go for a hike in the mountains and take in some scenery. Or learn to surf. Or cycle to work. I get an hours solid exercise every day doing that and save myself time and money as…

Unless you live in say Salt Lake City or near a national park, these aren't activities you can do everyday on a schedule. Cycling is fine, as long as you live in a place that supports it well enough (so a Deep South city with no bike trails might not be a good idea).

You can combine approaches. I'm a "weekend warrior" with climbing, hiking etc., and my passion for those activities spurred me to train during the week on a schedule. I'd gym climb or work out at home with dumbbells, so that I could do harder objectives during the weekend.

This can be a gateway drug, and cause you to change your whole lifestyle and move to a place with such activities in abundance.

Re: Training exercise boosts brain power, Johns Hopkins researchers say

#97

Post by dangerlibrary »

mrfusion wrote: post #85
andai wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I picked up bouldering a few weeks ago and I love it! I wish I'd learned about it sooner. I've never experienced such a satisfying muscle ache before.

Seems really fun! Couple reservations I have. Do you have to wear a harness? Are people going to be telling me what to do? Isn’t it expensive?

1. No, not for bouldering, though it helps to have climbing shoes.

2. It's generally considered impolite to give advice on how to climb something, unless the person asks.

3. Most bouldering/climbing gyms have small workout areas in addition to the walls, and memberships that aren't a lot more expensive than a regular gym.

Re: Training exercise boosts brain power, Johns Hopkins researchers say

#98

Post by tarsinge »

Mc_Big_G wrote: post #72
harbie wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was how I felt about lifting weights. I know about all of it's amazing health benefits, but you've got 3-5 minutes rest between sets, with most programs having you do at least 9 sets total. That's not even counting the time added on if someone else asks to work in sets with you. Plus the need for a spotter when benching. Point is, I ended up getting into bouldering. If you want to send a bouldering problem, you…

Unless you're competing and pushing for that last 5%, there's no need to rest 3-5 min. 1-1.5 min should be plenty except maybe the last set or 2 if you're really going for it.

Yes, you can even go as low as 20-30 seconds if your goal is not competitive powerlifting and more aesthetics, I wasted way too much time for inferior results before switching to short rest time

Re: Training exercise boosts brain power, Johns Hopkins researchers say

#99

Post by mrfusion »

dangerlibrary wrote: post #97
mrfusion wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems really fun! Couple reservations I have. Do you have to wear a harness? Are people going to be telling me what to do? Isn’t it expensive?

1. No, not for bouldering, though it helps to have climbing shoes. 2. It's generally considered impolite to give advice on how to climb something, unless the person asks. 3. Most bouldering/climbing gyms have small workout areas in addition to the walls, and memberships that aren't a lot more expensive than a regular gym.

Thanks! I’ll check it out. So you’re saying I can just show up and boulder or are there lines? Or appointments?

Re: Training exercise boosts brain power, Johns Hopkins researchers say

#100

Post by dibujante »

SilasX wrote: post #83
dibujante wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those are all indicators of intelligence. Whether you have good executive control due to some "intrinsic" intelligence or due to some conditioning, the net effect is the same.

Not being sociable and fun at parties is a sign of intelligence? Charisma doesn't come from the liver. (believe that was Yudkowsky)

Are you kidding? Did the "bright, socially awkward person" stereotype get put out to pasture while I wasn't looking?
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