Neurobics

Brainpower Newsletter

Ready to do some neurobics? These brain exercises are the topic of this weeks first article.

What are neurobics? Essentially brain exercises. The term was invented by Lawrence Katz and Manning Rubin to describe exercises that help the brain stay fit.

Some specific types of sensory stimuli and activities, especially those that involve non-routine actions and thoughts, produce more of those chemicals that encourage growth of new dendrites and neurons in the brain. Routines become so automatic that actions are done largely unconsciously (ever get up in the morning and walk to the bathroom before you're really conscious?). Such automated or unconscious actions require less activity in the brain, and exercise it less.

A neurobic activity, on the other hand, should do one or more of the following...

Continued here:
http://www.increasebrainpower.com/neurobics.html

What are cryptograms? They are secret codes, and were first used for secure wartime communications. One of the oldest versions known was a strip of paper wrapped around a stick. This was used by the Spartan Army over two thousand years ago.

A strip of paper was wrapped around the stick or staff, edge-to-edge without overlapping, and the message was written vertically. To read it, the receiver had to wrap the paper strip around a stick of the exact same diameter as the one used to create the message, so the letters would line up correctly. The receiver knew what diameter stick to use, of course. Meanwhile, any messages intercepted would take some time to be decoded, because even if the enemy knew to use a stick, he had to find one of the right diameter.

Cryptograms are used primarily for entertainment now. They are usually created using a simple substitution cipher, in which each letter is replaced by...

Continued here:
http://www.increasebrainpower.com/cryptograms.html

- There are three known animals with blue tongues: the Chow Chow dog, the Black Bear, and the blue-tongued lizard.

- "Checkmate" in chess comes from the Persian "Shah Mat", meaning "the king is dead".

- The US government keeps its silver supply at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY (don't tell them I told you so).

Dementia is the decline - usually disease caused - in mental function, beyond what is normal in aging. It is a term that encompasses both Alzheimers and general senility. How do you prevent it? One way is to stay mentally active all of your life. At the University of New South Wales last year, research demonstrated that complex mental activity over the years reduces the incidence of dementia by almost 50%.

Play, and you can improve your brain. This makes intuitive sense, doesn't it? Even many animals play. It is a way to train the body and mind. But what does the research show?

It clearly shows that playing stimulates the brain, and causes measurable changes in the structure of the brain. New neronal connections are made and new brain cells are grown. Any intellectual play, and any playing that involves hand-eye coordination stimulates the brain.

In response to last weeks new page on wordplay, a subscriber found an example of the word "and" being used in a sentence five times consecutively. Here it is:

A man was hired to paint a sign for an inn called "The Frog and Toad".
The publican came out to inspect the man's work and said: Good effort, my man, but the space between "Frog" and "and", and "and" and "Toad" is not visually-acceptable!

Thanks Quentin. As you may recall, a previous newsletter had a sentence with "that" in it five times consecutively. Nobody has yet shown me an example of a grammatically correct sentence with six consecutive uses of a word. Let me know if you find one.

Take the Luck Test and find out. Then find out how you can generate your own luck.

Learn more here... http://www.goodlucksecrets.com/luck-test.html

What does an atheist believe? Does he say "God does not exist." Most atheists I know wouldn't say that. Even most dictionaries misrepresent atheism, with definitions like "Denial of the existence of God."

What most atheists do believe:

1. Experience and evidence should be the basis for any beliefs.

2. Those making an assertion have the responsibility for proving it.

Therefore, if my experience doesn't convince me, and you do not prove the existence of God, I have no reason to believe he (or she) exists. I also have no reason to say he doesn't exist, since I could not prove this belief. Why would I waste my time trying to prove a concept as nebulous as God can't exist in reality? If I told you that a blue snake in the sky ruled the universe, you wouldn't believe me either. You would be an "aserpentist," but you wouldn't start gathering evidence that could "prove" no invisible blue snake was up there, would you?

You may wonder, if atheism is simply non-belief due to unconvincing evidence, rather than an opposite belief, where does this leave agnostics? The most honest classification would be...

Continued here:
http://www.999ideas.com/atheist-god.html

Until next time,

Solution To The Riddle: Cut it as you normally cut a cake, in half with one cut, and again with another, resulting in four pieces. Then cut it horizontally in half. This third cut creates eight pieces total.

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