Session number: Nineteen
Average n-back: 2.6
Duration (min.): 50 min.
Total disaster,.. Finished with a 2.6 after hitting a peak of 2.9 earlier,..
(Started from 2.045) Sent Martin an email attaching the Session Chart,..
Most interested in any reply,.. Can not say that I have noticed any positive side effects,..so far,..
Larry - 19 Sessions
This post was submitted by Larry Detroit.
Tags: Brain Exercises, brain-fitness, brain-fitness-pro, buschkuehl, increase intelligence, increase IQ, intelligence-training, IQ-training, jaeggi, martin-buschkuehl, mind-sparke, susanne-jaeggi, Training Working-Memory, working-memory
Here an excerpt from my reply to Larry:
“a marvelous example of a steady increase. If we were to draw a straight line through your results, the n-back increase over 19 sessions is approximately 0.7 points. You started out remembering an average of 4.1 items (visual and aural) and ended up remembering an average of 5.5. As a percentage, it’s about 35%. More importantly you’ve done it by creating new brain cells and putting them to use.
“Experience and data says that a second period of 19 days of training would generate a similar increase.
“I’d recommend that you take a break of a week or two, then go for a second period of training. If you wish you could train 3 times per week and you should still get the gains.”
To which I would add that it seems curious that you wouldn’t have noticed some day-to-day benefits, Larry.
Martin
CONGRATULATIONS LARRY… for sticking with the training for the entire 19 day training period!!!
It’s interesting to hear you mention a “total disaster.” I recognize that as what I call thinking in black and white terms. Black and white thinking is an old friend of mine. Let’s look at it as a thought. What does it mean to be a total disaster?
Total represents the sum of everything that happened, it means that we include everything that occurred, and add up everything. Disaster, on the other hand, reminds me of things like natural disasters and disaster response routes, usually involves great loss and suffering. Was your training a total disaster?
I can see how you could think that. And how you could think of your training as being negative. For instance, your score did drop to 2.6 after hitting a peak of 2.9. Further, you’ve not been aware of any significant positive impacts on your life experience. If I were in your shoes, I might feel discouraged, bummed out, and disappointed as well.
Notwithstanding these negative aspects of your training, I believe that completing the 19 training sessions can be explained only by including reference to your discipline, intentionality, and discipline. It takes hard, persistent work to complete those 19 sessions. You did it, and while there may be negative aspects of the experience, positives count – no excuses.
I admire the optimism that you hint at when you wrote, “so far…”
Warm regards,
Shaun.