Working-Memory Training Report – Shawn H – Session 19

Session number: 19

Average n-back: 3.65

Duration (min.): 35

Let the trumpets sound and the angels rejoice – I have come to the end of my first round of training!

I was determined to match or beat my personal best today. I slept well. I had a relaxing morning due to the snow storm and was feeling energized when I sat down to train. I had intense focus and I managed to – - – stay at 3.65 – - – down from my personal best of 3.85.

Oh well – I gave it my best today, that’s for sure. A week ago I believed that I would master n=4 before the 19th day – today I realized it may be awhile before that happens – if at all.

Here’s the run down of my last block.

n=3 1 miss
n=4 5 misses
n=4 7 misses
n=3 1 miss
n=4 6 misses
n=3 4 misses
n=3 3 misses
n=3 4 misses
n=3 1 miss
n=4 2 misses
n=5 9 misses
n=4 5 misses
n=4 2 misses
n=5 10 misses
n=4 6 misses
n=3 1 miss
n=4 4 misses
n=4 7 misses
n=3 5 misses
n=3 1 miss

I think I may take at least a week off before starting the second round of training.

Peace, Shawn

This post was submitted by Shawn.

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3 Responses to “Working-Memory Training Report – Shawn H – Session 19”

  1. martin says:

    Hi Shawn.

    Congratulations on your achievement. 19 days of training and you’ve provided a laudably open and lucid document of those 19 days. I for one have enjoyed following your progress.

    It just occurred to me that another way to think about setbacks is to recognize that we had a day on which we achieved something exceptional. 3.85 was still you, still a new high, no matter that you didn’t match it yet. And no reason that you shouldn’t match it and better it.

    Taking a break seems like a good idea. Rest your brain while it puts those new cells to good use.

    Best wishes,
    Martin

  2. Will says:

    Shawn,

    Great job on finishing the first session. N=4 awaits you on session 2. The key is to stay consistent and not to get discouraged. Hackneyed advice but true. I agree with Martin that taking some time off is a good idea. You (and your axons) should come back ready to fire nicely.

    You might want to have a go at an IQ test before you start your training — the GIQtest is probably the best one available for measuring a variety of abilities and would likely approximate what you’d score on a test like the WAIS.

    In a few weeks I’m going to be out of the country (USA) for several weeks and so will have some time off — a few weeks — from training…so that will be really the first time to see if gains can be consolidated by absence from training…

  3. Shaun says:

    Shawn:

    Yes… congratulations on finishing the first 19 training blocks! You deserve credit for that, even if the results are less than perfect. Few of us reach perfection in what we do, but our achievements (e.g. a personal best of 3.85) are meaningful.

    In addition, I feel very glad to hear you mention “the second round of training.”

    Will:

    I’m looking forward to your return after a two week absence. That will be an interesting experiment!

    Warmth,
    Shaun

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