Consummate dilettantism!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Can't Do It [NSFW!]

Fuck you, internet!

I can't do it. I give up. Jesus Christ, dual n-back is boring and hard as fuck. Doing it for 20 minutes a day for the past few weeks has been utterly killer. I dread it more than anything in the world. But let me tell you something -- I've gotten up to dual 7-back the past few days. Let me repeat that: dual 7-back. Yeah, I thought it was impossible; it is assuredly not. Think dual 7-back is your grandma's game?

Think again, bitch.

Go ahead. Download the game and try it yourself. You'll probably fail at dual 2-back. But keep practicing and you'll get better.

As for that report I promised you on December 24th, well, it's not coming. [Yeah, fuck you too. -Ed.] I can't exercise like that, I just can't. Even dual n-back isn't sustainable.

But this is all in the spirit of experimentation, right? How do I feel? Has any of this worked? I can say that dual n-back has given me a boost of confidence (and possibly intelligence) -- I think mental math comes more easily, although this could of course be placebo. Whether it is or isn't, however, it's certainly welcome; if it is, then placebo is totally awesome and not to be underestimated. (You really do feel smarter when you do well in the game.) But fluid intelligence isn't necessary for any of my current classes; I'll be taking computer science next year, and may decide to take it up again then.

In the meantime, I'll be attempting to experiment on my own intelligence a little more with Rise of Nations and nootropics/assorted things. Will either work? Dunno -- check back right here in a month or two for results!

Now get me a Brompton cocktail or something. Goodnight!

1 comment:

  1. Wow 7 back , thats some serious dedication. Question, do you just let it happen, or do you use active attention? I have heard that keeping a mental image doesn't work well.

    Have you seen the iPhone app?
    http://itunes.com/app/IQboost

    ReplyDelete