Re: I need advice on the best and cheapest devices and methods to improve my brain

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Well- you've certainly already compiled quite a list. Maybe... semantics training? In The Tyranny of Words, the author states that when they taught young children semantics, they made slight upward jumps in iq. The same may be true of any sort of like disciplinelogic, maybe even crossword puzzles? Vizualisation, used by dimestore mystics for a great deal of the time, may be helpfull in improving visual and or spatial memory. You know, memorizing, say what a bookshelf looks like, or a photograph, and then holding the image in your mind with your eyes closed. An old ninja technique for increasing tactile awareness involved bringing stones out of a box, letting the trainee feel them, returning them to the box and having the trainee describe as many as they can by feel. I suppose you could do similar things with sets of say, differently smelling objects or objects that were different in appearance... you might try taking a bottle of pennies and work on remmebering all the dates. Or memorize passages from magazine articles. The greeks used to think that a sound mind could only be achieved while the body was sound, and vice versa. I tend to beleive that this is at least somewhat true- physical activities such as baseball, fencing, gymnastics or soccer improve various aspects of coordination and balence, which is another part of the mental sphere. I have got to go to sleep though, now- it's 2:05 am, and another tenet of healthy minds is a good night's sleep. Adios, and good luck! I will probably put whatever responses you get to good use for myself to, if they are not too expensive- I mean, who wouldn't enjoy being a little more intelligent, or at the very least coherent:)

                             Skye Howard

• john grigg <starman125@hotmail.com> wrote:
  > Hello everyone,
  >
  > I need advice from everyone on the list who would
  > have good advice on the
  > best and where possible least expensive devices,
  > technologies, nutritional
  > supplements and methods to enhance my cognitive
  > performance in college and
  > in my private life.
  >
  > I have just read "Megabrains" and was enthralled by
  > what I learned there but
  > many of the devices were on the expensive side. But
  > in October the state of
  > Alaska will be sending me a permanent fund check for
  > $1500 which is my cut
  > of the oil profits which I get as a state resident.
  > It is a nice fringe
  > benefit but one cannot live here just for that. And
  > so I wish to spend part
  > of that on these items.
  >
  > At this point I am considering buying
  > hypno-peripheral audiocassettes that
  > supposedly are a quantum leap up from the old
  > subliminal tapes. Are these
  > tapes really effective? Do any of you use them and
  > think they work? What
  > brands are best? I am planning on buying tapes for
  > memory and self-esteem
  > to name a few.
  >
  > The "no-horizon in view" goggles for $200 that are
  > in the Tools for
  > Exploration catalog seem a possibility for entering
  > an enhanced state of
  > relaxation so that the hypno-peripheral tapes would
  > have a better chance of
  > influencing me. Anyone tried this device and if so
  > any thoughts?
  >
  > Though the cost is high and I probably won't buy one
  > the light and sound
  > machines (brain machines) interest me. The company
  > with the David series
  > impresses me the most. If I could shell out $600
  > painlessly I would
  > consider buying their top of the line model but I
  > have heard conflicting
  > stories on just how well these machines work. Some
  > say all they do is relax
  > or excite you really. What are the views here on
  > them? In my town a local
  > massage place offers them for use at one dollar a
  > minute and I was thinking
  > of visiting him.
  >
  > I have heard a group of Russian scientists have
  > developed a sort of "brain
  > washing for your own good" system using advanced
  > forms of these
  > technologies. They are trying to market it in the
  > United States now. I saw
  > a short bit on it on cable news a few months ago.
  > Anyone here about this?
  >
  > In "Megabrains" I read about various systems that
  > send electrical current
  > through the brain. Does this technique really
  > enhance cognitive function?
  > Of the various devices which do you recommend if
  > any? I would look pretty
  > funny all hooked up to some of these as I went about
  > campus!!
  >
  > I really wish someone in Anchorage had isolation
  > tanks that they rented out
  > so I could try one out!! They fascinate me with the
  > stories of dream-like
  > hallucinations that people have in them. My $1500
  > would barely put a
  > down-payment of one of these tanks! Have any of you
  > used an isolation tank?
  > What was the experience like?
  >
  > I am one of those people who rarely remember their
  > dreams and so I paid $250
  > a few years ago for a dream monitoring kit from that
  > scientist LaBurge(I
  > believe that is the name) who has pioneered lucid
  > dreaming. I tried to use
  > it repeatedly to no effect. I sleep like the dead
  > and it did not work on
  > any setting. If I could afford it I would want the
  > $1200 deluxe device they
  > offer that is what is used in actual sleep labs.
  > Have any of you used this
  > device?
  >
  > I am interested in the Tomatis technology developed
  > by French scientist
  > Alfred Tomatis. The machine supposedly is a
  > converter of sorts that takes
  > music or the spoken word and puts it into
  > frequencies that give the ear a
  > "work-out!" He has centers all over the world I
  > have read and quite a
  > following. The claim is that not only does it
  > enhance hearing but will help
  > with dyslexia and enhance any HPP sort of
  > audiocassette. The price for his
  > device is steep at $800 dollars! I am dyslexic and
  > a little hard of hearing
  > so I would like to try one out.
  >
  > What nutritional supplements would any of you
  > recommend? I keep on hearing
  > about how great ginko is but have not tried it over
  > the long-term. Does it
  > really work? What general nutritional tips would
  > any of you give to me for
  > enhancing the brain?
  >
  > OF the different books out there that say they will
  > teach techniques to
  > improve memory and problem solving which would you
  > recommend?
  > "Super-learning" and "MegaMemory" are what comes to
  > mind.
  >
  > I am fascinated by the "Tools for Exploration"
  > catalog! I realize some of
  > what is in there is just snake oil but still other
  > items do seem to have
  > real value. Had I the money I could easily spend
  > ten grand on what they
  > have in there!
  >
  > Are there books on interpersonal relationships with
  > women (a little more
  > advance then "How to Pick Up Women!") that any of
  > you would recommend?
  > There is a fellow who runs a company called
  > "Intimate Connections" that for
  > $350 dollars will send a book and 12 tape set on
  > this subject! I actually
  > called him up and he made a good sounding argument
  > for his methods that
  > involve making connections emotionally with women.
  > He said men have a very
  > binary approach to women where females are very
  > open-ended which throws many
  > men off. The author has an educational background
  > in computing and
  > psychology but still $350!!
  >
  > I suffer from clinical depression, a.d.d. and
  > learning disabilities that
  > have had their effect on my life even though I
  > allowed the damage to be far
  > greater then it should have been by giving up. I
  > plan on going back on
  > antidepressants soon (money problems...and the state
  > cut all funding for the
  > working poor..) and will probably go back to Luvox
  > which is popular in
  > Europe. I think overcoming my depression alone
  > would be the huge
  > breakthrough I need. I am also considering Ritalin
  > to get a hold on my
  > a.d.d. but am nervous about possible side effects.
  >
  > What computer software would any of you recommend to
  > help me improve my
  > mind? I have seen the game "Thinkfast" that seems
  > very impressive. Any
  > thoughts on that? I do not own a p.c. and my
  > college would not allow me to
  > play a "game" on theirs but I found a nonprofit
  > agency in town that has a
  > computer lab for the "disabled" and with my l.d. I
  > qualify so I could use
  > the software there.
  >
  > My learning disabilities have so far stopped me from
  > driving though I took
  > driver's ed years ago and did pass but never went to
  > the DMV after my
  > instructor told me how incompetent I was at driving.
  > I actually bought myself a driving software program
  > from Sierra online for
  > $45 dollars that to me and my driving (but not car
  > owning) brother was a
  > complete joke! Even if you were good at the game it
  > was still nowhere
  > realistic enough to teach driving.
  >
  > I would like to get my hands (and feet) into a top
  > quality commercial
  > driving simulator but I don't think Anchorage has
  > any except for the state
  >
  === message truncated ===

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• [ Next ][ Previous ] In reply to: john grigg