Boost your brain power! 2

[sughew]

This is a silly post, but hey, i'll ask anyway....

I always tend to worry that i'm not 'brainy' enough. When I see a product/invention etc that i find interesting and clever, or i'm stuck on solving a problem, I get cheesed-off with myself that I have'nt the talent to produce such a device....

Any tips on becoming more creative and brainier.

 

[ttuterry]

Eat lots of celery and do expert sudokus at the same time...If that doesn't work then you have no chance.

 

[rbulsara]

Brainies do not invent anything, they market others inventions.

Ask Bill Gates.

Start a small business and hire smart people around you.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

The reference was to the "food" version;

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/results.asp?searchword=faggot&x=0&y=0

Faggots are traditionally made from chopped liver, but the ingredients could vary between regions.

I think the "brains" reference came from the producer's name

http://www.ciao.co.uk/Mr_Brains_Pork_Faggots__5303376

 

[SomptingGuy]

I always thought the brand name was a kind of in-joke to let you know what they were made of. Now the term "pork faggots" is just digging the innuendo hole deeper...

 

[Ashereng]

Must be a "British" thing?

"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."
Albert Einstein
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[aardvarkdw]

Why can't the british just say "Meat Balls" just like Americ... I mean everyone else....

David

 

[MadMango]

Getting away from the food debate... start taking apart those things you find interesting/cleaver to learn how they were assembled and the mechanics behind them. The more exposure to onther things you have, the more they stick in your brain for later retrieval when needed.

I am constantly taking my kids cheap toys apart to see a) how they are made, b) how they work, c) how they are assembled, and D) how they can give them away for such low prices.

And remember its not brain power that creates new things, but rather creativity to apply old things in ways.

[green]"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."[/green]

Have you read faq731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[metengr]

Solve Crossword puzzles.

 

[pauljohn]

Play chess

 

[buffer72]

Eat blueberries

Sincerely

 

[jmw]

The brain is often compared to a muscle, the more you use it, the stronger it gets. Ditto the brain.

However, there are a nunmber of good reads out there from the likes of Edward De Bono (I particularly like "Latral Thinking") and Tony Buzzan who writes about brain power and memory.
His latest, which I am now reading, is "The Power of Verbal Inteligence".

In many ways the way we use our brains has changed dramatically both over the years and with our individual lives.
As children we are, for example, pre-programmed to learn and have natural language abilities, with a inbuilt grammer, apparently, but equally apparently no inate ability to spell and that may be because written language and mature language is an artifical tool.

Historically, when only the elite could read and write, "ordinary" people had impressive memories and perhaps more dexterity with mental excercises.
The ability to read and write took that need away and people progressive lost the impetus to read and memorise.
In school, about the only things you needed to memorise were multiplication tables and poems (e.g. the Rhyme of the Ancinet Mariner of exceptional length). Today you are told you don't need to memorise things, you just look them up.
However, the inate abilities are all still there, just not used and hence the success of writers such as these in tapping into these abilities and showing us how we can indeed improve ourselves.

So my suggestion is to excercise the mind as others have suggested, but like everything esle, there is always an "expert" who can help us do so more effectively.

JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[IRstuff]

Someone's brain cells seem to need some help:
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner ;-)

TTFN

 

[kontiki99]

As an ex soldier, I support the idea that “Your Mind is Your Primary Weapon.”

There is some very interesting CD training for developing and understanding creativity.

See ->

http://www.ideafocus.com/products/serious/_serious.htm

I think Dr. De Bono makes some credible argument for improving thinking skills in his other books on Six Hats and learning to think,

You may not be able to improve on your genetics but you probably can learn to use your abilities to their fullest.

I believe in exercise, and good nutrition to develop peak performance anyway. I try to limit alcohol consumption.

I think it's good to set aside quiet time to actually think about problems and possibilities.

I have experimented with practicing multiplication tables when I go jogging to see if I could improve my ability to think on my feet. It’s doable.

One of the reasons for learning to play the piano (in addition to enjoying music) was to see if I could develop additional neural pathways in my brain. To that end, I use the computer mouse on the RH side at work, and the LH side at home.

I haven’t owned a TV in about 25 years. I see it as an obstacle to forming an objective opinion and in depended thought to receive to the same manufactured messages as all the other gerbils.

 

[kontiki99]

After posting this, I thought I should probably return to the thread and apologize in advance to anyone offended by the gerbil comment.

I like the gerbil model, because gerbils are fed by lapping the nutritional fluid provided them from a TUBE placed in their habitat. At least that’s what I saw the last time I was in a pet store.

My personal opinion on TVs does vacillate between several two not too complementary views.

On the one hand, sometimes I take the position given the economics of the programming and commercials that I would allow one in my habitat if it was paid for by politicians and marketing groups. Why would I pay good money to hear messages clearly tailored to benefit those groups?

Then I realize politicians placing media devices in homes has been tried and could immediately arouse the suspicion of all citizens (at least hopefully).

Maybe the fact that the audience pays for the TVs and service is part of the illusion that it would some how deliver content that somehow benefits the audience, though not in any indispensable way.

I personally don’t think most human beings, myself included, have sufficient emotional filtering to come away after viewing most well crafted audiovisual presentations remaining emotionally neutral.

 

[IRstuff]

As an engineer, we should recognize that no single tool is the end-all or be-all. This applies to TV as well. To be totally dependent on a SINGLE source for data is the pitfall. As with alcohol, EVERYTHING should be done in moderation. That goes with being a balanced person.

TTFN

 

[rbulsara]

I own TV but only use to watch movies of my choice for my entertainment or some sports events if like them.

News, I get from internet. Views, I form my own.

Ads, I ignore for the most part.

 

[swivel63]

food to get smarter? are you guys serious?

 

[IRstuff]

Why not? They've just recently postulated that eating fish allowed the human brain to evolve and develop, which is what my mother used to tell me 40 yrs ago.

TTFN

 

[edsongebo]

Eat garlic, blueberries, dark chocolate, etc etc. Take your vitamins and get plenty of rest that YOU need. I agree with Madmango...creativity is what re-invents the wheel. I've taking apart my toys for years... Both mechanical and electrical. My Dad use to scream "...we just bought that for you!" Now I do it with my child's toys

Edson Gebo
Mechanical Designer/Drafter
SW2007 SP2.0
Cadra 2006 (yup 2D still exists)
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Sometimes Success Begins at Failure
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