The Guardian Says Brain Training Games Don’t Work. Everyone Who Isn’t An Idiot Realized This Years Ago.

Let me start by saying that I am aware that the Brain Age games can be fun. If you’re waiting in a doctor’s office or standing in line at the DMV, then Brain Age is well worth the 20 bucks. However, if you are playing these games on a regimented schedule in the hopes that you will become smarter or have a more “agile” brain…you are a moron. I don’t care what Nicole Kidman eludes to in the commercial. If you can’t breathe and chew gum at the same time no amount of “Brain Training” is going to save you.

Honestly, I can’t believe that anyone who plays these games thinks that it is actually having a profound effect on their intelligence. Just like no one could possibly believe that a game like Flash Focus that is played on a tiny screen and requires you to squint could possibly make your vision any better. The Guardian has less faith in the gaming public though as they have published an article with proof that these brain games make no difference. Someone thought it wise to spend money on a research study to prove that these games are not miracles on a cartridge. Here is my favorite part of the article:

People who spend money on “brain trainers” to keep their minds agile may get the same results by simply doing a crossword or surfing the internet, according to research published today.

A panel of experts, including eminent neuroscientists, found there was no scientific evidence to support a range of manufacturers’ claims that the gadgets can help improve memory or stave off the risk of illnesses such as dementia.

They later go on to say that people who are buying these games should continue to buy them and of course they should. They are fun little games and if you enjoy them then by all means enjoy them until you are old and senile. But don’t fall prey to some false claims that might be made in advertising. It’s just like the late-night infomercials you see where a guy cuts the head of a hammer in half with the knife and then slices a tomato. When you get it and try to cut the hammer, the blade will become dull and complaining makes you look like an idiot who just tried to cut a hammer in half with a knife.

If you want to become smarter…take a class. If you just want intellectual stimulation, there are cheaper and equally effective ways of getting it. Of course none of them involve tapping a screen with a stylus but beggars can’t be choosers. It really does worry me that some people took the idea that these games could really affect you so seriously that studies have been done. When I played Brain Age all I thought was it was a neat little game that was fun until it started showing math problems on the screen. Then I got bored. Anyone who has seen the DS section of a video game store has seen the wide array of “educational” and “self-help” games on the market. Just the other day I saw something like My Stop Smoking Coach. Some of these “games” are absolutely ridiculous and should be treated as such. Surely there are more important things to spend time and money studying.

Via: The Guardian