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And speaking of crossword puzzles, you see them everywhere -- in waiting rooms, in the checkout line at the grocery store, in the daily paper. You know the hype: Crossword puzzles, Sudoku and word games are the key to keeping old minds sharp.

For years, people have believed that doing crossword puzzles was a way to challenge and improve their intelligence, as well as a way to help maintain it. The truth is avid puzzlers aren't becoming more intelligent, they're actually training their brains. In other words, the players are becoming more skilled at solving the crosswords, but not necessarily becoming smarter. Additionally, problem-solving ability doesn't translate from one skill to another, so solving Sudoku puzzles probably won't help you remember names. Unless you enjoy the challenge of brain training games, don't feel bad if you can't think of an 11-letter word for smart. There are plenty of other ways to exercise your brain [source: ScienceDaily].

And while we're on the topic of games, video and computer games have often been described as "mindless" activities. While it may be better to actually get out and play a game of basketball than to sit and play a video game, recent studies have shown that gaming can actually improve everyday skills, including navigating, driving, and improving decision and reaction times [source: ScienceDaily]. Furthermore, adept gamers also seem to make good laparoscopic surgeons, assuming they also have the intelligence to go along with their hand-eye coordination [source: ScienceDaily].

I recall watching a presentation by a psychology professor on the same topic. She had the audience perform a few tasks, such as keeping track of differently-colored objects in a moving group. Apparently the gamers were able to do it no problem whereas the rest of the audience had a problem. I thought the whole presentation was just a Captain Obvious ploy when she concluded by saying it's detrimental to play for more than several hours a day.

Relevant.

This was the defining work on the subject when it came out. I just picked up a used copy at local bookseller ;)

A very good read.

Is that the one with the giant Costco and that cross-eyed guy from Friday is POTUS?

When I was in high school, my hobby was Dell logic problems. Didn't help me too much until it came time to take the GRE the first time, when I scored 790/800 on the analytical portion. (I missed one! )

Uh, let's not bring up the ASVAB. I have to go through it at least twice a week with potential recruits and it is so annoying.

That movie is as scary as it is hilarious. After I saw it I met my friend's cousin who is a bloody idiot...and he has 6 kids, and the apple didn't fall off the tree with them

It's, in essence, a slightly buffed up GED, covering basic stuff like Math, Science, English as well as mechanical and technical problem solving exercises. It's not meant to be a really tough test, or an assessment of your intelligence or anything. More like to see what combination of those skills you're most apt at and going from that suggesting military occupation specialties you'd be best suited for. If you're still interested, you should talk to your recruiter and doctor about seeing if you can get a waiver. Anything under 20%/30% (depending on type) is waiverable.

Edited, May 16th 2013 3:28pm by lolgaxe

I agree with you. My gf is a social worker specializing in young mothers in dangerous home enviornments. Asking her "How was your day?" is a 50/50 chance of something funny that happened in the office or an absolute horror story. It is a social rather than regulation problem, but as my government teacher in high school told me: "Most forms of regulation work on paper, but once PEOPLE get involved that goes out the window."