What’s soft, squishy and weighs about 1.3 kilograms? It's you. Or rather, your brain, the organ that essentially encompasses who you are. It’s where your personality resides, as do your likes, dislikes, creativity and willpower.
Given the importance of our brains, it isn’t surprising to learn there is a rapidly growing multibillion-dollar industry dedicated to preserving its cognitive abilities, as noted in the Global Cognitive Assessment and Training Market Report 2021 by ResearchAndMarkets.com.
To add fuel to the fire, study after study has shown our mental functions begin to decline as we age. Our memory weakens, the speed at which we process information slows down and our attention span becomes as fleeting as the life of a TikTok video.
The solution? To train the brain. While it is technically an organ, the consensus is to treat it like a muscle — either use it or lose it. Enter brain-training games.
Buff up that brain
Brain-training games account for hundreds of millions of dollars within the aforementioned multibillion-dollar industry. They come in the form of apps, websites and online programmes, and claim to boost our neuroplasticity to avoid rapid cognitive decline as we age.
One of our biggest fears is losing our mind and personality
Dr Doerthe Schiess,
neurologist, German Neuroscience Centre
Platforms such as Lumosity, Elevate, Peak and countless others have been on the rise since 2005, each one framing itself as the gateway to improving cognition across avenues such as memory, speed, attention, flexibility and problem-solving.
Their approach lies in the gamification of training exercises and they keep users funnelling through by encouraging them with colourful graphs and bite-sized bits of research. And, like any score-and-milestone-based app game, it’s easy enough to keep users playing when instant gratification lies at the end of a two-minute “brain booster”.
However, as light and harmless as these apps seem, they’re shrouded with carefully selected language. In 2016, Lumosity was fined $2 million for falsely advertising that its programme could help to protect people against Alzheimer’s disease.
After this reveal, and considering the nature of the market’s audience, brain-training apps began to treat their marketing with care to avoid a backlash. The premise does, after all, stem from preying on people’s fears, says Dr Doerthe Schiess, a neurologist at the German Neuroscience Centre.
“One of our biggest fears is losing our mind and personality, as can occur with Alzheimer’s disease. Therefore, the popularity [of these apps] is based on a negative, rather than a rational, emotion,” she says.
“Claiming the solution to this fear is available on an easy-to-use app in our pocket at an acceptable price lets people forget about their concerns.”
Preventing diseases such as Alzheimer’s might be a tall order, but can brain-training games still deliver on improving cognition to some extent? Are simple exercises such as identifying facial expressions, organising numbers and creating words out of scrambled letters enough to maintain or enhance brain health?
Solution or distraction?
Fun and games aside, claims such as boosting cognition need to be backed by research.
On the surface, it does seem like there is substantial evidence in favour of brain-training games. They not only highlight the benefits of the training, but also support the theory that the skills transfer easily into real-life scenarios — sustained concentration, faster recall and improved communication.
Most people will become automatically better over time if practising a game
Dr Doerthe Schiess
However, a review published in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest reveals otherwise. A team of psychologists reviewed the gamut of scientific studies cited by major companies behind brain-training programmes and found a series of flaws, ranging from small sample sizes and inadequate control groups to missing pretest baselines and cherry-picking data to fit a chosen conclusion.
On the other hand, despite the poorly designed studies, users did demonstrate improved performance across the course of their training.
“Most people will become automatically better over time if practising a game or sporting activity,” explains Schiess. "However, these skills haven’t been conclusively proven to be transferable. For instance, you might learn to recite the first 100 digits of pi backwards and forwards, but that won’t keep you from having to look up your landline number when someone asks for it.”
On the right wavelength
While brain-training games may not be the cure-all to cognitive decline that their users hope, they’re not completely futile. It might just be a case of right path, wrong execution.
Both neurology and cognitive psychology back the theory that engaging in “real-life” activities and learning opportunities are the best way to keep a brain active. In other words, activities such as socialising, exercising and learning new languages or instruments are more likely to help, rather than spending 10 to 15 minutes indulging in games that add little to no real-life value.
Schiess also highlights the benefits of methods such as neurofeedback, also known as neurotherapy, essentially a scientifically proven type of brain training.
“NFB enables one to alter their brain waves by operant conditioning, or non-conscious learning. By measuring the brain waves and providing an audio and/or video feedback signal, it teaches self-control of the brain function.”
Neurofeedback therapy indicates how a brain reacts to certain situations and triggers. Over time, the person undergoing the therapy can identify when their brain is in a certain state, and then learn to avoid negative states (such as rage) and recreate positive ones (such as relaxation).
It not only trains your brain to work more efficiently, but is also a non-invasive and medication-free method to treat conditions such as ADHD, epilepsy, anxiety disorders and even autism.
“When used for peak performance, benefits include improving attention and concentration while decreasing worry, procrastination and stress — this all results in improved performance,” says Schiess.
The verdict
Brain-training games, while admittedly enjoyable, might just be akin to other logic games littering the market. Our continued progress can simply be attributed to the age-old adage, “practice makes perfect”. Meaning that any sense of productivity we glean from completing levels and unlocking badges is the same false productivity high we tap into when we decide to reorganise our wardrobe rather than complete a more pressing project.
The science of methods such as NFB has yet to catch up to the easily accessible format these programmes promise. Until then, feel free to “brain train” with these apps. Just don’t expect to see any deeper returns other getting better at gameplay in the virtual world.
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
MO
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreators%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Amer%2C%20Ramy%20Youssef%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Amer%2C%20Teresa%20Ruiz%2C%20Omar%20Elba%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
Panipat
Director Ashutosh Gowariker
Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment
Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman
Rating 3 /5 stars
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
The Limehouse Golem
Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Bill Nighy, Douglas Booth
Three stars
Sam Smith
Where: du Arena, Abu Dhabi
When: Saturday November 24
Rating: 4/5
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More on animal trafficking
The biog
Name: Abeer Al Shahi
Emirate: Sharjah – Khor Fakkan
Education: Master’s degree in special education, preparing for a PhD in philosophy.
Favourite activities: Bungee jumping
Favourite quote: “My people and I will not settle for anything less than first place” – Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
Tenet
Director: Christopher Nolan
Stars: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh
Rating: 5/5
The%20specs
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UAE%20SQUAD
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The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20WATCH%20SERIES%208
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Company%20profile
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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