The group was small, so we kept it short. 

We enlivened the senses with a sound effects quiz, tried to identify a mystery spice and tested sight and patience with a maze. 

We threw around some ideas related to content Linda will be including in Critical Thinking next year, including such things as appreciating the complexity and variety of our brains and honing our skills to combat misinformation. 

It was interesting to hear today of recent science from Cambridge that has noted five distinct stages of the human brain, with childhood growth until age 9, then adolescence until 32 when the brain becomes adult. Another change at 66 until 83 years of age when I like to think that the brain wiring is so interconnected that we achieve great wisdom!

​Elspeth Maconachie

Brief notes on logical thinking led to interesting discussion of neuro divergence and a reminder to use labels to help strategise but not to pigeon-hole.

We flexed our brains, thinking of widely differing meanings simple words like slip or sound can have in different contexts.  

Then we used our different approaches as we tackled puzzles asking us to remember, decode, calculate and categorise. 

Manipulating shapes and drawing mirror images also gave our brains the exercise it enjoys even when the effort can be felt. 

Teamwork helps too. 


​Elspeth Maconachie

The September session had to be called off. Apologies to anyone who didn't see my email early enough. 

Homework was set:   Try writing the alphabet backwards, draw an upside down cat and see if you can recall the phonetic alphabet from Alpha to Zulu. 

Elspeth

Brains thrive on a variety of activities and we warmed up with pets, pros, cons, pictures and even a planet or two.

Discussion then hushed, as drawing mirror images took quiet concentration. 

We took a  team approach to tackle several tough puzzles, testing our vocab, skill with 11- letter anagrams and cryptic clues, but we're fairly slick at finding missing link words. EG fish cake & cake mix.

Can you find a word that can follow ship and precede shifter?

Or follow straw and precede go?

...  just as ice can follow dry or precede cream.
​

Elspeth

Most stayed away but despite power cuts and stormy chill, Rae and Elspeth gave the neurons a wintry workout. 

Elspeth Maconachie

We began with an origami exercise and found it quite a challenge following less than pellucid instructions.  

We further explored types of memory which are used, stored and retrieved in different ways. 

Episodic memory roughly equates to our life diary, and it can be interesting to find that siblings or childhood friends have a different slant on an event. We sometimes take over a memory if we've heard the family anecdote often enough. 

Semantic memory is about facts and shared knowledge . This can be strongly cultural. Thus our history quiz was easier for those brought up on an Anglocentric syllabus. 

It is procedural memory that we use when we remember how to do things and which might need many rehearsals to fix a technique. Think of the tedium for a tennis champ striving to change a service motion. A stroke survivor might need similar patience and many repetitions to build a new neural pathway. 

Picturing the context, chunking, using a mnemonic or even humming a tune can bring something to mind.

​Elspeth

Although apologies well outnumbered attendees, we still had a stimulating session, mainly on the vast subject of memory (and ... nobody forgot to send their apology, which is  appreciated - and I think says something about the effectiveness of the course!)

The average person can carry seven items in working memory. Most people recall labelled pictures better than lists, and numbers are easier if we see patterns like birthdates or postcodes. 

We can aid memory if we rehearse and repeat but it helps if we are happy, well rested and keen to know.  It's surprising what details can emerge. Try listing childhood teachers or drawing a floor plan of your childhood home.  Music and aromas are also evocative. 

While it’s possible to multitask, that is only feasible when different parts of the brain are in use. Distractions, like pressure or movement, can reduce retention. That's why we can forget what we came to fetch if we think of another task or worry along the way. We might knit in front of tv news or drama but not read a book.

Practice, and tricks like chunking or rhyming can help, and the brain does appreciate exercise and variety.
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Elspeth Maconachie

In April we talked a little about the linear, sequential left and the intuitive, creative right hemispheres of the brain and did a few exercises to limber up both sides.

We did a short quiz that suggested our "brain personality" and then two longer tests on Visual Analogies and Word Definitions which might be more challenging depending on whether you find it easier to spot the logic or respond to the imaginative. 

If you know your weak spots you can seek activities and puzzles that can strengthen abilities to solve problems or see patterns.  All good fun and only a little competitive.  

Elspeth Maconachie

The group shared a number of amazing observations about the brain's wondrous abilities and adaptations at our March session. 

We encouraged flexibility and new brain pathways with backwards and mirror writing, finger exercises and word tennis.

Some puzzles tested careful listening and lateral thinking while others had us figuring
visual series, movement and shapes.

The brain was given a fresh challenge with a jigsawdoku tweaking the more familiar
sudoku format. 

​Elspeth

Quite a group gathered to exercise the brain cells at our February session.Some puzzles drew groans and some caused foreheads to furrow, but new challenges are as useful as strength training for brain health.

The variety included rebus riddles, number pyramids, drawing mirror images, finding the shape or number that continues a sequence and even the  physical challenge of touching the nose tip with one hand and the opposite shoulder with the other ... how quickly can you continue to swap hand positions before you forget which is which, or end up slapping  yourself?

​Elspeth