Lumosity Brain Games : Eagle Eye review with tips and tricks.

Eagle Eye

Category: Attention Games

When we pay attention to our surroundings, we discover a whole world full of details we may not have noticed –our lives depend on our brain’s capability to absorb and process information as quickly as possible. We could not safely accomplish many of our daily tasks without being able to focus on more than one thing simultaneously.

When you are driving, you need to pay attention to the road conditions, all the cars around you, and any potential problems that may suddenly appear in front of us. The ability to focus on different things across a large visual field is a main factor in determining whether or not we can spot the problem early and be able to make a decision in time to physically react.

The older we get, the worse our visual attention becomes due to changes in the brain. These changes make it harder for us to see objects anywhere but directly in front of us. Even though our visual ability has been proven to degrade with age, the process can be reversed through the use of Lumosity’s specially designed brain fitness training program.

Eagle Eye is one of the funnest games on Lumosity.  It mimics the popular First Person Shooter genre, but instead of a gun, the player takes pictures.  Both require the same amount of accuracy. Eagle Eye flashes one of five numbers in the middle of the screen while at the same time a bird briefly pops in somewhere along the edge of the screen. The difficulty increases the better the player does.  The birds move farther out and do not appear on screen for as long.  During the more difficult levels, the birds are there no longer than a flash of lightning. Because the game adapts to your skill level, your brain’s abilities stretched so that you gradually enhance the amount of information you can take in every second.

Benefits of this Game

• Wider peripheral vision
• Improved sports abilities
• Driving safely by avoiding accidents and obstacles 

You might be thinking, “I want to get home quickly in busy traffic.”

How to Play: 

A bird and number will flash on screen.  You must click where the bird was and pick the number you saw.  If you’re right a bird, you add a piece to your bird pic.  Complete a bird pic to add it to your bird journal.

Tips by Users:

“keep your eyes focused on the square where the number will appear. You can see the location of the bird out of the corner of your eye with unexpected accuracy.” by dragonfl13

“Using your peripheral vision compare the bird to the location it is in its surroundings. (Ex: If it is remember that it is next to a branch on the right corner if it is a tree surrounding)” by slkspring

Lumosity General Tips and Tricks

Taken originally from Lumosity General Tips and Tricks

 

The best way to get better at Lumosity brain games:

 

1. Repetition and Practice.

2. Self-Analyzation.

3. Listen to Lumosity.com advice.

  

Here I am playing Lost in Migration

Repetition and Practice:

Practice daily.  It only takes a few minutes.  And practice correctly.  Slow down to a pace that you are comfortable with and where you are not making any mistakes.  Then you will get faster over days and weeks.  You will feel as if you are going at the same pace but your times will improve subconsciously.

Self-Analyzation:

You know yourself the best.  When you make a mistake, what were you doing?  What were you thinking?  Some problems will fix themselves with time, other problems can be fixed immediately.  The games, for the most part, are very simple and require little time and effort to understand.  You need to learn how to learn.  You need to teach yourself how to get good. 

Listen to Lumosity.com advice:

Lumosity says, "Your brain grade is a summary of your overall cognitive health today. Based on your lifestyle choices, we have compiled a complete brain health report with personalized analysis and suggestions for improvement from our neuroscientists."

I went from a C to a B+ by specifically following the advice to do upperbody exercises (pushups) and to improve my diet. Now I need to be more social and reduce my stress levels.  I will actually be leaving for 3 months for that specific reason.  I should be at an A when I get back, but I will be on hiatus starting on Friday, the 3rd of August, 2012.

Posted 1st August by William Ryan Kus

Labels: Lumosity tips free games free brain games Fun William Ryan Kus Brain Games Lumosity brain health lumosity.com Bored

What is Plasticity?

What is plasticity?

From Dictionary.com:

plas-tic-i-ty [pla-stis-i-tee]

“2. the capability of being molded, receiving shape, or being made to assume a desired form: the plasticity of social institutions; the great plasticity of clay.

Example Sentences:

• Normally that plasticity peaks in the first several months of life, but at different times for different skills.
• Scientists are searching for ways to both boost and focus this innate plasticity, thus improving neural repair.
• The plasticity of the brain provides life-course opportunities for resilience and enhanced mental health.
• The story of reading’s development is a complex tale of equal parts human invention and neural plasticity.

Origin: 1775-85; plastic + -ity

Plastic [plas-tik]

Noun

 Often, plastics, any of a group of synthetic or natural organic materials that may be shaped when soft and then hardened, including many types of resins, resinoids, polymers, cellulose derivatives, casein materials, and proteins: used in place of other materials, as glass, wood, and metals, in construction and decoration, for making many articles, as coatings, and, drawn into filaments, for weaving. They are often known by trademark names, as Bakelite, Vinylite, or Lucite.

  

Adjective

 capable of being molded or of receiving form: clay and other plastic substances.

 having the power of molding or shaping formless or yielding material: the plastic forces of nature.

 being able to create, especially within an art form; having the power to give form or formal expression: the

plastic imagination of great poets and composers.

Origin: 1625-35; 1900-10 for def. 1; < Latin plasticus that may be molded < Greek plastikos. See –plast, -ic

Related forms

 Adverbs: Plastically, plasticly.

 Noun and Adjective: nonplastic

 Adjective: unplastic

Synonyms: pliant, flexible, amenable”

Plastikos

From WordAZ
“the word plastic is derived from the greek πλαστικός (plastikos) meaning capable of being shaped or molded, from πλαστός (plastos)”

Plastika (Wiktionary.org / Plastika)

From Latin plasticus (“of molding”), from Ancient Greek πλαστικός (plastikos) (this entry does not exist), from πλάσσω (plassō, “I mold, form”).

Ancient Greek

  

πλάσσω (plassō, “I mold, form”).

Alternative Forms: πλάττω (plattō) (Attic Greek)

From Wiktionary.org, “Attic Greek is the prestige dialect of Ancient Greek that was spoken in Attica, which includes Athens. Of the ancient dialects, it is the most similar to later Greek, and is the standard form of the language studied in courses of "Ancient Greek". It is sometimes included in Ionic.”

Etymology: Uncertain. Seems to come from * πλάθιω.

Pronunciation:

Ancient Greek phonology is the study of the phonology, or pronunciation, of Ancient Greek. Because of the passage of time, the original pronunciation of Ancient Greek, like that of all ancient languages, can never be known with absolute certainty. Linguistic reconstructions have been widely debated in the past; however, a good approximation can be established and there is now a consensus in scholarship.

(5th BC Attic): IPA: /plás̚sɔ͜ɔ/

πλάσσω (plassō) future: πλάσω aorist: ἔπλασα perfect: πέπλακα aorist passive: ἐπλάσθην

 1. I form, mould, shape, sculpt

 2. I fabricate, forge

 3. I plaster

 4. I form in the mind, imagine

 5. I re-form, put in a different manner



Why does Lumosity work?

 

Why does Lumosity work?  I wondered that myself.  It's just a bunch of kids games.

Lu-mos-i-fy [v] to sharpen your memory, focus your attention, and brighten your future

Lost in Migration is a game that I have a BPI of 1600+ out of a maximum of 1700.  Anything over a BPI of 1500 is in the top 99%.

"Lost in Migration.  Get distracted too easily?  Then this is the game for you!  Focus on the center bird without letting the other birds distract you. 


Exercising: Focus  Improving: Avoiding distraction, Increasing work productivity, Concentration, Read More"

 

Lost in Migration exercises your Focus.

Lumosity.com has the following definition:

Focus

Focus entails being able to pay attention to pertinent information while ignoring irrelevant distractions. This skill comes into play while doing something like reading or studying in a busy café. The ability to stay focused also plays a pivotal role in other cognitive functions such as memory and reasoning.

Used for:

• Avoiding distraction
• Increasing work productivity
• Concentration

 A more abstract use is spotting lies and inconsistencies in stories.

Focus sounds great, but according to who? 

There are two references at the bottom of the page.  The first reference:

Bherer, L., Kramer, A. F., Peterson, M. S., Colcombe, S., Erickson, K., & Becic, E. (2006). Testing the limits of cognitive plasticity in older adults: application to attentional control. Acta Psychologica, 123(3), 261-78.

Click here for a Link to the article.

The title:

"Testing the limits of cognitive plasticity in older adults: application to attentional control.

Abstract

Laboratory based training studies suggest that older adults can benefit from training in tasks that tap control aspects of attention. This was further explored in the present study in which older and younger adults completed an adaptive and individualized dual-task training program. The testing-the-limits approach was used [Lindenberger, U., & Baltes, P. B. (1995). Testing-the-limits and experimental simulation: Two methods to explicate the role of learning in development. Human Development, 38, 349-360.] in order to gain insight into how attentional control can be improved in older adults. Results indicated substantial improvement in overlapping task performance in both younger and older participants suggesting the availability of cognitive plasticity in both age groups. Improvement was equivalent among age groups in response speed and performance variability but larger in response accuracy for older adults. The results suggest that time-sharing skills can be substantially improved in older adults."

 The last sentence says, "The results suggest that time-sharing skills can be substantially improved in older adults."  Although younger and older adults appear to benefit equally in "response speed."

Lumosity has a free one month trial and if you decide not to continue, you can still play a half dozen games for free.  If you don't want to pay after the first month, you need to remember to cancel yourself.  Similar to being in college.

Have a good day! ~ Kus