I am an IT worker who desperately needs to improve his ability to
solve problems and learn new skills. :)

Are there any proven (or semi proven) ways to increase intelligence in
oneself? If so, what would those ways be? I'm not talking about
improving a score on some test, I'm talking about "the ability to
comprehend; to understand and profit from experience [ant:
stupidity]".

I've seen some books on this topic, but they seem to use anecdotal
evidence to support their claims. Is there actually evidence that such
things as exercise, learning foreign languages, meditation, etc
increase intelligence?

---

Clarification of Question by crom654-ga on 01 May 2002 09:53 PDT

Please don't feel limited to researching the efficacy of the few
things I mentioned in the last paragraph.

Hello crom654!

I like your questions.  They're thought provoking and challenging!

The short answer is the old saw:  "Experience is the best teacher." 
The "practice makes perfect argument" - boring, overused, but
ultimately true - the more you experience, the more you learn.  The
more you learn, the more intelligent you become.

Or is it true?  When you make a mistake a few times and later stop
making it, have you stopped making it because you've gotten smarter
and figured things out, or because you've just become averse to the
negative results of that mistake?  My Opa would have called that
"getting your smarts the hard way"!  :)

But you're not looking for what my Opa would have said, are you?  So
lets have a look at some of the other things purported to boost
intelligence, like music.

"Music and Intelligence" 
[http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~syverson/worldsfair/exhibits/hall2/yoshimura/musint.htm
] posits that music does, in fact, increase intelligence, citing the
"Mozart effect" in the latter part of the article.  It's rather
telling that they did not include a significant result of the study
which hypothesized this effect - which was that the effect was not
only extremely temporary, but also not reproducible in a later study.

I know.  "The *what* effect?" 

In 1993, scientists from the University of California at Irvine
published a study in the December issue of Nature, discussing an
intelligence boosting experiment in which ten college students
listened to either a Mozart sonata, a relaxation tape or complete
silence before taking a spatial relations test.  Although the students
who listened to Mozart did better on the test than the others, it was
found that the effect of improved memory lasted only ten or fifteen
minutes.  Researchers who disputed the findings felt the experiment
was inconclusive - the test sample was very small, and no research was
done as to whether the other activities might have impaired
intelligence.

Dr. Kenneth Steele and researchers at Appalachian State University
attempted to replicate these results in 1999.  Their findings, which
were published in the July 10, 1999 issue of Psychological Science,
concluded that they were unable to reproduce the effects of the
previous experiment.

You can find further discussion of these studies and links to journal
abstracts here:
"Neuroscience for kids: The Musical Brain"
[ http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/music.html ]

What about learning foreign language?  My own personal experience
would say yes, learning a foreign language helps boost intelligence. 
I'm a fluent speaker of German, having learned it since childhood.  I
find that my intimate knowledge of, and comfort with, the language
helps me look at my own language in a more critical fashion. 
Comparing how something is said in German (sentence structure, for
example) with how it is said in English allows me to improve my
writing and speaking skills, and enables me to be more descriptive
without being repetitive.  My fluency has also enabled me to acquire a
rudimentary grasp of basic vocabulary in Dutch, French, and Italian. 
Why?  They're all related languages, and many words and structures are
essentially the same.  (Close enough to be able to read the menu,
order my dinner, and not find a nasty surprise!)

Is that conclusive evidence that foreign language learning boosts
intelligence?  Of course not, it's just my own (admittedly biased)
opinion, but it's one data point, and one that cultural exchange
organizations such as AFS, Youth For Understanding and Rotary Exchange
use when discussing the benefits of cultural exchange with potential
students.  Unfortunately, I was unable to find studies pointing one
way or another.  If I may be so bold, however, as to offer a
suggestion?  Learn a foreign language just for fun.  Even if you don't
think it improves your intelligence, you can learn dozens of
incredibly colorful ways to tell someone off without ever becoming
profane.  Think how useful that skill is in IT, especially at the
HelpDesk!  ;)

What about Transcendental Meditation?  Dozens upon dozens of pages,
including these, claim that TM "has been found" to boost your
intelligence.  Some even make vague reference to "scientific studies",
but I've found no hard references :
"Awaken Your Total Potential"
[ http://learntm.com/increase-intelligence-creativity-energy.htm ]

"Meditation- Holistics Online"
[ http://1stholistic.com/Meditation/hol_meditation_TM.htm ]

There is a detailed description of TM, as well as links to other TM
sites on this page, which also mentions:

"The Council argues that TM is not a religious practice, but
is,rather, founded on a unification of the objective methods of modern
science and the subjective methods of Vedic science, or SCI ,the
Science of Creative Intelligence. Maharishi's background in physics is
used to verify this statement (Bainbridge, 1997, p. 191). Lacking
evidence to support this claim and a 1978 New Jersey court ruling TM a
religious practice, TM lost its public funding and its right to be
taught in public institutions in the US. (Melton,1986, p.192). "

"Religious Movements Homepage - Transcendental Meditation"
[ http://cti.itc.virginia.edu/~jkh8x/soc257/nrms/transmed.html ]

There are so many programs, books and teachers who claim to have the
magic method for improving one's intelligence, but ultimately, none of
them stand up to what the American Psychological Association has to
say about intelligence:

"Question 2: What do intelligence test scores mean, what do they
predict, and how well do they predict it?
[...}Unknown: Does speed or "neural efficiency" promote increases in
intelligence or do more intelligent individuals just find quicker ways
to complete perceptual and cognitive tasks?

Question 5: What significant scientific issues are presently
unresolved?
[...]How are such factors as creativity, wisdom, practical sense, and
social sensitivity related to intelligence? "

From: "Setting the Record Straight: What is Known and Unknown About
Intelligence"  [ http://www.apa.org/ed/record.html ]

Thanks for your thought provoking question!  I hope this gives you a
few ideas!

missy-ga

---

Clarification of Answer by missy-ga on 01 May 2002 17:13 PDT

crom654,

If there were any scientifically proven method to improve
intelligence, you and I might both find ourselves out of a job!  Who
would need IT professionals or web researchers to help them out? 
*grin*

Sorry the answer wasn't precisely what you were looking for.  It was
fun to research for you!

Could use some intelligence boosters--> missy-ga

I am a bit disappointed in my answer, but it gave me the information I
needed; there does not appear to be any 'proven' way to increase one's
intelligence. At least not for $30. :)

This mag and archives might help peripherally.


http://www.troubleshooters.com/tpromag/200012/200012.htm

Best wishes,
V

If you happen to be middle aged or older you might consider the herb
ginkgo to improve blood flow through the fine capillaries of the body
including the brain. While it won't increase your intelligence, it is
used to improve memory. Before taking Ginkgo, discuss it with your
doctor to be safe. Like the Physicians Desk Reference for prescription
drugs there is now a counterpart for herbs which your physician can
consult.

Be advised that Ginkgo takes about six weeks to build to a level in
the blood stream to be effective.

In the same vein you should also review your diet and general health.
Keeping your body in good shape may give you the edge you're looking
for. In other words fine tune what you have.

Re the troubleshooting link: Looks interesting, I'll check it out, thanks.

Re Gingko: Thanks, I'm not middle aged, but I have thought about it.

Yes there is a definite, scientifically proven way to increase your
intelligence and abilities.  You will learn how by reading the book
"Dianetics, The Modern Science of Mental Health." If you don't prefer
to read, you can go to www.scientology.org or www.dianetics.org and
get more data on the subject. I can assure you from personal
experience that Dianetics and Scientology work! My IQ has gone up over
12 points in the last 3 years. This is a common occurance with people
who are applying Scientology Technology to their lives. Not only has
my IQ gone up, which has made life much easier, but my awareness,
skills, abilities and most of all my self-confidence that I can do
anything I choose has increased tremendously!
I could go on and on, however the only way you will ever know is to
look for yourself and experience it for your self. If you have any
questions, e-mail me any time.
Deanna

There does not exist any known method to increase your intelligence.
Your IQ is determined in your genes, and there is no way to change it.

A study published by  Thomas Bouchard, in which identical twins
separated at birth are compared it appears that not only the IQ is
genetical, but also several other traits like personality, way of
dressing, etc

What you can increase, to certain extent, is your ability to solve
problems.

Read this interesting article
http://www.sciam.com/specialissues/1198intelligence/1198gottfred.html

As you've discovered already, it's hard to get any consensus on what
exactly intelligence is, let alone how to increase it.  That's the bad
news.  The good news?  You're not REALLY looking for increased
intelligence.  If I've understood your question correctly, what you in
fact desire is increased MENTAL AGILITY.  This, fortunately, is more
achievable.

My wife, for example, started university last fall at the age of 38. 
Although initially overwhelmed, she now finds that she is able to
conceptualize in ways she didn't before, and to articulate ideas that
she could not have in the past (yes, I know this is more anecdotal
evidence).

Many studies over the last few decades have demonstrated, in varying
degrees, that a stimulus-rich environment increases tested
intelligence in children (I can provide citations for several if you
wish).  It is reasonable to assume that since adults are also capable
of learning, mental stimulation should also increase our level of
function.

Dr. Lawrence C. Katz, professor of Neurobiology at Duke University
Medical Center, has developed a series of mental exercises which he
claims will achieve the sort of growth you desire.  He has co-authored
a book called "Neurobics" (his term for these exercises, a play on
"aerobics") detailing these exercises and the underlying research. 
The website may be found at www.neurobics.com.

The Scientific American Special Issue cited by gus1769 is very
interesting, and offers a good survey of the current thinking.

I hope this is of some help (and encouragement)to you.

"There does not appear to be any 'proven' way to increase one's
intelligence. At least not for $30", and not for 30 billion, but I can
risk my head for "the" proven solution: "think and do what your heart
desires", if in IT or "II", and you will succeed.

There in no such thing as: Increase Intelligence.

Dictionary.com: Increase - To become greater or larger. Intelligence -
The capacity to acquire and apply knowledge.

"Think and do what your heart desires" - Period.

i don't believe that there is a way to do what you are speaking about.

i've tried using subliminal tapes, and brain wave entrainment techniques.

they don't really work.

drugs like caffeine can boost levels of concentration.

perhaps the best way is to make friends with intelligent people and try to

see how they " do it".  emulate someone who is intelligent. there is often more 

than one "correct" way of doing things.

also remember to learn from others mistakes.  making fewer mistakes makes one

look and feel more intelligent anyway. if you want to learn something new you 

must often "empty your cup" as the zen masters would say. in other words  to 

keep new information in you head longer you must make a place for it.

if your interest is only to do solve IT problems you should still use a broad

approach.  you can often learn something from another field or activity and 

use this to help solve an IT problem.

My 2 cents:

Spend more time solving problems and think more about Information
Technology questions.

Generally, the more you pratice something the better you get at it.
The people that look like they can pick something up easily have spent
a lot of time before then thinking about the subject.  I'm not talking
about just memorizing facts or definitions but thinking about how
things work.

hope this helps.

I can't tell you if it is possible to increase intelligence or not.
However, there are definitely ways to enhance effectiveness of the
intelligence you have. I'll give you a couple good search phrases, and
you can explore on your own.

critical thinking
mind mapping

Oh, I'll give you this URL too.

http://www.mindtools.com/

Please note that I have absolutely no connection with mindtools.com.

Bill

Your interest is a genuine one.  I, too, have looked into the answer
for this.

There is a state called "flow" where creativity abounds.  This may not
be considered intelligence, but I think it is.  This the state where
writers can write and write and write and never get tired, where
musicians create their best music, where scientists get the big
breakthroughs they've been searching for...

It's a state where one thing flows after another, after another, with
a supreme sense of clarity.

I think that, if gears their life so that they can experience more of
those experiences, intelligence will increase, at least in some
measure.

Also: There's the issue of memory.  I've given up trying to increase
my memory (memory retention is often considered a sign of
intelligence), although I've tried any number of memory-booster
techniques.  I'd be happy to go into those.

But, overall, what a lot of people do when it comes to intelligence is
simply to "fake it".  Get a word-a-day calendar.  Learn some new
buzzwords in your industry.  You will impress some people with your
appearance of intelligence, and get ahead in the job market.... if
your conscience can stand it.

kudut-ga

It's easy:

   "Your new intelligence will defintely based upon current
intelligence"


Your main question: 
I am an IT worker who desperately needs to improve his ability to
solve problems and learn new skills. :)

 1. Find out what your current abilitities are.
 2. Find out what skills you have now.
 3. Find out what type of problems you can solve now.

  If you are even little intelligent you can easily come up with some
type of list at moderate effort.
 Let this list grow over few days. Find more things to add in the
list, even the smallest thing: ( ex.. Able to use pen and paper when I
need it).
Once do this exercise for sufficient number of days, you will find
yourself more intelligent than you thought you are. So that's an
'appearant' (pun intended) way to increase intelligence.

  When you want to fill something new in your mind, you have to empty
your mind.
Find out when you have emptied your mind, what was before and which
things are useless in your mind that you can throow out. By doing this
exercise you will definitely find more space to fill something new.

 Now make a list of all the skills that you want to develop and all
the problem that you want to solve and all the new things that you
want to learn.  Decide that you will do  MINIMAL use of your memory.
Use your memory only for Indexing and not for actual stuff. Because
the channel of memory to mind is already occupied with so many thing (
and thus you experience stress).  Thus you can use more of your memory
as RAM rather than storage memory. Later on when you master then drop
your memory usage not even for indexing.

 Now take one new easy thing 'skill/problem solving skill/learning' at
a time. Study it and you will find ways to apply it. Remember  to 
have to start with easier things.

  By practicing more and more you will find that it's easy to master
new things and new skills and new problem solving skills.
  Often take the inventory of your arts.

 Suddenly you will find yourself a very intelligent person and
intelligence will be a way of your life and you will apply it in all
the direction and you will never have question as how to increase the
intelligence.

 Problem solved. 
 It happened when  problem description didn't exist your the memory
any more.

Artist

Quote:

"Yes there is a definite, scientifically proven way to increase your
intelligence and abilities.  You will learn how by reading the book
"Dianetics, The Modern Science of Mental Health."

Well, other techniques aside, I do know that I would never place my
trust or well-being into the hands of L. Ron Hubbard's infamous cult.
Prior to considering doing so, I might suggest trying 
http://www.xenu.net to get an education on what exactly the history
and premise of Scientology are.  I doubt you'll find much to convince
you that "the bridge" is the answer; for certain, you'll find precious
little to suggest that your IQ could be "increased by 16 points",
whatever that might mean since IQ measurements have been largely
debunked as inaccurate and culture-centric.

Sorry to dedicate this space to so much off-topic discussion, but I
feel I would be remiss in not doing so, if even one otherwise
uninformed person were to go down this dangerous path as a result.
Good luck!

deanna-ga,

you mentioned that dianetics is one way of increasing intelligence.
Maybe so, but it seems like it uses ideas from other people:

"Was this a totally unique theory of the mind wrought from Hubbard's
"many
years of exact research and careful testing,"4 or was it a loose
composite
of already existing theories mixed with novel, unproven ideas? This
paper
proposes to show that, despite Hubbard's claims of originality, many
of the
ideas in Dianetics were already existing and even in vogue before
Dianetics
appeared. Either Hubbard really studied other works before he wrote
Dianetics, or he wasted years of his time re-inventing the wheel."

http://groups.google.com/groups?q=dianetics&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&selm=01bbe626%24d627d120%24343d93cf%40cube186a&rnum=6


Additional Links

http://groups.google.com/groups?q=dianetics&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&selm=199611080043.TAA04084%40shell1.cybercom.net&rnum=8
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=dianetics&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&selm=6grbu0%24eu%241%40aguazul.aguazul.demon.co.uk&rnum=10

To improve your intelligence:

1)  Start reading:  And i don't mean the fiction-crap of today.  I'm talking
about the eduactional books.  And don't limit yourself to one category.  By
reading books on mathematics, philosophy, science, history, art, etc.  you
allow yourself multiple perspectives of the world and the various phenomena
around us, and allow you to deal with problems from many creative angles.
Also, extensive reading will increase your vocabulary, which has been found
to be the best predictor (from a correlational perspective) of overal IQ.

2) Take Ritalin:  Although a temporary/quick fix solution (if you're looking
for that sort of thing), this drug will enable your cognitive faculties to
focus on the task at hand, eliminating any distractions that detract away
from your ability to think.  Somewhat good for creative thinking all the
time, but is better for comprehension.  However, I am not endorsing the use
of this drug for a person without ADHD.

3)  Educating yourself doesn't need to only apply to a school or academic
setting.  The people who we deem as the ones with not only exceptional
intelligence, but who who succeed and accomplish great things in their
lifetime, have probably spent more of their leisure time studying and
learning than the regular person does in school.  Furthermore, they do it
because they like it.

4)  Start when you're young.  Although probably too late for you, from your
birth to your late teens, your brain is at its peak activity in brain
development and growth.  So it does make a difference if you want to spend
this time watching TV or doing something to improve your mind.

5)  Stop watching TV.  All TV is garbage for yor mind and destroys your
attention span.  It is a passive form of information acquisition, thus your
mind doesn't have to do any work, your brain needs exercise, not junk food.
Even the so-called "educational" channels are suspect in their educational
value...remember they have to dumb it down for most audiences to appreciate.


6)  Learning a foreign language.  Yes, as mentioned by your previous
respondent, this does improve your intelligence and thinking ability in some
ways (studies have shown this).  Like I said before, the more perspectives
you have, the more tools your mind will have.

7) Stop hanging out with morons.  What I mean by a moron is not someone of
low intelligence, but someone who willingly holds a "loser" attitude towards
everything ("this sucks"), is lazy, has little ambition, and their life
revolves around trying achieve as much pleasure with minimum pain
in the way of drug consumption, drinking, partying frequently, and humping
the nearest moving thing.  The more you hang out with these kind of people,
the more you will start to act and behave like them, whether you're aware of
it or not.

Wow, thanks so much for your interesting comment.

As a psychology major, I know better than anyone the constant debate
of Nature Vs. Nurture.  Are you born that way, to stay.. or is your
experience what makes up your person?  We now know, it is a
combination of both.
 As a substitute teacher of the gifted (and classified "gifted"
myself, whatever that is).. I am a little disappointed in some of the
answers you've received.  There are scientifically proven ways to make
yourself more aware, and to comprehend better.  Since it looks like
that was what you had asked for in the first place (and offered
$30)... here are my suggestions:

 * The "Mozart" Effect, as talked about before, really does seem to
work.  Apparently, the combination of notes that Mozart uses actives
your nerve endings in a specific sort of way. And even if that's a
load of crap, it will relax you and help you to think more clearly.

* Protein.  Try eating a cheeseburger or porkchop for breakfast.  I've
done it for every SAT test, etc.. and it works wonders.  Caffeine also
helps.

* Chess is thought by many to raise your IQ by at least 5 points.  I
think it may just be the logical thinking that playing chess entails,
but also, it helped me think more clearly.

* Other logic games, like puzzles, word games, etc.  You can buy a
book of Logic games at any drug or grocery store, in the magazines
section. Being IT, these games will really increase the kind of
thinking power you want to have.  And that kind of thinking CAN be
practiced.

Hope I helped, at least to give you SOME of that $30 worth! :) 

-Rebekah

Hi

I've thought about those very questions myself. 
2 possible answers I have stumbled across are:

1) electrical/magnet brain stimulation. I can't find any specifics on
the net, but this link explains some progress made
http://www.cosmiverse.com/news/beaten/beaten04190201.html

2) By increasing the amount of certain chemicals in the brain 
http://www.smart-drugs.net/

I would love to experiment with either of these options, but sadly
dont think they are available in the UK. Hope you find success!

Hi, Here's a couple of other things to look into :

1.  As for Ginko, and/or any other "supplement, check out the
following warning:
    http://www.ama-assn.org/sci-pubs/amnews/pick_01/hlsa0305.htm

2.  An interested group of people are researching the same question :
    http://www.megafoundation.org/UltraHIQ/HIQNews/Is_IQ_Modifiable.html
       (It also links to articles about navigating new routes and
music
        as increasing intelligence :
        http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/677048.stm
        http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1319000/1319753.stm
        )
        
3.  Here's a good book on social interaction increasing intelligence :
    http://www.unixreview.com/documents/s=1235/urm0105e/0105e.htm

3a. Here's a group that thinks that you can grow your IQ just by
acting better :
    http://www.aafcs.org/resources/eci.html

For what it's worth, my own understanding is that your brain-cells
grow and die at the same time, at the beginning of life, the growth is
at an astounding rate, and cells are getting nutrients from
everywhere.  As you grow, the limits of the first growth approach as
your brain mass reaches maximum size.  At that time your braincells
start dying faster than they are created.  But since you are only
utilizing a small percentage of your braincells, it doesn't really
signify until you grow old.  And you can beat that by growing more and
more synapse links by exploring newer and stranger paths and
navigations.  The more that you learn, the more synapse gaps are
utilized, the more food is fed to the braincells, and the more
"intelligence" is factored in as a side-effect.  When they dissected
Einstein's brain, I understand that as difference they only found a
greater than normal "glucose feeding" system throughout his brain. 
Suggesting that his brain was better fed, and nourished and that's it.
 As to taking Ginko or other "herbal" remedies for this, I think that
intelligence is actually a quantitative feedback system.  The more you
learn, the more you know, the more you know, the more you learn.

Lokison

The initial question makes an assumption that many psychologists would
not agree with. For example, Dr. JP Guilford, president of the APA in
1949-1950 was very instrumental in championing the cause for multiple
intelligences. He and others felt that the universal intelligence, or
"g" as proposed by Spearman (among others) was limited in its scope.
Guilford went on to develop his Structure of Intellect model which
identifies over 100 separate intellectual functions or abilities. A
typical IQ test measures only about 8-10 of those abilities. The WAIS
touches on upwards of 20 abilities.  Over a 20 year span Dr. Guilford
developed hundreds of tests that measure the intellectual abilities of
children and adults.

The key here is the understanding that through focused exercises which
are designed to develop specific intellectual abilities, improvement
will occur. Some of that improvement will be measured by a traditional
IQ test. If one is seeking to improve their intellectual functions
(eg-how well they think, how well they problem solve, how creative
they are, etc.) one of their first steps should be to correctly assess
which of their intellectual abilities are "weak" and which are
"strong."  Guilford's tests do this.

Thanks for the thoughts Ken. I checked out this guy's website 
( http://jpguilford.com/ )
and it does look interesting. Have you (or has anyone out there) used
this system to improve their intelligence(s)? Are there any books
explaining this stuff?

This will merely be anecdotal evidence, largely biographical, but I
will certainly attest to classical music, reading, and chess as
improving thought patterns.

I was blessed with having several beneficial experiences in life
(including being taught to read by a four year old around my third
birthday) that have aided me in early development; currently an 18
year old about to begin his junior year of college, my talents largely
hold in the areas of mathematics/problem-solving, and that appears to
be on what you might desire improvement.

Chess, although the best players tend to begin young and have early
tutelage, with a single-minded goal of Chess, not so with many of the
turn of the 20th century. Lasker, world champion for 27 years, was a
professor of philosophy and mathematics, which he imbued in his Manual
of Chess (which is a work of art, along with being a great chess
book!). Steinitz, a generation before him, studied chess and formed
many postulates on chess theory, taking chess on a purely rational,
scientific mindset, whereas his contemporary, Tchigorin was a complete
opposite!, taking chess as irrational. Lasker's contemporary,
Tarrasch, even struggled in mathematics (and he had poor execution of
his very creative ideas). The "An Appreciation" Fred Reinfeld n the
English translation of "Lasker's Manual of Chess" (1946) is a great
read.

Off of my soapbox there ;) ::grins::.

A book I've read that I think would be rather interesting to you, is
"Gödel, Escher, and Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid" by Douglas R.
Hofstadter (the book was a Pulitzer Prize winner); I suggest getting
the 20th Anniversary Edition for the well-written preface. The book
deals a little on intelligence (and everything else!), but deals
primarily on what comprises intelligence (in order to try to
understand how artificial intelligence might be constructed). It also
deals with music, art, mathematics... etc. ;).

Reading is definitely a huge plus; and not just 'serious' works. I
would definitely recommend that you go to the library and pick out a
'classic' you've been meaning to read and not gotten to yet.
"Gulliver's Travels," "Frankenstein," "Les Misérables," etc. Perhaps
even check out a Kubrick or Lynch movie.

Have fun! :).

"There is a state called "flow" where creativity abounds.  This may
not
be considered intelligence, but I think it is.  This the state where
writers can write and write and write and never get tired, where
musicians create their best music, where scientists get the big
breakthroughs they've been searching for..."

Been there :). Spent five hours+ a few times working on mathematical
formulae (all but the two I'm still working on have been found 1-3
centuries before me :s).

An old product "Super Mind Power" a win32 app, is a good tutor for
cognitive management and memory applications. It is limited in design,
but serves its intended purpose.