science

Train Your Brain

Train Your Brain is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Train Your Brain rather than just read about it. In short: Train Your Brain: 60 Days to a Better Brain is an English-language version of a Japanese book written by Ryuta Kawashima. The original book sold over a million copies in Japan.

Key takeaways

Train Your Brain belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Train Your Brain to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Train Your Brain from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Train Your Brain: 60 Days to a Better Brain is an English-language version of a Japanese book written by Ryuta Kawashima. The original book sold over a million copies in Japan. Dr. Kawashima found that by performing simple mathematical calculations and reading books aloud, one could retain mental clarity and stave off the mental effects of aging. The book is based on this research. The first half of the book contains simple mathematical calculations intermingled with memory tests and counting tests. The book recommends that one should do a set of maths questions every day and note the time it takes. This is complemented by a memory test, a counting test, and a stroop test (found at the back of the book) which should be undertaken every five days. A set of graphs is provided at the back of the book so that the results of the tests can be logged. The concepts presented in Train Your Brain would later be used to create the Nintendo DS game Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Train Your Brain

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Train Your Brain claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Train Your Brain before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Train Your Brain ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Train Your Brain

In research: Train Your Brain appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Train Your Brain in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Train Your Brain is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Brain Age, Medical book stubs, Medical books, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Train Your Brain outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Train Your Brain in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Train Your Brain means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Train Your Brain out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Train Your Brain in simple terms?

Train Your Brain: 60 Days to a Better Brain is an English-language version of a Japanese book written by Ryuta Kawashima. The original book sold over a million copies in Japan.

Why does Train Your Brain matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Train Your Brain?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Train Your Brain.