If Albert Einstein used only 9.8% of his brain and the the average human uses 3% or 4% (according to www.wiki.answers.com) what is going on with the other 96% or 97%?

I don’t know the answer to that and, rather than strain my 3.5% brain power (modestly considering myself to be average) I decided to try to improve my brain power. I found a fun and easy way to do it – playing brain games on Lumosity (www.lumosity.com). It’s free to try, so I did. It was fun. I was shocked to find how I stacked up against others in my age bracket and wanted to do better, so I signed up for the personalized membership (I think I paid $60 for 1 year).

Lumosity has games in 5 brain function categories: Speed, Memory, Attention, Flexibility and Problem Solving. These help develop skills like: improving your sense of direction; doing mental calculations; keeping track of different things at the same time; boosting verbal fluency; remembering names and faces, and so on.

You can focus on 1, 2 or all 5 categories – as I did. Every day, Lumosity picks 5 brain games for you. You can even request a daily “reminder” or just play whenever you want to. There is some repetition from day-to-day, but there’s change, too. If you don’t like a game for some reason, you can skip it.  And there’s no limit to the number of times you can play any of 15+ brain games, any time.

Lumosity tracks your personal progress. It shows you your 5 top daily scores, and tracks your cumulative average day by day. Your personal stats are then measured against others in your age bracket so you can see how you compare.

My top 2 areas of brain power are memory and flexibility. Problem solving games involve math are my weakest are, but I find I do better if I’m relaxed when I play. Mornings are best for me (but not too early). I do well any time on weekends, if my schedule is loose enough. At work, I play on my lunch hour or fit games around my work schedule, so it’s hit and miss.

You can Beta test new games. I’m having fun with Speed Pack – quickly move the camera into a spot in the suitcase where it won’t be crushed by another item. Ebb and Flow is fun, too. There’s a field of moving leaves and you switch between tracking where they are pointing versus the direction in which they’re moving. The time limits add some pressure – but in a good way.

I’ll ever compare with Albert Einstein, but I’m hoping to reach the point where I am “smarter than a fifth grader”. Moving ahead is better than slipping behind. And standing still is not an option.

OK, it’s back to playing today’s games…