What aids a sharp mind ?

The question looks very simple. If you happen to think about it for a while, an answer would soon make an appearance. You may excitedly say, “Of course, exercising is the key. Similar to keeping physical body fresh and agile by flexing muscles, as mind is related to brain you need to perform mental exercises to keep your brain sharp”. 

You ask this to your acquaintances and as you expected, yes, your views will be echoed.

Well, the argument is quite logical. There have been so many games and methods devised to train the brain. Claims are made that by performing the right kind of mental exercises, one can be bestowed with powers of attention, improvements in memory capabilities and intuitive reasoning. 

However is this the reality?

This write-up doesn’t support the above case. It collates results from experiments conducted across the world that indicate physical exercises play a major role in maintaining a sharp brain as opposed to popular belief that mental exercises are involved in this task. 

It seems that people who indulge themselves in physical exercises regularly have more healthy and sharp mind compared to others who don’t go to gym! 

The studies also mention that people from all age groups get this benefit apart from gaining their physical fitness.

So shall we scrap all the stuff related to mental exercises? 

Although these experiments don’t help us conclude anything they have hinted that to keep our brain in fine fettle, a simple physical exercise such as brisk walk for a few minutes regularly could be quite sufficient.

Another study identified that regular exercises increased the strength of memory. Click here to know more.

Time to go to gym!

Continue Reading

Whose fault is it ?

Continue Reading

Relevant and Irrelevant

Imagine you are at a crowded airport waiting for the boarding call. You pick up a book to spend your time wisely. It isn’t difficult to visualize the din around, people chattering with each other, cracking jokes & children laughing aloud, automated announcements blaring across the hall. 

In spite of these distractions, you get engrossed in the book. Now the obvious question hangs in front of us – how does this happen?

It is a well-known fact that we interact with the external world using our sense organs. 

In this context it is logical to think that one or more of our sense organs have been shunted out to achieve a purpose. We know the purpose – to read the book. 

But who was responsible for taking this action? The answer “Brain” immediately pops out.

Researchers have proposed a new theory about how our brain makes a distinction between the relevant and irrelevant information. Based on a computational model, it suggests that within the complicated structure of brain, a gating mechanism must exist in order to block specific sense organ inputs and route only relevant information for further processing. 

The researchers also comment that brain has mechanism to learn through experience and thereby improving upon the ways such situations are dealt with.

It seems the human brain is possibly capable of selectively blocking information flowing from specific sense organs. Pondering over its enigmatic nature, we may visualize that it can also be possible that based on one’s needs all of the information flowing may be considered irrelevant. 

And when this happens the external world as we see it now, will not exist. At that moment, our life force will be directed inwards. This leads us to think if this is the approach that one should take to realize the inner self? 

And is that relevant or irrelevant? 

Continue Reading

Which is better – Prodigality or Parsimony?

Spending money in an excessive, wasteful, extravagant manner is Prodigality. The exact opposite is Parsimony. It is an unwillingness to spend money wastefully. 

Some relate it to miserliness but it is apt to define it as the quality of being careful with money matters.

Now, let us look at the question. Which quality do you think is better?

Can the golden plates and spoons in dining hall suffice to kill hunger? A person who wishes to be indulged in extreme comforts, attempts to display the riches that he possesses lavishly dives into a self-created well of egotism. 

Without being able to come out of the borehole, the person struggles to lead a happy life. 

However he makes the well look like a beautiful spring in an attempt to mask his own struggle. He turns arrogant.

On the other hand, when a person leads a simple and austere life, he would learn to be content with his possessions. 

He would understand the reality of life and won’t have to wear a false face in front of others. 

It is important for him to assess this quality and not allow it go to extremes however this person gradually turns to be treated as a niggard.

In this context, Confucius comments that it is better to be a niggard than arrogant. To become haughty in presence of opulent things and being indulged in grandiose display of such stuff will only lead to a downfall. 

Thus the great master tells us to choose wisely the path of parsimony. But it has to be noted that being a miser serves no good purpose. Being conscious about our own attitude, we need to avoid embracing arrogance unless we have decided to destroy our own life. 

Continue Reading