Am I doing it wrong?

[Bobbie]

Hi,

I have read that one should try to remember the sequences by intuition
and not by f.eks. saying the letters out loud a.s.o.

When I'm training on the nback I find myself repeating the word
sequences in my head and looking at the box where I expect the next
should come. Is this wrong. Should I actually just stare at the cross
in the middle and intuitively press A or L when I think this is right?

Please someone let me in on this as I wouldn't want to spend a lot of
time on it doing it the wrong way.

b

[SemiDecent]

Hey, although the intuition quote that has been floating around lately
hasn't been confirmed yet, it makes a lot of sense, I think it mirrors
the way we deal with real world problems. We rarely try to consciously
remember sequences when we're solving problems, or more accurately,
intelligence is rarely perceived as the ability to remember sequences,
it's more of an intuitive ability to see things right away. In real
life situations, sometimes you bump into a solution or a piece of
information that just "occurs" to you, this happens without any direct
conscious control. In dual-n-back, using the intuitive approach, I was
surprised by how I can reliably enter
the right answers, without exhibiting any conscious effort, every
trial feels like a new "occurrence", and you quickly realize that it
is reliable , that the odds of it
happening by chance are very small, and that your brain must be
capable of operating unconsciously on the problem. dual-n-back might
be a way to get comfortable with this capacity, to play around with it
while expanding it.

[putumayo]

I have problems with remebering the audio stream (the letters). So I'm
concentrating very deeply on it, I even sometimes can "see" the
letters with my imagination. Is it already bad, because it is like
remembering and we don't want to do it? Or is it still ok to do it and
I'll gain intelligence? What do you think?

putumayo

[Paul]

I think it's fine. If the intuitive thing is not happening at the moment, try something else. It may take a deliberate conscious effort right now, but over time your intuitive process will be trained BY your conscious mind. Just don't settle on any one strategy - keep trying different methods until you find one that WORKS the best. You may need to say the letters silently to yourself, or visualize them in a row or column, or whatever.

Personally I might avoid visualizing the letters too strongly because your visual memory will be needed in the visual n-back task. The "phonological loop" (strongly associated with the "inner voice") is normally used for the auditory task. It sounds like this is the area that could use the most improvement.

As you practice, keep trying the intuitive method periodically. This is the direction you want to be heading in.

Paul

[Bobbie]

Thanks for the feedback. So let me get this straight. Training on an
intuitive level on lets say nback 4 is better for increasing fluid
intelligence than doing nback 6 with a "strategy"? - I find it very
hard doing it without any form of strategy, It's like my mind is
trying to force me into some kind of system. Maybe I just need to get
at it and work on it. But not all problems in an IQ test are solved on
an intuitive level, you have to work out the answer by logic, so there
must be benefits although you use a strategy or system on the nback as
long as one increases the number of things one can juggle in the mind
at the same time without "dropping all the balls".

Anyway, it works wonders for me and I keep on going. Another thing
besides noticing better concentration is the calming or centering
effect it has on the mind. I am a screenwriter and find the nback
incredibly useful when I'm stuck on a dramatic problem in a story. I
set my work aside, play around with the nback for a while and return
to my work with a fresh mind.

b



On Nov 22, 7:49 pm, Paul <plh...@gmail.com> wrote:

[putumayo]

Yeah, yeah, yeah! I know how to play dual n-back! Today I have played
dual n-back like everyday and suddenly - buum! I just realize that
maybe I don't need to visualize the letters neither I have to think
about anything related to this task... I said to myself: why can't I
just follow the squares and that's it. Now I focus on the next square
and the letter, I don't think if n back there was a square or letter,
I just observe the next squares and hear the letters. It seems very
easy and obvious but it was a total transformation for me. I strongly
encourage others to do it the same way - the right answers just come
by itself - you don't have to think about it. And also I think that
thist way is the closest way of playing intuitively I can imagine.

good luck,
putumayo

[Bruce]

Putumayo,

Would you elaborate on what it is that you experienced and what it is
that you are doing? I am very intrigued, but I do not completely
understand.

[putumayo]

Yeah, no problem. Instead of thinking if a square was here n back
times ago or you heard this letter n back times ago you just have to
focus on the NEXT event (square and letter) and let your brain
recognise itself if there was something n back times ago. You will
feel it.