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A swifter mind is a more efficient mind...a more useful mind...a more powerful mind, and of course a more desirable mind. There is actually no such creature (or feature) as The SWIFT MINDS Breakthrough [it hardly even qualifies as a Lingovation], but it is a neat term to describe the effect upon the improvement in your associative intelligence, creativity, spontaneity, speed of thought and sense of irony when you engage in reading or creating those adverbial oddities (distantly related to the Paraprasdokians, our second favorite family, the first being the Halogens -- they're a gas!) which are now called " Tom Swifties ." Here's Wikipedia's take on these hysterical swords of wordplay (this part is boring, but it gets better fast -- I swear [all of the time]): "The name comes from the Tom Swift series of books (1910–present), similar in many ways to the better-known Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series, and, like them, produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate...

There are many words which we tend to misspell in our writing. Some are so common that our eyes barely notice them. These are not grammatical or usage mistakes (for example, "Notary Republic," or Mondegreens) -- these just result as a function of how we tend to use the QWERTY -formatted keyboard, how infrequently we read things which have been properly spelled, and our spellcheck-type autocorrect functions: Here's a watchlist of  the top 100 misspelled (or mistyped) words, courtesy of yourdictionary .com [ Warning : This is a LONG post. Please put your scrolling gloves on, Braintenancers - you might even want to pack a lunch ] -- A acceptable - Several words made the list because of the suffix pronounced -êbl but sometimes spelled - ible , sometimes -able. Just remember to accept any table offered to you and you will spell this word OK. accidentally - It is no accident that the test for adverbs on -ly is whether they come from an adjective on -al ("accide...

Plasticity, specifically neuroplasticity , has to do with the brain's: 1) Ability to expand its capacity and capabilities; 2) The ability of neurons to continue to grow and adapt to environmental changes, both within us and outside of our physical bodies but perceivable to our senses, both acknowledged and being discovered; 3) The ability of one neuron to assume the responsibilities and functions of another neuron, should that second neuron be either damaged or otherwise compromised by an increased workload. 4) The longevity of a neuron's life and functioning; 5) The ability (in terms of speed and accuracy) of one neuron to signal or connect with its neighbor intersynaptically. Frankly, increased or enhanced neuroplasticity are highly desirable in terms of both brain functioning and anti-aging (i.e., maintaining a positive, youthful state. The following article excerpt appears courtesy of BigThink 's Weekly Newsletter, which is an excellent source of information and inte...

If you were to ask everyone whom you chanced to encounter if the following two statements were true, you would mostly get answers in the affirmative. And yet, despite conventional wisdom , they are only partial truths: 1. The MIND is the seat of intelligence and learning, and, 2. The MIND controls the BODY. -- Just ask any ordinary person. He or she will likely confirm it (and perhaps even grin gratuitously). One would think that our bodies were robotic; that they are merely slaves to our minds . When meeting a challenge (i.e., running a race, lifting weights, making a presentation in front of a group, somebody's well-intended uncle invariably chimes in with, " You can do it , kid! It's just mind over matter !" If that were completely true (and I'll confess that I believe it to be partially true),   then how is it possible that:  Physical pain profoundly affects how we think and feel?  We can walk down a familiar flight of st...

Image via Wikipedia Those of us at Braintenance Central (make a quick left at the Parietal lobe , and follow the cues) believe that using a mnemonic or other "conscious device or technique" in order to improve some aspect of mind functioning is not against the rules -- in fact, if it helps, we like to encourage it. There are so many wonderful devices and techniques for improving various aspects of mental functioning that it makes one's head spin. Again, we feature a listing of the most popular memory techniques, courtesy of BrainMetrix : The Link Method : The Link Method is one of the easiest mnemonic techniques available, yet quite powerful. It is not quite as reliable as a peg technique, as images are not tied to specific, inviolable sequences. It functions quite simply by making associations between things in a list, often as a story. The flow of the story and the strength of the visualizations of the images provides clues to an easy retrieval of the stored piece o...