MentatTrainingPlan

Getting really good at mental skills requires lots of practice. Just as you can only become a great pianist, sportsman or chess player with dedicated practice, most of the skills on this wiki - such as memory training, mental calculation, and logic - also need practice to get really good at them. So to reach the goal of becoming a better thinker, we need a training plan. That's what this page, currently under construction, is here to provide.

Aims of the Mentat training plan

This plan aims to be:

• Ambitious. There's plenty of brain games and books in the world which will give you a few tips on becoming a slightly better thinker. But for mentats, we want to aim for higher levels of performance. World record holders in memory and mental calculation show what's possible.
• Evidence based. There's plenty out there for sale on the internet promising to make you into a genius, without evidence to back up the claims. This plan should aim to be based on actual evidence - preferably peer reviewed scientific findings.
• Fun. A training program requires a lot of time, so it's best if it's not too much of a grind!

What outcomes can we realistically expect from a training regime?

Firstly, we can train specific skills. There is lots of evidence that mental skills - from mental arithmetic to using memory systems.

Secondly, we could try to improve general intelligence. This is much harder and the evidence is weaker. While practice makes you better at the skill being practice, the improvements don't usually transfer to other tasks - the learning is very specific to the task being practised. However, there is some evidence that some activities - such as BrainTrainingGames and LanguageLearning - may potentially increase general intelligence, and these exercises are built into the training plan.

Outline

• Getting the basics right - diet, nutrition and exercise
• Key principles of MasteringSkills
• Optimising long term learning with SpacedRepetition
• Further improving long term memory with MemorySystems
• Toning up the brain with BrainTrainingGames
• Learn to calculate with MentalMath techniques

The training day

If we want to optimise learning new skills, what does the perfect training day look like?

Firstly, there is strong evidence that the brain's ability to learn is better after vigorous PhysicalExercise. So working up a sweat for half an hour before learning will produce better results.

Next come the learning tasks. How should these be structured? For a start, there is lots of evidence that SpacedRepetition is far more effective than learning in big blocks (or "cramming"). This means that it is optimal to "space out" learning as much as possible, with daily practice of all your skills.

So, for example, if you are learning several things (e.g. how multiply large numbers, speak Chinese, play the piano, and memorise the capital's of all the world's countries), evidence suggests that spending a few minutes each day on all of the tasks results in better learning in the long run than focussing on each task for a day.

That means the training play sees you practicing lots of different skills every day, for a short, focussed time period. So a mentat training session might have several different training bursts of, say, 10 minutes each for:

• Training the working memory using the dual n-back BrainTrainingGames
• Reviewing long term learning using a SpacedRepetition FlashCard program
• Drilling some new words and grammar of a foreign language (see LanguageLearning)
• Sight reading a song on a musical instrument (see LearningMusic)
• Memorising part of a deck of cards as long-term MemoryTraining

Afterwards, rest and relaxation would be in order - in particular, MediTation may have cognitive benefits.

Finally, there is lots of evidence that a good night's sleep is important to consolidate new learning and memories.

Online training

There are some websites, which you can use to observe progress in your mentat training. Most are for free, few has extended features, which are not free.

1. Language learning based on spaced repetitions 100% free
2. Learning with spaced repetitions 100% free
3. Memory and mental math training first 3 level are free
4. N-back and basic mental math training free with some limits