Despite the wisdom that has been circulating for centuries, too many of us fail to heed the call to be satisfied with the simple life. We don’t explore the depth of Ranier Maria Rilke’s observation: “I trust all joy.” With these four simple words, he gave us a formula for simple living. If you were to pass along three or four words of wisdom to the next generation, what words would you choose? Brain Exercises to Simplify Life

ZIPF-IFY THIS

George Kingsley Zipf was an American linguist who created an empirical formula related to the frequency of spoken words. In its simplest application, the law illustrates Zip’s belief that neither readers nor listeners want to expend more energy than necessary to reach an understanding of verbal import.
In this wired world of ours, the average person is exposed to 34 gigabytes of content and 100,000 words of information each day. Clearly, the need to find ways to streamline output and condense input is imperative. This is where Zipf comes in. Brain Exercises to Simplify Life

REMEMBER THIS

Einstein said, “Make things as simple as possible but not simpler.” Perhaps the best example of this can be found in the words of statistician and Quality guru, Dr. W. Edwards Deming. He made the study of work procedures his life work and has taught hundreds of thousands, including those in war-torn Japan, how to streamline work without sacrificing the quality of that work. He boiled down hisinsights into a significant statement about the nature of work itself: “All work is process and all processes can be improved.”
Again, if you were asked to pass along words of wisdom regarding how to make work simpler. And, if you are retired, what advice would you give about making life itself simpler? Translate your knowledge into simplicity, simplicity on the other side of complexity.

ABE WAS HONEST, AND CONCISE

Abraham Lincoln, in defining democracy, used 20 words, all of them but 4 of them monosyllables: “As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy.”
The Gettysburg address, one of the most revered speeches in all of American history, has a mere 271 words—sufficient for healing a war-raved nation and espousing the values of equality. The Lord’s Prayer has 66 words. Contrast this with H.R. 3962, better known as the Affordable Health Care for America Act, which has 1990—pages, not words. To be sure, legal matters require detailed explanations. But pity the poor reader who has to read all of that. Health care may not be affordable, but not necessarily easy to comprehend.

EXECUTIVES VALUE SIMPLICITY, TOO

Facebook’s COO and Lean In author Sheryl Sandberg takes a spiral-bound notebook with her into meetings. When every item on the meeting list-pagehas been handled, she will conclude the meeting—even if only ten minutes have elapsed in a meeting scheduled for an hour. Then there are the high- powered executives who will not meet if you cannot state your purpose on the back of your business card. Along these lines, the popularity of TED talks is directly related to the length of those talks—some only a few minutes long, but none more than 18 minutes in length.
Consider, too, the six-word memoir, prompted by Ernest Hemingway’s reputed response to a challenge to write a six-word short story. His poignant response was “For sale; baby shoes, never worn.” A decade ago, Smith magazine asked for six- word submissions that sum up a life or provide a life-learning. What six words would you choose to express what you have learned about life so far? Try the exercise with other words as well, words like “friendship” or “work” or “happiness.”

EXERCISE YOUR SIMPLE SKILLS

To develop the Zipfean approach to verbal economy, just think of the names of popular sports teams and ask yourself how different references to them would be if excessively verbose names were used.) Some of these current and former team names are more challenging than others. For them, you may wish to have a dictionary ready.

Can you name the team?

1- Metallic missiles from a paternal patriot
2- Dollars from the malt metropolis
3- Pathway pyromaniacs from a left-sided land
4- Hoosier equine leaders
5- Aqueous-mass types from a celestial city
6- New, soft-fabric, marine containers
7- Avian resurrection and heliacal essences
8- Scrapes and the focus of a Sinatran ode
9- Bovine creatures from the Hawk’s domicile
10- Battlers from an auriferous state
11- Equine goads for a canonized Anthony
12- Nonconformists from a cowboy’s city
3- Barber’s tool from a city of no deviltry
14- Mineral chunks from an altitudinous location
15- Angry apiarians from a sweet but hushed appellation
16- Birds of prey in a peachy-state city
17- Druids from a leguminous land
18- Gold Rush town and royalty figures
19- A number of trombones from a metropolis of “bro-mances”
20- Motor City cylinders
21- Grover’s courtly horsemen
22- Sound-breaking players from a place of precipitation
23- Marsalis music from a state known for its park city
24- Torridness from city known for its southerly beaches
25- A beverage belonging to Minnie plus sylvan, lupine creatures
26- Fireworks from an oily city
27- Sunshine state city using legerdemain
28- Prehistoric figures from “Hollywood North”
29- Ursi horribili from the Gateway to the Pacific
30-A long-beaked water bird in a place where easy is big

FIGHT DEMENTIA WHILE HAVING FUN

Brain challenges, such as those above, are not only worthwhile ways to spend time, they will also keep you mentally fit. Kailash Satyarthi, Novel Peace Prize recipient and Indian children’s rights activist, maintains that “childhood means simplicity.” If you wish to keep your youthful approach to life, find ways to simplify your life. You will have an endless opportunity to do so if you take samples from long-winded speakers and writers and apply Zipf’s Law.

Sports Teams Answers

Washington Bullets
Milwaukee Bucks
Portland Trailblazers
Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Lakers
New Jersey Nets
Phoenix Suns
New York Knicks
Chicago Bulls
Golden State Warriors
San Antonio Spurs
Dallas Mavericks
LA Clippers
Denver Nuggets
Charlotte Hornets
Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
Sacramento Kings
Philadelphia 76ers
Detroit Pistons
Cleveland Cavaliers
Seattle Supersonics
Utah Jazz
Miami Heat
Minnesota Timberwolves
Houston Rockets
Orlando Magic
Toronto Raptors
Vancouver Grizzlies
New Orleans Pelicans

– – – –
By Marlene Caroselli
This article is excerpted from Applying Mr. Einstein: 365+ Einstein-Inspired Brain Boosts. Her 62^ndbook, Applying Mr. Einsteinwill be released by HRD Press later this year. You can reach the author at msmccpd@gmail.com.

Brain Exercises to Simplify Life

Brain Exercises to Simplify Life Brain Exercises to Simplify Life Brain Exercises to Simplify Life Brain Exercises to Simplify Life Brain Exercises to Simplify Life Brain Exercises to Simplify Life Brain Exercises to Simplify Life Brain Exercises to Simplify Life Brain Exercises to Simplify Life Brain Exercises to Simplify Life Brain Exercises to Simplify Life

Baseball great Leroy Satchel Paige asserted that age is a question of mind over matter. “If you don’t mind,” he said, “it don’t matter.” Age, after all, is just a number. But, as we age, it’s important to mind–not our manners–but our minds. Maximize Your Mind, No Matter Your Age
Yes, you can become more brain-powerful. You really can optimize your cognitive capacity. And you can truly maximize your mental operations. But… you have to commit to improving your cognitive processes. We recommend spending five-to-ten minutes a day, three days a week. Here are practices to help sharpen that marvelous computer that sits atop your shoulders.

CREATE A MNEMONIC DEVICE

The mind is an amazing organ. This gelatinous mass of a hundred trillion nerve cells , when maximized, can serve you well. (The need to facilitate memory goes back thousands of years. From Mnemosyne, the Greek goddess of memory, comes the word “mnemonics,” which is simply the use of told that will help us remember. Think about the mnemonic devices you already use (H-O-M-E-S for the first letter of each of the Great Lakes) and commit to using such a device for better recall of information that’s important to you.
What set of things do you wish to remember? Consider acronyms, rhyme, alliteration, visualization, or any other method that works for you, such as noting the word “paper” ends in “er,” as does the word “stationery,” when it means “paper.”
Ever admire those who can rattle facts and figures off the top of their head? (Think of how much more productive you would be if there were certain numbers, statistics, words, addresses that you didn’t have to look up every time you needed them.) Ever wonder if the brains of such people are superior to your own? They are probably not, except in this regard: those with good memories have trained their brains to work for them. Get started doing the same.

PRACTICE

Once a day, have a relative or friend practice with you. Your coach will give you a one-digit number, which you are not to write down until he or she says “Record.” Then, you’ll receive a two-digit number. When the coach says, “Record,” write the number down from memory. Each time, your coach will give you a number one-digit-longer than the preceding number. Keep a log of your progress, specifying how many digits you were able to commit to short-term memory. Here are a few to get you started.
3 87 901 5201 84215 075328 40152856
104867624 6903457182
5 26 738 9320 52916 380157 6281302
392815647 2753019586

CHASE STRESS AWAY

Stress causes increased production of a hormone named cortisol. According to Dr. Blair Justice of the University of Texas Health Science Center, the cortex of the adrenal gland releases this hormone, which can have a negative impact on the cells of your immune system. Cortisol also reduces the number of natural killer (NK) cells, which travel through the body, looking for and destroying aberrant cells. If you don’t have enough NK cells doing their job, the abnormal cells can eventually develop into tumors.
When cortisol is racing through your body, it can damage the neurons in your brain in the long-term and cause your brain to become frozen in the short term. Experts advise engaging in a mental challenge just prior to a stressful event such as meeting a new person, asking someone on a date, interviewing for a new part-time job. There are any number of exercises you can engage in to develop your powers of concentration and control your stress. Here ‘s one.
Have a friend note how long it takes you to complete these six puzzles. Then make up others and exchange with your friend. Time yourself on the second set and strive to beat your earlier time.
EXAMPLE: C-A-T is to A-C-T as 1-2-3 is to
a) 3-2-1- b) 2-1-3 c) 2-3-1 d) 1-3-2 e) 3-1-2
If “C” in CAT is given a “1,” and “A” is given a “2,” and “T” is given a “3;” then the letters in ACT would be represented by the numbers 2-3-1, answer “c.” Time yourself on the following challenges.
1. N-A-P-E is to P-A-N-E as 8-2-4-7 is to:
a) 4-2-8-7 b) 4-7-8-2 c) 7-2-8-4 d) 4-8-2-7 e) 2-7-8-4
2. P-O-R-E is to R-O-P-E as 3-6-9-1 is to:
a) 9-6-3-1 b) 3-1-6-9 c) 9-1-3-6 d) 9-3-1-6 e) 6-1-3-9
3. T-O-P-S is to P-O-T-S as 4-1-7-9 is to:
a) 7-4-1-9 b) 7-1-4-9 c) 9-4-1-7 d) 7-9-1-4 e) 4-9-1-7
4. L-I-P-S is to S-L-I-P as 5-8-3-0 is to:
a) 0-3-8-5 b) 0-8-3-5 c) 0-5-8-3 d) 3-8-0-5 e) 8-0-5-3
5. S-L-A-T-E is to T-A-L-E-S as 6-7-3-5-2 is to:
a) 3-7-2-5-6 b) 2-6-3-7-5 c) 5-7-3-6-2 d) 5-7-2-3-6 e) 5-3-7-2-6
6. S-A-I-D is to D-A-I-S as 2-8-4-1 is to:
a) 1-2-4-8 b) 1-8-4-2 c) 8-1-2-4 d) 2-4-1-8 e) 1-4-8-2
As we grow older, many things no longer matter. But, in the case of our minds, they do matter. And committing to keeping our minds sharp is made easier when we practice exercises like these on a regular basis.
– Dr. Marlene Caroselli is septuagenarian author and speaker whom you can reach at msmccpd@gmail.com.
Answers: 1a, 2a, 3b, 4c, 5e, 6b.

Maximize Your Mind, No Matter Your Age

Maximize Your Mind, No Matter Your Age Maximize Your Mind, No Matter Your Age Maximize Your Mind, No Matter Your Age Maximize Your Mind, No Matter Your Age Maximize Your Mind, No Matter Your Age Maximize Your Mind, No Matter Your Age

Improving Memory