Seven Assumptions about Brain Training Conventional Wisdom If you’ve been reading about or studying neurofeedback, you may think you know certain “facts” about the brain and brain-training. You see them stated in every research article, in magazine stories, on websites, from professionals. They’re obviously true. But we’re going to start by drilling down through the […]

Eastern vs. Western The concept of pathology grows out of a specific world-view. Oriental views of the universe see the whole and seek to fit ourselves into it. Western approaches take it apart into pieces and learn how to make it fit what we want. East focuses on the whole—a shifting state of balances and […]

Chemical Imbalances The Big Lie The big lie refers to use of a lie so huge that no one would believe that someone “could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously.” Its corollary states, “if you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, eventually people will come to believe it.” Countless trusted physicians, following the pharmaceutical industry, made […]

What Brain Training Does: Rewiring What Brain Training is NOT As you look through the websites and written material on brain training, you’ll often see it referred to as “rewiring”, “harmonizing” or “balancing” the brain. Those are attractive marketing images, but they aren’t very accurate. Rewiring The brain is “wired” in the sense that trillions […]

It’s In the Literature Literature vs. Precedents In science, peer-reviewed literature published in specific journals is intended to expand understanding of issues in the same way legal precedents expand the meaning of legislated law. Precedents are produced by judges making decisions in specific cases related to a specific legislated law. They are practical and deal […]

Professional bias in Conventional Wisdom Much of the early work in brain training was done by psychologists. Psychologists were the early publishers of the research, and guided much of the later publishing. They understood and described what they were doing in the terms of psychology—especially behaviorism. Quite naturally they developed a sense of ownership of […]

Professional vs. Amateur Brain training is experiential. You don’t learn it by reading about it or taking courses or attending lectures. You learn it by doing it. Since there is a bit of a learning curve, as with any new technology, it makes sense that a professional would have a lot more experience and thus […]

What is Certification In many professional fields there exist bodies of licensure or certification created to verify who has demonstrated competence in that area. Certified Public Accountants and Board-Certified Surgeons are examples. But experience teaches us that taking courses and passing exams doesn’t necessarily result in a higher level of performance or better results. In […]