CogniFit's Science blog: Redefining Our Limits

Redefining Our Limits

It hasn’t been so long ago that I have been first introduced to this world of Brain Fitness. Back then, my knowledge of this area could be described as nonexistent. It may still be the case to some extent, as the developments on the brain knowledge and in the ability to develop its capacity are so quickly changing everyday, becoming a sort of moving target.

I am not writing about my experience with brain fitness though, but rather about how the introduction and understanding of all the work being done everywhere in the world around cognitive improvement has changed my perception of what’s ahead.

One very good way to predict in some sort the future is to look at the past. The History and past experiences send a sign of what to expect ahead. The introduction of brain fitness, and overall the development of neuroscience and increased capacity of the human brain, challenges this understanding of the relationship between the past and the future. In fact, brain fitness can be considered as a disruption factor when adopted by a majority of the population.

When looking at the way we as human beings live in a society, it is a very hard objective to keep improving on and on every day. A country needs to grow its economy in order to remain at least healthy. A company needs to grow its sales in order to stay alive. An employee expects to grow his wages over time, but also expects the prices to grow.

The notion of a neverending growth is in every thing we do. But theoretically, this notion is nonsense, as there is a limit to everything. There is a limit to the natural resources we can use, to the consumption, and also to the sum of the capacity of the human brains. One day, this limit would be reached and a further growth would need to be based on an increase of the resources.

This is where brain fitness, or in a larger sense, the increase of the cognitive abilities of a whole population, play a role in redefining the limits we live with. Redefining as well the notion of the theoretical nonsense for a continuous growth.

The concept that a better and active brain plays a role in the success of the individual, and on an aggregate level in the success of a whole group (being it a company, a club, a nation) is one of the most important learnings to come. The pioneers and visionary in this field will be rewarded.