Keep your brain active
Simon Brew tries to match the leader of the free world, but is blinded by too many colours
Simon Brew gets Trumped in a cognitive test
In my ongoing quest to a) keep this column relevant and b) help it pay my mortgage for the next few months, I couldn’t help but notice that cognitive testing has been in the news of late. Specifically, that the President of the United States took a MOCA test, and scored an impressive 30 out of 30.
MOCA is the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, used by doctors to spot early signs of Alzheimer’s in patients. It checks concentration, visual skills, executive functions, orientation, calculations, attention, and, er, something else. Oh yes – memory, that’s it.
You can take a version of it yourself at www.mocatest.org, though it’s not the official test reserved for medical and academic studies (for that you’ll need to pay $10 a month). The signing-up fee also lets you take the test online, otherwise you’ll need to download and print PDFS. We doubt President Trump has to print his own PDFS.
If like me you’re on the frugal side, try the free 15-minute test offered by Food For The Brain ( http://cft3.foodforthe brain.org), a charity promoting the importance of diet in maintaining good mental health. It’s clear from the start that nobody is expected to finish the test (in fact, you have to tick a box to acknowledge this), and a good job too, as around half the exercises are ruthlessly timed. Just as you’re hitting your stride, a ‘Test Time Ended’ box pops up.
It asks you to do simple things – identify pictures, decide which shapes are different from others and such like. It rounds off the test with some questions designed to highlight ways to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s. There are certainly glossier tests and apps around, and it isn’t easy to read (you’ll need your glasses). But I found it thought-provoking. And crucially, I was ‘above the norm’ for my age (see screenshot below).
I moved on to Brain Age Games ( www. freebrainagegames.com), which is less rigorous, but still reckons it can work out the age of your brain. It does this by getting you to tackle the sort of exercises that appear in 80 per cent of games containing the words ‘brain’ and ‘training’ (follow a sequence, click shapes, try to stay awake).
But it’s better than most other games. Although the ‘spot the difference’ favours those who know the rules of such puzzles (if you see a wristwatch on picture one, start there on picture two), it’s brilliantly executed. A picture flashes, and it times how long it takes you to find one difference. Some are obvious, others devilishly subtle.
In another game you have to click the colour of a word. Sounds simple. But the words are colours themselves, triggering a cognitive confusion that sends the brain into a tailspin. If the word ‘green’ is in orange, you need to click orange (see main screenshot). I’d like to tell you I excelled at this. But I’d also like to tell you I live in a palatial mansion by the beach. That’d be fake Brews, though (so sorry).
One Brain (Android www.snipca. com/26830; IOS www.snipca.com/26831) has similar colour tests to take on your phone or tablet. This one is fast and furious, with each game lasting 15 to 20 seconds. It would be perfect for Donald during those brief moments he’s not on Twitter.
You have to click the colour of a word, but the words are colours themselves. Sends the brain into a tailspin…