Lumosity: Fiction or... Fiction?

Some time ago, I created a free Lumosity account. As a teacher and wannabe pedagogue, I was curious about their claim to "make people smart". The games offered are so simple that CS students in their second year could program them, but hey, maybe it is the design by neuro-scientists and the like which is expensive, I don't know. I played a bit, got tired of it, registered to the mailing list for scientific articles on the topic and went back to develop my own techniques to "make people smart".

In the few years since I registered, I received quite a lot of spam from the mailing list, but no scientific article. Today, I got an email which lists four of my main doubts about their technique, and promise some final answers. Here are some comments about it, and a recommandation for a better use of your time.

• FICTION OR FICTION? Cognitive exercise only makes you better at cognitive exercise. FICTION! Controlled clinical trials show that the right kinds of cognitive exercise — like those on Lumosity — can fundamentally enhance the brain’s ability to process the information needed for daily and professional tasks. Studies with Lumosity — including research performed at Stanford and Berkeley — have demonstrated 10-20% improvements in memory, attention, and speed of processing. Users report being more confident in their ability to remember names and faces, study for exams, and concentrate at work.
  • Is the "FICTION OR FICTION?" a typo or a kind of joke that I don't get in the first question?
  • BEING MORE CONFIDENT is quite distinct from REMEMBERING BETTER. It seems quite predictable that after investing time in pedagogical games and improving one's performance in those, users feel more confident. Experiences in measuring memory performance in multiple dimensiosn (and of related tasks) has been around since the 60's.
• Cognitive training can help anyone at any age. FACT! Everyone can improve with Lumosity! Over 13 million users of all ages from over 190 countries are using Lumosity to enhance their cognition. In fact, 97% of all users who train for at least 10 hours see improvements in performance. Who couldn’t benefit from enhanced memory and attention? They should be more precise, whether they talk about game performance or memory performance. Given that there is no real test of memory in the games, I assume that they are talking about Game Performance. Then this statement means only that the learning curve of the game insures that 97% of users improve after 10 hours of play. The same can be told about almost any game!
• Lumosity can make you smarter. FACT! Clinical studies have shown that cognitive training with the exercises on Lumosity can enhance memory, attention, and fluid reasoning abilities. These abilities are a big part of what makes someone “smart.”
• People don’t need brain training if they do crosswords or similar activities. FICTION! We recommend doing a variety of things to keep your brain in top form, including proper diet, physical exercise, adequate sleep, and staying socially active (check out Brain Grade to get specific recommendations). However, none of these lifestyle factors specifically target the core brain regions that underlie cognitive functions such as attention, memory and speed of processing. Because cognitive training does exactly this, Lumosity represents a key part of a brain-healthy lifestyle.

Designed by our neuroscientists and tested by researchers at Stanford, Berkeley, and other prestigious institutions, Lumosity draws on cutting-edge science to improve cognitive performance. "research performed at Stanford and Berkeley", "tested by researchers at Stanford, Berkeley, and other prestigious institutions" a link to the relevant publications in peer-reviewed conferences or journals would be appreciated here. Also, it seems odd to include neuropsychologue and no pedagogue in your references: is the educational system so rotten that no relation is left between it and techniques to "make people smart"? Feel free to try their site, but before committing too much time to their games, be sure to consider rather reading the books "Brain Rules" and "Brain Rules for Babies" by John Medina. In my (humble) opinion, this will be a better use of your time.