Perception exercises (those tasks where you must visualize a complex or elaborate scenario "in your head" absolutely arouse and stimulate your creativity and extend and expand expand your imagination. They involve using multiple parts of your brain located in both hemispheres, and often require that you actually close you eyes and either assemble objects, rotate or reposition objects, or visualize a scenario comprise of certain elements. You are literally exercising your imagination; and when you exercise your imagination, you give your brain the equivalent of progressive resistance exercise (the training a bodybuilder or power weightlifter uses for his or body), which strengthens it in every way.
Some pundits (or where they gurus?) have speculated that these exercises help increase coordination and communication between all of the different functional parts of your brain.
Brothers and sisters of The Braintenance Blog, let's try a few of these now. Before we do, take a look at the image at the top of this page, and study the characteristics of each geometric solid, as well as the relationship, in terms of differences and similarities between the two.
Here are a few questions to answer using the power of your ability to retain images and to assemble or reorient them in your mind's eye:
1) Which of the two figures is more stable, standing on its widest surface (on either end -- you choose)?
2) How many cones could you fit (with the dimensions in Figure B) could you insert into a cylinder (using the same dimensions as in Figure B)?
3) If you roll a cylinder across a table top, what type of shape would it create?
4) If you push a cylinder (by its wide side) on a table top, what kind of a shape would it create?
5) If you could glue a limitless number of same-sized cones together at their respective tips, what type of geometric solid would this fusion resemble from the outside?
6) If you knocked both a cone and a cylinder over, which of the two shapes is more likely to stay closer to you (instead of rolling under the couch where the dog might accidentally eat it?)?
7) Assume that the widest end (or at least one end) of each of the shapes were open, which could you stack that would require less space?
8) If both shapes were filled with Styrofoam (or even vermiculite... choose any filling that you wish, as if you were at Aunt B's Yogurt And Cupcake shop) which one would float on its side, and which one would bob?
9) Why do you think that cones are used for automobile steering system precision testing, while cones are selected to be filled with sand to buttress certain highways (near toll booths and such) in the event of a car crashing into them?
10) Bonus! You get to reduce three dimensions to two! Position both shapes to be standing upright, and side-by-side. Cut each in half with a laser beam (or a sword, if you'd like). Without touching the bottoms, throw the tops away. Looking at each of the halved shapes at eye-level, which one will look like a rectangle, and which will look like a trapezoid?
And now, relax and enjoy a 20-minute audio track of nature sounds which is packed with life-affirming, positive suggestions. The brainwave entrainment pattern which is synchronized with the sounds is Beta, Alpha, Theta, Delta and back to Beta. Just click on the link below to enjoy it!
Sounds Of Nature + Positive Subliminal Suggestions, or if that seems to friendly, you can alternatively click on:
As always, thank you for reading me and for sharing my articles with your social media.
Douglas E. Castle