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Training may give you super-sized memory in 40 days: study
London, Mar 9, 2017 (PTI)
The differences they detected between memory athletes and non-athletes were in connectivity patterns spread across 2,500 different connections in the brain. DH File photo
You can acheive a super-sized memory like that of a world champion, suggests a new study which found that the ability to perform astonishing feats of memory can be learned.
After 40 days of daily 30-minute training sessions using a strategic memory improvement technique, people who had typical memory skills at the start and no previous memory training more than doubled their capacity.
From recalling an average of 26 words from a list of 72, the participants were able to remember 62, researchers at Radboud University Medical Centre in The Netherlands found.
Four months later, without continued training, recall performance remained high.
Brain scans before and after training showed that strategic memory training altered the brain functions of the trainees, making them more similar to those of world champion memory athletes, researchers said.
"After training we see massively increased performance on memory tests," said Martin Dresler, assistant professor at Radboud University Medical Centre.
"Not only can you induce a behavioral change, the training also induces similar brain connectivity patterns as those seen in memory athletes," said Dresler.
Dresler, who began the work at Stanford University School of Medicine in the US, examined the brains of 23 world-class memory athletes and 23 people similar in age, health status, and intelligence but with typical memory skills.
He used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a means of measuring brain activity by detecting blood flow changes inside the brain, to measure differences in the strengths of communications between brain regions. He used structural MRI to measure differences in sizes.
Initially, Dresler expected that memory champions might have notable differences in brain anatomy, the same way one might expect a world champion body builder to have unusually large muscles. Using structural MRI, however, they did not see differences.
The differences they detected between memory athletes and non-athletes were in connectivity patterns spread across 2,500 different connections in the brain. A subset of 25 connections most strongly differentiated athletes from those with typical memory skills.
The athletes Dresler studied were not born with exceptional memory skills. "They, without a single exception, trained for months and years using mnemonic strategies to achieve these high levels of performance," Dresler added.
The exit polls today predicted a hung assembly in the key Hindi heartland state of Uttar Pradesh where BJP would emerge as the largest single party, winning anywhere between 164 and 210 of the 403 seats.
Most polls also forecast a close fight between the Congress, which is seeking to return to power in Punjab after a hiatus of 10 years, and Arvind Kejriwal's AAP, making its debut in the assembly polls in the state.
They have predicted victory for BJP in Uttarakhand, but the saffron party, though likely to lead the table in Goa, was projected to fall short of a majority in the tiny coastal state. Times Now-VMR poll forecast 190-210 seats for the BJP in the UP assembly, while India News-MRC gave it 185 and ABP- Lokniti CSDS 164-176 seats. If BJP wins UP, it would be a return to power for the party in the politically significant and volatile state after 15 years.
The three polls projected 110-130, 120 and 156-169 seats respectively for the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance and 57-74, 90 and 60-72 seats for the Mayawati-led BSP.
India Today-Axis exit poll predicted 62-71 seats for the Congress in 117-member Punjab assembly, a comfortable majority, and 42-51 to Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP. The Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP combine was projected to be decimated in the state which it has ruled for a decade. All polls showed the alliance getting reduced to a single digit tally.
However, India TV-C Voter projected 59-67 seats for debutante AAP and 41-49 for the Congress. India News-MRC and News 24-Chanakya forecast a dead heat by giving 55 and 54 seats each to both parties.
BJP looked set to return to power in Uttarakhand, with India Today and News 24 projecting a comfortable majority for the party, giving it 46-53 and 53 seats respectively, in the 70-member House, way more than the halfway mark of 30.
However, India TV gave 29 and 35 seats to the two parties. India Today projected 18-22 seats for the BJP in 40-seat Goa assembly followed by the Congress with 9-13 seats. India TV predicted a hung assembly, projecting 15-21 seats for the BJP and 12-18 for the Congress.
In the NDTV poll of polls, an average of several exit polls, the BJP was projected to win 179 seats, the SP-Congress 136 and the BSP 77 seats in the country's largest state.
It forecast 55 seats for the Congress in Punjab, closely followed by the AAP with 54 seats. The incumbent Akali Dal-BJP alliance was predicted staring at a virtual decimation with only 7 seats in the 117-member assembly.
In Uttarakhand, it gave the BJP a majority with 43 seats followed by the ruling Congress with 23. In Manipur, it predicted a close fight between the ruling Congress and the BJP with the former getting 26 and the latter 24 in the 60-member assembly. Congress has been ruling the northeastern state for the last 15 years.
Here are the various exit poll predictions as of 7:35 PM
You'll not see Pune-like bad performance again, promises Kohli
Bengaluru, Mar 3, 2017, (PTI):
Indian captain Virat Kohli today assured that his team will never repeat the kind of "bad performance" and "lack of intent" that led to the humiliating opening Test loss to Australia in Pune.
The Indians were hammered by 333 runs in the first Test inside three days in a stunning defeat, which ended their 19-match unbeaten streak.
Ahead of the second Test starting here tomorrow, Kohli said the hosts have learnt their lessons from the debacle.
"You will not see such a bad performance again, I will assure you that," said the feisty captain in a pre-match press conference.
"It is important to accept defeats. We lost the Pune match because of lack of intent. Australia played better cricket. It is important to accept defeat, if you go by your ego or ignore it, it will affect you only. It doesn't mean losing in Pune would result in us losing the other matches also," he added.
Kohli said it was a rare collective failure for the Indians.
"Sometimes such defeats are necessary. This gave us a platform to understand where we lacked. It happens very rarely that the whole team does not perform, this is what happened in the last match. We learnt a lot from that loss," Kohli said.
"Even if we win or lose, our preparation remains the same. The intensity remains the same even if we lose or win a match. Basically you don't change the practice depending upon the result," he added.
Kohli refused to divulge what changes are likely to be made in the playing XI though he promised "surprises".
"We have a combination in mind and we will finalise it when we sit together this evening. There are all kinds of possibilities tomorrow there could be few surprises," he said.
However, Kohli did confirm that all-rounder Hardik Pandya was not yet fit to be considered for selection.
"Hardik Pandya is not available for selection. He has a niggle in his shoulder. Rest of them are fit and available."
Steve Smith's men were labelled the weakest Australian team ever to tour India before the series but managed to surprise naysayers with a thoroughly commendable all-round performance.
Smith himself showed excellent form for a hundred on the rank turner of Pune.
Asked how the home team would look to negate the Smith factor, Kohli said, "Our focus is not only on him. I think the whole team has to play against Australia to win the Test match. We are not focussing on one player at all."
"All 10 wickets have to be taken twice to win a Test match, that is something we already have marked," he added.
Kohli also played down the threat posed by Australian pace attack led by Mitchell Starc.
"I don't think there will be any extra sort of variation added to his bowling suddenly. He is the bowler he is. We have to accept that and face him the best way as a batsmen," he said.
Kohli also refused suggestions that they are under pressure as suggested by his counterpart Steven Smith.
"It is better we focus on our skills rather than what Australia is saying. I know these are mind games that they come up during press conferences. We still have to play cricket as we are doing for the last few years," he added.
The questions kept veering towards the Pune loss and parallels were drawn with the infamous 2015 loss to Sri Lanka in Galle, which was followed by an unbeaten streak that ended last month.
"It was basically a scenario where we look at a situation differently. It is similar when you bat and bowl you try to break a partnership by taking three wickets in a spell. I think we believed as a team that we can win from that position. I think we have more experience and belief in the team that we had back then," he added.
Kohli said it is never a good idea to get either too excited by a win or too deflated by a loss.
"We are all professional cricketers but sometimes when you are winning lot of games you don't tend to focus on to improve as such, because someone or the other would step in," he reasoned.
"When the whole team does not execute the things you want to, you understand a lot of things to work on and that's always a good sign...you can't take anything for granted during a Test match. I think these things are also very important in your cricket journey," he said.
The swashbuckling batsman, who endured a rare failure with the bat in Pune, said he expects the familiarity with the pitch to work in favour of India here.
"I have played a lot of games here. I don't think the Bangalore wicket has changed over the years. No surprises at all. Whenever we have played Test cricket we have done well. We take all these things into account," he said.
"We always play well at this stadium. Even the last Test that we played here we won against Australia. These things are big positives for us. We know exactly how this wicket plays and we know exactly what to do with this sort of wicket," he added.
Off-spinner Jayant Yadav drew criticism for his below par performance in the first Test where he took just two wickets. But Kohli refused to say whether he would be dropped.
"These are perceptions. We have our ideas that we will address as management and go with best combination possible. Jayant has been outstanding. You can't put pressure on the guy who has played only one series. The way he has grabbed his spot, it has been outstanding. He is an intelligent cricketer," he asserted.
RSS sacks functionary who put bounty on Kerala CM's head
New Delhi, Mar 3, 2017 (PTI)
RSS today sacked its functionary Kundan Chandravat who had sparked a controversy by announcing a Rs 1 crore bounty for beheading Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. RSS's Madhya Pradesh state head Prakash Shastri issued orders for his removal from all Sangh posts, a day after Chandravat made his statement in Ujjain.
"Chandravat's controversial statement has created a wrong impression about the Sangh. He has been removed from all posts," Shastri said in a letter announcing his removal. "Kundan Chandravat made a controversial statement at Ujjain meeting, therefore he has been removed from all RSS responsibilities," the saffron body's Sah Prachar Pramukh (joint chief of publicity) J Nanda Kumar said.
Chandravat, the Sah Prachar Pramukh of RSS in Ujjain, had announced the reward to avenge the killing of its workers in Kerala, allegedly by CPI-M workers. In a video, which went viral, Chandravat is purportedly seen saying that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is behind the killing of RSS workers there and he will pay Rs 1 crore to anyone who beheads him and brings his (Vijayan's) head to him.
He had also claimed that 300 innocent people belonging to the RSS had been killed but the Kerala Chief Minister was turning a blind eye. His speech sparked an uproar, drawing condemnation from the CPI(M), the Congress and even from the RSS yesterday. Late last night, Chandravat retracted his statement and expressed regret.
"I was pained on the issue of murders of Swayamsevaks and therefore made an emotional statement. I retract it (statement) and express my regret," he said in a statement. Earlier the RSS distanced itself from Chandravat's remarks and strongly condemned his statement. It said that the Sangh does not believe in violence.
In a Facebook post, Kerala Chief Minister Vijayan had rejected the threat with "contempt" and said that RSS indulged in murders in several places. Just because of that, it is not possible for us not to walk on roads, he had said. Hitting out at the Sangh, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury had tweeted that Chandravat's comments "revealed true colours of RSS as a terrorist outfit". Yechury had also questioned the "silence" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the NDA government over the remarks.
