Liz notes:

> Goldacre's article refer to a physical fitness movement called "brain gym" in the UK. They don't seem to have anything to do with SharpBrain's work...

Not to get too off-topic, but the (pseudo-scientific) Brain Gym movement, http://braingym.org/ , is firmly entrenched in the U.S., too, unfortunately. I've worked to get it from being used in schools locally, as it's absurd (it's based on applied kinesiology, where you can test if a patient is allergic to a substance by having him just hold the chemical formula for the substance in his hand - see Wikipedia or the articles mentioned). The phrase "Brain Gym" is trademarked by this group.

So please excuse the knee-jerk reactions when the phrase pops up. Perhaps SharpBrains.com is in the scientific camp. However, it would be wise for them to leave the phrase "brain gym" behind. If anything, they should actively distance themselves from this other group, if they truly value the scientific method.

On SharpBrains itself, I'd be happy to find they're legitimately scientific. I've certainly read of research showing the general idea of "use it or lose it" works for various reasoning faculties. I enjoy puzzles as much as the next person, so love having another excuse for solving them. That said, I admit a bit of skepticism on first view of the site. Their sales of the "emWave PC Stress Relief System", http://www.sharpbrains.com/z/eshop/stress-management-programs/freeze-framer/ , has some strong claims. The biofeedback program allegedly relieves stress, improves golf scores and other athletic performance, gives greater creativity, increases efficiency, helps performance on tests, etc. Anything it doesn't do?