Page 117 - Mind Games The Aging Brain and How to Keep it Healthy

Develop a Brawny Brain • 101

You may have decided on another appropriate hierarchy.
The decision on a proper rank and then the arrangement of
the items into that rank is the key to this new skill.
Determining the framework of the rank helps you con-
centrate more on the items in the list while you find an ap-
propriate ranking scheme. That alone will aid you in trying
to remember them.
Follow-up: Repeat this exercise with items you have on
a shopping list in your home.

If It Looks Like a Duck and Walks Like a Duck . . .
This exercise provides practice in the notion that items in a
hierarchy inherit properties from the higher-ranked objects.
In the following game, you will practice identifying a com-
mon class to which a set of objects belong.
For each of the following collections, name a larger class
to which all items belong:

1. _______________ collies, schnauzers, scotties, retrievers

2. _______________ cup, saucer, plate, bowl
3. _______________ cat, dog, bird, hamster, guinea pig
4. _______________ apple, aces, acre, ax, argyles
5. _______________ bookkeeper, sleeper, Aaron, nook,
muumuu, Hawaii
6. _______________ Des Moines, Albany, Salem, Austin,
Tallahassee
7. _______________ turnip, carrot, beet, potato, rutabaga
8. _______________ madam, radar, level, a Toyota, wow,
Bob, noon
9. _______________ knife, blade, scarf, purse, table

10. _______________ birds, airplanes, angels, hospitals
11. _______________ records, games, pianos, doctor, the
stock market
12. _______________ newspapers, tea leaves, palms,
books, signs