Daily Mental Calisthenics at blogSci.com

Welcome to the Daily Mental Calisthenics at blogSci.com. These daily mental exercises will help you wake up, keep your mind primed and ready for quick thinking every day, and of course, are a great fun. The Calisthenics are actually a triathlon of Words of the Day, a Stroop Effect puzzle, and a game of Sudoku.

Feedback and comments welcome!

Words of the Day


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  • aspersion
    • DEFINITION: (noun) An abusive attack on a person's character or good name.
      SYNONYMS: calumny, defamation, denigration, slander.
      USAGE: Don't cast aspersions on my honesty.
      Discuss
  • dainty
    • DEFINITION: (adjective) Delicately beautiful or charming.
      SYNONYMS: exquisite.
      USAGE: Dainty sandals encased her feet, while a wimple of violet silk bordered in gold fringe, lay becomingly over her head and shoulders.
  • barb
    • DEFINITION: (noun) An aggressive remark directed at a person like a missile and intended to have a telling effect.
      SYNONYMS: dig, gibe, jibe, shaft, shot, slam.
      USAGE: The cruel barbs of her classmates drove her to tears.

Stroop Effect

The Stroop Effect is seen when the brain receives two interfering inputs. In this example, you are supposed to say the color the words are written in, not the actual word. So for example. for:

Brown in blue

You are supposed to say 'blue', not brown. The interfering inputs in this case are the color of the words (blue) and the word itself, brown, which is another color.

Now try to say the color the following words are written in as fast as possible:

Stroop effect - Image 1Stroop effect - Image 2Stroop effect - Image 3

Stroop effect - Image 4Stroop effect - Image 5Stroop effect - Image 6

Stroop effect - Image 7Stroop effect - Image 8Stroop effect - Image 9

Daily Sudoku

And now finish off with a quick game of Sudoku!


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