mind

Mind Trap: Classic
$29.95
This new printing of the classic edition of MindTrap comes packages in a quality tin box, and contains 486 of the best classic puzzles, mysteries, conundrums and trick questions that made MindTrap a worldwide phenomenon. A game that can be played as easily in your car as in your home or wherever else you may want to exercise your mind. Contents: Instruction Sheet Over 486 cards Scorepad Die

Star Wars Star Wars Science - Force Trainer
$129.99
We were very excited to receive The Force Trainer as a gift. I'm all for bio-feedback and have paid for EEG therapy for our son who has ADD. Unfortunately, it does not work as advertised and appears to fit in the catagory of "you see what you want to see." Five family members (adults and children) used the product and had the same result: no matter what your state of mind, the trainer advances you through the first "Padwan" level automatically. Each phrase and ball movement is identical from person to person. It seems all it takes is a live person to make the ball move up and down.
The "Jedi Knight" and "Jedi Master" levels were similar: the ball and voice seemed to proceed in either a pre-programmed or a random pattern. There is no way to tell whether your brain waves are affecting the ball's movement or whether it is a programmed random change in the fan speed. You should be able to check this with the "free play mode" where ball movement and light indicators are supposed to reflect your brain wave patterns. However, in our unit the ball stayed in the middle position no matter how hard we "concentrated" or "used our feelings." The lights only blinked on and off in a regular pattern.
One other minor point: while it was cute at first to hear Yoda quote lines from the movies, he grew tiresome after the fifth time he quoted the same line, "Reach out with your feelings! Use the Force. Do or do not, there is no try."
All in all we were VERY disappointed in this item. And would highly caution everyone to stay away from it. It is overpriced at best and intentionally deceptive to children at worst. My son was so proud to achieve Padwan, I didn't have the heart to tell him it worked the same for everyone. They all got frustrated and quit at the Jedi Knight level as no amount of concentration or relaxation could move the ball in a predictable way.
The Trainer must measure some sort of brain activity or skin conductivity, however, it does not work as advertised. I do not see how the manufacturer will avoid some kind of consequence for putting this out with the claims it makes. I suppose they can say, "Not everyone is cut out to be a Jedi."
I am sure some will use the toy and see exactly what they want to see. They will thrill to hear Yoda and R2D2 verbally pat them on the back. If this item sells, as it surely must with the slick marketing and idea that "you too can be a Jedi Knight", I believe it has more to do with P.T. Barnum ("There's a sucker born every minute") than The Force.

A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future
$15.00
Pretty good - a bit fluffy and padded to make it into a book. A ten apge article could probably have said it all.

Mind: A Brief Introduction (Fundamentals of Philosophy)
$19.95
I used this book to teach a course in the philosophy of human nature and I loved it. Searle touts his brand of philosophy in this work called "biological naturalism." It is the view that all of our conscious states arise from neurobiological processes. The book is also an introduction to the common problems in philosophy of mind. But you better come prepared for a somewhat technical (in some places) discussion of free will, mental causation and the mind-body problem. As usual, however, Searle is crystal clear in his explanations and arguments. Moreover, he appears to be pretty convincing in his refutations of materialism. This book is informative and a pretty good read.