Why (build it; use it)

A few years ago my uncle suffered a stroke. On a recent trip back home the thought occurred to me that maybe he could use brain training apps as a part of his cognitive therapy / training routine. While researching along these lines I stumbled upon n-back task based training and was instantly intrigued.

I saw the elements of a training routine that could be fun but also challenging, and get progressively harder to match the player's own abilities. Some of the research I came across was also very encouraging. I began to think about n-back training not just as something my uncle could benefit from, but something everyone (myself included) could benefit from. At its core it trains you to hold increasing quantities of information in your head, and reason about that information; understand it, identify patterns, and decide whether it's useful to you or not. Getting better at that fundamental skill has applications in basically every walk of life. Even other things we tend to think of as life skills--decision making, communication, etc--can benefit greatly from improved reasoning and working memory.

For me this project has been a labor of love. I hope you enjoy using it as much as I've enjoyed getting to this point.

I built smart(n) for my uncle, for myself, and for you.