Card Shark

Being “intelligent” can occur in a variety of different ways. Having said that, all types of intelligence have one thing in common: the ability to recall, compare and manipulate a number of different pieces of information both rapidly and simultaneously.

The reality is that we are all faced with the daily need to solve problems and make decisions. Perhaps you need to compare products at the grocery store and mentally calculate which variety offers the greatest value. Perhaps you need to decide if you should stop at the gas station on your way home or conclude there’s sufficient gas to get you through the day.

Our Card Shark exercise will present you with one playing card at a time that is added to a sequence of cards. After each card has been presented it will be turned face down. Your objective is to determine if the current playing card is a match with a card that was presented to you a certain number of steps back. Initially you’ll decide if the current playing card is a match with one presented just previously.

As you progress through the Card Shark exercise, it will grow increasingly more difficult in a variety of ways:

 

  1. You’ll need to decide if there is a match between the current playing card and a card presented further back in the sequence.
  2. The actual information you’ll need to remember for each item will change (number, suit, both).
  3. The quantity of items you’ll be required to remember within the sequence will increase.

Ultimately, the Card Shark exercise will challenge your brain to retain, compare, and work with an increasing amount of visual information.