research explainers
All Senwitt Journal posts in this category.
- May 26, 2026
Do brain training apps actually work? A 2026 review of the evidence
What the published research — Stanford 2014 consensus, Simons 2016 review, NIH ACTIVE Trial, FTC v Lumosity — actually says about whether commercial brain-training apps work, and what changed in 2026.
- May 26, 2026
GPS and navigation skill — what actually changed
The cleanest empirical case for cognitive offloading. UCL's 2020 study, the UCSB extension, the mechanism, and what it means for AI tools by analogy.
- May 26, 2026
GPS changed our memory — what AI might do too
The 2020 UCL study is the cleanest natural experiment in the cognitive-offloading literature. The mechanism is direct, the parallel to AI is real, and the practical advice is the same.
- May 26, 2026
Mental sharpness with age: the honest picture
What the cognitive-aging research actually says about fluid versus crystallized cognition, the lifestyle factors with real evidence, and why brain-training-prevents-decline claims drew regulatory action.
- May 26, 2026
The Google effect and what it means for AI
The 2011 Sparrow et al. paper started the cognitive-offloading conversation in earnest. The 2024 meta-analysis sharpened the picture. The AI extension is the natural next step.
- May 26, 2026
Transactive memory: when AI is the partner
Daniel Wegner's 1985 framework explained how long-term couples share a single memory system. In 2011, Sparrow et al. extended the frame to search engines. AI is the next layer.
- May 26, 2026
Use it or lose it: the skill-decay literature
The Arthur et al. 1998 meta-analysis is the canonical reference for skill decay. The deliberate-practice tradition explains the inverse. The AI moment is the reason the pattern matters now.
- May 26, 2026
What the research actually supports about brain exercise
The exact claim line, with citations: what the cognitive literature supports about practising thinking skills, what it doesn't, and why Senwitt's marketing language sits where it does.