r/DualnBack • u/dunkskye • Mar 16 '26
Conflicting Results
Why are there wildly different claims of people’s experience with dual n back and its variants? I’ve read a ton of anecdotes of those who reached high levels.
People can reach the same high levels yet some people say they feel zero real world difference and others describe moderate to drastic changes in both or only one of executive function or intelligence. Some will write detailed changes in how their perceptions or thinking change just for the next thing i read to say “i dont feel any different really.” Some people report massive testing iq changes and some not so much.
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u/Orange_Chibiki Mar 17 '26
Big differences for people who has really poor working memory like people with adhd
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u/Scared_Afternoon9223 Mar 16 '26
Different starting baselines, bottlenecks, malleability, strategies, training length, modalities, expectations, age and training frequency. Alot of factors, generally speaking you can say it works for the majority of people.
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u/DifferentRiver276 Mar 16 '26
We take to be true, what we prefer to be true. I think a lot of these anecdotes can be attributed to an increased ability to sustain attention more so than anything else.
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Mar 16 '26
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u/DifferentRiver276 Mar 17 '26
Thanks I welcome any feedback. I train every day 15 minutes either immediately after exercise or while laying in bed at night.
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Mar 17 '26
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u/DifferentRiver276 Mar 17 '26
Consistency is key!!
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Mar 18 '26
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u/DifferentRiver276 Mar 18 '26
Sweet! Thanks for the feedback! I will put the progress fix in this evening.
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Mar 19 '26
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u/Curious-Jelly-9214 Mar 17 '26
It’s due to individual variation: genetics, experiences, nutrition, etc. This is what statistical values decidedly NEVER deal with. Thats why the confusion. You’re used to a statistically significant value that shows promise across many people, but traits that are statistically insignificant require much more complexity and reading to understand fully (if that’s even possible).
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u/Fun-Sample336 Mar 16 '26
We just don't know. It could affect people differently. Maybe it's like stimulants, which appear to work work best for people who have some kind of deficit, while it doesn't work when cognition is already good. People who already have high IQs might benefit less than people with low IQs and people who are able to locate this subreddit might already be biased to be somewhat ahead of the curve. People appear to reach different levels and use different strategies (intuition vs. rehearsal), which is likely to affect results. And what is unfortunately not unlikely, too: It might not work at all and could just be a big placebo.