Theories Behind The Thingy Flip - The Musings of An Inventor.

Learning to juggle helped the Inventor and Founder, Dominic See, do better at school. It left him pondering why that was for much of his adult life and it was the inspiration behind his invention the Thingy Flip.

Research has since shown juggling actually increases grey matter in the brain¹.

Dominic has an active curiosity and never really stops musing on why things are the way they and how everything is connected. He is always on the lookout for solutions and new theories.

His mission is to increase kids’ (and grown-ups!) brainpower and develop their skills in a fun

way. Imagine all the new brain pathways needed to learn to catch on all sides of

each of your hands using the Thingy Flip?

Here are 6 of Dominic’s theories on how the Thingy Flip might help solve a few different issues:

1.   IQ Levels, Decreasing?

IQ levels seem to be decreasing and it is suggested it could be from environmental factors, not so much genetics². Could it be from our changed lifestyles with most kids spending all of their free time hooked on devices and not out playing for hours on end as they would have a couple of decades ago? 

The Thingy Flip gets our brains working with hand-eye coordination. As mentioned, skills such as juggling showed an increase in brain grey matter¹.

The 2010 Gonski report also found that Australian school kids’ performance had declined in all areas over ten years ³. Why? Is it the education system, our lifestyles, our diet, the socio-economic background of the students? We don’t know exactly.

2.   Fewer Ball Sports and More Devices

How are young people going to foster their hand-eye coordination skills development when most stop playing sport around early high school age? A study found that 70% of US kids leave ball sports at age 13 on average ⁴_.

It is also around this age that most are given their first phone or electronic device. Any connection here? Maybe…

Sure, they use their hands to use the devices - but this is still limited compared to getting up and having to aim, catch, balance, coordinate, and concentrate.

The Thingy Flip, on the other hand, can still be done inside if needed but gets kids challenging their brains and their bodies.

Technology is excellent and has advanced our society in many ways. Yet, too much and it could be detrimental. We need to balance the time spent seated playing with electronics with some whole brain-body activity.

If you don’t use it, you lose it right? So, the same goes for your brain.

Kids can even use the Thingy Flip for a few minutes while waiting for a game to load to add a brain boost. It doesn’t have to be a long time, just a fun few minutes to switch things up and keep them challenged.

3.   Increased Brain Grey Matter

A very interesting study in 2004 showed an increase in the grey matter after participants learned to juggle ¹.

So considering that IQ levels may be decreasing and that juggling skills practice

demonstrated an increase in gray matter, could it be that regular use of a device

such as a Thingy Flip would be beneficial to our brain function?

This very question, along with the Founder’s personal experience, is what lead to the development of the Thingy Flip.

The Thingy Flip presents a simpler and more engaging option than juggling too. Great for kids and adults alike.

4.   Left and Right Brain Hemispheres - Working Together

During around the first three years of life, children are very much right-brain dominant, as has also been linked to attachment theory and why they seem largely governed by emotions⁵. The right-sided brain function is very much around emotional, intuitive experience, and perception. It is thought that around ages 4 - 7, things shift and the left side becomes more involved⁵. The left hemisphere is linked to logic and reasoning.

Those children who function more from the right brain may find it harder to concentrate and pay attention to details. They are often more creative, impulsive, and abstract in their thinking.

The left hemisphere of the brain is in charge of the right side of the body. The right hemisphere of the brain, the left side of the body. However, studies suggest that both sides of the brain (and the corresponding side of the body) contribute unique mechanisms that assist motor function and learning⁶. It seems both sides are required for different but complementary functions⁶.

This is one of the reasons why we feel it is important to get kids using both sides of their brains by practicing and learning new skills through motor actions such as catching and throwing with the Thingy Flip.

5.   Education System

It seems that currently, the predominant tasks kids have to face are using their devices (phones, tablets, gaming consoles, or laptops) at school and at home.

The results of the latest Gonski Report have sparked funding in the billions of dollars to help mediate the falling academic achievement levels⁷. However, do we really know what will help?

We feel it is important that kids also get back to doing a lot more physical playing which will challenge their hand-eye (brain) coordination too.

Could this help with the decrease in IQ levels or the drop in academic performance recorded in the Gonski report ³? We hope so, and it is one of our most enthusiastic theories behind the Thingy Flip.

The Thingy Flip can be played by anyone and you can do it alone or in a group. This means that kids don’t need to wait for their parents, siblings, or classmates to be able to practice. They can play as often as they like and it is very affordable.

6.   Men and Women’s Brains - Are They Different?

It is a controversial topic. We don’t want to add to any gender stereotyping, but some research has shown that men’s and women’s brains can work differently⁷.

Men tend to run pathways more within the brain hemisphere, whereas women’s pathways connect between both of the hemispheres more often. Interesting.

As mentioned above, the challenge of the Thingy Flip and being able to catch on all five sides of the fist is sure to get the brain firing and connecting between the two hemispheres.

Of course, we can’t guarantee using the Thingy Flip will help you understand the opposite sex any better. Yet, you will have fun doing it and it might improve your brain function!

Test It For Yourself

Join our experiment and help us test out all of the above theories!

Buy a Thingy Flip and report your 8-week program results. Let’s see if it made a difference!

The ultimate goal would be to see our IQ’s increasing and we see an increase in our capacity over time. Maybe, we even become superhumans!

References:

1 Draganski, B., Gaser, C., Busch, V., Schuierer, G. al, e. 2004, Changes in grey matter induced by training, Nature, vol. 427, no. 6972, pp. 311-2.

2 Bratsberg, B. and Rogeberg, O., 2018. Flynn effect and its reversal are both environmentally caused. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(26), pp.6674-6678.

3 ABC News, 2012. What’s in the Gonski Report? Retrieved from:https://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-27/whats-in-the-gonski-report/4219508

4 Miner, J. 2016. Why 70 percent of kids quit sports by age 13. Retrieved from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/parenting/wp/2016/06/01/why-70-percent-of-kids-quit-sports-by-age-13/

5 Schore A.N., 2000, “Attachment and the regulation of the right brain”. Attachment and Human Development. 2000;2(1):23-47. doi:10.1080/146167300361309

6 Mutha, P. K., Haaland, K. Y., & Sainburg, R. L., 2012. “The effects of brain lateralization on motor control and adaptation”. Journal of motor behavior, 44(6), 455–469. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222895.2012.747482

7 Khazan, O. 2013. Male and Female Brains Really Are Built Differently. Retrieved from: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/12/male-and-female-brains-really-are-built-differently/281962/