# Luminosity (on TV) - Service or Scam? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 20, 2014, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luminosity-on-tv-service-or-scam/679246 "2014-01-20T03:06:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![UncleFred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f0a364/32.png) [@UncleFred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleFred)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luminosity-on-tv-service-or-scam/679246/1 "2014-01-20T03:06:47Z")
What’s the feedback on the usefulness of Luminosity, as advertised on TV? It’s claimed to be based on Neuroplasticity, which appears to be a real thing - but does Luminosity do subscribers any good, or is it just a scam? ---
**Author:** ![turtlescanfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@turtlescanfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/turtlescanfly)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luminosity-on-tv-service-or-scam/679246/2 "2014-01-20T03:42:16Z")
I subscribed for a couple months. They give you a score that is a composite of 5 or 6 different “kinds” of intelligence (memory, spatial awareness, attention to detail, etc). My score definitely improved over the couple or three months, but ISTM that I was just getting better at playing their games… I can’t say I noticed any difference in my intellect otherwise (for instance, remembering things better). Maybe I just didn’t do it long enough. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a scam, but I think its benefits are exaggerated. But I very much doubt it hurts at all, and its easy to believe that it produces some benefit. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luminosity-on-tv-service-or-scam/679246/3 "2014-01-20T04:39:20Z")
Other than assuming it is bunkum when I hear the commercials I have no experience. But just in case anybody is trying to learn more, the product is [Lumosity](http://www.lumosity.com/), not Luminosity. ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luminosity-on-tv-service-or-scam/679246/4 "2014-01-20T06:32:12Z")
Has anyone played those and the “[Brain Age](http://brainage.nintendo.com/)” games that Nintendo made for DS / 3DS? I haven’t looked at Lumosity’s site, but the ads I keep seeing remind me of that a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luminosity-on-tv-service-or-scam/679246/5 "2014-01-20T06:50:19Z")
Is it just me, or do the people in the commercials give off a “_just_ dim enough to be self-conscious about their level of intelligence” vibe? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luminosity-on-tv-service-or-scam/679246/6 "2014-01-20T06:59:59Z")
> [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > Is it just me, or do the people in the commercials give off a “_just_ dim enough to be self-conscious about their level of intelligence” vibe? I noticed that too. And I wonder whether they’re the “before” or “after” picture. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2014, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luminosity-on-tv-service-or-scam/679246/7 "2014-01-20T07:46:06Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I noticed that too. And I wonder whether they’re the “before” or “after” picture. Neither. I saw the words " actor portrayal" on them a few times. Seems they might have been worried that it was deceitful to not mention that… … All information in the advert should be true…