We have earlier debated training's effect on your ability to learn. This is actually not an joke, there are several studies proving this very clear. I am one of those individuals that skritter much of my time while walking. This is somehow dangerous here in Tokyo but still rewarding. I do clearly remember better from those sessions than the ones I do on the train or in planes. Similary, the sessions I do after my night runs I do much better on than my morning sessions. There have recently been some tests on people showing that for every 30% increase in your physical fitness you gain 1% better IQ. For us older (30 and up) we loose about 1% of our brain power per year. It have been said that training your brain should slow this down but new studies show that exercising does this much better:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/magazine/how-exercise-could-lead-to-a-better-brain.html?pagewanted=all

In Sweden we did a study on young male adults going through military enrollment that showed a similar increase in test scores even for young people.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091202101751.htm

Thee have also been the recent Spanish/Swedish tests on kids walking to school. That proved that girls clearly did perform better on tests while the boys test score where not conclusive. That might be due to young males generally do exercise more. http://www.fitnesshealth101.com/news/2011/02/12/new-study-shows-link-between-exercise-and-good-test-scores/

So, my conclusion is. Train more, that will pay off in so many ways and even increase your skritter retention rate:-) Now I will go out for a long run and then reward myself with a nice skritter session afterwards:-)

cool! i just did one hour of skritter while sitting. now i will take my iphone and head off to the gym. thanks for sharing!

i come from rural germany and from observation i would also agree with the scientific findings: older people who walk to the forest once a day look much fitter and younger than the couch potatoes or the ones with cars :)

Actually studying while training - like walking, etc. I believe there is real value to that.

You stay more awake for one. Running might be a bit more difficult because if you start really pushing it, you will loose concentration studying and because you need to concentrate more on "survival".

Skrittering while walking to work works for me. Just have to keep an eye on the ground so I don't step into something awful.

Argh! Mobile Skritter shouldn't be a license to skritter while walking on city streets. The app should have a declaimer. It's like text-walking, but a hundred times worse--dangerous and socially unacceptable. Text-walkers who meander randomly about the sidewalk (and the crosswalk!) are a menace to other pedestrians, cyclists, people with strollers, the handicapped; it's a mess. As Obama says, "you didn't build" the public roads, they're there for everyone, and your full attention is required if everyone is to share them safely. Please, please, while walking on a city street, look where you're going. If you really must multitask, get some headphones and a chinese podcast and practice your listening (ideally at a volume low enough that you can hear warnings from others).

Okay, rant is over. That really bothers me.

This reminds me of an article I read yesterday about professional South Korean gamers. It's not about tests, but I think it is proving the same point. The top teams live together, have a gaming, bed and workout room. They said they do it because it really helps them keep their edge and focus on the game.

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2012/08/tech/gaming.series/korea.html

@dbkluck When George and Nick were in NYC shooting video to promote the iPhone app, I suggested that they should show someone studying on the phone while weaving through traffic, but they didn't like that idea. :P

James

@dbkluck, you have never been to Tokyo i guess;-) here you are almost considered strange if you do NOT use your phone during more or less any activity, especially riding the bike or walking. During last years earthquake I would say that close to everyone lived in the phones to follow the news. Actually this works very smooth here since everyone does it. It is not like doing it at 5:th avenue in NYC. Last night I where at the gym in Ikebukuro and checked out the spinning bikes. 100% of the users did use their phones while riding, OK that is on a non moving vehicle but that gives a hint about reality. Safety first but why waste perfectly good practicing time? The only risk you do have/pose when doing it here is that Japanese people have a very strange habit of almost always ride their bikes in the pedestrian lines. I would say that i have the same risk for that regardless of if I do anything or not while walking. I have been here for 3 years now and never had even close to an accident( in this area) or bothered anyone so I can't share your opinion here or as Evelyn Hall(in her biography over Voltaire) so nicely put it "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it" 加油!

Just this morning I saw a text-walker slam into a blind guy in a metro station here in Washington--poor guy's cane went rolling across the platform. I have been to Tokyo, and now that you mention it, I don't recall seeing anything similar (or even noticing the text-walkers). I might be willing to concede that for Tokyo, it's okay, but for any place less organized and orderly (which is to say, the entire rest of the world) I remain unpersuaded.

need a background app running on the phone informing us of nearby obstacles/people :-)