Human intellectual abilities are the cognitive abilities of a person, a person is very inquisitive by nature, he always strives for something new, he develops himself throughout his life. Human intellectual abilities include: development, thinking, logic, memory, imagination, attention.
Efficiency of memory and attention development
Many people are born with a good memory and the ability to concentrate on little things. If you are not lazy and train your memory and attention, you can achieve great success in life. Some people need to work hard on themselves, on their memory and concentration, in order to achieve at least something in life.
To increase memory and attention productivity you need to:
Concentrate on one thing. If you are listening to a lecture or sitting at a meeting, do not correspond with someone on the phone, listen carefully to the person speaking in front of you. You need to listen to him as carefully as possible and not be distracted by trifles. In the evening, be sure to remember today’s lecture and try to recall it in memory down to the smallest detail.
Proper nutrition for the brain is very important. Don't eat fast food or snacks on the run - it's harmful to both your brain and your body. A proper diet should include the following foods: vegetables, fruits, dried fruits, nuts, dairy products and herbs.
Don't overload your brain. If you feel tired, give your body a rest, a tired brain does not perceive new information well.
Never overload your brain with unnecessary, unnecessary information. Load it only with useful and truly important information.
Be sure to take walks in the fresh air; this is also very important for the proper functioning of your brain. The brain must receive oxygen. It's good if your walks in the fresh air are active. You can engage in different sports or simply relax actively.
Memory and attention training
Don’t be alarmed by the word “training”, it’s not a gym, although it doesn’t hurt you to go there sometimes either. People who play sports and lead an active lifestyle have 15% better brain function than a person who leads a passive lifestyle. So, memory training should be done by everyone, without exception, even the laziest people.
A lazy person immediately begins to come up with various excuses so that he does not do anything. But you can do it without postponing any important or unimportant matters. Sign up now for the “Super Memory in 30 Days” course to develop your memory to perfection without being distracted from your everyday activities:
Simple Daily Exercises
Let's start with the simplest thing - you need to go to the grocery store. Don’t take a cheat sheet with you on which the list of goods is written, write it down and try to remember what you wrote, then go to the store. If the situation is completely hopeless, then take your grocery list with you, but try not to take it out of your bag. Buy as a souvenir, and at the very end, take it out and check whether you bought everything or not.
When you talk with employees, with a neighbor on the landing, with a girlfriend or friend, try to remember as much as possible: eye color, clothing, some small things done on clothing or on a person. Listen carefully to what they tell you, delve into every detail. After the conversation, try to remember everything down to the smallest detail and scroll through it again in your head. This way you can train your auditory and visual memory.
Train yourself to read, this can be any time during your lunch break or before bed. You can read one to five pages at first, and gradually try to reach at least ten or twenty pages. Read carefully. After you read, try to retell it in as much detail as possible. If you don’t have time to retell what you read, then you can do it while you’re eating home or going to the store.
Exercises to develop memory and attention
On your way to work or to the store, you can remember the numbers of houses or license plates of cars that pass by. It trains your memory well.
Try to remember the price tags in the store for the goods you buy. Once you remember the prices, you can compare them with the prices of another store.
If you are preparing a new dish, using a new recipe, try to remember it. You can try to write it down from memory, on paper, and then check it with the original recipe.
Learn the poem by heart and please your loved one with it. Learn the words to a new song. On your way to work or to the store, you can hum a new song to yourself.
If you are walking, try changing your route and taking a different road. Look carefully at what new and interesting things you saw while you were walking, perhaps beautiful houses and unusual signs on stores, maybe beautiful flowers or fluffy blue Christmas trees. When you get home, remember your new route and replay it in your head. What do you remember about him? What are your impressions of this route? What new did you see?
Exercises to develop attention
Exercise 1
Let's start with a simple exercise. Look at the following picture for one minute. Then close this picture and try to draw these shapes in the same arrangement on paper.
If you find it difficult to remember all the details, don’t worry, take only the top part of the picture and try to remember it. Then look at the bottom of the picture and try to draw the details of the bottom picture on the paper.
After you draw the details on paper, try to compare them with the picture. What did you get? On the lower part, try to draw the upper part of the drawing from memory. If there are errors, try repeating the exercise.
Exercise 2
Look carefully at the picture, there are ten numbers drawn here, a word is written under each number. Look carefully at the picture for one minute, then close this picture and try to write all the numbers on paper and write a word under each number.
What did you get? If there are a lot of mistakes, try to remember only the top line from zero to four, then from five to nine.
Compare what is written with the picture, if there are mistakes, repeat the exercise.
Exercise 3
Look at the next picture, there is a clock on it. Look carefully at which numbers are drawn on it more or less, what lines are on the numbers. Look at the picture for one minute, then close the picture and try to draw a clock on paper.
What did you get? If you are unable to remember and draw everything completely, divide the clock in half and remember half. Then try to remember the second half and draw it on paper. Repeat the exercise if necessary.
Exercise 4
Look at the following picture, there are colors written on it, but they are highlighted in a different color. Look at the picture carefully for one minute and try to remember the words.
To begin with, you can only remember three lines. Try to remember the first three lines, cover the words and write from memory. You should also write with colored pens or colored pencils.
What did you get? If you wrote everything correctly, try writing all the words together.
Games and exercises for children's development
Exercise 1
Look at the following exercise, numbers are written here in two different colors. Look carefully at these numbers for one minute and try to remember them.
Cover these numbers and try to write on paper everything that you remember. Test yourself, if there are a lot of mistakes, try to remember the first two lines and then write them.
Then try to remember and write the second two lines. If everything is correct, you can practice and write all four lines.
Try to remember the two outer lines and write them, and then remember the two lines in the middle and write them too. Don't forget that some numbers are written in red.
Exercise 2
In this exercise, samples of patterns are given; you need to remember them and continue in the same way as in the example.
First try the task number one.
Remember the drawing under the number one, close the sample and continue connecting the circles according to the pattern as a reminder.
Now look at the sample drawing under number two. Close the sample and connect the triangles for memory.
After completing task number two, proceed to task number three. Here you need to remember in what order the squares are connected. Once you have memorized, close the picture and try to connect the squares in the same way.
Exercise 3
Look closely at the following picture for one minute. There are different objects drawn here, remember them.
Cover the picture and write on paper what you remember. Objects must be written or drawn in the same order as in the picture.
If it is difficult for you to remember so many items the first time, then you can remember and write half of these items only in order.
Then remember and write the second half of these items.
Now try to completely remember all the items in order and write them in the same order.
Exercise 4
Look at the following picture, the colors are written on it, they are all highlighted in one color. Look at the picture carefully for one minute and try to remember the words.
Close the picture and try to write on paper everything you remember.
What did you get?
If you manage to remember little, don’t be upset, take the first two columns and try to remember them. Then remember the last column and try to write all three columns together.
Exercise 5
Look carefully at the following picture; it shows animals, mammals, fish, and so on. Try to remember all the pictures within one minute.
Now write down on paper in order everything you remember. If you don’t remember everything or in the wrong order, repeat the exercise.
Then try to remember in a different order, for example from the last picture to the first. Write down everything you remember. Repeat the exercise if necessary.
Exercises for speech development
Exercise 1
For children from birth to two years. Exercise for the tongue.
The cow gives milk: “Moo-oo, moo-oo.”
The wasp flies: “Z-z-z, z-z-z.”
The bell rings: “Ding, ding, ding.”
The bumblebee buzzes: “W-w-w, w-w-w.”
The bird sings: “Trill, trill.”
The wind blows: "Uh-uh, uh-uh."
The hedgehog runs: “Ph-ph-ph, ph-ph-ph.”
Exercise 2
Tongue charger. For children from one and a half years old. Place your child opposite you so that he can see your face clearly. Show the following movements, then let the child try to do it independently; you can do this exercise together:
Open your mouth.
Run the tip of your tongue over your upper teeth.
Pass several times between the upper and lower teeth.
Stick your tongue forward, then hide it back.
Run your tongue over your lips as if you were licking your lips.
Turn your tongue to the right, then turn it to the left.
Lower your tongue down, then lift it up.
Hide your tongue in your mouth.
The child sees you in a mirror image, so the left side will be to the right, and the right side will be to the left.
Exercise 3
Play the game with your child: “Who came to us?” Look at the picture with your child and say, a cat came to visit us, how the cat talks:
"Meow meow meow meow". Ask your child to repeat: “Meow-meow, meow-meow.”
Now look at another picture, here is a cow. Who's mooing? The cow moos: “Moo-oo, moo-oo.”
Ask your child to repeat: “Moo-oo, moo-oo.” Then look at the following pictures with your child; the child himself must remember the sounds that animals make. If he doesn’t know or doesn’t remember these sounds, then we need to teach him these sounds.
What sound does a dog make?
How does the bird sing?
What sound does a hedgehog make when it runs?
What sound does a wasp make when it flies?
Repeat the exercise several times, you can look at the pictures at different times.
Exercise 4
This exercise or game is called: “Recognize by sound.” In this game you can use different objects: spoon, ball, paper, book, drum, car and so on. You turn the child away and make some sound, for example:
you drop the spoon on the floor;
play with the ball on the floor;
crumple or tear paper;
leafing through a book;
play the drum;
you roll the car.
The child guesses what object it is. Praise your child for the correct answer. If the child does not understand what sound it is, do not scold him and repeat it again.
Exercise 5
In this exercise we develop speech breathing. We will teach the child to correctly pronounce the sounds: “S”, “Z”, “Zh”, “Sh”, “R”. To begin with, to teach your child to pronounce these sounds correctly, you need to take a deep breath. This exercise helps with stuttering and swallowing or eating sounds and words.
In the summer, you can take a dandelion to help with this exercise. There are a lot of dandelions on the street in summer. Let the child learn to blow on a dandelion; he will blow it away in three or five times, while he needs to take a deep breath.
In winter, you can use snowflakes for this exercise.
At home you can make it yourself, for example a butterfly and hang it on a thread. Let your child blow on it.
Exercise 6
To help your child speak well, give him different toys and things: soft, rough, smooth, cold, hard. Give him paper, let him tear it or crumple it, this is all for the child's development. You can give kitchen utensils, rags, soft plasticine, and so on. Develop your child's hands, and your baby will develop with them.
Exercises for child development
First exercise – name what you see
Talk to your child constantly, the more he listens to you, the more he will concentrate on what you are telling him. On the street, show him what colorful leaves, what a tall house, what a big hill, what little birds. All this is interesting to the child and develops him.
Then you can take one thing, for example a green leaf from a tree, and look at it carefully. What leaf, from what tree, what color is the leaf, what size, and so on.
Second exercise - do and tell
Teach your child to concentrate on any simple activity, such as drawing. Explain to the child out loud what he must do, correct him, pronounce every movement of the child. Communicate more with your child and comment out loud on his actions.
Teach your child to perform all actions sequentially. Gradually, the child will learn to do everything consistently on his own.
Third exercise - find an object
The game, find the object, is well suited for developing attention. Look at some object in the room, for example a pyramid, describe it to the child so that he understands what you are describing and says what it is. For example, this item is tall, it has many details, describe their color and size, and so on.
Fourth exercise let's look at each other
Exercise: Let's look at each other - it develops the child's attention well; it is very simple, interesting and fun. Your child will enjoy playing this game.
Give your child the opportunity to look at you carefully for a few seconds. Then he turns away and tells you everything he remembers about you. For example, hair color, description of your face, what you are wearing, what color, and so on. If the child could not tell much, do not scold him, play this game again. Studying you, the second time the child will be more attentive than the first time.
You can even play this game in reverse, look at your child, turn away and describe what you remember. Your child will draw conclusions about what you said and what he missed. You can talk through these conclusions while delving into the details together.
Fifth exercise - disturb me
Interesting exercise, disturb me. Here you can play together - dad, mom and child. The role of the father is to ask different questions to the child, for example, what color is the cube, does the car have wheels, where is the ball, what is your name, and so on. The child must answer questions quickly.
The mother's role is to distract the child when he answers questions. If your child was able to answer the questions without getting distracted, reward him. Next time he will try even better.
This game can be played by two people, for example, a child recites a poem or retells a fairy tale, and you distract him.
Sixth exercise - be careful
Recently, very often children's books offer exercises for memory development.
For example, a picture is drawn, the child looks and remembers what is depicted on it. After two or three minutes the book closes and the child must tell what he remembers. This is a simple task, but it trains your memory well.
For adults, you can also use this exercise only in a more complex form.
For example, you have a carpet on the floor in your room. Look carefully at the pattern depicted on the carpet and remember it. You can look at it for two or three minutes. Then look away from the carpet and try to tell what you remember. Next time you can look at some painting or sculpture and talk about it. Each subsequent lesson you should reduce the memorization time
Seventh exercise - try to remember
You can develop observation, attention and visual memory in different ways. Let's consider one of them.
For example, for children, let's take five different objects. It could be a pencil, a pen, a colored eraser, a ball, or a jump rope. Let the children look at all these items, then put them in a dark bag. The guys must take turns telling what they remember.
This exercise can also be used for adults.
For example, let's take more, seven or ten items. It could be a spoon, a mug, a glass holder, a medal, a beautiful stone, and so on. All these objects need to be carefully examined for two or three minutes. Then put it in a dark bag and try to tell what you remember.
With each subsequent lesson, the memorization time must be reduced. In the same way, you can develop your memory in everyday life. For example, look at the prices in the store and try to remember them. Try to remember and compare prices for the same product in different stores.
Eighth exercise - developing imagination
This is an exercise to develop your imagination. Look at what's around you at home and try to come up with a funny story. Children can easily cope with this exercise because they are great inventors.
For example, a cat settled in our house - Koshakych. He likes to sleep on the sofa - sofa. One day he dozed off and snoring appeared - snoring. And so on, you can continue this story, or you can come up with your own. Don't be afraid to fantasize, come up with whatever you want.
Ninth exercise - focus your attention
Place your watch in front of the TV when an interesting cartoon or fairy tale is on. Place the child in front of the TV, now for two minutes the child should look at the second hand without turning his gaze to the TV screen.
Tenth exercise - quickly give the answer
This exercise is performed by two people. Play this game with your child. You should ask your child questions on any topic and of varying complexity. The child must answer clearly and quickly.
For example:
The most prickly flower? (Cactus)
How many oceans are there in the world? (Arctic, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian.
How many ears does a hare have? (Two)
Permissive traffic light color? (Green)
Which flower has seven colors? (Flower - seven flowers)
6 more useful exercises for child development
Development of creative abilities and innovative thinking. If you are right-handed, try doing everything with your left hand: eating, writing, brushing your teeth, typing on a computer keyboard, fastening buttons, and so on. If you are left-handed, try doing everything with your right hand.
Develop new abilities and experience new sensations. Close your eyes and walk around the apartment, eat, take a shower, listen to TV, and so on. Try, without looking at the coin, but only by touching it with your hands, to determine what denomination this coin is. You can try to communicate with relatives using gestures all day long. Why do this? New sensory areas of the human brain do not work much, and this exercise is used to stimulate them.
Try to change your usual image. Change your clothes, hairstyle, dye your hair. When a person changes something in his appearance, he begins to feel himself in a new way and everything inside him develops in an unusual, mysterious way. The way of thinking begins to change.
Bring a new wave into your life, visit museums and exhibitions, travel, spend your vacation in different places each time, take different routes to work and to the store. Spatial memory develops.
Change the interior of your home at least twice a year. Prepare new dishes, buy new perfume.
Read interesting stories, learn poems, memorize jokes.
Courses for intellectual development
Speed reading in 30 days
Increase your reading speed by 2-3 times in 30 days. From 150-200 to 300-600 words per minute or from 400 to 800-1200 words per minute. The course uses traditional exercises for the development of speed reading, techniques that speed up brain function, methods for progressively increasing reading speed, the psychology of speed reading and questions from course participants. Suitable for children and adults reading up to 5000 words per minute.
Development of memory and attention in a child 5-10 years old
The course includes 30 lessons with useful tips and exercises for children's development. Each lesson contains useful advice, several interesting exercises, an assignment for the lesson and an additional bonus at the end: an educational mini-game from our partner. Course duration: 30 days. The course is useful not only for children, but also for their parents.
Super memory in 30 days
Remember the necessary information quickly and for a long time. Wondering how to open a door or wash your hair? I’m sure not, because this is part of our life. Easy and simple exercises for memory training can be made part of your life and done a little during the day. If you eat the daily amount of food at once, or you can eat in portions throughout the day.
We speed up mental arithmetic, NOT mental arithmetic
Learn to quickly and correctly add, subtract, multiply, divide, square numbers, and even take roots. I will teach you how to use easy techniques to simplify arithmetic operations. Each lesson contains new techniques, clear examples and useful tasks.
Secrets of brain fitness, training memory, attention, thinking, counting
The brain, like the body, needs fitness. Physical exercise strengthens the body, mental exercise develops the brain. 30 days of useful exercises and educational games to develop memory, concentration, intelligence and speed reading will strengthen the brain, turning it into a tough nut to crack.
Money and the Millionaire Mindset
Why are there problems with money? In this course we will answer this question in detail, look deep into the problem, and consider our relationship with money from psychological, economic and emotional points of view. From the course you will learn what you need to do to solve all your financial problems, start saving money and invest it in the future.
Knowledge of the psychology of money and how to work with it makes a person a millionaire. 80% of people take out more loans as their income increases, becoming even poorer. On the other hand, self-made millionaires will earn millions again in 3-5 years if they start from scratch. This course teaches you how to properly distribute income and reduce expenses, motivates you to study and achieve goals, teaches you how to invest money and recognize a scam.
Conclusion
Develop yourself and develop your children. Do the exercises and let your attention and memory always help you. We wish you success.
Who among us has not dreamed of having a high level of erudition and showing off our intelligence? And in various life situations, most of us, oh, how it would help to have additional knowledge that would allow us to get away with it, help a colleague, a friend, do the right thing, make the right choice, etc. In all areas of our lives, it is important to be a person not just smart, but also wise. Therefore, it is very important to know how to develop your intelligence and learn the best exercises and advice from experienced psychologists.
Is it possible to develop your intelligence?
Some people mistakenly believe that intelligence is an innate component of a person. And it is impossible to develop it. This is not entirely true. Yes, there are people who simply have a certain mental development barrier and simply cannot jump above it. But these include those who have a congenital brain defect, mental retardation, dementia and other diseases associated with intelligence. In the case of innate intelligence, it can be developed using various mathematical puzzles, puzzles and other techniques.
Sometimes, it is not necessary to do anything at all, since genius itself finds ways to manifest itself. Let us at least remember the great physicists - Einstein, Curie, Ioffe and others. It cannot be said that in those years the physical and mathematical sciences were widespread. But it’s worth noting right away that these are isolated cases that you shouldn’t rely on too much. That is, based on the above, one can understand that innateness is not always the main way to achieve high intelligence.
Myths about intelligence
There is an opinion that if you have innate intelligence, there is no point in doing anything else for its growth and development. As we already know, there have been and are cases of genius, but they are very rare. Therefore, you cannot rely only on a natural gift; it is important to work on your mental abilities and train them. But even in cases with geniuses, one cannot completely discard the factor of upbringing, development in a certain environment, conditions that developed in a unique tandem with the human genome and became the reason for his genius in the future. But that's not all.
We hasten to dispel the myths that it is impossible to increase the level of intelligence in a mature person if you did not work on his abilities in childhood and adolescence. We categorically object, because in this life everything is possible! Each of us, including our dear readers, can grow to the level of, if not a genius, then an intelligent and erudite person, no matter in what environment he was previously brought up.
Remember Bernard Shaw's "My Fair Lady". Young Miss Eliza Doolittle was an ordinary flower seller in a poor neighborhood, and accordingly, she behaved like her surroundings. She spoke rudely, swore, and was unkempt. In short, a banal lumpen.
The brilliant language specialist Henry Higgins, when he met her, was simply dumbfounded. And he argued with his friend that he could turn a slob and rude woman into a high-society lady with all the appropriate manners in a few weeks. And guess what, he succeeded. He simply created all the conditions for the girl’s inner potential to find a way out and manifest itself in all its glory.
We can all achieve success in any field. To do this, you need to work, communicate with those who stimulate mental development, show your own willpower, and scrupulousness.
The next misconception is that being a genius does not mean being smart in everything. That is, unlike those who must educate and develop their abilities, there is a type of people who are already confident in their mental perfection. They believe that if they have achieved success, for example, in mathematics, physics, then there is no need to improve other branches of science and there is no need to even gain wisdom when communicating with people.
This is the danger that few “smart people” know about. Here's a simple example: a person who has an excellent understanding of mathematical theories. Able to mentally calculate division or multiplication of multi-digit numbers. But he may become confused when meeting a new person, with difficulty assessing his actions.
Or, on the contrary, an excellent philologist, a philosopher capable of giving wise advice on various cases. May get confused when counting change in a store. All these are extremes that interfere with the quality of life. Agree, it is much better to be harmonious, develop abilities in all areas and do not forget to gain new knowledge in terms of general development.
What does unbalanced intelligence look like? The process can be easily considered using the example of pumping muscles. If a bodybuilder pays attention to some and does not pay attention to others, then his figure will turn into something ridiculous. Therefore, to achieve a beautiful body contour, you need to work out all muscle groups, regularly, without stopping. And our intelligence also needs to be developed constantly, without taking breaks. An inquisitive mind cannot “live” without another dose of interesting, fascinating information.
Revealing the secrets of developing intelligence
We often come across books and online articles about how to quickly become a genius and, having completed a “unique” course, we understand that nothing comes of this idea. That is, someone’s advertised work simply turned out to be empty. Why are we surprised? All those who are looking for easy ways will get nothing. In order to achieve something, you need to make an effort, will, try, and concentrate your attention on it. After all, we don’t believe in the power of one pill that can cure all ailments at once.
If you want to develop the activity of your brain, work on it constantly. Load him with mental tasks, and they should be complex and versatile. It's like a health issue. If you want to have it, play sports, load your body with active activities. And what usually prevents us from getting rid of bad habits and playing sports?
Yes, it is directly related to our thinking process. We are lazy to think, read, study, watch. It is easier for us to feel in the body of a single-celled ciliate, which simply grinds everything that gets into it. But she doesn't get any benefit from it. So we too - if we do not continually replenish our knowledge, we will stop at the level of a primitive person, a first-grader with an insignificant amount of knowledge.
When we make an effort, use our will to regularly search for interesting information, read, watch, study, then we strengthen our character and cultivate a sense of discipline.
What types of intelligence are there?
On the issue of mental abilities, it should be noted that everyone has their own intelligence, since there are a number of its varieties. By the way, they can be identified from childhood by the manner of communication, the interests of the child, his hobbies, thoughts, and reasoning.
- Analytical. The ability to analyze, compare, compare information, divide it into logical blocks, and identify relationships.
- Logical. A person is capable of reasoning, thinking and analysis without violating formal logic. This type has the ability to make logical, correct conclusions in the appropriate sequence.
- Critical. Receiving information, a person criticizes it, evaluates it, and easily weeds out everything superfluous, unnecessary, and incorrect. This is how a natural, pure opinion develops.
- Deductive. A person extracts individual, necessary information from the general volume, flow, and can formulate it perfectly. This type is able to generalize, find patterns in the interconnection of different information and group it into one single thing.
- Prognostic. The talent to plan, prevent, formulate future events in thoughts and at the same time keep in mind various options for solving a particular problem.
- Abstract thinking. A person can delve into the most complex abstract processes, most often this concerns mathematical and philosophical problems. These are brilliant individuals who are able to hold the most complex mathematical formulas and processes in their heads. They can quickly count addition, multiplication, and division of billions in seconds.
- Creative thinking. A person knows how to compare things of different importance from different sciences and quickly bring them to a common denominator. People are able to create, formulate various kinds of metaphors, decipher complex ideas and reduce them to a simplified level for easier understanding.
- Ability to concentrate. This point most likely applies to those who have great will and discipline, although without intelligence this would hardly be possible.
The human mind also has certain properties:
- Logic of architecture: everyone has a different degree of orderliness in their thinking. Someone thinks soberly, all thoughts are in “order,” while others have a chaotic, incoherent, chaotic mind.
- The breadth, depth of the human mind: the level of “smartness” of a person depends on this moment. If he is able to grasp a question, task, or object of thought more broadly and deeply, then he is smarter.
- Speed of performing mental operations. Here, perhaps, everything is clear. The faster a person thinks, the higher his thinking speed.
- Autonomy of thinking. Some people can think perfectly, regardless of the influence of external interference and factors. They are always calm, especially at the moment when they need to make the right decision, create an idea and bring it to life.
- Great RAM: It's about our memory. The better it is, the more information we can keep in our heads and use it at the right time. People with a good memory can recite poems by heart, retell books, multiply billions in their heads, divide them, formulate formulas.
So, we have studied the main components of the human mind that can be developed and increased. There are a lot of techniques for this, among which are the most common ones in accordance with their effectiveness.
The best methods for developing intelligence at any age
We all understand that intelligence is a very important quality for the quality life of every person. Without it, it is impossible to graduate from school or university, get a profitable job and climb the career ladder. If you have intellectual problems, come to your senses. Increase your level using the methods we offer.
Start playing chess
Many people consider this sport (generally recognized) to be a boring pastime, but this is a big mistake. You try it first, and then it will talk. The fact is that initially, until a person has the skills, the process is indeed monotonous and boring. But once the skills develop, it will be impossible to tear yourself away from the chessboard by the ears.
The game develops all the qualities of the human mind:
- logic;
- ability to predict;
- abstract;
- give an assessment;
- analyze every move;
- think deductively, figuratively.
During rounds, players fully analyze and evaluate the actions of their opponent, think pointwise and generally. In short, all aspects of our thinking are involved in the process.
If you don't know how to compete in chess, it doesn't matter. Unlike previous years, when only boring textbooks and books were available as aids, now you can use chess simulators, video courses, and online games on various platforms. This will not only be educational, but also exciting and interesting.
Over time, you will have to get involved in the game and create combinations and build moves. The moment will come when, having learned to play with a robot, you can easily cope with a friend who considered himself a chess ace. And of course, your logic, autonomy of thinking, ability to abstract and other points will help in other areas of life.
Poker – a mathematical card game
We look down on those who indulge in online poker. But don't rush to conclusions. The card game of poker is a chain of logical reasoning, the construction of moves, the ability to predict the opponent’s move and other nuances that stimulate the development of human intelligence.
Moreover, rounds force a person to “pull himself together” and not show his nervousness and self-doubt. It is necessary to judge soberly, with restraint and learn to wait, not act on impulse, and not show your emotions.
Puzzles, rebuses, crosswords
We often spend our leisure time in various kinds of decryptions, puzzles, guessing words in crosswords, and enjoy reading puzzles and other entertaining tasks. All this is work for our mind.
Firstly, we improve our memory by guessing words in crossword puzzles. Secondly, deciphering puzzles develops our logic, the ability to think abstractly and autonomously, and learn to predict. There are a huge number of portals on the Internet, where there are millions of rebuses, puzzles and other educational tasks to choose from.
Breaking the mold
The life of almost all of us consists of the same actions. We get up at the same time, wash ourselves, drink coffee and set off along the same road to work and school. This way our brain stops working, we don’t need to think about how to find the way to the office, which tram to take. Everything has been brought to the point of automatic execution of actions. And as we know, if you don’t use something for a long time, then this thing deteriorates, and a moment of stagnation arises.
It's the same with our mental abilities. They must constantly “work”, otherwise we risk degrading prematurely. And if we break these patterns, our brain immediately joins the active process. New strong connections appear between neurons, on which our intelligence depends.
How to fix this - add something new to your usual routine and actions during the day. For example, do not go to work on a proven path. Change the route, go around through other courtyards. Or, instead of starting your workday with your usual cup of coffee, buy juice. For lunch, instead of sausages, eat steamed vegetables. In the morning, instead of lounging in bed longer, go for a run. You will not have time to capture the moment when your mental abilities begin to manifest themselves again.
Sign up for dancing, become more active
You shouldn’t immediately be indignant and believe that nothing depends on dancing. You are not right. Brain function directly depends on the degree of blood circulation. If it is low, then oxygen starvation occurs, not only cells die, but also neurons, their ligaments atrophy.
If you don’t want to just run, jump, or jog boringly, sign up for a dance course. Latin American styles are especially suitable: tango, baccarat, cha-cha-cha and others. Some experts, on the contrary, recommend practicing dance sports. In any case, everything is useful.
Movements will allow the body to receive a colossal amount of energy, and mental abilities will grow and grow due to the excellent supply of oxygen to the brain tissue. But that's not all. Active dance movements, whether we like it or not, make us constantly think. This means that the brain is in an active state and intelligence develops.
Draw
Creative activities will definitely “shake up” your brain and your intellect will be replenished with new knowledge. While drawing, the most distant areas are activated, they are involved in the process of thinking, and if you continue studying and don’t stop, the degree of intelligence will increase. Of course, no one says that you need to create like Bryullov or Savrasov. But, as you know, almost everyone loves to draw, but most are embarrassed by their “doodles”. And this is in vain! Draw for your own health and don’t be afraid of criticism.
Learn
This is one of the best methods for developing your own intelligence - learning new things, not stopping there. You graduated from school or university, but this does not mean that you can relax. Absorb information every day. Open sites with interesting publications, news, take an interest in the lives of famous people, new types of hobbies, and books. Read before bed. Even if you are tired and want to quickly fall asleep with a well-deserved sleep, a couple of pages of a book before bed will increase your intelligence and relax your nervous system.
There is a great way to “kill” two birds with one stone - to develop intellectual abilities and at the same time make good money. It's called copyright, rewriting. Remote work, allowing you to build a schedule at your own discretion, no management. What could be better for those who do not have the opportunity to devote more time to new knowledge?
Work on the largest exchanges and select topics that will help you learn new things. Working with texts requires a number of things to ensure that your mind never relaxes. Reading, analyzing the proposed topic, searching for information, working, re-reading, choosing the best option, removing unnecessary things and fixing.
Copywriting and rewriting must be done in such a way that there is no identical text on the Internet, that is, uniqueness is important. But you shouldn’t be afraid of it, it will happen if you write the work with interest and desire. At the same time, this is a great way to improve your literacy, because all text programs indicate grammatical, punctuation and other types of errors.
Play sports, move
It cannot be said that physical activity directly affects our intellectual abilities. But with active movements, pull-ups, push-ups, the production of neutrotropes occurs in our brain - proteins responsible for the growth and development of neurons of key cells in the human brain. Classes should be carried out as an additional method of improving your intelligence.
Have a rest
Everyone needs rest, our brain is no exception. Take a break from unnecessary information, because moderation is needed in absorbing it. We're not talking about being lazy - that's completely different. Just don't think about anything sometimes. Listen to music, look at the sunset, waves, fire and clear your thoughts of all negativity.
Yoga
Engage in eastern practices; yoga especially helps to cleanse your spirit and body of all unnecessary things and gain new knowledge. The complex contains exercises for cleansing blood vessels. This is a special breathing technique, thanks to which all corners of our body will be freed from toxins and waste. During this time, our body receives a lot of positive emotions, complete relaxation and knowledge.
The classes consist of 7 chakras, each of which is intended for a specific part of the body. In addition to the fact that the philosophy of yoga is an amazing complex that allows you to become the center of the Universe, be wiser and more restrained, your health also improves.
So, we have studied a number of ways to increase the level of our intelligence. As you can see, there is nothing complicated about this. We need only one thing - the desire to be wise, intellectually developed and healthy. And as we understand, these three components are not able to manifest themselves in a person without each other. Everything works together. So learn, improve and be healthy!
Each person has his own specific abilities: for some they manifest themselves to a greater extent, and for others to a lesser extent. Intelligence is determined not only by the abilities acquired from the moment of birth. It is the result of learning and further development of thinking through the analysis and synthesis of information received from the outside.
Of course, imagination also plays an important role. But still, it contains a certain set of abstract objects. With an increase in horizons, imagination develops, and memory training is carried out using various methods.
Intelligence and ways to develop it
We often ask ourselves the question: how to develop our intelligence? You can develop your intelligence through exercise. The main thing is that you need to conduct classes regularly.
Below are ways to develop intelligence:
- games and activities for the development of intelligence;
- reading educational books;
- recording and analysis of information;
- constant training.
Let's take a closer look at each method and consider additional information.
Mind games
During the course of any game, a person develops certain abilities. An excellent tool for training the brain, its concentration, attentiveness, as well as the ability to plan subsequent actions, are games of chess and backgammon. Thanks to the constant thought process, in addition to mental abilities, the ability to intuition also develops. There are also specialized online games for developing intelligence.
With Vikium you can organize intelligence training online according to an individual program
Games to improve memory and attention, puzzles
Another effective method is games for developing intelligence and spatial-logical thinking. Puzzle games include: assembling puzzles and Rubik's cubes, solving crossword puzzles, puzzles and riddles. Thus, we see that games for the development of intelligence in adults are very interesting and exciting.
Reading books
This method of development is accessible and powerful. By regularly reading educational books and not taking a long break between readings, you do not give your brain the opportunity to relax; the learning process is constantly going on, and as a result, it is constantly “growing.” It is worth noting that well-read people do not experience difficulties communicating on various topics.
Recording and analyzing information
The analysis of any information and various ideas should be done not orally, but in writing. Thus, information is better absorbed and remembered due to the activation of several parts of the brain at the same time. In addition, the concentration of text information increases significantly (3 times or more). The result is a deep synthesis of information followed by making the right decision.
Continuous learning
To feed your intellect, you need to come up with a completely new activity that you have not done before. You should devote a certain amount of time to this activity, thereby having a beneficial effect on brain activity.
A positive correlation has also been established between IQ and a person’s musical abilities. Start devoting time to studying music to further develop your abilities.
Lifestyle
Rest is important
If a person experiences a lack of sleep, then his body and brain cannot concentrate on anything, and therefore it dissipates. According to the results of the research, scientists were able to establish that fatigue contributes to a multiple decrease in a person’s IQ level. To activate your mental abilities before important events, you just need to go to bed earlier and spend more time sleeping.
Breaking standards
By changing daily monotonous, rote and automatic actions, we do not contribute to brain tension, since in such situations it works “automatically”, the cognitive process is reduced to a minimum. This suggests that you need to change your daily habits and behavior. Let's say, to activate brain activity and give impetus to a new connection between brain neurons, try opening doors with your eyes closed, rearranging furniture from one place to another, and changing your route from home to work and back.
Physical training
Thanks to physical activity, protein formation occurs in the human body (neurotropic factor of the brain). It is the protein that is responsible for the development of neurons, which are the basis of intellectual abilities.
Health-improving physical education will be useful not only for the brain, but also for the whole body.
There are many more factors that influence intelligence and ways to develop it. We have only touched on a few of them. We can definitely say: an active lifestyle and a healthy lifestyle will help you both in developing your intelligence and achieving your life goals.
The level of intellectual development, or IQ, is characterized by indicators of the brain. In order to calculate the value, you must pass a scientific test. It can be found on the Internet or in the relevant sections of books on increasing intelligence. IQ includes memory, logical thinking, perception (visual, auditory, olfactory), etc. The modern world leaves its mark on society. More and more people want to increase the coefficient, despite the possible difficulties. Let's consider effective methods in order.
Method number 1. Expand your horizons
- It is known that sedentary work has a negative impact on the functioning of internal organs and the spine. Likewise, keeping the brain at the same level affects intellectual development.
- Do not allow stagnation under any circumstances, strive to develop in every possible way. Set a goal that is to constantly strive for more. Have you been dreaming of a new car for a long time? Well, make a plan and start implementing your plans.
- Learn new information every day, visit literary and art exhibitions, museums, theaters. Start studying history or painting, become a specialist in one of the fields.
- Enroll in a drawing class or a music school, take cutting and sewing courses. For fashionistas, hairdressing, nail or eyelash extensions are suitable. For men, you can focus on automotive themes or electronics.
- The more knowledge you gain, the higher your IQ score will rise. A foreign language is considered an excellent option for self-development. New letters and sounds are quickly deposited in the brain, sending impulses for rapid perception. As a result, logical thinking increases, memory and perception of reality improves.
Method number 2. Watch
- An intelligent person is distinguished not only by his understanding of what is happening, but also by his ability to observe. As a result of such manipulations, logic develops. You find connections between random objects and draw conclusions based on what you see. Observation allows you to put together or, on the contrary, place random and deliberate events on the sides.
- Let's give a simple example: while walking along the sidewalk, you noticed how a car drove into the oncoming lane, resulting in a head-on collision. A typical person will pass by, chalking it up to coincidence. A smart person will act differently.
- If you stand back and observe, you can identify the factors that caused the accident. Perhaps there is an open hatch on the road or one of the drivers fell asleep at the wheel.
- Such aspects help to solve complex problems that may arise in the future. By developing mindfulness, you increase your intelligence level. It is worth focusing on art, music, astronomy, architecture, business, law, history and other “smart” sciences.
Method No. 3. Strive for more
- Always strive to be better than yesterday. The recommendation applies not only to the spiritual and material spheres. People who want to get rich are constantly looking for additional income.
- If you're in college or working a low-paying job, change what's happening. Believe in yourself, take advanced training courses, take a prestigious position. In the case of students, in addition to the institute scholarship, start working as a waiter or salesperson.
- It is important to involve yourself in different areas. If you work on a 2*2 schedule, you get about 15 days off per month. For the average person this is quite a lot, consider part-time vacancies. It is important that the two positions are opposite in type of activity.
- It is known that mental work is more tiring than physical work. If you spend 5 days a week in the office, make it a habit to hit the gym after work. This move will allow your brain to work 25% more efficiently, as a result of which important moments will emerge in your memory, be it a book you read or clippings from scientific literature.
- Set big goals, they are easier to hit. Many people believe that dreamers cannot achieve heights in their careers or personal lives. However, the situation is different. A dreamer does not set limits for himself; he always strives for more. Therefore, he regularly takes risks, after which he reaps the benefits of his own successes.
Method number 4. Change your perspective on familiar things
- Images and habits become firmly rooted in a person’s brain, as a result of which new ways of life are perceived “sceptically.” Simply put, if you are used to peeling potatoes a certain way, there is no point in changing anything, but in vain.
- The new is the well-forgotten old. Instead of driving to work/school along the usual road, cut the route in half or avoid the traffic jam by a different route. As a result of such manipulations, the brain will begin to literally think, drawing logical conclusions.
- If you take the usual route, you won’t notice all the potholes. The brain will not work because actions are performed at a subconscious level. Such manipulations significantly reduce intelligence (IQ).
- If you take notes in a notebook, transfer everything to electronic media. From now on, create notes in a text editor or Notepad application. It would seem simple things, but so effective. In addition to increasing IQ, manipulation helps to get rid of routine.
Method No. 5. Play sports
- Scientists have repeatedly proven the relationship between active physical activity and mental activity. Sport increases blood flow, as a result of which metabolic processes are significantly accelerated.
- If you do simple exercises every day, after a month your memory and perception will improve, your logical thinking and IQ level will increase.
- It is not necessary to visit the gym and work out “hardware”; aerobic exercise is better suited for these purposes. Do daily twenty-minute jogs in the park or work out on the treadmill (about 40 minutes), jump rope, do abs, squats, lunges, and hula hoops.
- Take a closer look at popular areas such as yoga (even tantra is suitable), swimming, Pilates (gymnastics through breathing exercises), stretching (stretching all muscle groups), water aerobics. Play basketball or football with your children, skiing/skating.
Method number 6. Read
- Perhaps reading is the most common way to increase the level of intellectual development. However, it is important to understand that only the “right” books are considered effective.
- Scientific literature is considered the best option. If you do not feel a craving for such works, give preference to fiction books. You can download any work online absolutely free of charge to your tablet or smartphone.
- This way you will improve not only your IQ, but also your visual memory. Reading also helps increase vocabulary, improves literacy, and develops logic. If possible, read books of all genres to become a well-rounded person.
- Before choosing literature, it is important to make sure that a particular book matches your level of intelligence. Works that are too easy will have a detrimental effect. You should take information from every page you read.
Method No. 7. Learn the art of self-expression
- Multifaceted individuals have a greater level of intellectual development than those who spend all day on the couch. If you consider yourself to be the latter type, it's time to correct the situation.
- Express yourself in any way you feel comfortable. Take an acting class or learn to play the piano. Speak in public, say toasts at every opportunity, become the life of the party. Interact with more people, you don't have to call everyone your friend.
- The human brain draws information not only from electronic media, books or reference books. In the process of communication, you take a piece of your opponent for yourself, starting to express yourself or think like your interlocutor.
- If you choose the right audience (environment), you can achieve heights, as they say, through other people's thoughts, views, ideas. In this way, your horizons expand much faster, you grow mentally and increase your IQ.
Method No. 8. Monitor your IQ
- To understand whether you are moving in the right direction, you need to take an IQ test at frequent intervals. The best option is to carry out manipulations once every 7-10 days, or more often.
- In this case, you need to write down the indicators in a notepad and then analyze the results. Weekly changes of 5-10 points are considered normal. It's good if you can achieve a greater effect.
- When choosing a test, pay attention to whether the site has a license. Pirated versions ask for confirmation via email, this is incorrect. Beware of scammers who offer to pay a fee in exchange for results.
It is difficult to increase the level of intellectual development, but the procedure cannot be called impossible. Expand your horizons, learn something new every day. Always strive for more, don't stand still. Learn to express yourself, play sports, check your IQ regularly.
Video: how to increase your child’s IQ
What is "Intelligence"?
First of all, let me explain what I mean when I say the word intelligence. To be clear, I'm not just talking about increasing the amount of facts or bits of knowledge you can accumulate, or what is called crystallized intelligence - this is not fluency or memorization training - in fact, it's almost the opposite. I'm talking about improving your fluid intelligence, or your ability to remember new information, retain it, then use that new knowledge as the basis for solving the next problem or learning another new skill, and so on.Now, while short-term memory is not synonymous with intelligence, it is very related to intelligence. To successfully make intellectual inferences, it is quite important to have a good short-term memory. So, to make the most of your intelligence, it's worth significantly improving your short-term memory - like using the best and most modern parts to help a machine perform at its highest level.
What can you learn from this? This study is significant because it found:
- Hypothetical intelligence can be trained.
- Training and subsequent success are dependent on dosage; the more you train, the more benefits you gain.
- Every person can develop their cognitive abilities, regardless of their starting level.
- Progress can be achieved by practicing on tasks that do not resemble questions on a test.
How can we put this research into practice and benefit from it?
There is a reason why the n-back task has been so successful in increasing cognitive abilities. This training involves dividing attention between competing stimuli, that is, multimodality (one visual stimulus, one auditory stimulus). This involves focusing on specific details while ignoring irrelevant information, and this helps improve short-term memory over time, gradually increasing the ability to process information effectively in multiple directions. In addition, the stimulus was constantly switched, in such a way that the phenomenon of “practicing test questions” never occurred - there was something new every time. If you've never taken the n-back test, let me tell you about it: it's very difficult. It is not surprising that such an activity has so many benefits for cognitive abilities.But let's think from a practical point of view.
Eventually, the cards in the deck or the sounds in the piece will run out (the experiment lasted 2 weeks), so it is not practical to think that if you want to continuously increase your intellectual abilities throughout your life, then one n-back will be enough. Besides, you will get tired of it and stop doing it. I'm sure I would do that. Not to mention the time you'll spend learning this way - we're all very busy all the time! So we need to think about how to model the same types of super-effective multimodal brain stimulation techniques that can be used in normal life and still get the maximum benefit in cognitive growth.
So, taking all this into account, I have developed five basic elements that will help in the development of fluid intelligence, or cognitive ability. As I noted, it is impractical to consistently perform the n-back task or variations of it every day for the rest of your life to reap cognitive benefits. But the practical thing is to make lifestyle changes that will provide the same—and even greater—benefit to cognitive abilities. This can be done every day to reap the benefits of intense whole-brain training, and should also translate into benefits for overall cognitive functioning.
These five basic principles are:
- Look for innovation
- Challenge yourself
- Think creatively
- Don't take the easy way out
- Stay online
Each of these points is a great thing in itself, but if you really want to function at the highest cognitive level possible, it is better to do all five points, and as often as possible. In fact, I live by these five principles. If you accept these as fundamental guiding principles, then I guarantee that you will make the most of your abilities, beyond even what you thought you were capable of - all without artificial enhancement. Great information: Science backs these principles up with data!
1. Look for innovation
It is not a coincidence that geniuses like Einstein were knowledgeable in many fields, or polymaths as we call them. Geniuses are constantly looking for new things to do, exploring new areas. This is their individuality.There is only one "Big Five" trait from the Five Factor Model of Personality (Acronym: ODEPR, or Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Irritability) that is associated with IQ, and that is the trait Openness to Experience. People who have a high level of Openness are constantly looking for new information, new activities, new things to learn - new experiences, in general.
When you are looking for innovation, several things happen. First of all, you create new synaptic connections with every new activity in which you participate. These connections build on each other, increasing the activity of the nervous system, creating more connections so that new connections are created on their basis - thus learning occurs.
An area of interest in recent research is neural plasticity as a factor in individual differences in intelligence. Plasticity refers to the number of connections made between neurons, how this affects subsequent connections, and how long lasting those connections are. This basically means how much new information you are able to take in, and whether you are able to retain it, making permanent changes in the brain. Constantly exposing yourself directly to new things helps put the brain in a prime state for learning.
Novelty also triggers the release of dopamine (I've mentioned this before in other posts), which is not only highly motivating, but also stimulates neurogenesis - the creation of new neurons - and prepares the brain for learning. All you have to do is satisfy your hunger.
Excellent condition for learning = New activity -> dopamine production -> promotes a more motivated state -> which promotes neuronal recruitment and creation -> neurogenesis can occur + increased synaptic plasticity (increased number of new neural connections, or learning).
As a follow-up to Jaeggi's study, researchers in Sweden found that after 14 hours of short-term memory training for 5 weeks, there was an increase in the amount of binding dopamine D1 potential in the prefrontal and parietal regions of the brain. This particular dopamine receptor, type D1, is associated with nerve cell growth and development, among other things. This increase in plasticity, by promoting greater consolidation of this receptor, is very beneficial in order to maximize cognitive functioning.
Follow the point at home: Be “Einstein.” Always look for new mental activities - expand your cognitive horizons. Learn the tool. Take a painting course. Go to a museum. Read about a new field of science. Be dependent on knowledge.
2. Challenge yourself
There is a huge amount of terrible work written and distributed about how to “train your brain” and “become smarter”. When I talk about "brain training games", I mean memory and speed games, the purpose of which is to increase the speed of information processing, etc.; This includes games such as Sudoku, which are recommended to be played in “free time” (complete the oxymoron, taking into account the development of cognitive abilities). I'm going to debunk some of the stuff you've previously heard about brain training games. I'll tell you what: They don't work. Personalized learning games don't make you smarter - they make you more proficient at learning brain games.So, they do have a goal, but the results won't last long. To gain anything from these types of cognitive activities, one must appeal to the first principle of seeking innovation. Once you master one of these cognitive activities in the brain training game, you must move on to the next stimulating activity. Do you understand how to play Sudoku? Great! Now move on to the next type of stimulating games. There has been research that supports this logic.
Several years ago, scientist Richard Haier wanted to know whether it was possible to significantly increase cognitive ability through intense training in new types of mental activity over a few weeks. They used the video game Tetris as a novel activity, and used people who had never played the game before as research subjects (I know, I know - can you believe people like that exist?!). They found that after training for several weeks on the Tetris game, study subjects experienced an increase in cortical thickness, as well as an increase in cortical activity, as evidenced by an increase in the amount of glucose used in that area of the brain. Basically, the brain used more energy during that training period, and became thicker—meaning more nerve connections, or new experiences learned—after such intense training. And they became experts in Tetris. Cool, yeah?
Here's the thing: After an initial dramatic cognitive boost, they noticed a decrease in both cortical thickness and the amount of glucose used during the task. However, they were still good at Tetris; their skill did not deteriorate. Brain scans showed less brain activity during the game, instead of an increase as in previous days. Why the decline? Their brains became more efficient. Once their brain figured out how to play Tetris and really started to get the hang of it, it became too lazy to do anything. He didn't have to work as hard to play the game well, so the cognitive energy and glucose went in a different direction.
Efficiency is not your friend when it comes to cognitive growth. In order for the brain to continue making new connections and keeping them active, you must continue to move on to other stimulating activities once you reach the peak of mastery in a particular activity. You want to be in a constant state of slight difficulty, struggling to achieve something, no matter what it is, as Einstein noted in his saying. This keeps the brain in limbo, so to speak. We will return to this issue later.
3. Think creatively
When I say that thinking creatively will help you improve your nervous system, I don't mean painting a picture, or doing something fancy, like in the first point, “Seek innovation.” When I talk about creative thinking, I mean direct creative cognition, and what it means while the process continues in the brain.Contrary to popular belief, creative thinking is not “right-brain thinking.” Both sides of the brain are involved here, not just the right. Creative cognition includes divergent thinking (a wide range of topics/subjects), the ability to make distant associations with ideas, switch between traditional and non-traditional perspectives (cognitive flexibility), and generating original, fresh ideas that are also relevant to the activity in which you are engaged. To do everything correctly, you need the right and left hemispheres to work simultaneously and together.
Several years ago, Dr. Robert Sternberg, former Dean of Tufts University, opened the PACE (Psychology of Ability, Competence and Excellence) Center in Boston. Sternberg tried not only to define the basic concept of intelligence, but also to find ways in which any person can maximize his intelligence through training, and especially through education in schools.
Here Sternberg describes the goals of the PACE Center, which was founded at Yale University:
“The core concept of the center is that abilities are not fixed, they are flexible, they can be changed, each person can transform his abilities into his competence, and his competence into mastery,” explains Sternberg. “Our focus is on how we can help people change their abilities so that they can more easily solve problems and cope with the situations they will encounter in life.”
Through his research, Project Rainbow, he developed not only innovative creative teaching methods in the classroom, but produced assessments that tested students in ways that required them to approach problems creatively and practically, as well as analytically, rather than simply memorizing facts .
Sternberg explains:
“In Project Rainbow we assessed creative, practical, as well as analytical abilities. A creative test could be, for example, like this: ‘Here is a cartoon. Give it a title.’ A practical assignment could be a film about a student who comes to a party, looks around, doesn’t know anyone, and obviously feels awkward. What should a student do?"
He wanted to see if teaching students to think creatively about assignments could make them learn more about a topic, enjoy learning more, and transfer what they learned to other areas of research. He wanted to see if, by changing teaching and assessment methods, he could prevent “teaching to pass” and get students to learn more in general. He collected information on this topic and still got good results.
Briefly? On average, students in the test group (those taught using creative methods) received higher final college course scores than the control group (those taught using traditional methods and assessment systems). But to make things fair, he gave the test group the same analytical type exam as the regular students (multiple choice test) and they also scored higher on that test. This means they were able to transfer the knowledge they learned using creative, multimodal learning methods and score higher on a completely different cognitive test on the same material. Does this remind you of anything?
4. Don't take the easy way out
I mentioned earlier that efficiency is not your friend if you are trying to increase your intelligence level. Unfortunately, many things in life are designed to increase efficiency. Thus, we do more with less time, physical and mental effort. However, this does not have a beneficial effect on your brain.Consider one modern convenience, GPS. GPS is an amazing invention. I am one of those people for whom GPS was invented. I'm terribly bad at navigating the terrain. I get lost all the time. Therefore, I thanked fate for the advent of GPS. But you know what? After using the GPS for a short time, I found that my sense of orientation became even worse. When I didn't have it at hand, I felt even more lost than before. So when I moved to Boston - the city where horror movies about lost people originate - I stopped using GPS.
I won’t lie – my suffering knew no bounds. My new job meant traveling all over the outskirts of Boston, and I was lost every day for at least 4 weeks. I was so often lost and wandering for who knows how long that I thought I would lose my job due to chronic tardiness (I was even complained about in writing). But over time, I began to find the right path thanks to the vast navigational experience that I acquired with only my brain and a map. I really began to sense where and what was in Boston thanks solely to logic and memory, and not GPS. I still remember how proud I was that I found the hotel in the city center where my friend was staying, based only on the name and description of the area - even without an address! I felt like I had graduated from a school of navigational education.
Technology makes our lives easier, faster, more efficient in many ways, but sometimes our cognitive abilities can suffer as a result of these kinds of simplifications and harm us in the future. Before everyone starts screaming and emailing my transhumanist friends about how I'm sinning against technology, I should warn you that that's not what I'm doing.
Look at it this way: when you go to work by car, it takes less physical effort, time, and is a more convenient and enjoyable way than walking. Everything seems to be fine. But if you only drive or spend your whole life on a Segway, even not for short distances, then you will not waste energy. Over time, your muscles will atrophy, your fitness will weaken, and you will likely gain extra weight. As a result, your general condition will worsen.
Your brain needs exercise too. If you stop using your problem-solving skills, your logical, cognitive abilities, then how will your brain always be in better shape, let alone improve your mental abilities? Consider that if you constantly rely only on useful modern conveniences, your skills in a particular area may suffer. For example, translator programs: wonderful, but my knowledge of languages noticeably deteriorated as soon as I started using them. Now I force myself to think about a translation before I know the right one. The same applies to spell checking and automatic correction. In truth, automatic correction is the worst thing ever invented to improve your thinking process. You know that the computer will find and correct your mistakes, so you continue typing without even thinking about it. How to spell this or that word correctly. As a result, after a few years of stable autocorrect and automatic spell checking, are we the world's most illiterate nation? (I wish someone would do some research on this.)
There are times when the use of technology is justified and necessary. But there are times when it's better to say no to shortcuts and use your brain while you have the luxury of time and energy. To keep yourself in good physical shape, it is recommended to walk to work as often as possible or take the stairs instead of the elevator several times a week. Don't you want to keep your brain fit too? Put your GPS aside every now and then and do your navigation and problem-solving skills a favor. Keep it handy, but try to find everything yourself first. Your brain will thank you for this.
5. Be online
And now we come to the last element on the path to increasing your cognitive potential: a computer network. What's great about this last setup is that if you're doing the previous four things, you're probably already doing this one. If not, then start. Immediately.By interacting with other people, either through social networks such as Facebook or Twitter, or face-to-face, you expose yourself to situations that will make it much easier for you to achieve goals 1-4. By encountering new people, ideas, and new environments, you open yourself up to new opportunities for mental growth. Being around people who may not be in your field can help you see problems from a new perspective or discover new solutions you've never thought of before. Connecting with other people online is a great way to learn how to open yourself up to new things and absorb unique and meaningful information. I won't even get into the social benefits and emotional well-being that a computer network brings, but it's just an added benefit.
Steven Johnson, who wrote How Good Ideas Are Made, discusses the importance of groups and networks in promoting ideas. If you are looking for new situations, ideas, environments and perspectives, then the network is the answer for you. It would be quite difficult to implement the smarter concept without making the network a core component. The great thing about computer networks: It benefits everyone involved. Collective intelligence for victory!
There's one more thing I need to mention...
Remember at the beginning of this article I told a story about my clients with autism spectrum disorders? Let's think for a moment about how to increase the level of flexibility in your intelligence in light of everything we've already talked about. What can these kids achieve at such a high level? This is not a coincidence or a miracle - it is because we took into account all these training principles in their therapy program. While most other therapy providers are stuck with the Errorless Learning paradigm and slightly modified Lovaas Methods of Applied Behavior Analysis, we have embraced and fully embraced a multimodal approach to training. We pushed the kids to try their best to learn, we used the most creative methods we could think of, and we dared to set the bar seemingly well above their abilities. But you know what? They transcended time frames and made me truly believe that amazing things are possible if you have enough will, courage and persistence to set yourself on that path and stick with it. If these children with disabilities can live while continually improving their cognitive abilities, so can you.
My parting question is this: If we have all this supporting data showing that these teaching methods and approaches to learning can have such profound positive effects on cognitive growth, why don't therapy programs or school systems take advantage of some of these methods? I would like to see them as the standard in training rather than the exception. Let's try something new and shake up the education system a little? We would raise our collective IQ significantly.
Intelligence is not just how many levels of math you have completed, how quickly you can solve an algorithm, or how many new words with more than 6 characters you know. It's about approaching a new problem, recognizing its important components, and solving it. Then take what you have learned and apply it to solve the next, more complex problem. It's about innovation and imagination and being able to use it to make the world a better place. It is this type of intelligence that is valuable, and it is this type of intelligence that we should strive for and encourage.
About the author: Andrea Kuszewski is a behavioral therapist for children with autism based in Florida; specialist in Asperger's syndrome, or high-functioning autism. She teaches the basics of behavior in society, communication, as well as the impact of behavior on the home and society, training children and parents in therapy methods. Andrea's work as a researcher with , the US branch of the Social Science Research Group METODO Transdisciplinary, Bogota, Colombia, explores the influence of neuro-cognitive factors in human behavior - this includes aspects such as creativity, intelligence, illegal behavior, and diffuse confusion disorders such as schizophrenia and autism. Also a creativity researcher, she is a painter herself and has studied various types of visual communication, ranging from traditional drawing to digital painting, graphic design, and 3D modeling, animation, health sciences and behavioral science. She blogs at The Rogue Neuron and on Twitter
