How to develop mentally every day. Who can benefit from the development of intellectual abilities? How you can put this research into practice and benefit from it

17.07.2019

We caught ourselves thinking that after extraordinary drunken evenings, as well as endless idleness, which is accompanied by the stupidest actions in our life, we are frankly dumb. Seriously, they were so smart at the age of 18, and now the IQ is clearly reduced to the level of the plinth. Why is this happening? And how, finally, can you become wiser, or return yourself to your previous "acutely intellectual" state?

Let's be honest: we have no idea what to do about it. We're not fucking specialists. But we have one sidekick who is fumbling in neuropsychology. Sharit because he is a neuropsychologist himself. And his name is Nikolai Frantsuzov. He works as an expert in the scientific department - this is a site that is designed to pump your intellectual abilities using various scientific methods. Moreover, the service is equally effective not only for you, but also for children or elderly people. With it, you can easily increase your efficiency, keep your brain in good shape throughout the day, and also forget about mistakes at work.

The Wikium technique itself is aimed at increasing the number of synapses - contacts between two neurons that are responsible for the flexibility of the mind, memory, creativity, and talent.

Never think that you are too dumb for anything

A person does not have an innate form of behavior in the environment. Its development occurs through the appropriation of historically developed forms and methods of activity. Thus, the development of generalizations is based not on communication of a linguistic type, but on the direct practical activity of the subject. As a result, a person is capable of intellectual activity throughout his life.

How often do you say to yourself something like, "I'm too stupid for this!" It seems to us that this is happening all the time, but it’s not your brain. If you are healthy, then your opportunities for development are exactly the same as those of other people. But it must be remembered that one cannot become intelligent or more adapted to life only through a passive existence. On the contrary, you must actively dig into the learning process, constantly try something in practice, and not just in theory. If you do this, you will become a really smart guy.

Monitor your health

In our modern world, a person is under the influence of various harmful factors that have a negative impact on him. For example, harmful ecology and various diseases, a low amount of oxygen and insufficient physical activity, an increased level of stress and anxiety, physical stress and disturbed sleep, monotonous activity and constant information noise. And the list goes on. All this leads to a decrease in mental and creative activity, especially in professional activities. It is known that temporary (conditioned) neural connections that are formed in the cerebral cortex can persist for many years and decades. If reinforced from time to time, or renewed, these connections can be valid throughout life.

Yes, you hardly thought that you would see this advice here, but without it, nowhere. Your brain is, damn it, an organ that needs to be kept in order. He is connected with the whole body. Of course, if you start up the body, thump wildly or get nervous, destroying your neural connections, then the brain will work poorly. Have you ever seen an academician drunk? No, drunks can only be writers, and even then, this statement is a stretch. In general, do you want to catch everything on the fly? Play sports, eat the right food, stop worrying about the little things, get rid of bad habits.

However, it is worth remembering that physical strength has little effect on the development of intelligence, despite the fact that a person's mental abilities directly depend on physiological characteristics. E.P. Bebrish cites data that in terms of the development of physical strength, mentally retarded children are not inferior to normal schoolchildren. There are also many examples of people whose outstanding intellectual abilities are in no way associated with the presence of physical strength: Stephen Hawking, Chopin, Toulouse-Lautrec, Terence Tao, etc.

Instead of absorbing information, develop a systematic approach

Consistency, organization in memorization is the most important condition in the development of memory. It is necessary to strive for a system of knowledge, and not for a simple accumulation of facts.

Here we will quote again from our expert who detailed several simple yet effective exercises for developing systems thinking. Such thinking, in turn, will help you to properly handle the huge flows of information that surround us today.

1. “Exclude from use for a while one or more cognitive senses. Try blindfolded eating, showering with your eyes closed, or plugging your ears while doing normal activities.

Such an exclusion will contribute not only to the development of other cognitive functions and, accordingly, to the consolidation of already created working neural connections, but also to the formation of the imagery of what is happening. Also, the construction of logic between these images, which in turn will have a beneficial effect on the development of visual-figurative thinking. "

2. “The development of ambidexterity would be a great method. That is, use your non-dominant hand in various activities, for example: brushing your teeth in the morning, combing or using a computer mouse. Try writing a short text with both hands at the same time, or swap the knife and fork while using them for a meal. This method promotes the development of neural connections in new areas and the activation of the brain, which in turn has a positive effect on memory functioning. "

3. “It is necessary to train observation. For example, during the whole day, pay attention only to the green color, or to a car of a certain model from the general stream, come up with a topic and focus on it. Thus, you will develop certain properties of the function of attention and memory (concentration, selectivity, distribution, switching, short-term memorization). "

4. “Read and write as much as possible. After you've read or learned something, try writing it down at least once, if you have time for it. Writing down once is like reading twice and organizing everything in your head. "

5. “In addition, make the material intended for memorization accessible to you, that is, if it is easier for you to memorize with the help of visual memory, then organize the necessary material in graphic form. The systematic organization of all the information that you are trying to remember will be important. Write down the necessary facts and establish semantic connections between them, remembering which you will see the whole picture. "

And if you want to test your intelligence, before you start training it, then turn to classic puzzles like Rubik's Cube, Tangram, etc. You can also try to solve several creative problems such as the problem of Karl Dunker or Sam Glaxberg. In the world there is not only an IQ test, as you already understood.

Read, read, read

When reading, we reason more in order to understand this or that idea of the work, and present many details: characters, their clothes, surrounding objects. There are also many things to remember that are needed to understand the work. This trains memory and logic. Creative people can generate several great ideas at once. Where can you get them from? From books.

Now do you understand why BroDude makes you read? We just want you to get smarter, friend. And we think that you need to read different literature. Popular science books are not the only ones that improve your intelligence. Fiction, especially of a high level, also helps to develop a personality. The books contain a lot of ideas that can later be put into practice - it is foolish not to use them. In addition, books help to look at the world more objectively. With the help of them, you will be able to make informed decisions.

And we have not described all the benefits. Nikolay Frantsuzov, our expert, if you have forgotten, says the following: “When reading direct speech, parts of the auditory cortex are activated in the brain. The connection of the auditory cortex when reading direct speech also determines its more vivid effect: it is easier for the brain to imagine what is being said "in the first person." Most likely, the same vocal areas of the auditory cortex are also involved in the work of the inner voice - for example, in imaginary dialogues.

An intelligent person is always pleasant in communication, easily achieves his goals and achieves success. Anyone would like to have (IQ), but the brain cannot develop on its own. This requires a lot of effort, as well as spending a large number of time. There are many ways to get smarter and improve your intelligence.

Education

The development of mental abilities is most effectively achieved through training. With regular training in this way, a person can become smarter and more erudite, thanks to which he will be a more attractive interlocutor for others. There are several options for achieving a goal through training.

Foreign languages

Learning foreign languages provides good brain stimulation and also helps to improve memory. It is enough to learn one additional language to feel the positive changes. It is recommended to give preference to common and useful languages:

English;
German;
Spanish;
Italian.

It is advisable to conduct training using all modern methods, which will increase the effectiveness of the study.

Exact sciences

Studying the exact sciences can seriously develop the mind. Even humanities scholars need to study them. The main thing is to start at the right level, gradually increasing the complexity of the topics being studied. You can study the exact sciences at home on your own, but there are special courses where people are united in groups according to the level of their knowledge. After several weeks of training, intelligence will increase, the speed of thinking will develop, logic will improve, and memory will strengthen.

Curiosity

Taking an interest in the world around us is one of the best ways to develop your brain. In children and adolescents, this happens on a subconscious level, and adults will have to use willpower for curiosity to bear fruit. The easiest way to get benefits is by interacting with all the objects around you, regularly learning new skills, reading helpful articles, encyclopedias, listening to good music, or watching movies.

When studying serious materials, you should give preference to trusted sources. Therefore, it is recommended to use textbooks or research papers.

Hobbies

The right hobbies are the key to success. But can they increase intelligence? If you choose useful hobbies, then the brain will gradually develop, making a person smarter. Therefore, it is worth throwing useless hobbies out of your life, replacing them with more suitable ones.

Reading of books

It will be possible to increase your own intelligence at home with the help of literature. People who regularly read books have good erudition, a large vocabulary and a developed brain. This is the best way to avoid developing into old age. It is enough to read 30 minutes a day to achieve the result. To increase efficiency, it is recommended to make reading as varied as possible, while the list must include classic novels, as well as books on self-development.

Magazines (preferably popular science);
Newspapers.

Once reading becomes a habit, becoming a daily activity, it is worth trying various techniques aimed at developing the skill. To do this, you can try to increase the speed of running your eyes through the text, highlight important information, and independently answer questions after reading.

Playing a musical instrument

Music is very beneficial for the human brain and psyche. If the significance of its influence on the mind when listening is in question and has not yet been proven, then independent playing of musical instruments brings guaranteed benefits. This was proven by Schellenberg in 2004, when he conducted appropriate tests that proved to increase the intelligence of those who practice music. It is recommended to give preference to classical instruments: violin, piano.

Writing

Writing new short stories regularly is a good way to develop your brain. When the skill level is increased to a high level, you can try to write a full-fledged book. For training, specific short ideas are perfect, from which it will turn out to develop a story. The main thing is to avoid platitudes.

All hobbies will allow you to achieve special attention to yourself from others, as well as make new useful contacts.

Exercises

Intentional training, performing special exercises, solving puzzles will improve the quality of memorizing information, as well as improve brain activity. As in previous cases, you need to improve these methods to achieve the goal on a regular basis.

Puzzles, tasks, games

Developmental games or tasks promote brain development. With regular training, a person will be able to improve many indicators related to mental abilities. A special effect will be exerted on memory and brain speed. Suitable for classes:

Chess, checkers;
Crosswords, Sudoku;
Puzzles, riddles.

All of these options are applicable for both children and adults. Among the puzzles there are a huge number of options designed for different age categories, which allows you to choose the most suitable puzzles for yourself.

Analysis

It is very important for any person to be alone at times. At such moments, you need to get distracted from everything that happens and immerse yourself in your thoughts. Analyzing past events, pondering the future, thinking about something important - all this allows you to increase your level of intelligence. Additionally, it is recommended to question everything that happens, pondering the reasons for any events.

For maximum effect, you can download any dedicated mobile application. It will work out to train mindfulness, memory and the brain as a whole.

Lifestyle

The most important factor, without which an increase in intelligence is impossible, is a person's lifestyle. If it is wrong, then it will be very difficult to develop the brain, and it will not be possible to acquire a strong mind. Therefore, you should pay attention to your lifestyle, change it if necessary, and only then engage in the development of reason and erudition.

Sleep quality

Lack of sleep or poor quality sleep has a direct impact on a person's life. Lack of sleep leads to decreased brain activity, impaired memory and alertness. Good sleep is essential for achieving your goals in life, as well as developing your brain. What do you need:

Go to bed before 00:00;
Get up no later than 08:00;
Sleep duration - at least 8 hours;
Small breaks to sleep during the day.

This even applies to weekends. If you break the regime once a week, then the body will experience unnecessary stress.

Physical activity

During outdoor walks and active sports, the brain receives a large amount of oxygen, which is necessary for proper blood circulation and the ability to think clearly. A person involved in sports is calmer, more judicious, easily copes with difficulties. The following types of physical activity are great:

Walking;
Sports or Scandinavian walking;
Yoga;

People who go in for sports are much more likely to realize themselves in life and achieve success.

Bad habits

If you have bad habits, then you will not be able to achieve high intelligence. Regular consumption of alcohol or smoking significantly slows down all processes in the human brain, which becomes critical for the development of the mind. Nicotine with alcohol penetrates into the bloodstream, which is why such a negative effect occurs. It is no less harmful to watch TV programs for hours or play computer games that do not require serious use of the intellect. You need to expand your mental abilities only after giving up bad habits.

Communication

The right environment will tell you how to increase your intelligence. Therefore, you need to try to communicate only with smart and educated people, while trying to become better than them. Good people always pull up, and bad people pull down. Therefore, the issue of communication and environment is very important for a person who wants to achieve the development of the mind. There should always be people around who have a more developed intellect. They will help you stretch for the better.

Rest allows the brain to relax and prepare for work, training, new challenges. It has a beneficial effect on brain activity, the ability to improve intelligence and enhance memory. It is enough to practice meditation for 20 minutes daily to achieve success in developing the mind. A person will see additional benefits in ordering thoughts, clearing the mind, increasing creative skills. The triggering of this effect occurs after a few days of meditation.

A correct lifestyle not only makes it possible to broaden horizons and improve the quality of intelligence, but also gives a person good health for many years.

Nutrition

Proper nutrition provides a person with good health, good mood and a clear mind. How to increase intelligence with its help: eat healthy foods, include health supplements and folk remedies in the diet. This is necessary for the brain to begin to develop if a person already leads a healthy lifestyle, takes care of himself and trains the mind.

The diet

A properly formulated diet is extremely important for people seeking brain development. It is recommended to pay special attention to the following products:

Walnuts - lecithin has a positive effect on the brain, which increases the speed of intellectual activity and strengthens memory;
Fish - iodine and omega-3 are responsible for the rate of energy flow to the brain, regulation of cholesterol levels, normalization of vascular function;
Pumpkin seeds - they affect the speed of processing the information perceived by the brain, as well as memorization;
Spinach - Lutein slows down the aging process, which improves learning.

It is enough to include any of the listed products in the diet to feel their influence within a week. At the same time, it is important to exclude from the menu all junk food that could have a negative effect on the body.

Medical Supplements

Special preparations, which are presented in the form of food supplements, have a serious impact on the quality of brain activity. In search of an answer to the question of how to improve your intelligence, you need to think about purchasing the following tools.

The makings of intelligence are given to us at birth, the habit of using mental abilities is instilled by parents and teachers, and the desire for the development of intelligence depends on each individual.

Modern science says that a person's thinking abilities are 50% dependent on a genetic factor, that is, half of the potential of intelligence is laid by parents - this is a type of character, a set of neurons, neurotransmitters. At the age of 5, a child has already formed a set of neurons and connections between them, most of which will remain with him for life. And then a lot depends on how his parents will develop him, and when he grows up - he himself.

The goal of many people who wish is to fully realize their inherent abilities, their potential. And the surest way to achieve this goal is to keep working on improving your intelligence. Anyone who will actively work on the development of their thinking abilities will be able to radically change themselves intellectually in a year.

So how do you get your brain to work at its fullest? Indeed, in our world, where competition reigns, it is not the strongest who wins, but the most intelligent, enterprising and resourceful.

Improving your mental abilities is not a problem - there would be desire and patience. Of course, the second, or we are unlikely to become - these are exceptional individuals-nuggets. But by engaging in self-development, we will make sure that our brain has such capabilities that we did not even know about.

Of course, many people would like to become a genius easily and quickly, without spending much effort. Now there are many books on the development of thinking abilities, for example Stanislav Müller “Become a genius! Secrets of Super Thinking "from the series" Your Own Psychologist ", but most people are too lazy to even read them.

For them, the way out would be a magic pill like the one that, by chance, went to the protagonist of the American film Fields of Darkness (2011) with Bradley Cooper in the title role. With this pill, the brain of a failed New York writer starts to work with incredible power, and the depressed hero turns into a genius stock player with great prospects. But without a pill, he is nothing. Plus, the wonderful brain-boosting pills have been found to have serious side effects.

Although the hero finds a way out of the difficult situation in which he found himself, we better use common sense and engage in exercises to develop intelligence. For the brain to work, it needs to be loaded, but the exercises should be interesting, not monotonous. Otherwise, we will subconsciously avoid them while practicing. And exercises will only give results when they become a habit.

What is IQ

In 1912, the German psychologist Wilhelm Stern introduced the concept of "intelligence quotient" - IQ. It is determined using various tests with tasks of increasing complexity. The mean is 100. A value of 70 qualifies as mental retardation.

Intelligence does not mean the amount of knowledge accumulated by a person, but his ability to memorize and analyze new information, as well as be able to use it to solve subsequent problems.

American Andrea Kuszewski is a consultant physician and behavioral therapy specialist. She works with children with autism who have cognitive impairments. One of her first patients was a boy with mental retardation: his IQ was indicative of minor mental retardation. After three years of teaching reading, mathematics, playing skills, communication according to the method she developed, his IQ was 100. The same success in the development of intelligence was observed in other children with cognitive disorders with whom the classes were conducted.

Consequently, if children with learning disabilities can develop rapidly, then the average person who does not have such problems, as they say, has cards in hand.

Andrea Kuszewski made the following conclusions:

intelligence is trainable;
the more you train him, the better the result will be;
to develop intelligence within the power of everyone, regardless of the level of his initial abilities.

We develop mental abilities

1. Looking for innovations

All geniuses are usually erudites - people with great knowledge in many areas of life. For example, he was not only a talented artist, but also a writer, musician, scientist and inventor.

People who seek to develop their intelligence should be open to everything new: knowledge, activities, events. After all, each new activity contributes to the formation of new connections - synapses that connect one neuron with the rest and through which they exchange impulses.

The production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter hormone that stimulates the formation of new neurons and promotes increased motivation, also directly depends on the innovations that trigger this process.

Anyone who wants to have a high IQ should not think that after graduating from a university, you can forget about studies forever, because this is a direct path to degradation. Therefore, we do not stop looking for new food for the mind: we study new sciences, new languages, enroll in courses - for example, painting, playing the guitar, Latin American dances, doing a new sport, going on a journey for new experiences.

The value for the development of thinking abilities is not so much the knowledge itself, but the learning process itself.

2. Challenge ourselves

A lot has been said about the benefits of educational games for the brain, training memory and concentration: poker, preference, chess, backgammon, computer games like Tetris, Sudoku.

True, psychologists dealing with the development of intelligence advise, having achieved mastery in one game, proceed to the next. After all, the brain, having understood how to play, for example, begins to be lazy, while new synaptic connections are no longer formed so actively. In order for the brain to be loaded and continue to work hard, you need to constantly keep it in a state of some difficulty.

3. Learning to think creatively

3.1. , the ability to create original ideas and think outside the box.

For example, we take a certain problem and find from 10 to 20 ways to solve it, especially without limiting our imagination. So,

we were caught in the street by heavy rain, there is no umbrella, it is far from home, and the rain, most likely, for a long time;
we are in a hurry to an important meeting, and our heel suddenly breaks;
a wallet with money and credit cards disappeared, and we are in a strange city;
we were invited to a party where we do not know anyone except the hostess, who was urgently called to work;

3.2. After watching a movie we come up with our own name;

3.3. We open any book and write out 10 words taken at random from it. And now we will try to find a connection between them and make a short story out of them out of 10 sentences;

3.4. Imagine ourselves as an architect, before which the customer set the task to design the house. The house is not simple: the project should reflect 10 words invented by the customer: fish, walnut, brick, cat, water, etc. pond, etc .;

3.5. We choose any item you like located in the room, and select 5 adjectives that correspond to it the most. For example, orange is juicy, Spanish, orange, tasty, sweet. And 5 adjectives that suit him the least: feline, harsh, shawl, grassy, cloudy;

3.6. On a piece of paper draw 20 crosses and on the basis of each of them we depict an object that tells us our imagination: for example, a mill, a saucepan, a dragonfly, a chessboard. Instead of crosses as a template for future pictures, you can draw circles or two perpendicular lines.

4. We are not looking for easy ways

Progress makes many tasks easier for us, but our brains, without stress, relax at the same time. Take, for example, thanks to which we have successfully forgotten how to perform even the simplest arithmetic operations in the head or on paper.

Or GPS to help you navigate the terrain. Accustomed to it, over time, they find that they are no longer able to do without it, so much they have lost their own sense of orientation.

They are created to help us and, which at the same time worsen our knowledge of languages, since they deprive the brain of the opportunity to practice in them.

Technology makes life easier, but cognitive performance suffers as the brain needs training. Of course, you don’t need to give up the benefits of civilization and the products of modern technology, but sometimes it’s worth giving your brain work to keep it in good shape.

What is Intellect?

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 that you can accumulate, or what is called crystallized intelligence is not fluency training or memorization - in fact, it is practically the opposite. I'm talking about improving your fluid intelligence, or your ability to memorize new information, store it, then use that new knowledge as a 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 has a lot to do with intelligence. It is important to have a good short-term memory in order to successfully draw an intelligent inference. So, to make the most of the intelligence, it is worth significantly improving short-term memory - like using the very best and most modern parts to help the mechanism perform at its highest level.

What can you learn from this for yourself? This study is significant because it found:

Hypothetical intelligence can be trained.
The training and subsequent success depends on the dosage, the more you exercise, the more benefit you get.
Everyone can develop their cognitive abilities, regardless of the starting level.
Progress can be achieved by exercising on assignments that do not resemble test questions.

How can you 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 ability. This training involves the division of attention between competing stimuli, that is, multimodality (one visual stimulus, one auditory). Here you need to focus on certain details, ignoring inappropriate information, and this helps to improve short-term memory over time, gradually increasing the ability to perceive information effectively in several directions. In addition, the stimulus was constantly switched, in such a way that the phenomenon of "training on test questions" never occurred - each time there was something new. If you've never taken an n-back test, let me tell you about it: it's very difficult. Not surprisingly, there are so many cognitive benefits to doing this.

But let's think from a practical point of view.
Ultimately, the cards in the deck or 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. Not to mention the time you will spend learning this way - we are all very busy all the time! Thus, we should consider how to model the same types of super-effective multimodal brain stimulation techniques that can be used in normal life, while still maximizing the benefits of increasing cognitive thinking.

So, with all this in mind, 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 do an n-back task, or variations of it, every day for the rest of your life in order to benefit from cognitive performance. But it’s practical to make lifestyle changes that have the same — and even greater, cognitive benefit. This can be done every day to benefit from intense all-brain training, and it should also go in favor of full cognitive functioning.

These five basic principles are:

Look for innovation
Challenge yourself
Think creatively
Don't go the easy way
Be online

Each of these points is already a great thing in itself, but if you really want to function at the highest cognitive level possible, it is best to do all five points, and as often as possible. In fact, I live by these five principles. If you accept these as fundamental guidelines, then I guarantee that you will make the most of your abilities, surpassing even what you thought you were capable of - all without artificial enhancement. Great info: Science confirms these principles with data!

1. Look for innovation

It is no coincidence that geniuses like Einstein were knowledgeable in many areas, or were polymaths, as we call them. Geniuses are constantly looking for new things to do, exploring new areas. This is their personality.

There is only one trait from the Great Five of the Five Factor Model of Personality (Acronym: ODEPR, or Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Pleasantness, and Irritability) that is related to IQ, and this is the Trait of Openness to new experiences. People who have a high level of Openness are constantly looking for new information, new activities, new things that can be learned - new events in general.

When you are looking for innovation, several things happen. First of all, you create new synaptic connections with each new activity in which you participate. These connections are based 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 intelligence differences. Plasticity refers to the number of connections made between neurons, and how this affects subsequent connections, and how long those connections are. Basically, this means how much new information you are able to receive, and whether you are able to store it, making permanent changes in the brain. Constantly exposing oneself directly to new things helps to put the brain in its original state for learning.

The innovations also trigger the release of dopamine (I mentioned this earlier in other posts), which not only strongly motivates, but also stimulates neurogenesis - the creation of new neurons - and prepares the brain to learn. All you have to do is satisfy your hunger.

Excellent condition for learning = New activity -> dopamine production -> promotes a more motivated state -> which promotes recruitment and creation of neurons -> neurogenesis can occur + an increase in synaptic plasticity (an increase in the number of new neural connections, or learning).

As a follow-up to Jaggy'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 dopamine D1 binding 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 anchoring of this receptor, is very beneficial in order to maximize cognitive functioning.

Do the point at home: Be "Einstein". Always look for new activities for the mind - expand your cognitive horizons. Explore the tool. Take a painting course. Go to the museum. Read about a new field of science. Be addicted to knowledge.

2. Challenge yourself

There is a tremendous amount of terrible work written and circulated about how to "train the brain" and "get 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 advised to play in "free time" (finish the oxymoron, considering the development of cognitive abilities). I'm going to debunk some of the stuff you've heard about educational brain games earlier. Here's what I'll tell you: They don't work. Solo learning games don't make you smarter - they make you more proficient in learning brain games.

So, they do have a goal, but the result will not last long. To get something from these types of cognitive activity, you need to turn to the first principle of finding innovation. Once you have mastered one of these cognitive activities in the brain training game, you should move on to the next stimulating activity. Do you understand how to play Sudoku? Fine! Now move on to the next type of challenging play. Research has been conducted that supports this logic.

A few years ago, scientist Richard Hayer wanted to know if it was possible to significantly increase cognitive ability through intense training on new mental activities in a few weeks. They used the video game Tetris as a new activity, and used people who had never played the game before as objects of research (I know, I know - can you imagine such people exist ?!). They found that after training for several weeks at the Tetris game, the subjects of the study showed an increase in cortical thickness, as well as an increase in the activity of the cerebral cortex, which was confirmed by an increase in the amount of glucose used in that region of the brain. Basically, the brain used up more energy during that training period and got thicker - that means more neural connections, or new learning experiences - after such intense training. And they became experts at Tetris. Cool, yeah?

Here's the thing: After an initial spike in cognitive growth, they noticed a decrease in both cortical thickness and the amount of glucose used during the task. However, they still played Tetris just as well; their skill did not deteriorate. Brain scans showed less brain activity while playing, instead of increasing it as in previous days. Why decline? Their brains have become more efficient. Once their brains figured out how to play Tetris, and really started to understand it, they became too lazy to do something. He didn’t have to work that hard to play the game well, so cognitive energy and glucose went in the other direction.

Efficiency is no help when it comes to cognitive growth. In order for the brain to keep making new connections and keeping them active, you must continue to move on to other stimulating activities as soon as you reach the peak of mastery in a particular activity. You want to be in a constant state of little difficulty, struggling to achieve something, no matter what it is, as Einstein noted in his statement. It keeps the brain in limbo, so to speak. We will come back to this issue later.

3. Think creatively

When I say that thinking creatively will help you improve your nervous system, I do not mean painting a picture, or doing something pretentious, such as, for example, in the first paragraph "Look for 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 "thinking with the right side of the brain." Both halves of the brain are involved, not just the right one. Creative cognition includes divergent thinking (a wide range of topics / subjects), the ability to find distant associations with ideas, switch between traditional and non-traditional perspectives (cognitive flexibility), and the creation of original, fresh ideas that are also consistent with the activity you are doing. To do everything right, 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 (The 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 anyone can maximize their intelligence through training, and especially through teaching in schools.

Here Sternberg describes the goals of the PACE Center, which was founded at Yale University:
“The main concept of the center is that abilities are not fixed, they are flexible, they can be changed, each person can transform their abilities into their own competence, and competence into mastery,” explains Sternberg. “We pay special attention to the question of how we can help people change their abilities so that it is easier for them to solve tasks and cope with the situations that they will face in life.”

Through his research, Project Rainbow, he not only developed innovative methods of creative classroom learning, but produced evaluations that tested students in such a way that they had to approach problem-solving in a creative and practical, and analytical way, instead of just memorizing facts. ...

Sternberg explains:
“In Project Rainbow, we appreciated the creative, practical, and analytical skills. The creative test could be, for example: 'Here's a cartoon. Give it a name 'The practice assignment might be a movie about a student who comes to a party, looks around, doesn't know anyone, and obviously feels uncomfortable. What should a student do? "

He wanted to understand if, by teaching students to perceive tasks from a creative point of view, make them learn more about the topic, get more pleasure from learning, and transfer the knowledge gained to other areas of scientific activity. He wanted to see if changing teaching and assessment methods could prevent “learning to take tests” and get students to learn more in general. He collected information on this topic and still got good results.

In short? On average, students in the test group (those who were taught using creative methods) scored higher final college grades than the control group (which was taught using traditional methods and grading systems). But, in order for everything to be fair - he gave the test group the same analytical type exam as the regular students (a test in which there are multiple answers), and they also received higher scores on this test. This means that they were able to transfer the knowledge they gained using creative, multimodal teaching methods, and scored more on a completely different cognitive test on the same material. Does it remind you of anything?

4. Don't take the easy route

I mentioned earlier that efficiency is not your friend if you are trying to improve your IQ. Unfortunately, many things in life are geared towards increasing efficiency. Thus, we do more with less time, physical and mental effort. However, this does not have a beneficial effect on your brain.

Take one object of modern convenience, GPS. GPS is an amazing invention. I am one of those people for whom GPS was invented. I am terribly bad at finding my bearings. I get lost all the time. Therefore, I thanked fate for the emergence of GPS. But you know what? After using GPS for a short time, I found that my sense of direction was even worse. When he was not at my fingertips, I felt even more lost than before. So when I moved to Boston, the city where horror movies about the lost originated from, I stopped using GPS.

I will not lie - there was no limit to my suffering. My new job involved traveling all over the Boston suburbs, and I was lost every day for at least 4 weeks. I got lost and wandered so often that I thought I would lose my job due to chronic delays (I was even complained about in writing). But over time, I began to find the right path thanks to the enormous navigational experience that I gained with only my brain and a map. I really began to feel where and what is in Boston thanks solely to logic and memory, not GPS. I still remember how proud I was that I found the hotel in the city center where my friend was staying, starting only from the name and description of the area - even without an address! I felt as if I had graduated from a school of navigation education.

Technology in many ways makes our life easier, faster, more efficient, but sometimes our cognitive abilities can suffer as a result of this kind of simplification and harm us in the future. Before everyone starts yelling and emailing my transhumanist friends that I am sinning against technology, I must warn you that this is not what I am doing.

Look at it this way: when you go to work by car, it takes less physical effort, less time, and this is a more convenient and enjoyable way than walking. Everything seems to be good. But if you only drive or spend your whole life on a segway, not even short distances, then you will not waste energy. Over time, your muscles will atrophy, your physical condition will weaken, and you are likely to gain excess 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 the fact that if you consistently rely only on useful modern conveniences, your skills in a certain area may suffer. For example, translation software: great, but my language skills deteriorated noticeably as soon as I started using them. Now I force myself to think about the translation before I know the correct one. The same goes for spell check and auto-correction. In truth, automatic correction is the worst thing that has been invented to improve the thought process. You know that the computer will find and correct your mistakes, so you keep typing yourself without even thinking about it. How to spell this or that word. As a result, after several years of stable autocorrect and automatic spellcheckers, are we the most illiterate nation in the world? (I would like someone to 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 simplifications and use your brain as long as you can afford the luxury of time and energy. In order to keep yourself in good physical shape, it is recommended that you walk to work as often as possible or climb stairs instead of the elevator several times a week. Don't you want your brain to stay in shape too? Put GPS aside from time to time, and do a favor for your orientation and problem solving skills. Keep it close at hand, but try to find everything yourself first. Your brain will thank you for this.

5. Be online

And here we come to the last element on the path to increasing your cognitive potential: the computer network. What's great about this latest setup is that if you're doing the previous four things, you're probably already doing that. If not, then get started. Immediately.

By interacting with others, either through social media 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. When you encounter new people, ideas and find yourself in a new environment, you open yourself up to new opportunities for mental growth. By being around people who may not be relevant to your field, you can see problems from a new angle or discover new solutions that you have never thought about before. Chatting with other people on the Internet is a great way to learn to open yourself up to everything new and perceive unique and meaningful information. I won't even dive into the social benefits and emotional well-being of the computer network, but this is just an added benefit.

Stephen Johnson, who wrote How Good Ideas Comes, discusses the importance of groups and networks in promoting ideas. If you are looking for new situations, ideas, environments and perspectives, then the web 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 networking: Beneficial for everyone involved. Hive mind for victory!

There is one more thing left for me to mention ...
Remember at the beginning of this article I told the story about my clients with autism spectrum disorders? Let's think for a moment how to increase the flexibility of our intelligence in light of everything we've talked about so far. What are these children capable of achieving at such a high level? This is not an accident or a miracle - it is because we have incorporated all these teaching principles into their therapy program. While most of the other therapy providers are stuck with the 'Error-Free Learning' paradigm and the slightly modified Lovaas Techniques for Applied Behavior Analysis, we have adopted and fully embraced a multimodal learning approach. We made the kids try their best to learn, we used the most creative methods we could think of, and we dared to set the bar seemingly far beyond their ability. But you know what? They went beyond time and made me truly believe that amazing things are possible if you have the will, courage, and perseverance to set yourself up and stick to this path. If these children with disabilities can live while constantly improving their cognitive abilities, then so can you.

In parting, I'll ask a thought-provoking question: If we have all of this supporting data showing that these teaching methods and learning approaches can have such profound positive effects on cognitive growth, why aren't therapy programs or school systems taking advantage of some of these methods? I would like to see them as a teaching standard, not an exception. Let's try something new and shake up the education system a bit? We would have raised the collective IQ significantly.

Intelligence is not only about how many levels in a math course you have passed, how quickly you can solve an algorithm, or how many new words over 6 characters you know. It is about getting closer to a new problem, recognizing its important components, and solving it. Then collect the knowledge gained and apply it to solve the next, more complex problem. It's about innovation and imagination, and how to apply them to make the world a better place. It is this type of intelligence that is valuable, and it is for this type of intelligence that we should strive and encourage it.

About the Author: Andrea Kuszewski is a Consultant Behavioral Therapy Physician for Children with Autism based in Florida; specialist in Asperger's Syndrome, or highly functional autism. She teaches the basics of behavior in society, communication, as well as the impact of behavior on the sphere of home and society, teaching children and parents in methods of therapy. Andrea's work as a researcher with the American branch of the METODO Transdisciplinary Social Science Research Group, Bogotá, Colombia, investigates the influence of neuro-cognitive factors in human behavior - this includes aspects such as creativity, intelligence, illegal behavior, and diffuse-confusional disorders. such as schizophrenia and autism. Also, as a researcher of creativity, she is a painter herself and has studied various types of visual communication, ranging from traditional drawing to digital painting, graphic design, and three-dimensional modeling, animation in the medical sciences and behaviorism. She has a blog on The Rogue Neuron and on Twitter

Each person has their own specific abilities: in some they are manifested to a greater extent, and in 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, the imagination develops, and memory training is carried out using various methods.

Intelligence and ways of its development

Often we ask ourselves the question: how to achieve the development of our intelligence? You can develop your intelligence through exercise. The main thing is to conduct classes regularly.

The following are ways to develop intelligence:

games and activities for the development of intelligence;
reading educational books;
recording and analysis of information;
continuous training.

Let's dwell on each of the methods and consider additional information.

Mind games

In the course of any game, a person develops certain abilities. An excellent tool for the process of training the brain, its concentration, mindfulness, as well as the ability to plan subsequent actions, are the 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 the development of intelligence.

With Wikium you can organize online intelligence training according to an individual program

Games to improve memory and attention, puzzles

Another effective method is games for the development of intelligence and spatial-logical thinking. Puzzle games include: assembling puzzles and rubik's cube, solving a crossword puzzle, puzzles and riddles. Thus, we see that games for the development of intelligence in adults are very interesting and exciting.

Reading of books

This way of development is affordable and powerful. Reading regularly cognitive books and not taking a long break between reading, you do not allow your brain to relax, the learning process is constantly going on, and as a result, it is constantly "growing". It should be noted that well-read people do not experience difficulties when communicating on various topics.

Recording and analysis of information

The analysis of any information and various ideas should be done not orally, but in a written way. Thus, information is better absorbed and information is memorized due to the activation of several parts of the brain at the same time. In addition, the concentration of textual information significantly increases (3 times or more). The result is a deep synthesis of information with the subsequent adoption of the right decision.

Continuous learning

To feed your intellect, you need to come up with a completely new activity for yourself, which you have not done before. You should be given a certain amount of time for this activity, thereby having a beneficial effect on brain activity.

A positive correlation has also been established between IQ and a person's musical ability. Start taking the time to study music to further develop your abilities.

Lifestyle

Rest is an important condition

If a person experiences a lack of sleep, then his body and brain cannot concentrate on something, and therefore it dissipates. According to the results of the studies, scientists have been able to establish that fatigue contributes to a multiple decrease in the level of IQ in humans. To activate mental abilities before important events, it is enough just to go to bed earlier and devote more time to sleep.

Breaking standards

By changing the daily monotonous, jagged and automated actions, we do not contribute to the tension of the brain, since in such situations it works “automatically”, the cognitive process is minimized. This suggests that you need to change your daily habits and behavior. For example, in order to activate brain activity and give impetus to a new connection between the neurons of the brain, try to open doors with closed eyes, rearrange furniture from one place to another, and change your route from home to work and back.

Physical Education

Due to physical exertion, a protein is formed in the human body (neurotropic factor of the brain). It is protein that is responsible for the development of neurons, which are the basis of intellectual abilities.

Recreational exercise will be beneficial not only for the brain, but also for the whole organism.

There are many more factors that affect intelligence and how it develops. We have just touched on some of them. We can say unequivocally: an active life position and a healthy lifestyle will help you both in the development of intelligence and in achieving life goals.