The development of intelligence in adults. Development of intelligence How to develop intellectual ability

12.09.2020

Who among us has not dreamed of possessing a high level of erudition and shining with our mind? And in various life situations, most of us, oh, how additional knowledge would help to get out of the water, help a colleague, friend, do the right thing, make the right choice, etc. In all areas of our life, it is important to be a person not only 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 barrier to mental development and it is simply impossible to 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 of manifestation. Let us recall at least the great physicists - Einstein, Curie, Ioffe and others. It cannot be said that physical and mathematical sciences were widespread in those years. But it should be noted right away that these are isolated cases, which should not be relied on too much. That is, based on the foregoing, one can understand that congenital is not always the main way to gain high intelligence.

Myths about intelligence

There is an opinion that in the presence of innate intelligence, it makes no sense to do anything else for its growth and development. As we already know, there were 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, train them. But even in cases with geniuses, one cannot completely discard the factor of education, development in a certain environment, conditions that have developed in a unique tandem with the human genome and have become the reason for his genius in the future. But that's not all.

We are in a hurry 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 object categorically, since everything is possible in this life! Each of us, including our dear readers, can grow to the level of, if not a genius, then an intelligent and erudite person, in whatever environment he was brought up earlier.

Remember Bernard Shaw's My Fair Lady. Young Miss Eliza Doolittle was an ordinary flower saleswoman in a poor neighborhood, and accordingly, behaved like her surroundings. She spoke rudely, cursed, was unkempt. In short, a banal lumpen.

The ingenious language specialist Henry Higgins, upon meeting her, was simply dumbfounded. And he argued with his friend about what he could turn a slob and a rude lady into a high society lady with all the appropriate manners in a few weeks. And what do you think, he succeeded. He just 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 be successful in any field. To do this, you need to work, communicate with those who stimulate mental development, show your own willpower, scrupulousness.

The next misconception is to be brilliant does not mean to be smart in everything. That is, unlike those who must educate and develop abilities in themselves, there is a type of people who are already confident in their mental perfection. They believe that if you have achieved success, for example, in mathematics, physics, then there is no need to pull up other branches of science and you do not even need to gain wisdom when communicating with people.

This is the danger that few of the "smart guys" know about. Here's a simple example for you: a person with excellent understanding of mathematical theories. Able to calculate in the mind the division or multiplication of multi-digit numbers. But he can get confused when meeting a new person, with difficulty in assessing his actions.

Or, on the contrary, an excellent philologist, a philosopher capable of giving wise advice on different occasions. May get confused when calculating change in a store. These are all extremes that interfere with the quality of life. Agree, it is much better to be harmonious, to develop abilities in all sectors and not to forget to get new knowledge in terms of overall development.

What is unbalanced intelligence like? The process can be easily seen with the example of muscle pumping. If a bodybuilder pays attention to one and does not deal with others at all, then his figure will turn into something laughable. Therefore, to gain a beautiful body relief, you need to work with all muscle groups, and regularly, without stopping. And our intelligence also needs to be developed constantly, without taking interruptions. An inquisitive mind cannot "live" without another dose of interesting, fascinating information.

We reveal the secrets of the development of intelligence

We often come across books, online articles on how to quickly become a genius, and after completing a "unique" course we understand that nothing will come of this idea. That is, someone's advertised work simply turned out to be a dummy. Why are we surprised? All those who seek easy ways will get nothing. In order to achieve something, you need to make efforts, will, try, concentrate your attention on it. After all, we do not 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, versatile. It's like with health. If you want to have it, go in for sports, load the body with active actions. And what usually prevents us from getting rid of addictions, going in for sports -.

Yes, it has a lot to do with our thinking process. We are lazy to think, read, study, watch. It is easier for us to feel in the body of a unicellular 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 every now and then replenish the piggy bank of our knowledge, then we will stop at the level of a primitive person, a first grader with an insignificant amount of knowledge.

When we make efforts, use our will to regularly search for interesting information, read, watch, study, then we strengthen our character, foster a sense of discipline.

What are the types of intelligence

In the matter 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 distinguished from childhood in the manner of communication, the interests of the child, his hobbies, reflections, reasoning.

Analytical. Ability to analyze, collate, compare information, divide it into logical blocks, identify the relationship.
Logical. A person is capable of reasoning, thinking and analyzing without violating formal logic. This type has the ability to draw logical, correct conclusions in the appropriate sequence.
Critical. Receiving information, a person subjects it to criticism, assessment and easily eliminates all unnecessary, unnecessary, and incorrect. This is how a natural, pure opinion is formed.
Deductive. A person fishes out separate, necessary information from the total volume, flow and can formulate it perfectly. This type is able to generalize, find patterns in the relationship of different information and group into one single.
Prognostic. The talent to plan, warn, shape future events in the mind 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, more often it concerns mathematical, philosophical problems. These are genius personalities, capable of holding in their head the most complex mathematical formulas and processes. They can quickly calculate addition, multiplication and division of billions in seconds.
Creative thinking. A person knows how to compare things of different importance from different sciences, quickly bring them to a common denominator. People are able to create, formulate all sorts of metaphors, decipher complex ideas and reduce them to a simplified level for easier understanding.
Ability to concentrate. This moment rather refers to those who have great will and discipline, although without intelligence it would hardly be possible.

The human mind also has certain properties:

The logic of architecture: everyone has a different degree of orderliness in his 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 "intelligence" of a person depends on this moment. If he is able to grasp the question, task, object of thinking more broadly and deeper, then he is more intelligent.
The speed of performing mental operations. Here, perhaps, everything is clear. The faster a person thinks, the higher the speed of thinking.
Autonomy of thinking. Some people can think perfectly, regardless of the influence of external interference, 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.
Excellent RAM: we are talking about our memory. The better it is, the more information we can keep in our head and use it at the right time. People with a good memory can read 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, increased their level. For this, there are a lot of techniques, among which there are the most common 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 a quality life for every person. Without it, it is impossible to graduate from school, university, get a profitable job and grow up the career ladder. If you have an intellectual problem, take your mind. Increase your level using the methods we offer.

Start playing chess

Many people consider this sport (generally recognized) boring pastime, but this is a big mistake. You try it first, and then it will speak. The fact is that initially, while a person has no skills, the process is really monotonous, boring. But as soon as the skills develop, it will be impossible to tear off the chessboard by the ears.

The game develops all the qualities of the human mind:

logic;
ability to predict;
abstract away;
give an assessment;
analyze every move;
think deductively, figuratively.

During the rounds, players fully analyze and evaluate the actions of their opponent, think pointwise and generalized. In short, all aspects of our thinking are drawn into the process.

If you don't know how to compete in chess, then it doesn't matter. Unlike in previous years, when there were only boring textbooks and books as a guide, now you can use chess simulators, video courses, online games at various sites. It will be not only informative, but also exciting and interesting.

Over time, you will have to join the game and create combinations, build moves. There will come a time 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 is a mathematical card game

We condemn those who are fond of online poker. But don't jump to conclusions. The card game of poker is a chain of logical reasoning, construction of moves, the ability to predict the opponent's move and other nuances that stimulate the development of human intelligence.

Moreover, the rounds force a person to "pull himself together" and not show his nervousness, self-doubt. It is necessary to judge soberly, with restraint and learn to wait, not to act on impulse, not to show your emotions.

Puzzles, rebuses, crosswords

We often spend our leisure time in all sorts of transcripts, puzzles, guessing words in crosswords, we are fond of reading puzzles and other entertaining tasks. All this is work for our mind.

First, we improve our memory by guessing words in crosswords. Secondly, decoding 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 you can choose from millions of puzzles, puzzles and other educational tasks.

Breaking templates

The life of almost every one of us consists of the same actions. We get up at the same time, wash, drink coffee and set off along the same road to work and study. So our brain stops working, we do not need to think about how to find our way to the office, which tram to take. Everything has been brought to the automatic execution of actions. And as we know, if you do not use something for a long time, then this thing deteriorates, a moment of stagnation arises.

It's the same with our mental faculties. They must constantly "work", otherwise we risk degrading prematurely. And if we break these patterns, our brain is immediately involved in an active process. New strong connections between neurons appear, on which our intelligence depends.

How to fix this - bring something new to your normal routine, actions during the day. For example, do not go to work on a proven track. Change the route, go around other yards. Or, instead of starting your day with your usual cup of coffee, buy juice. For lunch, eat steamed vegetables instead of sausages. In the morning, instead of soaking up your bed for longer, go for a run. You will not have time to fix the moment when your mental abilities begin to manifest themselves again.

You should not immediately be indignant and assume that nothing depends on the dancers. You are not right. The work of the brain 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 get bored with jogging, 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 sports dances. Anyway, everything is useful.

Movement will allow the body to receive a colossal portion of energy, and the mental capacity will grow and grow due to the excellent supply of oxygen to the brain tissue. But that's not all. Active dance moves, whether we like it or not, make us constantly think. This means that the brain is in an active state and intelligence is developing.

Draw

Creative activities will definitely "shake up" your brain and your intellect will be replenished with new knowledge. During drawing, the most distant areas are activated, are involved in the process of thinking and if you continue to study, do not stop, then 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 ashamed of their "scribbles". And it’s in vain! Draw to your health and do not be afraid of criticism.

Learn to

This is one of the best methods of developing your own intelligence - to learn new things, do not stop there. You graduated from high school, university, but this does not mean that you can relax. Soak up information every day. Open sites with interesting publications, news, be interested in the life of famous people, new types of hobbies, books. Read before bed. Even if you are tired and want to fall asleep faster with a well-deserved sleep, but a couple of pages of a book before bedtime will increase intelligence and relax the 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 is called - copyright, rewriting. Remote work, allowing you to build a schedule at your own discretion, no bosses. 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 points, thanks to which your mind will never relax. Reading, analysis of the proposed topics, search for information, work, re-reading, choosing the best option, removing unnecessary and fixing.

Copywriting and rewriting should be done in such a way that the network does not have the same text, that is, uniqueness is important. But do not be afraid of this, it will be if you write a 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.

Do sports, move

This is not to say that physical activity directly affects our intellectual abilities. But with active movements, pulling up, pushing up in our brain, the production of neutrotropes occurs - 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.

Take a rest

Everyone needs rest, our brains are no exception. Take a break from unnecessary information, because in its absorption you need a measure. We are not talking about the need to be lazy - this is completely different. Just don't think about anything sometimes. Listen to music, watch the sunset, waves, fire and clear your thoughts of all negativity.

Yoga

Engage in oriental practices, especially it helps to cleanse the spirit and body of all unnecessary and gain new knowledge of yoga. The complex includes 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 toxins. 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, to be wiser and more restrained, the state of health also improves.

So, we have studied a number of ways to improve the level of our intelligence. As you can see, there is nothing complicated about it. 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 in a complex. So learn, improve and be healthy!

Intelligence is a special quality of the human psyche, which includes the ability to adapt to various life situations, learn and assimilate information based on the experience gained, understand and apply abstract concepts and existing knowledge in order to control the surrounding reality. Simply put, intelligence is the general ability of a person to learn and overcome difficulties, which combines such spheres as thinking, imagination, representation, memory, perception and sensation.

It is easy to see that intelligence covers the work of several parts of the human brain at once, from which it follows that an integrated approach should be applied to its development, consisting of different methods. The methods that you will get acquainted with later can be used as a special system for the development of intelligence (s), and it can be used to train it in both children and adults.

Intelligence development: simple and effective ways

The information with which you will get acquainted, at first glance, may seem extremely unusual when it comes to the development of intelligence, but it is in its unusualness and simplicity that the greatest efficiency lies. It is also interesting that it can be applied without much effort in everyday life, just devoting a little of your time every day.

Method one - optimal time for rest

This method can be called basic, because in a state of fatigue and fatigue, there can be no question of any development of intelligence and memory, as well as other abilities. Therefore, start by giving appropriate time and attention to your sleep. Healthy sleep is not only an excellent prevention of distraction, forgetfulness and difficulty in thinking, but also increases intelligence and all mental abilities in general. I am interested in an article on the topic of sleep, by the way, you can read it.

Method two - keeping records

This is about analyzing information by keeping records. Often, each of us comes up with sensible thoughts and good ideas, but instead of trying to memorize them, as most people do, we advise you to write them down. In addition, in writing, you can also reflect, thinking through perspectives and options for the development of events, making plans and lists. In this way, you use several areas of the brain and, at the same time, attention, will help to improve concentration. As for the analysis of information, its visual display will allow you to see the picture wider and, based on this vision, make the right decisions.

Method three - peace and quiet

Many people at the end of the working day, and in any free time, are not at all engaged in the development of intelligence, but in some business that does not contribute to this at all. These include "sticking" on social networks, meaningless phone calls or undeveloped computer games. This is especially true in children. All of this, of course, may have a time and place in life, but if there is a goal to develop intelligence, it is better to be in peace and quiet as much as possible - this allows you to generate new ideas, think over plans, find correct and wise solutions to complex problems, and generally better and better quality rest.

Method four - educational games

For the development of intelligence and memory, attention and concentration, it is very useful to play, for example, logic games, chess and checkers, dominoes ("Monopoly", "Imaginarium", "Millionaire", etc.). If you make such a pastime regular, you can create an effective system for the development of not only the intellect, but also the ability to analyze, count in the mind, find cause-and-effect relationships, make calculations and develop thinking in general. And you can also devote time to passing various developmental trainings and courses, for example.

Method five - communicating with people

Interaction and communication with different people carries a huge number of positive aspects - it broadens the horizons, helps to obtain new information, relieves complexes, develops communication skills, and self-esteem. To provide your intellect with the basis for constant development, communicate with others as much as possible, and try to communicate with people who are better than you in some way, for example, smarter, more educated, stronger, more confident, better off, etc. The higher you set the bar for yourself, the more powerful and developed you can become.

Method six - reading books

Another excellent and simple way to develop intelligence in children and adults is through reading. People always keep their brain in good shape and cognitive activity. Filling it with new information, they simply force themselves to grow personally and intellectually. In addition, a well-read person experiences much less difficulties in communicating with others, because literature carries information of a completely different plan, which can always be successfully applied in life. And another plus of reading is that a well-read person with a developed outlook is able to be an excellent interlocutor in almost any situation.

The seventh method is to make familiar things unfamiliar

It's about doing quite ordinary everyday things in extraordinary ways. We all brush our teeth every day, wash, comb, wash the dishes and tie our shoelaces - such things have long become commonplace and are performed by us on an automatic basis, which means that the brain does not strain at all. But of them it is really possible to make a cool system for the development of intelligence. Start walking to work in new ways, fastening your belt the other way around, always crossing the road, starting with your left foot, etc. So you will activate your thought processes, you will begin to pay attention to the little things, you will. Remember that even such banal experiments contribute to the development of the mind and serve as a good way to train intelligence and memory, attention and concentration, thinking and creativity.

Method eight - fine arts

To develop intelligence, you don't have to become the new Pablo Picasso or Leonardo da Vinci - you can just from time to time. Challenge yourself to paint a specific picture, and you will notice how your brain starts to work more actively. When a person draws, both hemispheres of the brain are activated, concentration increases and coordination improves. In addition, in the process of drawing, a person seems to be disconnected from the outside world for some time, due to which the consciousness is cleared and rests.

Method Nine - Continuous Learning

Learning is always progress and movement forward. Thus, by constantly assimilating new knowledge and mastering new skills, you will automatically force your intellect to develop. Anything can do: a detailed study of the world map, immersion in historical chronicles, reading autobiographies of famous people, etc. But you can go further and, for example, get a new specialty, take retraining and advanced training courses, or in general, or start your own business. Such a development system will be an excellent assistant for you, and will always keep your intellect in good shape.

Method ten - self-education

This method is a logical continuation of the previous one. Unfortunately, not every person is ready, but those who think about training their intellect make self-education an indispensable part of their life. There are more than enough opportunities for this today. Read books and textbooks, learn new things and communicate with interesting people, get carried away with unusual things and find a hobby for yourself, watch documentaries and educational programs. And if you want to do self-education in full, you can, for example, or some good online training. Here we want to remind you that any new information, if it involves practical application, must always be used in practice - only in this way self-education will become complete and effective.

Method eleven - positive thinking

Naturally, life never goes absolutely calmly, and sometimes surprises. Circumstances and situations that we didn’t even know about can make you feel uncomfortable and unsettled, make you worry and sound the alarm. But they need to be perceived precisely as another chance for self-development and the development of intelligence. Collecting willpower, rising from our knees and directing energy in the right direction, we become stronger, more experienced, wiser and smarter. And a special role in all this is played by nothing more than positive thinking, because it is it that allows us to remain calm, to think creatively, to be persistent and confident in ourselves. And from here all the other benefits stem from - training the skill of time management and planning, the development of willpower and stress resistance. Remember that life, together with all its events, by itself can be used by you as an ideal system for the development of intelligence. And such an attitude towards her should be formed, both in children and in adults.

Method twelve - seeing perspectives

The ability to see perspectives is a defining link on the path to success and a fulfilling life. If you learn to always be attuned to looking for new steps for development, your thinking will be entirely focused on analyzing your prospects. In reality, fate is constantly offering you something valuable and meaningful, and your task is to see, understand and appreciate. By thinking constructively, you contribute to the development of your intellect and artificially create for yourself the need to expand your horizons. And everyone who strives for self-improvement should act in this way, and not otherwise. Without this component, it will be simply impossible to achieve full-fledged success and happiness.

Method thirteen - physical activity

Despite the fact that this method of developing intelligence is considered more indirect than direct, it gives excellent results. First, by loading yourself physically, you help improve blood circulation, enrich your brain with oxygen, thanks to which it begins to function many times more efficiently, and contributes to the production of a protein that is responsible for the formation of neurons - a key element in the development of intellectual abilities. Secondly, physical work is a great way to rest and gain strength for your mind. if he is constantly tired, the effectiveness of any work on himself is greatly reduced. And, thirdly, coupled with mental development, this is the most complete development, to which one should strive. If you wish, you can sign up for the sports section or go to the gym, although jogging, exercise, breathing exercises and banal push-ups from the floor will do.

A lot depends on how well your intellect is developed. Of course, it cannot be called decisive in achieving success and improving life, but if your intellectual abilities are well developed and you work on yourself, your chances of self-realization and fulfillment of your dreams increase many times over. Train your intellect and memory, develop a craving for improvement in yourself and in children, and, of course, improve your thinking - then unprecedented opportunities will open before you that can make your life bright, rich and happy.

How to develop intelligence competently?

It is believed that intellectual abilities, type of thinking (mathematical-analytical mindset, humanitarian mindset) are given from nature and are further determined by upbringing and development in childhood, which sets the basic foundation for our type of thinking and the level of development of intelligence in adulthood. This is partly true, but only partly.

Secrets of the development of intelligence

The best way to develop the brain is to regularly load it in a comprehensive manner, and not just one kind of exercise (the same is true for the muscles). This idea does not shine with originality, moreover, it is banal and obvious: there is no better way to improve your health and physical fitness than to quit bad habits and go in for sports. In the same way, the best impetus for developing the mind is to use it in various complex tasks. Many people understand this perfectly well, but for some reason they forget how it comes to practice!

This is due to the fact that laziness and unwillingness to make efforts overshadow the arguments of common sense and consciousness begins to look for easy ways to achieve the set goals. Various marketers are well aware of this feature of a person, who massively replicate miracle pills or magic simulators and weight loss products. You must understand that nothing is given without effort and that they are not only a means, a tool (you must make an effort to achieve the goal), but also an end in itself! Only after realizing this simple truth, engage your intellect!

Through effort, you build will and character. By doing regular exercise, you build discipline. It turns out that forcing yourself to exercise every day in anything in physical / mental development is useful not only for physical / mental improvement. It also makes you more strong-willed and disciplined, and builds a good habit of working on yourself.

The principles of the development of intelligence in an adult (and children):
1) Look for innovation
2) challenge yourself
3) be creative
4) don't take the easy way
5) Be online

Techniques and exercises for intelligence

Now he will finally talk about how you can increase intelligence. First, take into account that the exercises should not be too boring and monotonous, choose the one that suits you best and brings at least some pleasure. We must try not to overdo it, to do so that it does not take so much time that it would be a burden for you. But the main thing is the regularity of supplying the load to the brain, it is necessary that exercises become your habit.

In physical education, there are basic exercises (which involve several muscle groups at once - push-ups from the floor, push-ups from the uneven bars, squats), and there are isolated exercises (training one separate muscle group), also in the development of intelligence there are things that help to improve several qualities of our mind at once ...

Next, I'll tell you exactly what things help. In this article I will touch on them briefly, but I will give links to my articles, where each of these points is disclosed in more detail. For those points for which there will be no links, I will definitely write an article later, so subscribe by mail (icon at the top right) and wait for updates.

So what improves our mental qualities?

Logic and intellectual games: (separate article Brain games. The benefits of chess, the benefits of poker) These are chess, backgammon, poker, preference, logic puzzles, developing computer games of various genres, etc.

Mind games are great for training the mind, concentration and memory. In addition, they bring the joy of competition (if the game is played against an opponent) and the pleasure of improving skill. The board game is the oldest type of mental competition in which the best minds have shown themselves.

Classes in mathematics, exact sciences. The exact sciences develop a whole spectrum of mental qualities. These are logical and abstract thinking, critical, analytical, deductive, predictive abilities, as well as memory and quick thinking. This can be said to be an exercise for many muscle groups.

Exact sciences not only improve your intelligence, but also organize, structure your thinking, put things in order in your head, in your thoughts. Mathematics is extremely important in the context of the mental formation of an individual, both a child and an adult.

Reading fiction: It seems to me that the influence of books on the development of the mind is somewhat exaggerated. I'm talking about a common belief that you have to read a lot to become smart. This statement is true, but incomplete. Yes, there is no doubt that good books broaden your horizons, promote emotional development, shape good taste, and develop certain qualities of your mind.

Books must be read by both adults and children. But literature only enhances certain mental properties. In order to have a well-developed mind in a balanced way, books alone are not enough (as, indeed, mathematics or logic games alone), you need to deal with everything together: the exact sciences and literature, etc. Otherwise, some of your abilities will develop, and some will remain in their infancy.

Learning: A unique ability in our brains is the ability to learn new skills, gain new information, and apply it to our daily experiences. Teaching is light! Learning contributes not only to the fact that we comprehend knowledge that, as may be useful to us, so may not be needed at all. The value is not only in knowledge itself, but in learning as such!

While studying, we learn to work with information, process it, and then find a place for it in the general structure of our knowledge. Even if this knowledge is never useful in life, learning it, we strain our mind and memory, learn to concentrate. Also, learning helps to expand horizons, and the more we learn, the easier it is for us to learn new knowledge! In this process, we learn to learn!

Learning other languages: also develops certain aspects of our thinking. I read somewhere that many good mathematicians, "techies" find it difficult, at first, to learn the language. Conversely, those who know languages well, as a rule, are at odds with the exact sciences. It is, but I don’t want you to draw the wrong conclusions! This, at all, does not mean the presence of the notorious dichotomy of "technicians - humanitarians", that the former are created for one, and the latter for another.

The conclusion in the article in which I read about this was the following. Everyone, with due effort, is able to master anything! The fact about the difficulty in learning languages, on the part of techies, suggests that the mental qualities that develop in the exact sciences are not adjacent to those properties of intelligence that are improved by the knowledge of languages! In short, if you have been doing push-ups from the floor for a long time, then it will be easier for you to pull the bar from the chest, since the same muscles are involved in both.

But if you want to squat well, then your push-up experience won't help you at all. And if you want to have both strong legs and embossed chest, then please do both. Also here. Mathematics does little to develop the parts of the brain that are needed to learn languages. Here, completely different qualities are involved, and for harmonious mental development, it is necessary to develop both. Remember, one does not exclude the other, even if something will be given to you much more difficult than the other.

Emotional intelligence (EI)- a person's ability to recognize emotions, to understand the intentions, motivation and desires of other people and his own, as well as the ability to manage his emotions and the emotions of other people in order to solve practical problems.

The concept of emotional intelligence emerged as a response to the frequent failure of traditional intelligence tests to predict a person's career and life success. An explanation was found for this, which was that successful people are capable of effectively interacting with others based on emotional connections and to effectively manage their own emotions, while the accepted concept of intelligence did not include these aspects, and intelligence tests did not assess these abilities.

Social intelligence- the ability to correctly understand the behavior of people. This ability is essential for effective interpersonal interaction and successful social adaptation.

The very term "social intelligence" was introduced into psychology by E. Thorndike in 1920 to denote "foresight in interpersonal relationships." Many famous psychologists have contributed to the interpretation of this concept. In 1937, G. Allport linked social intelligence with the ability to express rapid, almost automatic judgments about people, to predict the most likely human reactions. Social intelligence, according to G. Allport, is a special "social gift" that ensures smoothness in relations with people, the product of which is social adaptation, and not depth of understanding.

And the last ...

Learning new things: reading scientific and popular science literature, viewing cognitive, encyclopedias, useful, cognitive sites, all this contributes to the enrichment of your mind and erudition. Don't neglect this! Strive to maintain curiosity like a child! Always learn new things, comprehend this world and man. Remember, knowledge is power! A lot of amazing things are happening in the world. The whole universe is one big miracle! Strive to find out as much as possible about him!

Thematic video: The Japanese system for the development of intelligence and memory (6 minutes).

Is it possible to develop intelligence? Neuroscientists have long answered this question positively. Your brain is flexible and capable of physically changing depending on what you do. And even the most intelligent person has something to strive for. So don't waste your time! We've collected tips and exercises from our books to help you get smarter.

1. Solve logic puzzles

You will find fascinating tasks for training logical thinking in the book of the popular blogger Dmitry Chernyshev “What to do in the evening with your family in the country without the Internet”. Here are a few of them:

Answer:

This is a type of credit card. The notches about the borrowed goods were simultaneously made on both sticks. One was kept by the buyer, the other by the seller. This eliminated fraud. When the debt was paid off, the sticks were destroyed.

Answer:

This is Morrison's hideout to protect people during the bombing. Not everyone had basements in which to hide. For poor households, the device was free. 500,000 of these shelters were built by the end of 1941 and another 100,000 in 1943, when the Germans began using V-1 missiles. The asylum paid off. According to statistics, in 44 houses equipped with such shelters, which were heavily bombed, only three of 136 residents died. Another 13 people were seriously injured and 16 lightly.

Answer:

Look again at the condition of the task: there was no “continue sequence” task. If 1 = 5, then 5 = 1.

2. Train your memory

Until now, you've tried to guess the number by choosing the average. This is an ideal strategy for a game in which the number was chosen at random. But in our case, the number was not chosen in an arbitrary order. We have deliberately chosen a number that will be difficult for you to find. The main lesson of game theory is that you need to put yourself in the shoes of the other player. We put ourselves in your shoes and assumed that you would first call the number 50, then 25, then 37 and 42.

What's your last guess? Is this number 49? Congratulations! Yourself, not you. You are trapped again! We asked the number 48. In fact, all this reasoning about the average number from the interval was aimed precisely at misleading you. We wanted you to choose the number 49.

The point of our game with you is not to show you how cunning we are, but to clearly illustrate what exactly makes any situation a game: you have to take into account the goals and strategies of other players. "

5. Do math

Lomonosov believed that mathematics puts the mind in order. And indeed it is. One way to develop intelligence is to befriend the world of numbers, graphs and formulas. If you want to try this method, the book “Beauty Squared” will help you, where the most difficult concepts are described in a simple and fun way. A small excerpt from there:

“In 1611, the astronomer Johannes Kepler decided to find himself a wife. The process did not start well: he rejected the first three candidates. Kepler would have married a fourth if he had not seen a fifth, who seemed "modest, thrifty, and capable of loving adopted children." But the scientist behaved so indecisively that he met with several more women who did not interest him. Then he nevertheless married the fifth candidate.

According to the mathematical theory of "optimal stopping", in order to make a choice, 36.8 percent of the options must be considered and rejected. And then dwell on the first one, which will be the best of all the rejected.

Kepler had 11 dates. But he could meet with four women, and then propose to the first of the remaining candidates, which he liked more than those whom he had already seen. In other words, he would immediately choose the fifth woman and save himself six unsuccessful meetings. The theory of "optimal stopping" is applicable in other areas: medicine, energy, zoology, economics, etc. "

6. Learn to play a musical instrument

Psychologist Victoria Williamson, author of We Are Music, says that the Mozart effect is just a myth. Listening to classics will not improve your IQ. But if you do music yourself, you will help your brain work better. This is confirmed by the following experiment:

“Glenn Schellenberg has conducted a number of in-depth analyzes of the relationship between music lessons and IQ in children. In 2004, he randomly assigned 144 six-year-olds from Toronto into four groups: the first was keyboarding, the second was singing, the third was acting, and the fourth was a control group with no extra classes. For the sake of fairness, after the study, the children in the control group were offered the same activities as the rest.

Teaching lasted 36 weeks in a dedicated school. All children took IQ tests during the summer holidays before these classes began and at the end of the study. Criteria of comparable age and socioeconomic status were used.

After a year, the vast majority of children performed better on the IQ test, which is logical since they are one year older. However, in the two groups that studied music, the increase in IQ was greater than in the group of acting and control. "

7. Practice mindfulness meditation

Meditation not only helps to reduce stress levels, but also helps develop memory, creativity, reaction, attention and self-control. More about this method is in the book Mindfulness. Advice from her:

“Have you noticed that the older you get, the faster time passes? The reason is that with age we acquire habits, certain patterns of behavior and live on an “automatic”: the autopilot guides us when we eat breakfast, brush our teeth, go to work, sit on the same chair every time ... As a result, life passes by, and we feel miserable.

Do a simple experiment. Buy chocolate. Break off a small piece from it. Consider it as if you are seeing it for the first time. Pay attention to all kinks, texture, smell, color. Put this piece in your mouth, but do not swallow right away, let it melt slowly on your tongue. Taste the whole bouquet of flavors. Then slowly swallow the chocolate, try to feel how it flows down the esophagus, note the movements of the palate and tongue.

Agree, the sensations are not at all the same as if you just ate the bar without hesitation. Try doing this exercise with a different food, and then with your usual activities: be mindful in the workplace, while walking, getting ready for bed, and so on. "

8. Learn to think outside the box.

A creative approach will help you find a solution even in a situation that will seem hopeless to most. book author"Rice storm"I am sure that any person can train creativity. First, try using Leonardo da Vinci's method:

“Leonardo da Vinci's way of generating ideas was as follows: he closed his eyes, completely relaxed and streaked a sheet of paper with arbitrary lines and scribbles. Then he opened his eyes and looked for images and nuances, objects and phenomena in the painted ones. Many of his inventions were born from such sketches.

Here's a plan for how you can use Leonardo da Vinci's method in your work:

Write the problem down on a piece of paper and ponder over it for a few minutes.

Relax. Let your intuition create images that reflect the current situation. You don't need to know what the drawing will look like before you draw it.

Give shape to your task by delineating its boundaries. They can be of any size and shape as you wish.

Practice drawing unconsciously. Let the lines and scribbles dictate how you draw and position them.

If you are not satisfied with the result, take another sheet of paper and draw another drawing, and then as much as needed.

Examine your drawing. Write the first word that comes to mind for each image, squiggle, line, or structure.

Tie all the words together by writing a short note. Now see how the writing relates to your task. Are there any new ideas?

Be attentive to the questions that arise in your mind. For example: "What is this?", "Where did it come from?" If you feel the need to find answers to specific questions, then you are on the right path leading to a solution to the problem. "

9. Learn foreign languages

According to the researchers, it promotes brain development and helps maintain mental clarity even into adulthood. In the polyglot Susanna Zarayskaya's guide, you will find 90 actionable tips on how to learn new foreign languages in a fun and easy way. Here are three guidelines from the book:

Listen to songs in the language you are targeting while driving, cleaning your home, cooking, tending flowers, or other activities. You will be imbued with the rhythms of the language even with passive listening. The main thing is to do it regularly.

The nonprofit Planet Read uses music videos from Bollywood in its literacy program in India, adding subtitles to them in the same language. The subtitle format is the same as in karaoke, that is, the currently sounding word is highlighted. Easy access to such videos doubles the number of first-graders who have mastered reading. And all due to the fact that viewers naturally synchronize audio and video sequences. The method used in India to combat illiteracy will allow you to match what you hear with what you see.

Who said that the drama is incompatible with the table of irregular verbs? Soap operas can be a lot of fun to learn a new language. Simple storylines, and the acting is so expressive that even if you do not know all the words, you will still be aware of what is happening, just by following the emotions of the characters.

10. Write stories

This is another way to get more creative and develop flexibility in your thinking. Not sure where to start? In the notebook "642 Ideas What to Write about" you will find many hints. Your job is to continue the stories and turn them into complete stories. Here are some tasks from the book:

You meet a girl who can close her eyes and see the whole universe. Tell about her.

Try to fit a person's entire life into one sentence.

Take an article from a fresh newspaper. Write down ten words or phrases that caught your eye. Using these words, compose a poem that begins like this: "What if ..."

Your cat dreams of world domination. She figured out how to swap bodies with you.

Write a story that begins like this: "The weirdness began when Fred bought a house for his miniature pigs ..."

Explain to a gold miner from 1849 how e-mail works.

An unknown force threw you inside the computer. You need to get out.

Pick any item on your desk (pen, pencil, eraser, etc.) and write a thank you note to it.

11. Get enough sleep!

Learning ability depends on the quality of your sleep. An interesting fact from the book "The Brain in a Dream":

“Scientists have found that different stages of sleep are designed for different types of learning. For example, slow-wave sleep is important for mastering tasks involving actual memory, such as memorizing dates for a history exam. REM sleep, on the other hand, is essential for mastering what is associated with procedural memory - how something is done, including mastering new behavioral strategies.

Psychology professor Carlisle Smith says: “For a month we sawed out blocks from which to build a maze for mice, and then for ten days they recorded their brain activity around the clock. Those mice that showed great intelligence in the maze run also showed greater brain activity in the REM sleep phase. I myself have never doubted that sleep and learning are linked, but now enough data has accumulated for others to become interested in this issue. "

12. Don't neglect exercise

Sport has a positive effect on our intellectual abilities. Here's what evolutionary biologist John Medina explains in his book, The Rules of the Brain:

“Tests of all kinds have shown that lifelong physical activity leads to dramatic improvements in cognitive processes, as opposed to a sedentary lifestyle. Adherents of physical education have bypassed lazy people and lazy people in terms of long-term memory, logic, attention, ability to solve problems and even the so-called mobile intelligence. "

More books on intelligence development- .

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Instructions

There are no easy and universal ways to develop intelligence. The only way to develop abilities is to regularly load them, and not with the same exercise, but with different ones, aimed at training different areas of the mind. As a bonus, in this case, volitional qualities, self-discipline develop, and a solid character is formed.

Among the intellectual abilities, one can distinguish analytical (the ability to compare pieces of information with each other), logical (the ability to think, reason, draw conclusions), deductive (the ability to find a general idea from an array of information), critical (the ability to sweep away incorrect conclusions and ideas), predictive (the ability form a model of future events). In addition, the intellectual ability includes the ability to abstract and imaginative thinking, the ability to concentrate and hold attention.

Intellectual and logical games train the mental qualities remarkably. These include: chess, checkers, backgammon, preference, poker, educational computer games, logic puzzles. Board games such as chess have been considered the privilege of the best minds - rulers, military leaders since ancient times. They develop not only intelligence, but also memory and the ability to concentrate.

Improve the mental abilities of engaging in various sciences. Any training contributes to the development of memory and the ability to concentrate. Mathematics trains almost all intellectual abilities, organizes and structures thinking. Reading fiction develops horizons, erudition, forms good taste, teaches you to work with a large amount of information, analyze it and find its application.

Keeping a diary helps to train analytical and predictive abilities. Write down significant events of the day, make plans for the future, analyze predictions that have come true and not come true.

Drawing, memorizing poetry, photographing, playing musical instruments contributes to the development of intelligence. They train intelligence and ballroom dancing, aerobics and any exercises that require coordination of movements, maintaining a certain rhythm.

note

One of the misconceptions about human intelligence concerns the existing qualities of the mind. Some believe that if an individual has very well developed one of the intellectual abilities, for example, the ability to put together well in the mind or formulate complex concepts, he does not need to develop his intellect further - he has already reached the highest level. However, it is not. The mind must develop harmoniously, so in such cases it is necessary to train weaker abilities.