Clever man 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 spend a large number of time. There are many ways to become smarter and increase your level of 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, so that he will be a more attractive conversationalist for others. There are several options for achieving the goal through training.

Foreign languages

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

• English;
• Deutsch;
• Spanish;
• Italian.

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

Exact sciences

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

Curiosity

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

When studying serious materials, it is worth giving preference to trusted sources. Therefore, it is recommended to use textbooks or scientific papers.

Hobbies

The right passion is the key to success. But can they increase intelligence? If 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 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, great vocabulary and developed brain. it The best way avoid development in 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.

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

Playing a musical instrument

Music is very useful for the brain and the human psyche. If the significance of its influence on the mind when listening is under big question and has not yet been proven, then an independent game on musical instruments brings guaranteed benefits. This was proven by Schellenberg in 2004, when he carried out related tests that proved to increase the intelligence of those involved in 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 level of skill is raised to a high level, you can try to write a full book. For training, specific short ideas are great, from which you can develop a story. The main thing is to avoid platitudes.

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

Exercises

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

Puzzles, tasks, games

Educational games or tasks contribute to the development of the brain. With regular training, a person will be able to achieve an improvement in many indicators related to mental abilities. Particular influence will be exerted on memory and the speed of brain activity. Suitable for classes:

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

All of these options are applicable to both children and adults. Among the puzzles are great amount options for different age categories, which allows you to choose the most suitable tasks for yourself.

Analysis

It is very important for any person to be alone sometimes. At such moments, you need to be distracted from everything that is happening and immerse yourself in your thoughts. Analyzing past events, thinking about 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, considering the reasons for any events.

To achieve the maximum effect, you can download any special application for your mobile. It will train mindfulness, memory and the brain as a whole.

Lifestyle

The most important factor, without which it is impossible to increase intelligence, 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 low quality have a direct impact on human life. Lack of sleep leads to a decrease in brain activity, deterioration of memory and attentiveness. Good sleep is the main condition for achieving goals in life, as well as brain development. 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 for sleep during the day.

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

Physical activity

Outdoor walks and activities active species sports, the brain receives a large amount of oxygen, which is necessary for proper blood circulation and the ability to think clearly. A person who goes in for sports is more calm, reasonable, easily copes with difficulties. Perfect fit the following types physical activity:

• Walks;
• Sports or Nordic 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 high intelligence fail to achieve. Regular drinking or smoking significantly slows down all processes in the human brain, which becomes critical for the development of the mind. Nicotine with alcohol penetrate into the blood, which is why this happens. negative effect. It is no less harmful to watch TV programs for hours or play computer games that do not require serious involvement 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 intelligence. Therefore, you should try to communicate only with smart and educated people, while trying to become better than them. Good people always pull up, and bad people always pull down. Therefore, the question of communication and environment is very important for a person who wants to achieve the development of the mind. Nearby there should always be people who have more developed intellect. They will help you get better.

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

The right way of life not only makes it possible to expand one's horizons and improve the quality of intellect, but also gives a person good health for many years.

Food

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

diet

Properly formulated diet is extremely important for people striving for brain development. Particular attention should be paid to the following products:

• Walnuts - positive influence the brain has lecithin, which increases the speed intellectual activity and strengthens memory;
• Fish - iodine and omega-3 are responsible for the rate of energy flow to the brain, the regulation of cholesterol levels, and the 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 helps to increase learning.

It is enough to include any of the listed products in the diet to feel their effect in a week. It is important to exclude from the menu all junk food, which could provide negative impact 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 acquiring the following tools.

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 you can accumulate, or what is called crystallized intelligence - it's not training in fluency or memorization - in fact, it's almost 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 is very much related to intelligence. To successfully draw an intelligent conclusion, it is quite important to have a good short-term memory. Thus, to maximize the use of intelligence, it is worth significantly improving short-term memory - this is, for example, using the best and most modern parts to help the mechanism work at the highest level.

What can you take away from this? This study has great importance because it was found:

1. Hypothetical intelligence can be trained.
2. Training and subsequent success depend on the dosage, the more you train, the more benefits you get.
3. Everyone can develop their cognitive abilities, regardless of the starting level.
4. Progress can be made by practicing on tasks that don't resemble questions on a test.

How can this research be applied and benefited from?

There is a reason why the n-back task has been so successful in increasing cognitive ability. This training includes the division of attention between competing stimuli, that is, multimodality (one visual stimulus, one auditory stimulus). 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, so that the phenomenon of "training for test questions" never occurred - each time there was something new. If you have never taken an n-back test, let me tell you about it: it is very difficult. No wonder there are so many cognitive benefits from such an activity.

But let's talk from a practical point of view.
Eventually the cards in the deck or the sounds in the piece will run out (the experiment lasted 2 weeks), so it's not practical to think that if you want to continuously increase your intellectual ability for a lifetime, then one n-back will be enough. Besides, you will get tired of it and stop doing it. I'm sure that's what I would do. Not to mention the time you spend learning this way - we are all very busy all the time! Thus, we should think about how to model the same types of super-efficient multimodal brain stimulation techniques that can be used in normal life, and yet getting maximum benefit in the growth of cognitive thinking.

So, with all of this in mind, I have developed five basic elements that will help in the development of fluid intelligence, or cognitive ability. As I have already noted, it is impractical to consistently perform the n-back task or variations of it every day for the rest of your life in order to receive cognitive benefits. But what is practical is a change in lifestyle, in which there will be the same - and even great benefit for cognitive abilities. This can be done every day to benefit from intensive all-brain training, and should also translate into benefits for full cognitive functioning.

These five basic principles are:

1. Look for innovation
2. Challenge yourself
3. Think creatively
4. Don't take the easy way
5. Be online

Each of these points is already a great thing in itself, but if you really want to function at the highest possible cognitive level, it is better to do all five points, and as often as possible. In fact, I live by these five principles. If you accept these as fundamental 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 boost. Great Information: Science confirms these principles with data!

1. Seek innovation

It's no coincidence that geniuses like Einstein were knowledgeable in many fields, or erudite, as we call them. Geniuses are constantly looking for new activities, exploring new areas. This is their personality.

Only one of the "Big Five" traits of the Five Factor Personality Model (Acronym: ODEPR, or Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Pleasantness, and Irritability) is associated with IQ, and that is the Openness to Experience trait. People who have a high level of Openness are constantly looking for new information, new activities, new things to learn - new experiences in general.

When you are looking for innovation, several things happen. First of all, you create new synaptic connections with every new activity you participate in. These connections build on each other, increasing the activity of the nervous system, creating more connections so that new connections are created on their basis - thus, learning occurs.

An area of ​​interest in recent research is neural plasticity as a factor in individual differences intellect. Plasticity refers to the number of connections made between neurons and how that affects subsequent connections, and how long those connections last. Basically it means how much new information Are you able to accept and are you able to keep it by making permanent changes in the brain. Constantly exposing yourself directly to new things helps to put the brain in its original state for learning.

Innovation also triggers the production of dopamine (I mentioned this earlier in other posts), which is not only highly motivating, but also stimulates neurogenesis - the creation of new neurons - and prepares the brain for learning. All you have to do is satisfy your hunger.

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

As an extension of Jeggy's study, researchers in Sweden found that after 14 hours of training short term memory within 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 growth nerve cells and their development, by the way. This increase in plasticity, allowing for greater anchoring of this receptor, is very helpful in maximizing cognitive functioning.

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

2. Challenge yourself

There is a huge amount of terrible work written and distributed about how to "train the brain" and "become smarter." When I talk about "brain training games", I mean memory games and speed games, the purpose of which is to increase the speed of information processing, etc.; this includes games such as, for example, Sudoku, which are advised to play in " free time” (complete the oxymoron, considering the development of cognitive abilities). I'm going to debunk some of the stuff you've heard about brain training games before. Here's what I'll tell you: They don't work. Individual learning games don't make you smarter - they make you more proficient at brain learning games.

So, they do have a purpose, but the result won't last long. In order to get something out of these types of cognitive activity, one must turn to the first principle of the search for innovation. Once you master one of these cognitive activities in the brain training game, you should move on to the next challenging activity. Do you understand how to play Sudoku? Excellent! Now move on to the next type of stimulating games. There has been research that supports this logic.

A few years ago, scientist Richard Hayer wanted to know if it was possible to significantly increase cognitive ability through intensive training in new types mental activity 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 subjects of study (I know, I know - can you imagine such people exist?!). They found that after training for several weeks on a game of Tetris, the study subjects experienced an increase in cortical thickness as well as an increase in cortical activity, as evidenced by an increase in the amount of glucose used in that area of ​​the brain. Basically, the brain used more energy during that period of training, and got fatter - that means more nerve connections, or new learned experiences - after such intense training. And they became experts at Tetris. Cool, yeah?

Here's the thing: After the initial cognitive spike, 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 during the game, instead of an increase as in previous days. Why the decline? Their brains have become more efficient. Once their brain understood how to play Tetris, and really started to understand it, it became too lazy to do something. He didn't have to work as hard to play the game well, so cognitive energy and glucose went in the other direction.

Efficiency is not your friend when it comes to cognitive growth. In order for the brain to continue making new connections and keep them active, you must continue to move on to other stimulating activities once you've reached the peak of mastery in a particular activity. You want to be in a constant state of little embarrassment, struggling to achieve something, no matter what it is, as Einstein noted in his quote. It keeps the brain in limbo, so to speak. We will return to this issue later.

3. Think creatively

When I say that thinking creatively will help you improve your nervous system, I don't mean painting a picture, or doing something fancy, like the first paragraph "Look for innovation." When I talk about creative thinking, I mean direct creative cognition and what it means while the process is going on 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 here, not just the right. Creative learning includes divergent thinking (wide range topics/subjects), the ability to find distant associations with ideas, to switch between traditional and non-traditional perspectives (cognitive flexibility), and to generate original, fresh ideas that are also relevant to the activity you are doing. To do everything right, you need the right and left hemispheres to work simultaneously and together.

A few years ago, Dr. Robert Sternberg, former Dean of Tufts University, opened the PACE (Psychology of Ability, Competence, and Excellence) Center in Boston. Sternberg tried not only to define the basic concept of intelligence, but also to find ways in which any person can maximize their intelligence through training, and especially through schooling.

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 his abilities into his competence, and competence into mastery,” Sternberg explains. “Our focus is on how we can help people change their abilities so that they can better solve problems and cope with the situations they will face in life.”

While doing research, Project Rainbow, he developed not only innovative methods creative classroom learning, but produced assessments that tested students in such a way that they had to approach problem solving in a creative and practical way, as well as analytically, instead of just memorizing facts.

Sternberg explains:
“In the Rainbow Project, we appreciated creative, practical, as well as analytic skills. creative test could be, for example: ‘Here is a cartoon. Give it a name' Practical task could 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 see if teaching students to think about assignments from a creative point of view could make them learn more about a topic, enjoy learning more, and transfer what they learned to other areas. scientific activity. He wanted to see if, by changing teaching and assessment methods, it was possible to prevent "learning to take tests" and get students to learn more, in general. He collected information on this topic and still got good results.

Briefly? On average, students in the test group (those who were taught using creative methods) scored higher in their final college course scores than control group(in which training was conducted with the help of traditional methods and evaluation systems). But, just to be fair, he gave the test group the same exam. analytical type, as well as regular students (multiple choice test), and they also received more high scores on this test. This means that they were able to transfer the knowledge they received using creative, multi-modal learning methods and scored higher on a completely different cognitive test of the same material. Doesn't this remind you of anything?

4. Don't take the easy way

I mentioned earlier that efficiency is not your friend if you are trying to increase 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'm awfully bad at navigating the area. I get lost all the time. So I thanked fate for the advent of GPS. But you know what? After using the GPS for a short time, I found that my sense of direction became even worse. When it wasn't at my fingertips, I felt even more lost than before. So when I moved to Boston - the city where horror movies about the lost come from - I stopped using GPS.

I will not lie - my suffering knew no bounds. My new job meant traveling all over the outskirts of Boston, and I got lost every day for at least 4 weeks. I got lost and wandered so often that I thought that I would lose my job due to chronic lateness (even complained about me in writing). But over time I started to find right way thanks to the vast navigational experience that I gained with only my brain and map. I really began to feel where and what is in Boston thanks solely to logic and memory, and not GPS. I still remember how proud I was that I found a hotel in the city center where my friend was staying, based only on the name and description of the area - even without an address! I felt like I graduated from a navigational education school.

Technology makes our lives easier, faster, more efficient in many ways, 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 sending letters to email to my transhumanist friends about my sin against technology, I must warn you that this is not what I do at all.

Look at it this way: when you drive to work, it takes less physical strength, time, and this is a more convenient and pleasant way than walking. Everything seems to be fine. But if you only ride 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 state will weaken and you will probably 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 the best shape, not to mention improve your mental abilities? Think about the fact that if you constantly rely only on useful modern conveniences, your skills in a certain area may suffer. For example, translation software: great, but my knowledge of languages ​​deteriorated markedly as soon as I started using them. Now I force myself to think of a translation before I know the correct one. The same applies to spell check and automatic correction. In truth, auto-correction is the worst thing that has been invented to improve the thought process. You know the computer will find and correct your mistakes, so you keep typing to yourself without even thinking about it. How to spell a particular word. As a result, after several years of stable autocorrect and automatic spell checking, are we the most illiterate nation? (Wish someone did the research this issue.)

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 while you can afford the luxury of time and energy. To keep yourself in good physical form, it is recommended to walk to work as often as possible or take the stairs instead of the elevator several times a week. Don't you want your brain to stay in shape too? Put the GPS aside from time to time, and do a favor for your navigation and problem-solving skills. Keep it handy, but try to find everything yourself first. Your brain will thank you for it.

5. Be online

And so we come to the last element on the path to increasing your cognitive potential: a computer network. What's good about this last install is that if you are doing the previous four things, you are probably already doing this. If not, then start. Immediately.

By interacting with other people, 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. As you encounter new people, new ideas, and new environments, you open yourself up to new opportunities for mental growth. Being around people who may not be related to your field of activity, you can see problems with new side or discover new solutions you've never thought of before. Communication with other people on the Internet is great way learn to open yourself to everything new and perceive the unique and meaningful information. I won't even go into the social benefits and emotional well-being of a computer network, but that's just an added benefit.

Stephen Johnson, who wrote the book How good ideas”, discusses the importance of groups and networks in advancing 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 concept of "smarter" without making the network a core component. The most wonderful thing about computer networks: Beneficial for all participants. Collective mind for victory!

I have one more thing to mention...
Remember back at the beginning of this article I told a story about my clients with autism spectrum disorders? Let's think for a moment about how to increase the level of flexibility of your intellect in light of everything that we have already talked about. What are these children able to achieve on such high level? It's not an accident or a miracle - it's because we incorporated all of these teaching principles into their therapy program. While most other therapy providers are stuck on the "Infallible Learning" paradigm and slightly modified Lovaas Methods of Applied Behavior Analysis, we have embraced and fully embraced a multi-modal approach to learning. 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 abilities. But you know what? They went beyond the time frame and made me truly believe that amazing things are possible if you have the will, courage and perseverance to set yourself on this path and stick with it. If these children are handicapped can live while constantly improving their cognitive abilities, then so can you.

In parting, I'll ask a question for thought: If we have all of this supporting data showing that these learning methods and learning approaches can have such a profound positive impact on cognitive growth, why would therapy programs or school systems will not use some of these methods? I would like to see them as a standard in the field of education, and not an exception. Let's try something new and shake up the education system a bit, shall we? We would greatly raise the collective IQ.

Intelligence isn't just about how many levels in a math course you've taken, how fast you can solve an algorithm, or how many new words over 6 characters you know. It's about about getting closer to new problem, recognize its important constituents, and solve it. Then collect the knowledge gained and apply it to solve the next, more difficult problem. It's about innovation and imagination and being able to apply them to make the world a better place. It is this kind of intelligence that is valuable, and it is this kind of intelligence that we should strive for and encourage.

About the Author: Andrea Kuszewski is a consultant behavioral therapist for children with autism based in Florida; specialist in Asperger's syndrome, or high-functioning autism. She teaches the basics of behavior in society, communication, as well as the impact of behavior on the sphere of home and society, teaching children and parents about therapy methods. Andrea's work as a researcher with , the American branch Research Group on social sciences METODO Transdisciplinary, Bogota, Colombia, explores the influence of neuro-cognitive factors in human behavior - this includes aspects such as creative potential, intelligence, illicit behavior, and diffuse-confusing disorders such as schizophrenia and autism. Also, as a creativity researcher, she is a painter herself and has studied different kinds visual communication, ranging from traditional drawing to digital painting, graphic design, and 3D modeling, animation in the field medical sciences and behaviorism. She has a blog on The Rogue Neuron and on Twitter

The inclinations 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 the mental abilities of a person are 50% dependent on 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 - and he himself.

The goal of many people who want to is to fully realize the abilities inherent in them, their potential. And the sure way to achieve this goal is to keep working on increasing your intelligence. Anyone who will actively work to develop their thinking abilities, in a year he will be able to radically change himself intellectually.

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

Increasing your mental abilities is not a problem - there would be a desire and patience. Of course, the second, or we are unlikely to become - these are exceptional personalities-nuggets. But, having engaged in self-development, we will be convinced that our brain has such capabilities that we did not even suspect.

Of course, many people would like to become a genius easily and quickly without spending special efforts. Now there are many books on the development of mental abilities, for example, Stanislav Müller “Become a Genius! Secrets of superthinking" from the series "Your own psychologist", but most people are too lazy to even read them.

For them, the way out would be magic pill like the one that, by chance, went to the protagonist of the American film "The Fields of Darkness" (2011) with Bradley Cooper in leading role. Thanks to this pill, the brain of a failed writer from New York works with incredible power, and the depressive hero turns into a brilliant stock trader with huge prospects. But without a pill, he's nobody. In addition, it turned out that wonderful pills that improve brain function have serious side effects.

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

What is IQ

In 1912 German psychologist Wilhelm Stern introduced the concept of "intelligence quotient" - IQ. It is determined using various tests with tasks of increasing complexity. The average value 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.

Andrea Kuszewski is an American consultant and behavioral therapist. She works with children with autism who have cognitive impairments. One of her first patients was a delayed boy mental development: his IQ showed little mental retardation. After three years of learning to read, math, play, and communicate using the method she developed, his IQ was 100. Similar successes in the development of intelligence were observed in other children with cognitive impairments, with whom classes were conducted.

Therefore, if children with learning problems can develop rapidly, then the average person who does not have such problems, as they say, and the 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 under the power of everyone, regardless of the level of his initial abilities.

We develop mental abilities

1. Looking for innovation

All geniuses are usually erudite - 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 intellect must be open to everything new: knowledge, activities, events. After all, each new activity promotes 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 increases 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 forever forget about studying, 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, sign up for courses - for example, painting, playing the guitar, Latin American dances, go in for a new sport, go on a journey for new experiences.

The value for the development of mental 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 developing games for the brain that train memory and concentration: poker, preference, chess, backgammon, computer games like Tetris, Sudoku.

True, psychologists involved in the development of intelligence advise, having achieved mastery in one game, move on 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 task 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, no umbrella, far from home, and the rain, most likely, for a long time;
• we rush to important meeting, and our heel suddenly breaks;
• the wallet with money and credit cards disappeared, and we are in a foreign city;
• we were invited to a party where we do not know anyone except the mistress of the house, who was urgently called to work;

3.2. After watching a movie come up with a name for it;

3.3. We open any book and write out 10 words taken at random from it. Now let's try to find a connection between them and make up of them short story out of 10 offers;

3.4. Imagine being an architect, before which the customer set the task of designing a house. The house is not simple: the project should reflect 10 words invented by the customer: fish, walnut, brick, cat, water, etc. We fantasize and draw a brick house, next to it is a walnut tree on which a cat sits and looks at the fish swimming in pond, etc.;

3.5. Choose any item you like, located in the room, and select 5 adjectives that best correspond to it. For example, orange - juicy, Spanish, orange, delicious, sweet. And 5 adjectives that are the least suitable for him: feline, sharp, kerchief, herbal, cloudy;

3.6. On a piece of paper draw 20 crosses and on the basis of each of them we depict an object that our imagination tells us: for example, a mill, a pan, a dragonfly, chessboard. Instead of crosses, as a blank 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 brain, devoid of stress, at the same time relaxes. Take at least, thanks to which we have successfully forgotten how to perform even the simplest arithmetic operations in the mind or on paper.

Or GPS, which helps to navigate the terrain. Those accustomed to it eventually find that they are no longer able to do without it, so they have lost own feeling orientation.

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

Technology makes life easier, but at the same time, cognitive abilities suffer, because the brain needs training. Of course, there is no need to give up the benefits of civilization and products modern technologies, but sometimes it's worth letting the brain work to keep it in good shape.

The theme of increasing the intellectual level. The most popular answer, with 1,600 upvotes, came from a degree in theoretical physics, Steve Denton. The editors of the CPU chose the key practical advice from this post.

The brain needs intellectual challenges

In the course of solving complex problems, such as learning a new language, a field of mathematics, or mastering an unfamiliar musical instrument, the brain becomes more plastic and flexible. According to Denton, one win-win option is to study various areas mathematics - this science opens wide opportunities for brain development. Mathematics classes allow you to train logical, numerical and visual abstract thinking, while improving concentration skills and "mental endurance".

Steve Denton

You should associate with well-educated people

Meetings and conversations with highly intelligent people can improve the functioning of your own brain. In the course of such conversations, you can learn a lot of new things, in addition, it is very useful to understand the train of thought of smart people.

Computer games can be used to train the intellect

Games are different - shooters and sports simulators allow you to have a good time and train your reaction, but in terms of developing intelligence, they are not particularly useful. Denton recommends choosing games that involve solving complex problems and making multiple decisions. The physicist himself is a fan of the game EVE - in his opinion, it is the most complex and versatile of all computer games ( game system runs on the most powerful gaming supercomputer called Tranquility).

Read at least one serious book a week

Brain training with special software

Denton advises using special software for brain development, with the only caveat - you need to use only services that have proven their effectiveness. Most of these projects in reality do not allow you to achieve the results that their creators promise - most often with their help you can only learn how to play a certain game well, which does not translate into an improvement in the general cognitive abilities of a person. However, the Dual N-Back project was able to prove its effectiveness. Another positive moment- can be downloaded for free.

A healthy lifestyle is important

Playing sports has a positive effect on brain function, healthy and not too short sleep also increases productivity (however, “oversleeping” can be even more harmful than lack of sleep). It is important to use alcohol wisely - in small amounts it helps to relax and communicate more freely - as mentioned above, communication with other people is good for the brain. But excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages (like smoking) causes obvious harm to the body. In addition, for the most effective work The brain needs proper nutrition. Get required amount nutrients the body can only with a balanced diet - a person should eat fruits, vegetables, fish and meat.

You need to get rid of limiting ideas about your own intellectual level.

Many people are actually smarter than they think they are. Often this humble attitude to their mental abilities does not allow them to achieve more in life. This phenomenon is called the Dunning-Kruger effect, according to which people with below-average intelligence often overestimate their intelligence, while those with above-average intelligence often underestimate their abilities. You can get rid of such an attitude towards yourself with the help of a simple logical refutation of myths about your own insolvency.

In the article you will learn:

Intelligence and 5 easy ways to increase it

Hello my readers! I am glad that you are with me again, as I will tell you now5 simple ways how to increase your intelligence. Of course, we won’t become geniuses from this, but we’ll also be less “stupid”☺ Especially, I appreciated the results in professional field. And what can we say, we will all be old, and I personally early age I don't want to lose my cognitive abilities and ruin the life of my grandchildren!☺

Moreover, it is not necessary to practice all the methods, two or three are enough and your brain will work much better and before old age keep reasonable.

To not be like the cat Matroskin in the famous cartoon:“We have the funds. We are not smart enough…”

By the way, the intellect and the psyche influence each other, so another important argument for “pumping” the brain is stress prevention and harmony of life.

Why exactly him?

Yes, you ask, what is intelligence and why should it be developed? I understand it as the ability to think qualitatively. That is, not just to think, but to be able to think, perceive any information in the most effective way for you. To accept the right decision. This is just what the doctor ordered, right? Intelligence also includes the ability to adapt to new situations and apply abstract concepts.

All in all, intelligence is

• critical thought
• adaptation to situations
• learning ability
• ability to use your knowledge
• resource planning

By increasing your intelligence, you increase the abilities listed above.

Number one is the most important

Just think how automated our lives are! Most information (media, job responsibilities, everyday affairs) we perceive on the machine and instantly give out in response the most predictable and habitual reactions. In such conditions, not only creative, but also intellectual possibilities There is no place.

Therefore, the first and most important way in my guide: to be able to think - you need to think critically! That is, how can think critically more often. Yes, it's so simple, but incredibly important. For example, over a book that has been read, over an event that has occurred or a situation that has arisen in reality and on the screen. Before you say or do anything, take a special pause for analysis and only then do or answer.

You can also read some books for self-development approaching this with a critical eye.

You can't do without it

The second method is to include in the work such properties of thinking as attention, memory, perception. For example, if you have paintings, maps, and more hanging at home or at work, turn them upside down. The usual things are seen and perceived in a completely different way, right?

Following this example, try to do the ordinary differently: change the route to work, the order in which papers are stored, the structure of the report, the order of cleaning the house. Do a periodic rearrangement in the rooms, it will also refresh the bored life.

More at homegood take on this: do in the dark what you do in daylight. Have you noticed how attentive and concentrated you are when you return from the toilet to the bedroom in a dark apartment at night? Now try not only to walk around different rooms in the dark, but also, for example, clean up, change clothes, wash or even take a shower. Believe me, in addition to benefits, you will get a lot of interesting sensations!

I know what I'm talking about, because I myself periodically get up something like that. Often I write and brush my teeth with my left hand (I'm right handed), I like to take a bath or wash my face in the dark - this greatly sharpens the perception of the body. Sometimes I watch TV upside down. It all may seem strange to you, but 1) it's fun 2) increases intelligence

And in order to develop and work with memory, read my article "", there are links to very useful resources with memory games.

Two halves of one whole

Another excellent method of intellectual self-development, which I have already mentioned a little, is the training of the right and left hemispheres of the brain. Contrary to stereotypes, both hemispheres are equally important in the formation of "quality brains." Start from the very available exercise – learn to write with the hand you use the least. At least a few lines a day and you will make significant progress.

This seems to be a simple tip, but it is very difficult to follow at first! I read in one article about visualization that if you want to embody the desired life scenario into reality - then write it down with your left hand (if you are right-handed) in a notebook for 21 days. Horror! These are the torments you will have to endure, how to suffer, drawing hooks and roundels like a first-grader.

Also start doing various household trifles less active hand- washing dishes, combing, fastening buttons, brushing teeth.

Right-handers it is worth taking up learning to play musical instruments, drawing, vocals or creating creative crafts, and left-handers, respectively, practice the solution logic puzzles and math exercises.

We speak different languages

The next method is learning foreign languages. Although some skeptics consider learning different languages just a memory training, I am convinced that this good technique if not increase, then strengthen and train mental activity. Moreover, it has been proven that the study of languages ​​prevents senile mental illness, which means that there is a connection with intellectual potential.

Judge for yourself, in order to learn a language, you need to find patterns for applying the rules, compare various factors and concepts, analyze new words as symbols. Therefore, learn languages, and also acquire a mega-useful skill for traveling, reading foreign forums, books and watching movies in the original.

I recommend reading about books that increase intelligence. So you double or even triple the effect!

Everything new is useful

The fifth method in my piggy bank of tools to increase intelligence - searching and getting new impressions. There is just an incredible variety and richness of imagination. Try rock climbing or a trip to a Harry Potter studio. Firstly, travel provides a lot of new information that will be remembered easily and will give food for thought. Study different cultures, traditions and laws, compare them with each other. Study cuisine, life and people, this is a great opportunity to train your brain.

Secondly, the right films also help to brainstorm. What films are worth watching, read in my article " Films about self-development and self-improvement". Third, look for sources of knowledge in various hobbies and interesting activities. Be sure to improve your professional skills, participate in courses and trainings, or conduct your own!

Getting rid of barriers

Of course, it makes no sense to treat the disease if it provokes the onset of its symptoms. And that means everything pollutes the brain and does not allow them to rest, should be removed as garbage in your life: TV, hanging on social networks, inefficient pastime.

Also without active brain stimulation blood and provide essential nutrients, develop intellectual ability impossible. So do it systematically physical exercises, stay healthy, stay active and eat right.

However, do not forget about the classic ways to increase intelligence: solve puzzles, guess at puzzles and crossword puzzles, visit quest rooms. Be smart and smart!

Tell me, do you use any methods to increase intelligence? Or rely on genetics?
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