Ask HN: How do you become smarter?

I’m in early 30s and I do think health is crucial but you’re kinda missing the big picture. I feel like I know 100x more than I knew 10 years ago. I am also much more experienced in many fields, not only work/programming but cooking, driving, swimming, talking to people and so forth. The point is I’m good at many things I wasn’t good in my 20s. But I haven’t improved in my 20s only, I’ve been upgrading myself or so to say every day since day one. As cliche as it sounds. Therefore I just know my weak spots much better than ever before and I realize I forget about this and that but not due to my aging brain but mostly to my vast knowledge and experience. Also my self awareness is on another level and I’m sure I was dumber even 5 years ago but I couldn’t see it back then. It’s like going back to 1999, looking at Windows 98SE and thinking interfaces couldn’t get any better.

Also I think kids change everything. Got none of my own but it’s so hard to focus when you have to think for them as they do stupid stuff all the time. Once went to play squash with my 10 year old cousin and he literally lost his shoe, then a towel then a key to his locker. All within an hour. And many people will tell you they were smarter as kids.

Follow instructions from Hacker News. That is definitely how one might adjust their intelligence.

I am also in my early 30s and noticed the reverse. I can now understand more complex subjects (like advanced probability or functional programming) that I had trouble conceptualizing when I was younger. I am not sure if it's the age factor or the fact that I have been exposed to other things and the bigger picture is becoming clearer.

My own advice would be to not do anything you won't be doing now. There is no "smarter" being. A fish is smarter than you in the ocean but I don't think that's the kind of smart you want. If you want to improve your "global" smartness or understanding, then try to explore other languages.

You can, for example, learn Arabic or Chinese. Learning Spanish is cool but if you only speak English you have been already exposed to a latin language. You can, for another example, learn Rust if you have been programming with Python/TypeScript. If you have been focused on programming for your entire career, another useful thing you can learn is psychology.

Notice all my advice converge to the same idea: learn a new way to communicate.

it’s amazing how much younger and sharper exercise, proper diet, and good sleep can make you feel. or at least, that’s been my experience. i was astonished when i realized it wasn’t as much “getting old” as it was ”shit habits” that i was feeling.

I guess there are lots of different interpretations of what it takes to be "smarter".

Personally I've learnt several foreign languages to the point where I can read classic novels in one of them. Different cultures and idioms help me see things in a different light.

I have also dabbled with woodworking, gardening / hydroponics, electronics / embedded systems. Read more widely in the fields of chemistry, biology and linguistics. Also read biographies of notable people.

Do I feel smarter? Not really. The more I learn and discover the more I realize all the things that I know nothing about.