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You can increase your intelligence

blogs.scientificamerican.com

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Re: You can increase your intelligence

#111

Post by swah »

fersho311 wrote: post #50

Every day, I train my memory by memorizing a pack of cards. I started because I had lousy memory and I wanted to improve it. I have been going at it for a few weeks now, memorizing and shuffling a deck of cards (twice a day). I can now memorize a deck of cards in just a little over 3 minutes (I started at a painful 19 minutes). Have I noticed am improvement in my memory? Yes, and much much more. What I've come to rea…

Do you do the Dominic method or something similar (tell a story with the cards, etc) ?

Re: You can increase your intelligence

#112

Post by namenotrequired »

hownottowrite wrote: post #41

The question is... Can you make yourself less intelligent by indulging in the antithesis of the authors five principles? (viz. Seek Novelty; Challenge Yourself; Think Creatively; Do Things The Hard Way; Network)

Let's see... Avoid novelty; Only take on easy things; Don't think creatively; Do things the most convenient way; Don't network.

...in other words, live a stationary life, do the same things you always did in the same way with the same people.

I don't know if any research exists to support this but it seems pretty likely, to me, that this will make one less intelligent.

Re: You can increase your intelligence

#113

Post by danielbln »

arkitaip wrote: post #37
arrfscarf wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Focus! Here I am wasting time/procrastinating. There certain days, that no matter what I do, consistent concentration is impossible.

Hear, hear. I'm getting kinda desperate in my non existing pursuit of being able to focus / getting things done. I am considering meditation but I'm not sure there's actual evidence that it actually makes it easier to focus.

Here are two no-BS, straight forward guided meditations by Sam Harris, one is 9 and another 26 minutes long.

http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/mindfulness-meditation

Here is a bit more background on it: http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/how-to-meditate

There is plenty of scientifically backed studies and documents out there when it comes to mindfulness If you are a skeptic though, as am I, be wary of the masses of esoterically/religiously contaminated resources on the web, when it comes to meditation.

Re: You can increase your intelligence

#114

Post by arh68 »

fersho311 wrote: post #50

Every day, I train my memory by memorizing a pack of cards. I started because I had lousy memory and I wanted to improve it. I have been going at it for a few weeks now, memorizing and shuffling a deck of cards (twice a day). I can now memorize a deck of cards in just a little over 3 minutes (I started at a painful 19 minutes). Have I noticed am improvement in my memory? Yes, and much much more. What I've come to rea…

I was inspired by a thread similar to this one several weeks ago to memorize a few digits of pi. I don't think it helped me in any way, but I like the imperative to recognize and identify simple patterns. It's just the right mix of hard and easy. It's not every day, but I often just grab a pen or New text file and start recalling.

The patterns are what draw me. How I remember it changes slightly (as I forget old patterns) over time but today: I go by groups of 5, 100 digits. There's the 8-2-2-8 near the beginning (w/ 2^3=8, & reversed), the 5-4-6-3 right after. The 5-7-5-7 (w/ 7 49, then 7, 81, 64) comes next. The permutations of 02668, the 34s, etc.

The thing is: the numbers are random(ish), but the patterns are there. The mind can find patterns in anything, you just have to cultivate it.

Do you think card-deck-memory could pull off any magic tricks? Pi isn't really a crowd pleaser.. :|

Re: You can increase your intelligence

#115

Post by fersho311 »

JakeSc wrote: post #52
fersho311 wrote: post #50

Every day, I train my memory by memorizing a pack of cards. I started because I had lousy memory and I wanted to improve it. I have been going at it for a few weeks now, memorizing and shuffling a deck of cards (twice a day). I can now memorize a deck of cards in just a little over 3 minutes (I started at a painful 19 minutes). Have I noticed am improvement in my memory? Yes, and much much more. What I've come to rea…

How did you decide to embark on this challenge? Do you have any online resources that you can link to so we can learn more?

Here's a bicycle shop analogy by Tim ferris about how to get started: http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2013/02/07/how-to-memor...

Re: You can increase your intelligence

#116

Post by warmfuzzykitten »

By a strange coincidence, yesterday a link to this article appeared on the same Hacker News page as this.

http://www.gwern.net/Drug%20heuristics?2

The argument there is that - in healthy people - not much can be done to improve intelligence, and speculates on reasons why. The qualification suggests that experience working with autistic children is not relevant to the general population.

That this link has been voted up to the front page and the other hasn't perhaps says more about the optimism of the community than the respective merits of the two positions.

Re: You can increase your intelligence

#117

Post by rafcavallaro »

flipgimble wrote: post #108
vidarh wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If meditation does not make it easier for you to focus, you will be unable to progress with your meditation. It's that simple - increasing your focus is integral to progress in meditation practice. Meditation consists of two main "directions": Concentration practice and contemplation practices. Most schools of meditation has one of these as their main focus, but contemplation practice includes certain levels of conce…

While I'm familiar with everything you described from previous experience I have to say that was masterfully described. I've found that meditation has so much cultural and 'religious' sounding baggage attached to it that people who would benefit most dismiss it out of hand. Your post cut through that. When I started meditation I thought it would give me some sort of mental superpowers (Tibetan Buddhist IMO are quick…

The spiritual baggage comes from the fact that in these traditions meditation is a tool to develop concentration so that the meditator can focus his/her full attention on some form of the question "who am I" - that is, "what is my true identity" - sometimes aided by focus on a koan (a puzzle meant to spur an insight into ones real identity)

Spoiler alert - you're supposed to discover by direct experience that your real self is neither a homunculus looking out through your eyes, nor is it coterminous with your body, and this direct experience that your true self is everything that is, is intended to lead to compassion for other beings.

Re: You can increase your intelligence

#118

Post by thekbe »

arh68 wrote: post #114
fersho311 wrote: post #50

Every day, I train my memory by memorizing a pack of cards. I started because I had lousy memory and I wanted to improve it. I have been going at it for a few weeks now, memorizing and shuffling a deck of cards (twice a day). I can now memorize a deck of cards in just a little over 3 minutes (I started at a painful 19 minutes). Have I noticed am improvement in my memory? Yes, and much much more. What I've come to rea…

I was inspired by a thread similar to this one several weeks ago to memorize a few digits of pi. I don't think it helped me in any way, but I like the imperative to recognize and identify simple patterns. It's just the right mix of hard and easy. It's not every day, but I often just grab a pen or New text file and start recalling. The patterns are what draw me. How I remember it changes slightly (as I forget old patt…

Pi is definitely a crowd pleaser. Many a time have I captivated fellow friends with it. Say it fast though.

Re: You can increase your intelligence

#119

Post by thesz »

gwern wrote: post #80
fersho311 wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you lift weights, will it only improve your ability to lift weights? ;)

The brain is not a muscle, as tempting as the analogy may be.

Actually, it looks like it is.

See brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which will be elevated after many exercise, be them of mental origin or just walking.

Lifting weights also counts.

Re: You can increase your intelligence

#120

Post by gwern »

thesz wrote: post #119
gwern wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The brain is not a muscle, as tempting as the analogy may be.

Actually, it looks like it is. See brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which will be elevated after many exercise, be them of mental origin or just walking. Lifting weights also counts.

> See brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which will be elevated after many exercise, be them of mental origin or just walking.

Just because they share some biological commonalties (of course they do! How could it be otherwise?) doesn't make them meaningfully the same thing, any more than them both having lots of mitochondria does.

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