Boost Your Fluid Intelligence

Scientists believe that humans have two separate yet equally important forms of intelligence. One of these types is called crystallized intelligence, which refers to the person’s knowledge and experience that draws upon everything they have learned in their lives. Crystallized intelligence naturally increases with age due to expanded experienced.

The other type is called fluid intelligence. This is the kind of logical reasoning and pattern identification that we must perform immediately when we are in the process of learning new things. In other words this type of intelligence is what we use to eventually acquire crystallized intelligence. How can humans improve fluid intelligence?

Try New Activities

The only way to improve at learning new things is to learn new things as often as possible. When the brain is exposed to new ideas, it creates neurons for faster processing. Your brain essential primes itself for learning by releasing dopamine. This is one reason why children learn so quickly. Everything they experience is new to them. Adults often plateau because they get into a routine and cease to challenge their minds.

Increase Difficulty

Once the new activities become easy, you must find ways to improve the difficulty. It’s best when your mind is constantly in a state of slight discomfort. You want to set lofty goals for your learning abilities. More complex goals require more complex effort on the part of your brain. The average gym rat thinks of physical activity the same way. The muscles must be challenged and taxed as much as possible to grow. The same is true for fluid intelligence.

Think More Creatively

Creative thinking doesn’t always involve art. Creative thinking is any type of thinking that goes against what you normally do. If you’re a musician, then creative thinking would involve science and mathematics. Engineers might consider poetry as creative thinking. This means using every part of your brain instead of just the main part you use each day for your job or your hobbies. Creative thinking helps intelligence grow at a much quicker rate.

Increase Social Skills

Humans are social creatures in a number of important ways. One of those ways involves intelligence. When people are exposed to new people, they are also exposed to new ideas and new ways of thinking. Entering social environments will help a person remember names, remember what someone said about their shirt, and learn more about their own life. Networking helps the brain process new information at a very fast rate.