The Magnetic Memory Method Podcast

If you want to know how to increase IQ, the answer is simple.

Create and complete goals.

Sounds like a sweeping statement, doesn’t it?

I’ll explain why it’s true on this page.

And rest assured, the main reason why intelligence goes stagnant in the first place is also simple to explain.

It comes from the absence of goals, or the bad habit of not completing the ones you set for yourself.

Think of it this way:

Failing to continually fuel yourself with goals leads to feelings of worthlessness and shame on a downward spiral to rock bottom.

But once you understand that intelligence requires goals in order to grow, there are endless self-directed missions you can create that are scientifically proven to make you smarter.

And to help you even more, I’ll give you a list of suggested activities that improve cognitive function quickly.

Ready to boost your IQ in ways that are easy and fun?

Let’s get started.

Can You Increase Your IQ?

In a word, yes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXl_s6wnmak

The only catch is that there are multiple kinds of intelligence.

Now, I’m not asking you to understand the difference between crystal and fluid intelligence. But if you want to increase your understanding of psychology and memory, you should learn about such matters.

You should also look into the science of IQ testing, which remains divided.

That division is a good thing because testing and retesting our assumptions is what science is all about. Richard Haeir is one of the more progressive scientists working on intelligence, and in this interview suggests that treatments to help people improve their IQ scores may be coming in the near future.

For now, I see every reason to believe you can increase your intelligence and it comes down to how you definite it. I also see no reason to limit the understanding of your “intelligence quotient” to a test that may not reflect the kinds of problems you tackle in your everyday life.

So how should the lifelong learner craft a personal definition of intelligence that can be worked on scientifically as an individual? Here’s an attempt:

Intelligence is the ability to learn new information.

And since there are many kinds of information, it’s important that you are specific. That’s where proper goal-setting comes in.

As you’ll discover today, you can pick individual kinds of information to focus on and get incredible boosts as a result.

Think of choosing specific goals like riding in a single lane. Instead of weaving around, you stick within the chosen framework. This fixity itself creates more focus, leading to boosts in intelligence.

How To Increase Intelligence:
An Important Nuance You Need To Know

Of course, some readers might be thinking:

“That’s my problem! I can’t learn new things!”

If that’s the case, don’t worry. Learning how to learn is the first goal you’ll want to set.

You can do that quite readily by learning related skills that will increase your meta-learning intelligence.

For example, you can focus on how to:

• Read faster
• Use objective reasoning
• Practice reflective thinking
• Think more logically
• Improve your memory using a Memory Palace

The point is to be goal-oriented. Pick one goal at a time. Master it thoroughly.

This nuance really matters because when people fail to complete a learning project, their intelligence about how to learn is lacking.

People who do not learn how to learn always remain frustrated with their inability to increase their intelligence.

But when you bolster up on how to learn, your intelligence can grow predictably.

What Increases IQ?

The big picture for some quick wins boils down to common sense.

For example:

• Regular exercise has been shown to boost your intelligence
• Medita...

Why study philosophy?

After all, aren’t philosophers just a bunch of people who use big words in unreadable books?

I mean, think about it...

Half the time it seems like they’re preaching to us about how we should act in the world while they bumble through their personal lives.

Although that assumption can prove true more often than I’d like, the importance of philosophy is not owned by philosophers.

It’s also not necessarily the “love of wisdom” as people often translate it from the ancient Greek, φιλοσοφία.

As Emmanuel Levinas put it, we might do better if we think about philosophy as “the wisdom of love.”

I find Levinas’ formulation useful because it reveals how better thinking can help us discover what’s truly important in life.

And when we focus on allowing the love in wisdom to guide us, we will almost certainly respond to our fellow citizens from an elevated position.

Sure, it might not involve “love” as such in a personal way, but it will certainly involve much higher levels of care.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU2Z9J-MijI

What Is the Purpose of Philosophy?

Philosophy has many purposes. One of the best is that it helps us learn how to think. And the more we practice philosophy, the more we have a chance to keep our thinking skills sharp.

Thinking philosophically serves many outcomes too, including benefits for your career. You can benefit from philosophy as a lawyer, artist, civil servant, musician, programmer, manager, or author.

Even if you work in a career that seems like it wouldn’t benefit from critical thinking, you can still engage fruitfully in philosophy.

This is true in three senses because:

One: Philosophy is an active form of thinking.

Not merely think about the questions that arise in life, but to analyze and then argue in a way that produces positive outcomes.

Along the way, we might also create new concepts, a major point made by Deleuze and Guattari in What is Philosophy?.

We can also create entirely new subject areas or what the philosopher Michel Foucault called discourses.

For example, Foucault points out how Sigmund Freud made it possible to think about the nature of the mind in a way that created far more conversations about things like the “unconscious” than ever before.

By extension, philosophy helps us reorganize existing concepts in unique ways. This is important because if we always approach the history of ideas from the same types of organization, we risk having them always produce the same conclusions.

That’s why I’m always interviewing different memory experts and getting their take on memory science.

For example, speaking with people like Tyson Yunkaporta, Scott Gosnell and Lynne Kelly has provided clues for new ways we can talk about the philosophy of memory by reorganizing how we’ve thought about philosophers of memory from the past.

Two: Personal outlook on life

Active thinking also helps us produce answers to big questions that guide how we live our personal lives.

• What is existence?
• Why do things change?
• What is right?
• What is wrong?
• What inalienable rights do humans have? How about animals and plants?
• How do laws function and under what circumstances can they be ethically broken?
• What is the nature of the mind?
• What is science? Is philosophy itself scientific?
• What is art?
• How do we know that our definitions of the terms we use are correct?
• Why do we believe what we believe?
• Why do we take so many things for granted without examining them?

The purpose of philosophy is to ask and answer questions like these, and there are many more. The more we spend time answering such questions, the better equipped we a...

Want to know why the biggest barriers to critical thinking are so insidious?

The answer is simple:

It’s because they’re lurking inside you.

And if you don’t know that these barriers are standing between you and exploding your thinking abilities, you’re powerless to improve your situation.

Starting right now, let’s identify and remove the biggest barriers.

You’ll experience greater clarity of mind just by knowing what they are and how to get them out of your life.

The 9 Most Common Barriers to Critical Thinking (And How to Overcome Them)

As you go through this list, keep a journal.

Write down the ones that pose the biggest issue for you.

Then make time on your calendar to deal with each.

Rest assured, without putting in the time, nothing will change.

But when you do, your independent thinking abilities will explode.

One: Letting The World Revolve Around You

Most of us experience inner talk. And it’s normal to include yourself and your experiences in the topics you think about.

But those who have excellent critical thinking skills know how to contextualize their SRIN.

What is SRIN?

Self-referential Inner Narrative.

Others call this the “blah blah blah” monkey-mind.

No matter what you call it, if you can’t think about contexts larger than your immediate self, it will be impossible to think critically.

Here’s what to do instead:

• Notice when you say or think things like, “I don’t personally know anyone this has happened to.”
• Stop and think about the larger context at the level of your neighborhood, your city, your region, your country, your continent, your hemisphere and the world. Where relevant, include the entire universe.
• Imagine a topic through the eyes of at least one other person. In autobiographical memory studies, this is called shifting from the field perspective to the observer perspective.
• Ask about what would be true even if you did not exist.

For more help, these critical thinking examples will help you think through other perspectives.

Two: Lack Of Critical Thinking Skills

If you want to remove the obstacles to critical thinking you’re experiencing, some study will be involved.

Critical thinking books abound and it is worth spending time with some of the best. Look for books that include examples and exercises.

You’ll also want to think about a particular goal for critical thinking that you have. For example, do you want to think better as a student preparing for law school? Or do you need thinking skills for being a better contributor to your family or neighborhood?

Setting a goal can help guide which resources you choose and your study and practice plan.

Three: Not Knowing Your Cognitive Biases

We are all included to make serious errors in our thinking.

But we’re not alone in making them. Far from it.

In fact, because all of us operate from having a human brain, psychologists have identified patterns.

These are called cognitive biases.

One that I suffer from quite badly is called “recency bias.” Basically, it’s very tempting for me to judge reality based on the most recent events, rather than looking at the broad scope of history.

I use all of the tips on this page to cope and improve. One of the most helpful is to engage in continual discussions with friends about history as I continue to read history.

The more you know and discuss the past, the more you are automatically reminded of a bias like this.

What cognitive biases are strongest in your life?

Four: Being In A Hurry

We’re all in a rush once in a while.

But it’s one of the biggest critical thinking challenges all the same.

If you don’t stop and think, mistakes are so much easier to make.

One of my favorite tools for making sure I don’t rush into making decisions without thinking about them is c...

David Perell is an author who helps people excel in what you might call the business of creativity.

And frankly, I think he’s a memory artist too.

For example, everything that has to do with writing winds up involving the most positive form of spaced repetition. It’s like the ultimate mnemonic device.

But it’s not traditional spaced repetition or rote learning.

It’s creative repetition.

But these matters aren’t the only reason I wanted to interview David.

I’m also interested in how he’s using technologies of today to educate people.

As the founder of Write of Passage, David helps people generate ideas systematically and transform them into living, breathing and published pieces.

He is doing this though cohort-based training programs online and has been generating incredible results for people who tired of ineffective writing methods.

If you’re interested in expressing yourself through writing and developing career-level chops, definitely check his program out.

As I often like to say, writing is the source of all wealth. I believe it is also a key source of memory too.

Enjoy this conversation and I hope to hear from you in writing soon!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pMzpbKJMTw

David’s YouTube Channel

David’s website

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Developing a Memory Palace for programming is fast and fun. You need five additional mnemonic systems too. Learn everything you need now.