How to Get Smarter by Training Your Fluid Intelligence

When you analyze successful business people like Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, etc., what is the first thing that comes to mind? And what do they have in common? They are really intelligent people. This article will discuss how you can train your fluid intelligence and how it will help you in the long run.

There are a number of different forms of intelligence. You might have met people who are really “book smart” but fall short in other cognitive skills or problem-solving. That’s because they lack fluid intelligence.

That’s why fluid intelligence is so important. Think of it as “applied intelligence.”

What is Fluid Intelligence?

Fluid intelligence involves the ability to think and reason to solve problems. Many believe that this is a learned ability, and it is unrelated to your experience and education. Thus, you can increase it by doing certain exercises.

When would such intelligence come into play?

When you encounter a new problem that cannot be solved with your existing knowledge, fluid intelligence helps to solve it.

As we get older, certain cognitive skills and cognitive and fluid intelligence tend to decline. Hence the importance of continually sharpen your mind.

How is Fluid Intelligence Increased?

Behavioral and Brain Sciences conducted a study assessing the impact of brain training games on fluid intelligence.

Participants played Tetris for several weeks. The results indicated that cortical thickness and activity in the brain increased. Both indicate an increase in neural connection and learned expertise. In other words, the brain got smarter.

However, after a few weeks, the cortical thickness and activity in that area decreased. Eventually, it returned to what it used to be before the participants started playing the game.

What Happened, and What Does It Mean?

After a certain period, the subjects became proficient in playing the game; thus, the neural connections were no longer necessary.

The result indicates that once you figure out a problem, your brain no longer needs fluid intelligence. It becomes a repetition.

Therefore, playing games like Tetris, Sudoku puzzles, and other brain games is only beneficial for your fluid intelligence until you figure it out.

Likewise, learning to code a new program will improve your fluid intelligence until you’ve mastered it. At that point, it becomes a process. That is the same for any other activity. Once you learn it and have the understanding, your brain activity slows.

Once you achieve a level of comfort, your brain doesn’t have to work as hard, and the mental muscles are not used as much.

What Can You Do?

That’s the question that you might be asking. To keep the juices flowing to your brain, once you mastered a game, or a new skill, move on to something new.

It is best to keep challenging yourself. You learn new skills, and your brain will forge more neural connections. Ultimately, it will be easier to keep learning and growing.

Another added benefit of learning regularly is that you will be able to associate knowledge — which is the process of relating something new to something you know.

That means, you are able to apply greater context, which helps with memory storage and retrieval.

Additionally, research indicates that associate learning makes it even easier to learn and retain more information.

Conclusion

While fluid intelligence is mostly used for solving problems, improving it can also help other types of intelligence. To continually train your fluid intelligence, you must keep your brain uncomfortable.

Learning new games or puzzles are an excellent way to keep fluid going into your brain. However, once you figure it out, you should move on to another challenge.

To keep your brain fluids going, I highly suggest you keep pushing yourself and learning new things about your business, clients, industry, etc. It will help you be more successful, and it will increase your crystallized intelligence and fluid intelligence.