How to Increase Intelligence by Stimulating Your Mind
There are many people who think that genius and intelligence is the same thing. The two definitions sound somewhat similar and so it is easy to see how they are sometimes thought to be the same. However, you must perform a close inspection of the two meanings to truly see the difference. Genius is described as an exceptional natural capacity of intellect and can describe a character, time period, group of people, or even a language. Genius is predominantly shown in creative and original works in art, science, music, math, and so on. Intelligence is described as a capacity for learning, understanding, and reasoning. These are all just forms of mental activity that can be learned. Intelligence is also being able to grasp concepts, truths, facts, meanings, and relationships. Now that’s not to say that someone who is considered a genius cannot do those things. A genius can most certainly comprehend facts, concepts, and meanings and they use their knowledge, or intelligence, to make genius discoveries or produce genius works of art or music. To understand genius and intelligence, you must understand how your brain works in regards to each one.
Your brain is made up of many different parts that control different functions. The cerebral cortex is the outermost part of your brain which controls your thoughts and reasoning and are considered your brain’s higher functions. Your brain’s lower functions take place in the deeper part of your brain and they control your survival functions such as breathing and sleeping, for example. There are different types of tests that you can take that target different parts of your brain to measure your intelligence. The most well-known test is called the Intelligence Quotient test, or IQ test. This is a standardized test that measures how smart you are by testing your memory, language, mathematical, and spatial abilities. These are all functions that you can learn and train to become better at. Whereas, genius is not something that is learned or practiced in order to become better at. Genius is taking what you know or learned and using that in an innovative way to create advancements in your particular field of interest. Surprisingly, many people who are considered geniuses don’t do well on IQ tests because the test is too generalized. Many scientists feel that intelligence is too broad of a field to be able to measure accurately and should be broken down into categories. Howard Gardner is a psychologist and a professor at Harvard University. He came up with the seven intelligences which include logical-mathematical, linguistic, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and spatial. He believes that these seven intelligences explain the concept of genius much better than the standardized IQ test. The seven intelligences can be used to point out geniuses and their accomplishments all throughout history.
Genius can be associated with great works of art, groundbreaking scientific discoveries, and complex languages just to name a few. Albert Einstein is by far one of the most prolific geniuses of all time. He was a theoretical physicist who is best known for his theory of relativity. He is often referred to as the father of modern physics and has won many awards for his scientific discoveries and theories including a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921.His scientific works helped the U.S. government during World War II when he instructed them to do more research on atomic weapons which led to the Manhattan Project. You may also know musical geniuses such as Mozart, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Franz Liszt. Their music is taught in classrooms all over the world and enjoyed by many. Some scientists say that listening to Mozart while taking a test will make your score higher because the music arouses specific parts of your brain. Art is also an area where many geniuses have proven their genius status. Artists such as Dante, Caravaggio, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Vincent Van Gogh are just a few who are known for their timeless masterpieces that are enjoyed all over the world today. Many philosophers such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Socrates, and Diogenes are celebrated geniuses known for their philosophical insights and theories. Only a handful of these geniuses were known and liked during their time. Macabre writer, Edgar Allen Poe died at the age of forty with pennies in his pockets and was not recognized for his talent as a writer during his lifetime. Many geniuses are praised and recognized long after they are gone. Some feel that their theories, ideas or creativity were too radical or advanced for their generation. It isn’t until well after their death that many of them are celebrated for their genius thinking and creativity.
There are many different exercises you can do to stimulate your brain activity and increase your intelligence. Now, these exercises are by no means meant to make you an instant genius over night! However, these exercises strengthen your brain’s higher functions such as memory, creativity, reaction time, and critical thinking abilities. People who practice certain brain training exercises have been shown to score higher on IQ tests than before their training. You can think of brain exercises like physical exercises. Physical exercise helps tone and shape your body. Brain exercise helps tone and shape your mind. You can play memory games to increase your ability to memorize things. You can do puzzles such as crosswords, word finds, or math puzzles to increase your general knowledge and memory. Chess is a great strategic thinking game that you can play with an opponent. Strategy games like chess are a great way to stimulate your mind and fun to play at the same time! There are other games to help you increase your speed, alertness, focus, attention, spatial reasoning, problem solving, and reaction time. Many can be found at your local shopping centers and even online for free. The best way to increase your intelligence is to stimulate your mind! A great way to do this is to pick a topic that you really enjoy or that interests you and would like to learn more about. Set aside an hour a day and read passages from a book on that topic or subject. Opening up your mind to new things stimulates your mind and essentially, you become more intelligent. Physical exercise and a nutritious diet also help your mind juices flow!
You can lead a very empowered life by learning and growing. Try some brain training techniques to help your creative juices flow better and see what happens! You will be amazed at how much better your memory and cognitive thinking becomes after engaging in a few brain games or even just by reading. You are given a brain that you can mold and grow. You can use your mind for great things in your life. If you put your mind to something that you want bad enough, you can achieve it. To attain greater happiness in life, increase your mind power with a few simple exercises everyday.
This article is written by Ashley Dale for Mind Power World: http://www.MindPowerWorld.com
