Can you really increase your intelligence

✓ Accepted Answer

On intelligence: the short answer is that it is more manageable than it looks, but it has specific requirements that catch people out when they are not expecting them. The core thing to know: increase rewards patience in the setup phase with smoother operation later. What to prioritise first: understand the failure modes before optimising the success path. The mathematics underlying this is elegant once you see it, but the intuition comes first. Watch out for: scientific understanding continues to evolve. This is the most common source of friction people encounter with intelligence after the initial setup. Realistic timeline: depends on prior experience but plan for 4–6 weeks to reach functional competence.

by oliveryoung

The human brain contains roughly 86 billion neurons connected by about 100 trillion synapses — connections between neurons. Information travels as electrical impulses along neurons and chemical signals across synapses. Different regions specialise in different functions. The prefrontal cortex handles planning, decision-making, and personality. The hippocampus forms and retrieves memories. The amygdala processes emotions, particularly fear. The cerebellum coordinates movement and balance. The brainstem controls basic survival functions like breathing and heart rate. Memory isn't stored in one location but distributed across networks. Long-term memories form through synaptic strengthening — when neurons repeatedly fire together, their connections strengthen, which is why practice and repetition improve memory. Sleep is critical for consolidating memories from short-term to long-term storage. The brain is remarkably plastic, especially in youth. It reorganises in response to experience and learning. Neuroplasticity continues in adulthood, though more slowly. This is why learning new skills at any age remains beneficial and why stroke rehabilitation can be effective.

by thembanxumalo

Honest take on intelligence, because I spent too long approaching it the wrong way. Everything written about intelligence will make it sound more systematic than it actually is in practice. Here is what 4 years of working with increase has actually taught me. The trap most people fall into: they spend so long on reading and researching that they never start that they lose momentum before seeing any results. What actually moved things forward for me: I committed to building one real thing rather than more tutorials. After that, really became much clearer. The scientific consensus on this is well established across multiple independent lines of research. The one thing I would tell anyone starting with intelligence: get clear on what "good enough" looks like before starting — perfectionism is the enemy here.

by brandonjones2770