mastering the brain: increasing intelligence
TRANSCRIPT
- A little on the Brain
- What is intelligence?
- Opportunities & Abilities
- Attention
-Modern life & the brain
- Increasing intelligence
The Near Future
“Un-schooled”
Juggling, math, (abstract guy)
Knee surgery,
Positive Psychology,
brain research
David Wolovsky
Under A Microscope
● 100 billion neurons
● Average of 1000
connections each
● Complex networks,
constantly updatingSource: Quasar Jarosz at en.wikipedia
What Is Intelligence?
Berlin Model of Intelligence Structure -
3 types: Figural, verbal, numerical
4 qualities: processing speed, creativity, processing capacity, and...the 4th?
What Is Intelligence?Q: Is there an agreed on definition of intelligence?
[Neurologist Fred] Lepore: There are multiple "intelligences" such as spatial,
linguistic, logical-mathematical, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal,
intrapersonal, and naturalistic. (Howard Gardner, 1983.) I like James Flynn's
definition, which points at "mental abilities that allow us to better deal with the
complexity of the modern world."
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/lepore-intelligence.html
My Current Definition
Intelligence
The ability to identify and act on
opportunities in a specific situation.
- If I’m a good swimmer, then I can swim
when there’s water around me
- If I am good at leading people, then I can lead people
when there are people with me
- If I’m an electrical engineer, then I can make gadgets
when electrical components are in my hands
Opportunities Are Real
- Can be immediate,
intermediate, or long
term
- Can reveal
themselves, then
disappear
unexpectedly
Opportunities
Identifying Opportunities
How do we predict them the farthest
ahead of time?
Pregnant moments. Signals.
Identifying Opportunities
Mindfulness is the act of absorbing more
information about the present moment.
It’s a muscle/skill. We can build it.
Example of Mindfulness
Listening to everything
that comes into awareness.
Watching awareness as it shifts.
(1-2 minutes)
Balance: Both/AndBody
Mobile_________________________________________Stable
Emotions
Fluid____________________________________________Fixed
Mind
Divergent________________________________Convergent
Balance, Again
Cognitive intelligence: balance between
divergent (creative) thinking and convergent
(analytical) thinking
A Video
Divergent________________________________Convergent
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMPuujald
Zk
Maximum Intelligence
Access to the most opportunities:3 balanced levels, plus ability to shift between and
blend them together as opportunities dictate
Attention’s 3 TypesUndirected (DMN)
Directed (FP Control)
Mindfulness: observing attention as it shifts naturally
How is each one essential
for accelerating our response abilities?
How can we strengthen them?
Attention’s 3 Types
We used our whole selves for almost everything.
This is what our brains evolved for.
50,000 Years Ago
What are we doing?
With our bodies?
With our social interactions & emotions?
With our thinking patterns?
With our attention?
Modern Culture
1) What increases our sensitivity
to real-life opportunities?
1) What increases our physical, emotional, and
cognitive abilities in a both/and way?
2) What increases all 3 types of attention?
In Other Words
Some Answers From ScienceMindfulness and
MeditationJuggling and other complex motor skills
Teamwork-based activities
Mental games(3D chess)
- Brain Body exercises
- Mindfulness and Meditation
- Stretching
- Yoga and weight lifting
- Journaling / note taking
Some of My Practices
Many people try to take up practices to improve
their lives, but they don’t continue.
Why?
Continuing Practice
- Long-term practices bestow benefits non-
linearly (slow/jumpy)
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N883zEr
n5UQ
Emotional Intelligence
Image Citations
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Contents/Philosophy_and_thinking#mediaviewer/File:The_Thinker_Musee_Rodin.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/GIRL_USES_A_MAGNIFYING_GLASS_TO_STUDY_PLANT_LIFE_IN_THE_TUNDRA_OF_TH
E_ROCKY_MOUNTAINS._THE_DENVER_PTA_SPONSORED_A..._-_NARA_-_543740.jpg
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Contents/Philosophy_and_thinking#mediaviewer/File:The_Thinker_Musee_Rodin.jpg
- http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Tony_Robbins.jpg
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- https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/11/14130431_b278ca47d8_z.jpg?zz=1
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Henry#mediaviewer/File:Mark-Henry-pushing-Tank.jpg
- https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/179/476494052_58d572c2b9_z.jpg?zz=1
- http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Light_dispersion_conceptual_waves.gif
- http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Helene_(2006)#mediaviewer/File:Helene_STS-115_90_kt.jpg
- http://pixabay.com/en/beetle-fog-galaxies-star-ngc-6302-74054/
- http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Teahupoo1.jpg
- http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/20120623_Sqwiki_the_Squirrel_at_Wiknic.JPG
- http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/lepore-intelligence.html
- http://www.ihvo.de/194/what-is-intelligence/
- http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/A_fish_out_of_water_-_geograph.org.uk_-_819622.jpg
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror_stage#mediaviewer/File:Mirror_baby.jpg
- https://www.flickr.com/photos/hamed/327939900/
- http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/SunsetTracksCrop.JPG
- http://pixabay.com/p-149157/?no_redirect
Image Citations
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D0%B9_%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BA_(1).jpg
- http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/3-ball_Mills_mess.gif
- http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Hemlock_Overlook_-_Peanut_Butter_Pit_-_04.jpg
- http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/3D_Chess_Board.jpg
- http://pixabay.com/en/railroad-rails-tracks-train-166535/
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- http://pixabay.com/en/walking-feet-shoes-step-strolling-454543/
- https://openclipart.org/detail/194608/working-memory-by-gcastano-194608
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- http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/FIAT_500L_gear_shift.jpg
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gear_stick#mediaviewer/File:FIAT_500L_gear_shift.jpg (image cropped and resized)
Image Citations
- http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Oprah_Winfrey_at_2011_TCA.jpg (image cropped and resized)
- http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Marcus_Aurelius_Metropolitan_Museum.png
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Research Citations
- http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416100459.htm
- http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/lepore-intelligence.html
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24764071
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- http://www.spring.org.uk/2014/01/mindfulness-6-steps-to-better-memory-verbal-reasoning-and-improved-concentration.php