Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ Beyond Human increase intelligence by understanding inter-connectedness

i was pondering about the following idea and was wondering what the rest of you thought.

i noticed that my biggest weakness is the ability to see relationships between elements. in other words, when i am faced with unknown objects, things or ideas i have a difficult time drawing relationships. (when i embark upon solving a new mathematical problem or coming up with ideas to solve existing challanges, i have a tough time putting things together. for example, solving an operations problem or differential equations where existing formulas dictate a particular path of action, i am very slow in putting the right things together. even when i see solutions to a problem i cannot always piece things together, while i see others easily doing so.)

for me this idea seems so self-evident and obvious that i now think that it is this that keeps me from increasing my intelligence. or better yet, this is what makes intelligence (at least to a certain degree; i am not negating the fact that there are multiple intelligences). so, naturally my questions is, what can i do to increase that ability? practice you will say, but what kind of practice? after all i noticed this spans over all kinds of subjects and thus is not unique to just one topic.

i am fascinated to hear your insightful comments on this!! thanks in advance!

IMO

Seeing The Relationship Between Elements

Lets take the problem apart:

I. The Elements

Do you really understand the elements?

Ex: Is the structure and purpose of the diff eq. clear? Does it make sense to you intuitively(can you really feel it, or is just taken for granted?)

II. Relationships

The relationships you are alluding to are logical relationships. I think you are being overly critical of yourself and your peers are simply memorizing the mathematical machinery (in the diff eq case) which leads you to believe that they "see" something you dont. But if for example you failed to notice the importance of the fundamental theorem of calculus and the rest of the class was "like,you know, duh!" then you could be missing practice (dont really understand the elements) OR you should go through a logic book, it should help reinforce the basic relationships among all thoughts, thus making it easier for your mind to catch on to complex trains of thought (by linking the basic logic "train cars"). Hope this was coherent, let me know if i should re-write it (just came out of 50 min session of looking at stereograms).

p.s.- Raymond Smullyan has an excellent book on logic, i would look it up. It has helped me in the past (plz dont make the assumption its too easy before trying, basic logic=not very basic) !

Genius Code can help. So can PhotoReading. Explore New Behavior Generator. Even our new Resiliency course will deliver benefits in that area.

An answer, in part, to my previous post has formulated itself in my mind.

Would you perhaps agree that the way to truly increase a person's intelligence is to engage in a "cognition experiment" which is akin to image streaming? More specifically, I am referring to the idea of learning and using new words that describe feelings or sensations. Through this method we must become cognizant of matter (physical or virtual, such as thoughts). We then can place a stronger meaning to it and expand our perceptions.

Once we have expanded our perceptions, we have "funneled" a way for other patterns to trickle down the same path to lead us to an understanding of a variety of subjects.

And thus to even go this far, we must break every idea to its core. Every word, every presupposition. The only reason we do not understand something is because we do not understand the basic definition of what is involved. In essence, everything seems to move from point A to point B. So when we cannot comprehend why D is the way it is, it is because we have not understood C, given of course we understand A and B.

Therefore, to solve any problem, may this be a mathematical equation or how to write an essay on social upheaval, we must understand the basic definitions - may that be as simple as the word "equals". We then move foreward.

One question still seems yet unanswered. Why are some people quicker to assemble information than others? Even in topics they have not had prior experience in?? Therein lies the secret to this methodology. Does anyone have an explanation to this perhaps? Can we develop this ability to recognize patterns, meanings and relationships? Is the way I explained perhaps the only way? Are people simply gifted in "picking up" the ability to puzzle together solutions or is there a way to learn this? I think an answer to this would help readers of this forum tremendously. As such, I look forward to your replies!!

I agree with you in general. I think that people who deserve to be labelled "intelligent" are those who can look at what they've got, decide where they need to go (ie. understand) and take a flexible approach in determining the most appropriate solution. As far as I can tell, the best training for this is A) symbolic logic, as has been recommended, B) Empiricism and the Scientific Method, and C) Training in General Semantics, which will elucidate the role of language in your conception of the world. In addition, as you said, general Thought-exercise in areas you wish to become proficient. Personally, I think that every person ought to learn such a curriculum as part of standard schooling, and be given ample opportunity to exercise their own understanding. The other general techniques which help are our information-acquisition strategies and our understanding of memory-- which is where things like PRing ALS, etc might come into the picture.
Many other facets of intelligence and cognition can be developed but the above is a good grounding for any serious thinker.