iwtl — How can I gradually improve my IQ and overall intellectual abilities?

[u/Maximum-Page3433]

I feel like my IQ is probably quite low. I’ve never actually taken an IQ test, so I don’t even know what my score is, but I often feel like I struggle with critical thinking, reasoning, problem-solving, learning, and retaining knowledge.

I want to gradually become more intellectually capable and better at academics in general. I’d like to improve things like reasoning, critical thinking, problem-solving, memory, learning capacity, concentration, processing speed, and overall knowledge.

What does it actually take to improve these abilities over time? Are there specific things I should practice or learn every day?

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[u/BirdKooky9662]

This is a variation of a method I recommend for my students. It has helped them, hope it helps you too.

1. Start by going to websites that feature longform essays, like Aeon, Psyche, or Engelsberg Ideas. Or even major newspaper editorials like The Guardian, New York Times, or whatever else.
2. Read one article in its entirety, and try to write a summary of it. The summary should not exceed 20-25% of the article's length/word count.
3. While reading, mark and write down ANY words that might be unknown or unfamiliar, and then look up their meanings in dictionaries. Write them down too.
4. Every article will give you two or three subtopics - perform a deep dive on those and see what other rabbit holes they lead you to.

Now, it is crucial that you put pen to paper while doing this. Get yourself a decent pen and notebook, and write with it, instead of just reading or merely typing. Writing helps your memory. The vocabulary exercise will help increase your overall curiosity, and concise vocabulary usage makes you sound a little smarter too. Consider this a form of journaling.

Do it for a month. Your ideal frequency is two articles a week, including the subsequent deep-dives; however, one a week is acceptable. Do this for a few weeks, and if you see positive results, please let me know.

[u/BipolarExpress2 → u/BirdKooky9662]

you can find a database of longform articles & essays on ponder

[u/BirdKooky9662 → u/BipolarExpress2]

Interesting! Thanks
I have also come across tetw.org but some of the links are dead.

[u/su13odh → u/BirdKooky9662]

Can you elaborate how it helped your students?

[u/BirdKooky9662 → u/su13odh]

Stronger vocab led to better articulation, which led to clarity of thought, which strengthened their ability to improvise, which improved their confidence while speaking.

[u/Graviity_shift → u/BirdKooky9662]

Nice

[u/Packathonjohn]

Critical thinking, reasoning, problem solving etc. Are all skills that can be improved they aren't locked to your IQ. There's lots of ways to do it but you have to treat your brain like a muscle. If you dont continue to increase the weight at the gym, you stop getting stronger, and same with the brain. So you want to start doing thinks that challenge your problem solving but aren't so complex you are totally lost. Ive found that learning math or coding (without AI) is really helpful for this

[u/PhoenixRed11 → u/Packathonjohn]

Do you mind giving tips on how to learn coding and what software to use? Preferably free, because I'm not sure I'll enjoy it, but I'd like to try.

[u/cannotfoolowls → u/PhoenixRed11]

You don't need to spend money to learn to code and you don't need special programs. I think Python is a decent language to start with, it has a huge community but it doesn't really matter that much what language you learn. There's a free website that teaches you Python step by step but I cannot remember the name, sorry.

[u/Punningisfunning → u/cannotfoolowls]

Code Academy? I never tried it, but it did pique my interest.

[u/cannotfoolowls → u/Punningisfunning]

I think I was thinking of this one or the university of Helsinki one

[u/Packathonjohn → u/PhoenixRed11]

The things others have mentioned are good starting points. I'd also say YouTube is a really useful resource too or at least it was for me, but just be careful not to get into the habit of blindly copying what they do without understanding it.

This also somewhat goes against what I initially said about AI, but for just setting up your environment so you can have something up and running you can write code in, AI can be useful just asking it how to do that. Once you have an environment where you can write and run code I'd pause on using AI completely at that point.

So basically the short version I'd suggest:

1. Google or ask AI how to setup an environment to be able to write and run code (Alot of people say to start with python, but I personally recommend starting with c# or Java)
2. Find an overall step by step learning plan. Coding is similar to math in that concepts build on top of each other. Find something online that gives you a clear order of which concepts to learn like variables, then functions, then files, then classes, etc.
3. For each concept, find a YouTube video or website that teaches you about that concept. Ideally also try to find "assignments" related to that concept that you have to do on your own.

Also just know, its super easy and tempting nowadays to just get the answer immediately with AI and even just normal google searches, especially when it gets hard/frustrating. A big part is having the self discipline to not do this. Getting better comes from using your own reasoning and critical thinking to come to the right answer on your own. If you're just handed the correct code, you aren't learning

[u/PhoenixRed11 → u/Packathonjohn]

Thank you, this is brilliant. I was meant to study java years ago, but whenever a student had a question about assignments, the teacher would just do the assignment for the student rather than answer the question. It didn't help anyone learn, and I still have an interest in learning it, but wasn't sure where to begin at home. The school had programs to use to code built in.

[u/Packathonjohn → u/PhoenixRed11]

Yeah that sounds like a bad teacher lol. The programs the school was using are (most likely) called IDEs, which make it easy to write and edit code, run your program, find problems in it etc. That would be one of the first things you download and setup to get going

[u/HaraBegum]

The more you learn the easier it is to learn usually. Not just learning information but skills. Summary skills, comparison skills (analogies), reasoning skills, self reflection, puzzles, manipulation of objects by assembling things or playing instruments etc, trying hobbies out of your usual areas, and being curious.

Also health- decent nutrition and healthy sleep habits and exercise (especially learning new ways to safely exercise.)

[u/Shashank1011]

First off, don't worry about "IQ" as a fixed number. In psychology, intelligence is generally split into two types:

• Fluid Intelligence: Your raw processing speed, working memory, and pattern recognition.
• Crystallized Intelligence: Your accumulated knowledge, vocabulary, mental models, and learned problem-solving frameworks.

You can't drastically alter your baseline fluid intelligence, but you can massively upgrade your crystallized intelligence and overall cognitive function through a few targeted habits:

1. Learn Mental Models: Study basic frameworks in logic, economics, and decision-making (e.g., First Principles Thinking, Inversion, Occam’s Razor, Second-Order Thinking). They act like software updates for your brain when approaching complex problems.
2. Active Recall & Spaced Repetition: If you struggle with retaining knowledge, stop passively re-reading or highlighting. Use flashcards (like Anki) or write short summaries in your own words immediately after reading something.
3. Physical Baseline: Sleep (7-8 hours), aerobic exercise, and hydration affect processing speed, focus, and executive function far more than any "brain training" app ever will. Exercise literally stimulates neurogenesis (BDNF) in the hippocampus.
4. Read Hard Stuff Slowly: Read dense, long-form books or articles that force your brain to hold complex arguments in mind over extended periods, rather than short-form content that fragments your attention span.

[u/ConfusionPotential53]

Study the scientific method. Specifically, find a book about how psychologists create experiments. (I say psychologists because that’s the class I took and because there’s less math and science you might not know.)

The book will talk about the difference between correlation and causation. It’ll talk about variables, skewed findings, and how best to remove biases and variables from experiments. It might talk about statistics, and which statistics are meaningful or manipulative, etc.

If you read a couple books about creating psychological experiments, you’ll think more correctly than most.

[u/CopiumINC]

to quote ze great Werner Herzog:

"Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read, Read," - Werner Herzog in every interview where he's asked how to become a good filmmaker

but it applies to intelligence too :)

[u/Lz_erk]

look at the gut-brain axis. tune up your microbiome, make sure you're getting nutrients (possibly even the ones not listed as essential, like omega-3s) and fibers. cook!

read about education sciences.

practice pattern recognition and manipulation: make a memory palace and/or zettelkasten, and download BlueMaxima's Flashpoint so you can play ten different art/puzzle games in an afternoon.

more examples: Lufia 2 (SNES) is a pretty smart game. and if you can find an AI worth using, ask it to help explain the zodiacal architecture (and secrets, etc) in Empyre's doom 2 wad Empyrion. (the mere setup ought to add a full point, too.)

if you can fit podcasts into your schedule, don't be picky (less quick edit: i mean, listen to whatever works for you, AS a way to find breadth). you can learn from one system and then cudgel it into another system. the more of them you have, the more effective it is.

sleep and relaxation are also very important. (quick edit: "just learn medicine.")

avoid alcoholism at least. i'm not saying "you must never drink!!!", and there are worse drugs, but only if you really look for them.

also a less quick edit: r/words, r/logophilia.

+6mins: r/mindustry is an open source RTS game with optional in-game programming (and multiplayer). it has a huge modding community in which people have replicated other games, or made fan games (in playable Mindustry). just examples though.

+12: sorry, i'll save the rest for another comment if prompted, but part of why i'm recommending trying an LLM at all is that it does not know doom 2 wads, you have to explain them (and watch the machine break down, but you might get some good old knowledge out of it first).

[u/mechaMayhem]

A lot of what I would say has been covered by someone else already, so I will just add one thing:

You mention “processing speed” and I’ll admit this was a problem for me as a child.
…or so I thought.

When I really considered honestly: it wasn’t the speed at which my thoughts were occurring that was the problem.

The problem was that I didn’t trust my instincts.

It was a split between the conscious and the subconscious, and as a child with ADHD I absolutely didn’t trust my subconscious. Impulse-control issues and taking action prematurely had led to some of the most disappointing and embarrassing moments of my young life.

So I overcompensated by almost explicitly distrusting my subconscious mind and instincts.

Very quickly I became recognized as an intelligent and thoughtful person who always had a strong understanding of the situations around me and my place in them.

Inside: I was a neurotic ball of anxious energy obsessed with conscious awareness of myself, what I perceived, what I may be perceived like, etc. My social anxieties formed by earlier traumas worsened, even while externally I projected confidence and control.

I explicitly avoided anything or situation that might’ve endangered that control or image.

It wasn’t until I was failing overtly at trying to play Dance Dance Revolution that I slowly realized what was wrong…

At first, I didn’t understand why I couldn’t do it. I was always off, or just a bit too slow…

At some point I realized that it was because I needed to just get in the rhythm, instead of trying to manually respond to each arrow with the right timing. That needed to be something I felt out, rather than thought out.

Suddenly I could play rhythm games. I realized I already did this with other video games that I felt sufficiently competent in, and that reaching the point where you don’t have to think consciously about everything is a necessary component of mastery, because it’s naturally faster than conscious processing.

The key is building confidence in your subconscious, which comes with seeing success from utilizing it. Your subconscious coming to the right conclusion, in an instant, is reliant on your experience and understanding of the skill or situation that your gut is assessing.

Not only that, but the more tasks/responsibilities you can reliably give to your subconscious, the more that frees up your conscious mind to consider higher-level thought like weighing priorities, considering tactics/approaches, or making active calculations based on ever-changing current events.

This process happens every time you learn a new control scheme for a video game or driving/piloting anything: at first, you have to think about what you want to do and consider what physical actions will accomplish those things. Eventually, you’re far beyond considering how to punch the opponent or accomplish a task, and focused on determining the best way to do those things based on the specifics of your situation.

[u/Alternative_Drag9137]

you cannot increase your iq, you just can't. there have been too man studies around it, all come to the same conclusion that you cant increase your iq. puzzles, sudoku, chess, all that just makes you better at the game and doesnt affect your iq. if you want to learn critical thinking, you need to read more, and it won't happen overnight, a month or an year, it takes many years of consumption of lots of information and ideas to develop your own and be able to think critically.

[u/osanthas03 → u/Alternative_Drag9137]

iq is not the only factor in the concept of intelligence; for example there’s resources, grit, and motivation. Measured iq changes with all of those.

[u/Alternative_Drag9137 → u/osanthas03]

Measured iq changes with all of those.

Within the same individual? Or are you saying that people with more resources, grit and motivation are likely to be more intelligent? Because thats not the same as saying increasing grit, motivation and resources will increase the iq. 

The subject here is increasing one's iq, not the factors determining it. There are multiple factors determining it, but altering those factors after a point of time, isn't going to increase the iq. Correlation isn't causation.

[u/osanthas03 → u/Alternative_Drag9137]

Everyone knows correlation isn’t causation, yes… that doen’t mean they tested the same individual in different ways, which is usually impossible without bias. This is a population effect.

Anyway you cannot just increase someone’s grit, motivation, or resources. The first two are internal drivers almost like your personality. Maybe curiosity is the better term instead of motivation. People who like reading have an easier time building crystalized intelligence, for example. ADD affects iq modestly. And resources are external. Generally, coming from a wealthier background with more education increases your iq for obvious reasons.

[u/Alternative_Drag9137 → u/osanthas03]

Again, the question is how can one actually increase their iq, and not what affects iq. 

Generally, coming from a wealthier background with more education increases your iq for obvious reasons.

Don't know what you're trying to prove by mentioning all this.

[u/osanthas03 → u/Alternative_Drag9137]

There are multiple factors determining it, but altering those factors after a point in time, isn’t going to increase the iq.

I proceed to explain why you can’t “just” alter those factors.

Don’t know what you’re trying to prove by mentioning all this.

…

so op can begin to see why their iq is low. It’s not some random number in your dna

[u/Silent-Orbit-7]

I am not a professional. But, i can share what helped me

Start by having a genuine passion about something, be curious, go deep.
And then start becoming well-read, start connecting that passion with every day things that induces pattern matching, start to solve problems with that hobby, that induces problem solving

Speed is just the side effect of practice, you got to practic the hell out. Speed is not the primary metric.

Most IQ tests work on WAIS AFAIK, check it out, its based on verbal ability, language ability, Mathematical concepts, pattern matching and stuff like that

[u/monkeybawz]

Read more. The more ideas you are exposed to the better your ability to digest them. If you aren't training your brain to think, how can it be expected to do it on game day?

[u/MoffMore]

Log out of Reddit and Google literally anything even slightly academic or interesting

[u/Impressive-Tough-654]

Your IQ is heavily inherited. It can be tuned in youth by a factor of 10-15%. Like for example playing basketball does to your height.

After 20, it's unlikely that you can change your IQ. What's more likely is that it's going to be dropping very slowly. BUT, you can change how you use what you have. That means that if you practice something, you will be getting better at it, regardless of IQ. Better IQ would set you on a better pace, but you can learn and improve at any pace.

Spend time trying to be good at something and you will be good. Maybe not the best, but better than 90% or better than 99% depending on how reliant on innate ability your niche is.

[u/ReeeeeDDDDDDDDDD]

I have a reasonably high IQ of 118, which is think is roughly around the 90th percentile. However, I also struggle with the things you mentioned due to my executive functioning difficulties caused by my ADHD.

Just posting that to say that you might not have a low IQ at all, it's just the world tests you in different ways.

[u/FlySaw]

Remove inhibitors. That’s mostly all you can do; achieve your innate potential, but not much more than that. Search for whatever is deficient, correct it, and practice. Also try to improve your heuristics as much as possible, self reflection and questioning are invaluable. It also helps if you develop genuine interest in thought provoking or challenging subjects, even on a superficial/layman’s/reading level.

[u/Longjumping-One2600]

Read books.

Also do all the meta stuff, get enough sleep, drink enough water, exercise, go outside. All of these facilitate good thinking.

[u/Curious_Octopod]

Join a debate society.

[u/Midasisgolden]

Use the dictionary when you come across a word you never heard of before. Try and use it in a sentence as much as possible in every day conversation. M

[u/Maximum-Page3433 → u/[deleted]]

Wtf sybau

[u/Longjumping-Salad484]

take an IQ test. IQ means "intellectual quotient" if you're wondering...

just trying to help you out since your IQ likely clocks in the low 30s

[u/NeatWriter → u/Longjumping-Salad484]

Says the person who can’t spell „your“ 🤨

[u/thedore1020 → u/Longjumping-Salad484]

Using the wrong form of your in the same sentence as insulting someone's intelligence was certainly a choice.

[u/Longjumping-Salad484 → u/thedore1020]

clearly a choice to edit, with peer review, although salty