From: J. R. Molloy (jr@shasta.com)
Date: Sat Apr 24 1999 - 22:21:15 MDT
Hi David, and welcome back;
you wrote,
>Very good point. Our minds improve with use. Einstein was so
>intelligent because he was always thinking, always trying to understand
>things. His intelligence was not a random event; he deliberately chose
>it by constantly exercising his mind. I believe that nearly all humans
>are capable of becoming geniuses; of course, it takes years of intense
>mental exercise and mental discipline, and one must be committed to
>increasing one's own intelligence (this is why most people, sadly enough,
>are not geniuses).
Yes, I see what you mean. Of course, you're mileage may vary, depending not
only on how you drive, but also on the quality of your fuel and the
efficiency of your engine, so to speak. Making gold from lead, silk purses
from sow's ears, or theoretical physicists from gang bangers may lie with
the realm of nanotechnological possibility. But wisdom may prefer a shorter
route.
>However, I believe that children could be raised in ways that constantly
>challenge them to develop more effective mental skills. This is
>something I would like to test out. I want to see if a form of education
>could be created that is capable of dramatically increasing people's
>intelligence. As far as I can tell, intelligence is basically a
>collection of mental skills, and like any skills, they are learned.
Hmmm... this reminds me of Tebetan monks who seek to create a Buddha via
special training, forgetting that Siddhartha figured it out for himself.
Does intelligence require constant challenges from the outside to reach its
full potential? Or does intelligence discover for itself the tools of
successful learning?
>For the past few years, I've been developing activities and exercises
>which seem to have been very effective in increasing the quality of my
>own thinking, the power of my problem solving skills and my creative
>abilities. Most of the activities can be done by people of all ages and
>levels of intelligence; they are fundamentally simple activities
>(although the level of difficulty can be varied quite a bit). I have
>found the activities quite enjoyable and productive for myself, but I
>have not shared them with many others yet, so I don't know how effective
>they would be for people in general yet.
Perhaps extraordinary intelligence confers the insight necessary to go
beyond thinking. I'd like to hear more about the activities you mention.
>I figured that this list was the perfect place to share my ideas with
>others who may wish to try them out and give me some feedback.
>Eventually, I want to publish my ideas more widely, but, of course, I do
>need to get them written down first, and I think this list is a good
>place to do that. Is that alright with everyone?
J. R. eagerly awaits details of your ideas.
Grok it and rocket,
--J. R.
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