Can you figure out this lego puzzle? It has been circulating on Facebook recently. It needs a key – a leap of insight – to solve. But when you click, the components of the puzzle unravel quickly. Your ability to solve this question depends not so much on fluid intelligence (or thinking abilities) but on your ‘knowledge base’.

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Intrinsic vs extrinsic rewards and motivations

Intrinsic rewards (such as a good book) is something that is valued for its own sake – as giving pleasurable experience in itself. Extrinsic rewards (such as a book voucher for a present) are valued because they afford some other benefit (the good book). Intrinsic motivation underlies behaviors performed purely for interest and enjoyment; extrinsic motivation underlies behaviors performed to obtain other rewards or avoid negative outcomes.

The 3-way relationship between intrinsic vs extrinsic rewards, IQ and job satisfaction

Ganzach and Fried’s research revealed the relationships shown in the model below:

Take a deep breath…

• intrinsic rewards (job complexity) and intrinsic satisfaction are more strongly related to overall job/work satisfaction among individuals who are higher rather than lower in intelligence. That’s shown by the plus (+) arrows in the model diagram. In other words, if you have a higher IQ, you will probably be more satisfied at work by the pleasures of an interesting, complex job.

• extrinsic rewards and extrinsic satisfaction are more strongly related to global job satisfaction among individuals who are lower rather than higher in intelligence. That’s shown by the minus (-) arrows in the model diagram. In other words, if you have a lower IQ, you will probably be more satisfied at work by your work’s financial incentives.

This doesn’t mean that if you have a high IQ you won’t find satisfaction from the money your job generates. Of course this is satisfying. It just means the relative payoffs for you of extrinsic (pay) vs intrinsic (job complexity/interest) is tipped towards the intrinsic stuff.

What is a high or low IQ and what is an average IQ? Find out here.

Train IQ to tap intrinsic rewards

And of course, a theme constantly stressed in this blog is that your IQ level is not fixed. If you increase your IQ by training, you will increasingly tap into the rewards and satisfactions of more complex, and intrinsically interesting, projects and work flows.

Presented by: Term Life Insurance Resource

How the brain ages

Nice infographic above about how the brain ages from Term Life.

The figure below is taken from Trey Hedden & John Gabrieli at Stanford University. It shows the life course of different cognitive abilities underlying IQ, with declines setting in for most cognitive functions after the age of 55.

These researchers suggest a number of measures for maintaining cognitive ability levels well into old age, to help beat the statistical averages.

There are several factors that accelerate cognitive decline in older adults. Helping counter these can simply involve lifestyle choices, under control of individuals who are concerned about the risk of developing cognitive difficulties.

To quote from their review paper ‘Insights into the Ageing Mind’:

Stay intellectually engaged

At best, mental activity seems to protect against age-related declines and progression to Alzheimer’s disease. At worst, it increases an individual’s baseline level so that age-re lated declines begin to affect everyday functioning later in life. Enriched environments stimulate neurogenesis (the growth of new neurons) in aging rats, indicating a possible mechanism for the benefits of cognitive stimulation

Maintain cardiovascular physical activity

Exercise aids executive function, reduces declines in tissue density in frontal, parietal and temporal cortex and might have global effects on the brain

Minimize chronic stressors

Proneness to distress, measured by the personality trait of neuroticism, is associated with increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease and a faster rate of cognitive decline. Increased glucocorticoid levels, which accompany stress, might damage hippocampal neurons over the lifespan.  Cortisol administration reduces glucose metabolism in the hippocampus in normal older adults

Maintain a brain-healthy diet

A diet that is high in poly- and mono-unsaturated fatty acids (as found in fish and olive oil),vitamin E, and polyphenols and antioxidants (found in citrus and dark-skinned fruits and vegetables) might slow cognitive decline and prevent progression to Alzheimer’s disease.

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In addition to the above we can add with confidence:

Working memory (e.g. HighIQPro) brain training

Working memory – a type of short term memory for storing and processing information – lies at the center of all higher level brain function and it is susceptible to decline as we age. HighIQPro and other working memory training techniques, directly train working memory helps offset this cognitive decline.

Founded in 1946 by Roland Berrill, an Australian barrister, and Dr. Lancelot Ware, a British scientist and lawyer, Mensa is a high IQ society – the only qualification for membership being an IQ is in the top 2% of the population.  Mensa members are also known as ‘Mensans’.

The word ‘Mensa’ comprises two Latin words: mens, which means “mind” and mensa, which means “table”, indicating that it is a round-table (open discussion) society of minds.

There are now around 100,000 Mensans in 100 countries throughout the world. There are active Mensa organizations in over 40 countries on every continent except Antarctica.

The website for Mensa International can be found here.

Websites for national groups can be found here.

What are the advantages of being a Mensa member?

Intellectual stimulation

You can find intellectual resources to exercise your brain in national magazines, in local newsletters, and at regional, national and international conventions. Mensans (Mensa members) have a profusion of special interest groups. To quote from Mensa International:

Whatever your passion, there’s almost certain to be a Special Interest Group (SIG) filled with other Mensans who share it! Mensa offers approximately 200 SIGs, in mind-boggling profusion from African Violets to zoology. Along the way you’ll find microbiology, and systems analysis, but you’ll also find Sherlock Holmes, chocolate and Star Trek. There are the expected: biochemistry, space science, economics — and the unexpected: poker, roller-skating, scuba diving, UFOs and witchcraft. There are SIGs for breadmaking, winemaking, cartooning, silversmithing, and clowning. Heraldry, semantics and Egyptology co-exist with beekeeping, motorcycling and tap dancing. Sports SIGs cover the classics (baseball, basketball, and football) and the not-so-classic (skeet shooting, hang gliding, skydiving). And any Mensan who can’t find a SIG to join can easily start one.

Social life

Local groups meet monthly or even more regularly. There are widely attended annual conventions offering workshops, seminars, and parties.

Mensa publications

You will receive your national magazine with contributions by Mensans on a wide variety of subjects. In some countries, in addition to the national magazine you may receive lively local newsletters. Mensa also publishes it’s own research journal on IQ related topics – The Mensa Research Journal – for the general public. http://www.mensafoundation.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Journal

Side benefits

In some countries Mensa sponsors a members-only credit card and insurance program. There is also a program that aids traveling Mensans. There have been reports that job applications have been easier with Mensa membership on your CV – particularly if the hiring person is also a Mensan.

How to become a Mensa member

Mensa membership is open to people who score at the 98^th percentile or higher on a standardized, supervised intelligence test.

American Mensa accepts scores from approximately 200 different standardized intelligence tests, as well as Mensa’s own dedicated IQ test. Some of these test one’s spatial and analytical abilities using non-verbal questions only. We call these tests “culture fair” because they don’t require general knowledge, vocabulary or math skills that are learned in school and which differ from culture to culture. Other IQ tests include questions that present verbal analogies or puzzles that test comprehension and mathematical ability.

A list of some of the authorized IQ tests for Mensa membership with Mensa membership are listed here.

Results from tests given by an institution, agency or clinic must include the full name of the test, the score and the percentile rank. This documentation must be on the letterhead of the institution, agency or clinic; it also must be signed by the psychologist responsible for the testing and must include the psychologist’s license/certification number as issued by the state in which the psychologist practices. Applications are individually assessed by Mensa. The American Mensa application form can be found here. This month the evaluation is free. Normally it is $40.

You may already be qualified

If you took your SAT exam before 1/31/94 or GRE before 9/30/01 you may find your score qualifies you for membership. For details click here.

Mensa Admission Test

If you have not taken an official IQ test by a qualified administrator, you can choose to take Mensa’s own Admission Test.  This involves certified volunteer Proctors supervising a testing session in your area! You can contact your national Mensa organisation to find out about the schedules for these tests – click here for details.

If you score at or above the 98th percentile on either of the two tests, you’ll qualify and be invited to join Mensa.

If English isn’t your primary language, American Mensa offers a battery of culture fair, non-language tests.

How to prepare for a Mensa admission test

This will be the topic of our next blog. Practice makes a very big difference.  Improving your fluid intelligence with HighIQPro training will also help substantially.

To get you limbered up, try the Mensa Workout.

Or take the Mensa home test.

Fast (System 1) and Slow (System 2) thinking

In this CBS video, cognitive psychologist and Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman talks about when it’s best to think fast (using your instinct or intuition) and when to think slowly (using your analytic ability and reasoning). He calls the fast mode of thinking ‘System 1′ and the slow mode ‘System 2′. Working memory underpins System 2 thinking – enabling us to maintain and process short term information while thinking something through on our mental ‘scratchpad’.

Kahneman is asked: When is it not alright to think ‘fast’ and follow your gut instinct?

Answer according to Kahnemann:

When the states are high and the situation is novel – you are not alright

And sometimes we base our decisions on gut instincts rooted in strong emotions and the force of the emotions can distort our judgement. The example Kahneman gives is:

Are you more afraid of being killed by a terrorist or of dying?

Most people say they are more afraid of being killed by a terrorist. And because of the emotional charge associated with terrorism, individuals may actually pay more for insurance against being killed by a terrorist when travelling abroad, than they will pay for general life insurance.

Of course this is irrational. It is far, far more likely that a person will die of a car crash or a heart condition on holiday than be killed by a terrorist, more or less anywhere. But System 1 ‘fast thinking’ leads us to make choices like this. And Insurance companies can play on this kind of ‘System 1′ thinking! In such cases, it is important to gather appropriate data and reason it through – to use System 2 thinking.

President Bush, Kahneman argues, is a ‘fast thinker’. He prided himself on his quick, decisive decisions (remember ‘Decision Points’?). Bush follows his gut. President Obama, he says, is a ‘slow thinker’ – someone who reasons things through, weighing up different sides to an issue consciously before arriving at a decision. He doesn’t rely on his gut as much. Kahneman argues that this may in fact be unappealing to the general public who want to see rapidity and confidence.

But who could disagree with the the CBS host, who suggested that what the general public want is making the right decision!

Improving System 1 ‘fast’ thinking

We have covered the idea of developing intuition in previous blogs such as this one on how chess world champion Magnus Carlson improves his gut instinct and intuition. Essentially it depends on experience and – critically – learning from mistakes.

Improving System 2 ‘slow’ thinking

Training working memory (e.g. using HighIQPro) improves System 2, conscious/analytic/rational thinking. It does this by effectively increasing the capacity/size of the mental scratch pad that we use while thinking something through in making a decision or solving a problem. Training working memory can also help us suppress, automatic emotionally driven responses, letting our reasoning guide our actions rather than our gut.

Individuals differ in their levels of overall intelligence, and their specific cognitive abilities. The American Psychological Society gives the following definition for this:

Individuals differ from one another in their ability to understand complex ideas, to adapt effectively to the environment, to learn from experience, to engage in various forms of reasoning, to overcome obstacles by taking thought.

David Wechsler, originator of WAIS IQ tests, defined intelligence simply as:

A global concept that involves an individual’s ability to act purposefully, think rationally, and deal effectively with the environment.

There are three aspects of intelligence that can be picked out from these definitions. In scientific research, each tends to be studied independently, but all three are critical to living a intelligent life.

1. IQ. General intelligence as measured by IQ tests, also called ‘psychometric G’ or simply ‘G’.  This involves abstract thinking and reasoning skills, ability with language, general knowledge, and information processing efficiency.

2. Strategy. Skill in flexible managing and planning to attain long-term ends. This is the ability to adapt flexibly to circumstances, responding to opportunities, while moving effectively towards long-range goals and objectives in a purposeful way. Being strategic in life means you are not simply ‘coasting’ on automatic pilot, but are living purposefully with long-range vision.

3. Expertise. Skill, knowledge & mastery in particular areas or domains. Expertise is acquired slowly, through experience and deliberate practice, over many years. It accounts for many of the extraordinary feats that humans are capable of – whether an intellectual or artistic masterpiece or a phenomenal pitch of performance.

Critical thinking and ‘Mindhacking’

In addition to these there is another another aspect of being intelligent, not directly investigated by scientific research: the ability to resist being ‘mindhacked’. Mindhacking occurs where other agents (individuals, groups, organisations, etc) bypass your critical faculties, and make you an intrument of their purposes. Advertisers, governments, PR agencies, and professional agencies may induce preferences, beliefs, attitudes and ideologies without a person’s awareness and critical judgment playing a role in the process. İt is known that humans are naturally impressed by power, and susceptible to the influence of authority and the pressure of conformity.

An intelligent individual, compared to a less intelligent person, is not as susceptible to mind hacking. Intelligent minds are ‘strong’ minds, alert and independent, and able to judge for themselves.

This site is aimed to help develop this kind of alertness and independence from the effects of mind hacking.

Mindfulness

Scientific research shows that people can be highly intelligent in sense above but egoistic and biased in their attitude to life. We know that ‘myside bias’ is as likely among those with very high IQs as though with low IQs. Machiavellians with little regard for interests other than their own can be highly intelligent according to traditional scientific definitions. Similarly, ambitious individuals who have never reflected on the meaning of what they do, but unthinkingly adopt conventional goals and values, becoming agents and mouthpieces for their ‘interest group’ (perhaps a religious group, or professional group, or political group), can be highly intelligent.

But lifelong reflection on and scrutiny of, the ‘ends’ shaping one’s life  is also essential to a truly intelligent life. Cultivating self-awareness, openness to other perspectives, and awareness of the ‘bigger picture’ of life’s meaning and value, is critical to living intelligently. These are aspects of mindfulness. Mindfulness cultivates wisdom and wisdom is an aspect of intelligence.

5 dimension summary

So this site is for those who are interested in learning more about, and also strengthening, the five dimensions of human intelligence:

1. IQ and ‘G’

2. Strategy and purposefulness

3. Expertise and mastery

4. Independence of mind (mind hack proof)

5. Mindfulness and wisdom.

Here is a well-defined strategy game played out in CBS’s Survivor in Thailand.

The Game

There are 21 flags planted in the field between two ‘tribes’ – Chuay Gahn and Sook Jai. Each tribe takes turns removing flags. Each tribe at its turn can choose to remove 1 or 2 or 3 flags. The team to take the last flag, whether standing alone or part of a group of 2 or 3 flags, wins the game.

The first tribe – Sook Jai – chose to remove 2 flags. Was this the right move?

Clue

During the discussion within one of the teams, Ted Rogers – an African American software developer, said:

At the end, we must leave them with four flags.

Here we report the effects of two inter­ac­tive com­put­er­ized train­ing pro­grams devel­oped for preschool chil­dren: one for music and one for visual art. After only 20 days of train­ing, only chil­dren in the music (but not the visual art) group exhib­ited enhanced per­for­mance on a mea­sure of ver­bal intel­li­gence, with 90% of the sam­ple show­ing this improve­ment.

The children who participated in the study were between the ages of 4 and 6. The results clearly connect IQ improvement.

“These results are dra­matic not only because they clearly con­nect cog­ni­tive improve­ment to musi­cal train­ing, but also because the improve­ments in lan­guage and atten­tion are found in com­pletely dif­fer­ent domains than the one used for train­ing. This has enor­mous impli­ca­tions for devel­op­ment and education.”

York Uni­ver­sity psy­chol­o­gist Ellen Bia­lystok, one of the paper’s co-authors.

The music program “included training in rhythm, pitch, melody, voice and basic musical concepts”. All received the training in a classroom in groups led by a teacher – one hour per day, five days per week for four weeks.

This finding is consistent with a recent study of second-graders, that found the reading skills of those who had musical training were superior to those of their peers.

In addition, earlier research has shown that music training is far greater than computer instruction in improving children’s abstract reasoning skills (link).

These studies show that cutting music education to concentrate on “the basics” is based on a misunderstanding of the way the brain works.

The puzzle

Four angels sat on the Christmas tree amidst other ornaments. Two had blue halos and two yellow. However, none of them could see above his head.

Angel A sat on the top branch and could see the angels B and C, who sat below him. Angel B, could see angel C who sat on the lower branch. And angel D stood at the base of the tree obscured from view by a thicket of branches, so no one could see him and he could not see anyone either.

Which one of them could be the first to guess the color of his halo and speak it out loud for all other angels to hear?

From Brainden.com