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I read that I would. But I read and read, and it's like I'm not getting smarter.
One day I met a law enforcement officer on the Internet. He looked at picture of me and gave me almost 100% of my characteristic, even though he had never seen me in person. It was as if he could tell from the photo what kind of person I was. He said he had a lot of experience. He didn't look like a well-read man.
I read that I would. But I read and read, and it's like I'm not getting smarter.
One day I met a law enforcement officer on the Internet. He looked at picture of me and gave me almost 100% of my characteristic, even though he had never seen me in person. It was as if he could tell from the photo what kind of person I was. He said he had a lot of experience. He didn't look like a well-read man.
First, what do you mean by "smarter"? The word is subjective.
While reading can definitely improve cognitive and language skills, I]what[/i] you read probably has more of an effect than how much you read. If you waste your time/energy reading a lot of fluffy stuff that doesn't challenge your brain it probably won't improve much. If you only read things that are easy and don't expose you to new ideas, what are you learning? Not much.
What exactly does a "well read" person look like? You know, or should know what they say about first impressions; they're often wrong!
I read that I would. But I read and read, and it's like I'm not getting smarter.
One day I met a law enforcement officer on the Internet. He looked at picture of me and gave me almost 100% of my characteristic, even though he had never seen me in person. It was as if he could tell from the photo what kind of person I was. He said he had a lot of experience. He didn't look like a well-read man.
Well, some of that is probably intuitiveness and some luck on his part!
Depends on what kind of reading, I suppose. But your brain is a muscle just as your bicep is a muscle on your arm. It needs to be exercised, and reading can certainly get those neurons firing.
If you're reading challenging material, and lots of nonfiction by distinguished researchers, then I think it would expose you to unfamiliar worlds and differing perspectives. Does that make you smart? I don't know about that, but I think it'd help you be more informed and enlightened about the world around you. I think general intelligence is a bit different from that. Problem solving and critical thinking are different skills from that of reading, but a sharp, active mind nonetheless will help with those skills.
IQ is probably set fairly young in life between your DNA and your environment during your earliest years developing. After that, reading will impart knowledge to the extent that you understand and retain what you read. I don't think it will help you solve a Rubic's Cube better, or reason through complex theoretical principles better. If you are a slow learner, I don't think reading will develop you into a fast learner over time. You will still be a slow learner.
So no, I don't think reading makes you smarter. It just potentially gives you more knowledge.
IQ is probably set fairly young in life between your DNA and your environment during your earliest years developing. After that, reading will impart knowledge to the extent that you understand and retain what you read. I don't think it will help you solve a Rubic's Cube better, or reason through complex theoretical principles better. If you are a slow learner, I don't think reading will develop you into a fast learner over time. You will still be a slow learner.
So no, I don't think reading makes you smarter. It just potentially gives you more knowledge.
I think I see what you are driving at. How about we start by defining IQ as the ability to score highly on a test that measures the ephemeral "IQ"? That test has little in common with the smarts needed in some professions.
The math part of an IQ test will absolutely be easier if you read books about solving math problems. The verbal comprehension score will similarly increase if you read foundational literature and language structure. It will NOT be significantly increased if you develop an ability to quickly assess character and characteristics in others, as the LEO did.
"Smarter" somewhat relates to IQ, but is more based upon experience and the ability to use past experience (including but not limited to reading) to assess the present.
Reading in subject areas where you want improvement will make you smarter in those areas. "Slow" learners do many times get faster. Are there genetic barriers? In many cases, those are genetic speed bumps. In others, the brain function is simply not there.
The college educated professor who blithely walks into a pasture with his dog when cattle are present may be highly educated, but is not smart.
First, what do you mean by "smarter"? The word is subjective.
While reading can definitely improve cognitive and language skills, I]what[/i] you read probably has more of an effect than how much you read. If you waste your time/energy reading a lot of fluffy stuff that doesn't challenge your brain it probably won't improve much. If you only read things that are easy and don't expose you to new ideas, what are you learning? Not much.
What exactly does a "well read" person look like? You know, or should know what they say about first impressions; they're often wrong!
I have an older sister. She's only two years older, but she's like 10 years smarter. I think she's even smarter than our mom. It's like she can think. If you tell her something, she never takes your word for it. She gets analytical immediately, she gives opposite facts. And I immediately believe, as if it were the truth in the last resort, until someone convinces me otherwise. And it's very easy for my sister to change my opinion. And it looks so easy that I don't understand how I didn't figure it out myself. And that's despite the fact that I learned to read before she did and read a lot more. And I did better in school than she did.
I also thought that maybe I should not just read, but read reasoning. I read Friedrich Hayek's "The Road to Serfdom" and it was as if I could see the way he was thinking. I downloaded books like Jeremiah Bentham's about utilitarianism, Machiavelli's The Sovereign, etc. But it didn't seem to help me much especially because, I didn't understand everything.
But since I can't read silently, otherwise I can't remember anything, and I read all the time aloud or at least whisper, I developed a very good diction. But that's not what I was trying to achieve...
A well-read person speaks in words you rarely see in life, so I think. And his sentences are long.
Well, some of that is probably intuitiveness and some luck on his part!
Depends on what kind of reading, I suppose. But your brain is a muscle just as your bicep is a muscle on your arm. It needs to be exercised, and reading can certainly get those neurons firing.
If you're reading challenging material, and lots of nonfiction by distinguished researchers, then I think it would expose you to unfamiliar worlds and differing perspectives. Does that make you smart? I don't know about that, but I think it'd help you be more informed and enlightened about the world around you. I think general intelligence is a bit different from that. Problem solving and critical thinking are different skills from that of reading, but a sharp, active mind nonetheless will help with those skills.
I used to prefer only scientific literature. It seemed to me that it was impossible to learn the truth from fiction. But now I read fiction to look at people's behavior in different life situations, because I'd like to understand how they think and cope with their problems, what they say when things don't go their way etc. And from the sidelines I try to evaluate whether they act beautifully or not, so that I can then understand whether or not to act that way myself.
It depends entirely upon what you read. The Gospel of John might be a good place to start : D May God bless you.
I have heard many times that the Bible is a very wise book. I decided to get some wisdom and started reading the Old Testament first, but eventually I gave up. I read until 2 Samuel chapter 23. Unfortunately, I didn't encounter any wisdom until that point. Many things made me indignant, about how God said that whoever breaks his commandments should be killed. Or how Jacob deceived Esau. Does that mean that deceiving is basically okay sometimes? Or how Sarah had no children with Abraham, so she offered him her maid and then kicked her out. And how the Jews had polygamy and even had children from their servants... That's not decent. Or when a traveler came to a man's house, and the people demanded that he give him up, but the owner did not give him up, but brought out his daughter and said, "Do what you want with her, but leave my guest alone." The people mocked his daughter all night long, and then she died. Was that a wise act?
IQ is probably set fairly young in life between your DNA and your environment during your earliest years developing. After that, reading will impart knowledge to the extent that you understand and retain what you read. I don't think it will help you solve a Rubic's Cube better, or reason through complex theoretical principles better. If you are a slow learner, I don't think reading will develop you into a fast learner over time. You will still be a slow learner.
So no, I don't think reading makes you smarter. It just potentially gives you more knowledge.
I am a fast learner and it was easy for me to learn in school. But one day I realized that you can know a lot, but not be smart.
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While reading can definitely improve cognitive and language skills, I]what[/i] you read probably has more of an effect than how much you read. If you waste your time/energy reading a lot of fluffy stuff that doesn't challenge your brain it probably won't improve much. If you only read things that are easy and don't expose you to new ideas, what are you learning? Not much.
