Help How do I become smart?

[eatantz]

I'm 18 but I'm still a child, my brain is filled with cotton candy and games. I want to mature and be able to talk to adults about adult stuff without sounding like an infant. I want to become more intellectual but I have the IQ of a rock ( ˘︹˘ )

When I read peoples posts everyone sound so mature and smart, I want to learn about how to have more refined thinking. What books must I read? or videos or articles. I know nothing about philosophy or famous smart people.

Any advice would be helpful! I really want to engage in deep and meaningful topics with people and just overall bring more interest to my life instead of doom scrolling all the time.

 

[thepiecessatup]

You could try watching short videos on basic philosophy on YouTube? Reading is also helpful (novels not short quotes/status updates, etc. read something that will take some time and keep building from there).

 

[damyon]

I want to mature and be able to talk to adults about adult stuff without sounding like an infant. I want to become more intellectual but I have the IQ of a rock ( ˘︹˘ )

What is your end goal?
I want to give advice, but the "more refined thinking" sounds too abstract for now

 

[EvisceratedJester]

!!!I'm an idiot! A BIG TIME IDIOT, so take my advice with a grain of salt!!!!

A lot of people think that being smart only comes down to just having a lot of knowledge, but in reality, being smart comes down to the application of knowledge and being able to think more deeply about yourself and the world around you. You need to try and engage with things on a deeper level. Just look into things that interest you and take the time to reflect on them more and try to see if you can apply any pre-existing knowledge you already have to it. Try reflecting more on things, rather than just looking at them from a surface level. Of course, gaining more knowledge is good, but that won't necessarily make you smart.

Also, always remember that everyone is a fucking idiot in one way or another. Some people may sound like they know what they are talking about because of their mannerisms, but they might be just as clueless as you. Some people just excel more certain areas than others, so never compare yourself to them. You can only compare yourself and where you are at currently with your past self. It might be that you aren't dumb (I really doubt that you are as dumb as you think you are) but rather you might fare better in certain areas over others. We tend to have this very narrow view of intelligence and what it means to be smart that completely disregards how diverse intelligence can be, so don't hold yourself to that narrow standard. Learn to expand more in your understanding of intelligence and look at the areas where you seem to do best in.

 

[Jorms_McGander]

I'm 18 but I'm still a child, my brain is filled with cotton candy and games. I want to mature and be able to talk to adults about adult stuff without sounding like an infant. I want to become more intellectual but I have the IQ of a rock ( ˘︹˘ )

When I read peoples posts everyone sound so mature and smart, I want to learn about how to have more refined thinking. What books must I read? or videos or articles. I know nothing about philosophy or famous smart people.

Any advice would be helpful! I really want to engage in deep and meaningful topics with people and just overall bring more interest to my life instead of doom scrolling all the time.

You sound intelligent. You get that by having intelligent parents.

So, use it! I bet you use it already. It's hard not to use a brain when you have it. Kinda part of our biology. Give yourself some credit, and watch out for putting people on a pedestal who can "sound smart"

Dude I can sound smart. I am a complete fucking loser lmfao, one might call me a maladjusted idiot and suggest that I have little practical life advice and be pretty much correct. I have accumulated some knowledge on emotional processing, but that's not important I just want to not blow smoke up your ass and say I'm "obviously stupid" when I'm not.

But I can sound smart on a wide range of subjects that I have no right to speak on and ultimately I will contribute nothing which you can't google for yourself. And here's a secret--most of the time on general social media, when people are debating eachother and sounding smart, that's all they're doing. They're actively researching and compiling data to make their points. That doesn't make them experts, or smart.

What makes you an expert is when you spend decades filling your brain with the same dataset we all have available on google such that your mind can then handle all of the various informational segments at one time and produce syntheses not possible in an individual who must pick up and replace the variety of facts regarding a given field.

So, stay engaged, stay reading, and challenge yourself. And maybe quantify what you mean by "smart". Then what are the obstacles to the goals you've associated with being "smart"?

If I skip to the end of the process in myself, my obstacle would be my attention span, and then I would plan some short and long-term goals around that. If doom-scrolling is an issue [it is an issue with me] then part of that plan would be limiting screen time and forcing myself back onto pencils and paper.

For context of my shit I'm 37, it's not meant to qualify anything I've said it's just that at this age I'm coming up to 40 and like a lightswitch "wow I'm not even close to a 20-something anymore" and now I must identify myself as a geezer so I don't feel like a geezer in disguise because that's the worst lol

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

Sounding smart is easy. A lot of what I write is just word salad that I picked up from having to write college essays. The higher the word count, the better.

You could also always put on educational YouTube videos like SciShow, Ted-Ed, or Kurtzgesagt to passively gain some knowledge too. Philosophy channels are also a thing but be careful not to get sucked into some weird political rabbit hole. A lot of it isn't very useful but it is interesting at least. If you have a streaming service, there's also documentaries or shows like Mythbusters.

Also if becoming smart is your goal, you'd unfortunately have to stay away from alcohol even well after you've already turned 21. I'm not sure if it's true that alcohol permanently kills off brain cells but oftentimes it feels like it does.

 

[eatantz]

!!!I'm an idiot! A BIG TIME IDIOT, so take my advice with a grain of salt!!!!

I literally wrote this post with you in mind, every time I read your posts I'm blown away with your intellect. Thank you so much for your advice, I really value your opinion.

 

[acephale]

I went through long journey of enlightenment, but I started by politics then philosophy, I guess you need to side yourself to either right or left wing then choice specific political ideology you can watch jreg in YouTube to know about all ideologies, and then you can start with philosopher, you can read about philosophers who align with your view you have in the left philosophers like zizek, John Zerzan, Jacques Ellul and higal .. "I don't know much about left wing philosophers" and in right Nietzsche, Nick Land, Ted Kaczynski and Julius Evola...

If you are not interested in politics, you can read about philosophers who tried to understand life like Nietzsche, Camus, Arthur Schopenhauer and Georges bataille or psychologists like Viktor Frankl, freud.

 

[eatantz]

What is your end goal?
I want to give advice, but the "more refined thinking" sounds too abstract for now

Honestly I'm not sure, I think I want to see more perspectives and understand different views on sociology, I want to learn basic philosophy. I want to learn different feminist theories and opposing sides, things to help me talk/understand people on here and other adults. I'm not really sure what adults talk about but I want to learn things so people don't look down on me as childish.

 

[EvisceratedJester]

You could also always put on educational YouTube videos like SciShow, Ted-Ed, or Kurtzgesagt

Kurtzgesagt isn't the best channel to watch. They've come under fire multiple times for all sorts of shit and aren't a very trustworthy source.

I'm not sure if it's true that alcohol permanently kills off brain cells but oftentimes it feels like it does.

It doesn't. It can cause permanent brain damage but it doesn't kill off your brain cells. It can cause damage to your dendrites, though. Also, to my knowledge, this isn't a concern so long as you are only consuming it in moderate amounts.

I literally wrote this post with you in mind, every time I read your posts I'm blown away with your intellect. Thank you so much for your advice, I really value your opinion.

Honestly, I'm surprised, lol. I'm very flattered that you think of me that way, but I'm actually really dumb. I'm just good at making myself unintentionally sound smart. I have trouble even following basic verbal instruction for crying loud. As @Dr Iron Arc mentioned, it's easy to sound smart.

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

Kurtzgesagt isn't the best channel to watch. They've come under fire multiple times for all sorts of shit and aren't a very trustworthy source.

Oh, that's a shame. I still find their videos about space and stuff interesting and that subject probably has less to do with their propaganda.

It doesn't. It can cause permanent brain damage but it doesn't kill off your brain cells. It can cause damage to your dendrites, though. Also, to my knowledge, this isn't a concern so long as you are only consuming it in moderate amounts.

It always starts with moderate amounts.

 

[EvisceratedJester]

It always starts with moderate amounts.

And for many it ends in moderate amounts. Healthy relationships with alcohol do exist. So long as someone is just drinking on occasion for fun or to unwind, rather than relying on alcohol as a coping mechanism, then all is good.

 

[Lady Laudanum]

Your brain: filled with cotton candy and games

My brain: filled with poop, hence shit for brains

Looks like you're doing better than me in that respect, buddy.

Jokes aside, being more articulate is something that can be learned over time. It's not about using big words or wording things in a convoluted way. It's more about getting your point across clearly and simply. The same can be said about being able to engage with discussions you consider "deep and meaningful." I would just say what's on my mind. If I can't do it here, then where else would it even be possible?

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

And for many it ends in moderate amounts. Healthy relationships with alcohol do exist. So long as someone is just drinking on occasion for fun or to unwind, rather than relying on alcohol as a coping mechanism, then all is good.

I was only joking. I know drinking responsibly is possible, though I personally don't find it possible for me to use it as anything but a coping mechanism since I don't really like the taste of it outside of that but that's beside the point.

 

[ijustwishtodie]

Wait, you're only 18? I genuinely thought you were much older as you sounded smart and intelligent to me. Also, I'm not entirely sure how to be more intelligent. I personally think that intelligence isn't something that can really be changed. Of course your knowledge can be changed as well as your determination to learn things but I feel like intelligence itself is constant as that's related to applying knowledge in different situations. I'm not entirely sure how one would even improve at applying knowledge in different situations. To me that feels like an innate ability.

Though, at the same time, I'm wondering if it's even IQ that would help you with what you want. Wouldn't having a better EQ make you be able to talk to people easier about various topics?

 

[Angst Filled Fuck Up]

Mature and smart are two different things - you are likely baseline smart already, now it's just a case of applying yourself to some topics that interest you. Having said that, if they haven't organically gripped you already, you may find that you're forcing yourself.

Maturity isn't something you can shape early on. You'll probably fall victim to childlike behaviors and thought patterns for quite some time due to your young age and general lack of life experience.

I'd say don't worry about any of it. You've got more than enough time to develop and in the meantime, if you fancy delving into some deep topics, Youtube and classical literature are good places to start as others have mentioned. Plus it's not like as you age you magically become well-rounded or interesting. There are many older people with very shallow interests and a low level of maturity.

 

[eatantz]

I went through long journey of enlightenment, but I started by politics then philosophy, I guess you need to side yourself to either right or left wing then choice specific political ideology you can watch jreg in YouTube to know about all ideologies, and then you can start with philosopher, you can read about philosophers who align with your view you have in the left philosophers like zizek, John Zerzan, Jacques Ellul and higal .. "I don't know much about left wing philosophers" and in right Nietzsche, Nick Land, Ted Kaczynski and Julius Evola...

Thank you so much!! This is really helpful

Though, at the same time, I'm wondering if it's even IQ that would help you with what you want. Wouldn't having a better EQ make you be able to talk to people easier about various topics?

Actually I think your right, having a good EQ opens up the opportunity to have meaningful discussions and understand various points. I was also thinking of you when I wrote this post, I enjoy reading you posts, you sound very smart.

Dude I can sound smart. I am a complete fucking loser lmfao, one might call me a maladjusted idiot and suggest that I have little practical life advice and be pretty much correct. I have accumulated some knowledge on emotional processing, but that's not important I just want to not blow smoke up your ass and say I'm "obviously stupid" when I'm not.

But I can sound smart on a wide range of subjects that I have no right to speak on and ultimately I will contribute nothing which you can't google for yourself. And here's a secret--most of the time on general social media, when people are debating eachother and sounding smart, that's all they're doing. They're actively researching and compiling data to make their points. That doesn't make them experts, or smart.

What makes you an expert is when you spend decades filling your brain with the same dataset we all have available on google such that your mind can then handle all of the various informational segments at one time and produce syntheses not possible in an individual who must pick up and replace the variety of facts regarding a given field.

This was so helpful, thank you so much!

I'd say don't worry about any of it. You've got more than enough time to develop and in the meantime, if you fancy delving into some deep topics, Youtube and classical literature are good places to start as others have mentioned. Plus it's not like as you age you magically become well-rounded or interesting. There are many older people with very shallow interests and a low level of maturity.

This gave me a lot of faith, I feel a lot better now.

 

[derpyderpins]

Realizing that you don't know everything makes you smarter than a lot of people.

You're 18. You still are a child in the grand scheme of things. Stay curious and humble.

 

[damyon]

Honestly I'm not sure, I think I want to see more perspectives and understand different views on sociology, I want to learn basic philosophy. I want to learn different feminist theories and opposing sides, things to help me talk/understand people on here and other adults. I'm not really sure what adults talk about but I want to learn things so people don't look down on me as childish.

I responded in DM. The answer would probably get me banned from the website (jk)