Anonymous
7/17/2025, 5:00:53 PM No.24558467
What books do I read to increase my intelligence?
Replies:
Thread 24558467 - /lit/ [Archived: 235 hours ago]
Anonymous
7/17/2025, 5:04:18 PM No.24558478
>>24558467 (OP)
To an extent, the brain is a muscle. If you do not challenge it, it becomes lethargic and you become stupid.
Engage with mathematics, philosophy, languages. Strain your understanding, force yourself to focus on difficult contemplation and while you cannot become truly more intelligent for that is limited by your genetics, you can ease the lethargy you have likely found yourself in.
To an extent, the brain is a muscle. If you do not challenge it, it becomes lethargic and you become stupid.
Engage with mathematics, philosophy, languages. Strain your understanding, force yourself to focus on difficult contemplation and while you cannot become truly more intelligent for that is limited by your genetics, you can ease the lethargy you have likely found yourself in.
Anonymous
7/17/2025, 5:25:16 PM No.24558537
>>24558517
The ability to learn, understand, reason, and solve problems
The ability to learn, understand, reason, and solve problems
Anonymous
7/17/2025, 6:10:45 PM No.24558637
>>24558467 (OP)
To gain the ability to learn, understand, reason, and solve problems from reading, you need to approach reading actively, not passively. Here’s a breakdown of how to do that:
---
1. Choose the Right Material
Start with foundational works in logic, science, philosophy, or history.
Read books that explain how things work, not just what happened.
e.g. How to Read a Book (Adler), Thinking, Fast and Slow (Kahneman), or Gödel, Escher, Bach (Hofstadter).
---
2. Read Actively
Ask questions while you read: Why is this true? What’s the author assuming?
Take notes in your own words. Don’t just highlight—explain it to yourself.
Summarize complex ideas into simple language. If you can’t do that, you don’t understand it yet.
---
3. Engage in “Second-Order” Thinking
Don’t just absorb facts. Ask:
What does this imply?
How could this be wrong?
How would this apply in a different context?
Compare ideas across books. Reading Plato? Compare him to Descartes, Nietzsche, or modern psychology.
---
4. Use What You Read
Apply what you’ve read to problems—real or hypothetical.
Practice solving things logically or analytically using concepts from books.
Even fiction can train reasoning if you treat it like a system of ideas.
---
5. Reread & Reflect
The first read is to understand, the second is to analyze.
Revisit difficult books. You’ll think better each time you engage with deeper layers.
---
TL;DR for /lit/-style:
> Don't just read to “finish” books. Read like you’re arguing with the author. Break it down, question it, rewrite it, apply it. Reading without thinking is just word digestion.
Want a reading list to build reasoning and problem-solving?
To gain the ability to learn, understand, reason, and solve problems from reading, you need to approach reading actively, not passively. Here’s a breakdown of how to do that:
---
1. Choose the Right Material
Start with foundational works in logic, science, philosophy, or history.
Read books that explain how things work, not just what happened.
e.g. How to Read a Book (Adler), Thinking, Fast and Slow (Kahneman), or Gödel, Escher, Bach (Hofstadter).
---
2. Read Actively
Ask questions while you read: Why is this true? What’s the author assuming?
Take notes in your own words. Don’t just highlight—explain it to yourself.
Summarize complex ideas into simple language. If you can’t do that, you don’t understand it yet.
---
3. Engage in “Second-Order” Thinking
Don’t just absorb facts. Ask:
What does this imply?
How could this be wrong?
How would this apply in a different context?
Compare ideas across books. Reading Plato? Compare him to Descartes, Nietzsche, or modern psychology.
---
4. Use What You Read
Apply what you’ve read to problems—real or hypothetical.
Practice solving things logically or analytically using concepts from books.
Even fiction can train reasoning if you treat it like a system of ideas.
---
5. Reread & Reflect
The first read is to understand, the second is to analyze.
Revisit difficult books. You’ll think better each time you engage with deeper layers.
---
TL;DR for /lit/-style:
> Don't just read to “finish” books. Read like you’re arguing with the author. Break it down, question it, rewrite it, apply it. Reading without thinking is just word digestion.
Want a reading list to build reasoning and problem-solving?
Replies:
Anonymous
7/17/2025, 6:14:31 PM No.24558641
>>24558637
thanks fagGPT
thanks fagGPT
Anonymous
7/17/2025, 6:28:39 PM No.24558685
>>24558637
thanks saar
thanks saar
Anonymous
7/17/2025, 6:45:20 PM No.24558737
>>24558467 (OP)
you can actually boost your intelligence by studying books as you will gain knowledge of more words and a better understanding of things... read scientific treatises
you can actually boost your intelligence by studying books as you will gain knowledge of more words and a better understanding of things... read scientific treatises