What is “Smart”? Your Boomer Mom and Mensa Probably Disagree on the Definition

Oxford defines intelligence as the “ability to learn, understand, and think in a logical way about things”, while your boomer mom likely thinks of intelligence as something along the lines of “good at computers”… and they might

both be right (in a way)! This is a post about what it actually means to be “smart” or “intelligent”. Intelligence can be a touchy topic, but it can also be one that provides a lot of insight when you look deeply into it. Not to be too cloyingly diplomatic about it, but yes, there are different kinds of intelligence, and the meaning of the term can change depending on whether you’re talking about the everyday meaning or the scientific meaning of the term. We’re going to discuss each and use our…ahem… “smarts,” to understand the differences and why they might be useful and important to you. Warning: when we get into the scientific definitions, yes, it can get a little boring. The payoff though, is that when you use the scientific definition of the term, you can quantify your own “intelligence,” and even use modern tech to help give your smarts a boost. Let’s explore… 

Everyone wishes they had a pair of smarty pants. 

By the colloquial definition, intelligence is the ability to learn, understand, and apply knowledge. We often associate it with demonstrations of the application of knowledge such as the ability to answer trivia questions, get good grades in school, or apply some scientific fact to something we see in the world like the weather or construction. In scientific terms, intelligence is broadly defined as the ability to reason, problem-solve, and adapt to new situations. More specifically though, intelligence can be broken down into two different types: Crystalized Intelligence and Fluid Intelligence. 

Crystallized intelligence can be thought of as the knowledge and skills that we acquire through experience and education. It includes things like vocabulary, general knowledge, and applied expertise in a particular field. When we think of a Jeopardy champion, an author who writes a superlative book, or even the obnoxious guy at the bar who has to correct you on sports facts (dude, if I really wanted to know, I’d just check google), we’re thinking about people who demonstrate crystalized intelligence. This type of intelligence tends to increase with age and experience, and you constantly can be expanding and enhancing it by gaining and applying knowledge. If the average person was doing things to try and get smarter in this way, they would probably ready books, practice math problems or write about some topic like ancient Rome – all activities that could conceivably boost crystalized intelligence. 

On the other hand, fluid intelligence is the ability to solve problems and think flexibly and fluently. It involves things like reasoning, pattern recognition, and abstract thinking. Solving a rubix cube quickly, memorizing a deck of cards in order on the spot, or doing math quickly in your head (those people are wizards!) would be examples of this type of intelligence. Fluid intelligence is essentially the basic “firepower” your brain possesses for reasoning within constraints or paradigms independent of learning new facts. This type of intelligence is (well, was – keep reading) thought to peak in early adulthood and then gradually decline over time. 

While the everyday understanding of intelligence tends to focus on academic success and knowledge, the scientific understanding of intelligence includes both fluid and crystallized intelligence. It recognizes that being "smart" is not just about having a lot of knowledge or wisdom, but also about being able to adapt to new situations and solve problems in creative ways quickly. This is what fluid intelligence tries to capture, the nimbleness of one’s cognitive processes. This is often quantified by measures like IQ tests and performance on other cognitive tasks. An IQ test isn’t the be-all, end-all of how “smart” you are, and you certainly shouldn’t judge your worth as a person by this value, but it does give you a simple number that can be useful in showing you how your cognitive performance measures up to peers your age. Don’t get overly focused on this measure and definitely don’t go around bragging about your IQ if you’ve got a high one, (that, ironically, would be very socially dumb – definitely don’t be that guy), but you can use that number as a benchmark (kind of like seeing where your fitness level is as by getting your V02 max) to genuinely and objectively know how your smarts stack up. 

Are Your Smarts Your Destiny? 

As we mentioned previously, Crystallized intelligence refers to the knowledge and skills that are acquired through experience and education. This includes things like vocabulary, general knowledge, and expertise in a particular field. Since acquiring new knowledge is a part of this type of intelligence, it’s obviously something that can be “worked on” or something you can either improve or impair. By definition, this type of intelligence isn’t fixed. Conversely, since fluid intelligence involves the ability to solve problems, reason, and recognize patterns in new and unfamiliar situations and is dependent on no or very little informational content, it was often thought that this type of intelligence was “natural” or fixed and not something that was able to be improved via training. Generally, it was though that this type of intelligence peaks at around age 25 then gradually declines through the lifespan. 

Fortunately, though, more recent scientific studies have provided a different (perhaps more optimistic) perspective on fluid intelligence by showing that can indeed be improved with intervention and deliberate training. In fact, training your fluid intelligence can not only improve scores on things like aptitude tests (like IQ tests) and academic grades, but can even help grow new connections in your brain! It takes some time and some persistent, difficult (even grueling) effort, but it can be done. But the big question is, how? What type of magic training is all of a sudden is going to turn someone into Isaac Newton (or at least Alex Trebek)? 

No Brain Train, No Gain; How to Flex Your Mental Muscles and Prove Old School Scientists Wrong 

Fluid intelligence can be Improved with specific types of training. One way to do this is to regularly play “brain training” games. You may have heard of these through companies like Lumosity or Brain HQ who offer many different types of games for different purposes (e.g., improve memory and perception). This type of training is becoming more and more well-known and widely used. Generally, brain training involves playing a series of games where you must process some type of sequential information (like deciding whether two cards you see are the same suit) using your working memory, and then make a decision about the information (like touching a “Yes” or “No” button as quickly as you can). If you do this well enough, you continuously “level-up” in difficulty (like having to decide whether 3 cards are all the same suit) and improved performances and scores on these tasks are thought to improve cognition. Brain training is becoming more and more well-know and widely utilized across different professions. Even athletes like Bryson Dechambeau and Tom Brady are known to use this type of training to improve their performance. 

When it comes to improving fluid intelligence, one specific brain training game called the "dual n-back" task is thought to be the best game to up your smarts. This task involves simultaneously remembering a sequence of visual and auditory stimuli while indicating when said stimuli are the same as one’s you’ve previously viewed. Sounds kind of confusing and difficult, doesn’t it? It is, but that’s how you get smarter – no brain-train pain, no gain. Check out this link for a succinct demonstration of what the dual n-back is like. It is thought to improve fluid intelligence by strengthening the connections between different parts of the brain involved in working memory and attention. Studies have shown that people who regularly practice the dual n-back task can improve their fluid intelligence, as measured by standard IQ tests. Other types of training, such as video games or puzzle solving, may also help improve fluid intelligence, but typically aren’t as effective as the dual n-back since the nature of this task is what’s thought to really give your smarts a boost. New research into fluid intelligence continues to show that this trait is not set in stone and can be improved with effort and practice – an exciting development for those who aspire to be part of the intelligentsia. 

As we've discussed, the colloquial understanding of intelligence refers to academic achievement or general knowledge, while the scientific conceptualization of intelligence is more complex, quantifyible and includes the definitions of crystalized and fluid intelligence. We're learning more and more about how fluid intelligence, once thought to be fixed, can be improved with specific types of cognitive training.

If you want to really get smarter, try incorporating some brain training into your routine. If you're a hardcore smarty pants and you really wanna boost your brain, try the Dual N-back...

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