How to Get Smart Fast: How to Feel, Look, Sound, and Become Smarter in 7 Weeks or Less While Having Fun
79By Vicente Zeldana
Ground Rules
- The purpose of this series is to feel, look, sound, and become smarter while having FUN, so feel free to skip a whole part if you find it dry and boring. Don’t cheat too much though, if you can’t give at least 3 of these a reasonable effort I would have to question your desire to get smart
- Some of this guide is tongue in cheek (Week 2, -cough-), but ultimately it is intended to be helpful so please try out some of the suggestions and enjoy yourself on your quest to become smarter
- The weekly lists are a guideline, feel free to go out of order or spend longer or less time on a given task for the fun of it
- If you happen to get into an argument with someone smarter, don’t worry geniuses are usually frail and a quick jab to the sternum should be enough for a K.O., which leads me to my next important point
- Disclaimer: Any actions you choose are solely at your discretion, and I, or the contents of this article, cannot be held responsible in any way
Week 1: The Importance of Vocabulary and Words
- Psychologists have long known of a fairly high correlation between vocabulary and IQ scores
- Better communication with friends and coworkers
- Better understanding of what you read
How to Learn Vocabulary Words and Have Fun
- This is not going to be a dry list of words to memorize, but if you prefer it Google SAT or GRE words
- Play games such as scrabble, boggle, or other word games
- Play a game with yourself where you look up a weird word in the dictionary and use it in public or with friends to see if anyone has the guts to ask you what it means
- Sign up to receive daily e-mails with the word of the day from dictionary.com
- If you enjoy learning Greek or Latin/French, etc. you may want to check out some catch phrases such as Carpe Diem, Quid Pro Quo, Pro Bono, etc. and throw them into everyday conversation (but don’t come back to me if you get strange looks)
Week 2: The Importance of Knowing Your Logical Fallacies
- The last thing you need is someone with an actual higher IQ making you look dumb
- Put up your defenses and show him you won’t go down without a fight in an argument. Learn some basic logic (and throwing in a few big words from week 1 couldn’t hurt either. Bonus points if you can use a word he doesn’t know and manage to confuse him)
How to Know Your Logical Fallacies and Still Have Fun
- Actually Logical Fallacies could take years to learn, on second thought let’s leave learning this to the real smart people with PhDs and 160 IQs and so forth….
- I’ll just redact this whole section and… [Vicente, this is your editor…I’m afraid I can’t let you redact this section, it has to stay in]
- Okay well the show must go on apparently….
- Well erm…there is one logical fallacy called the red herring, it is where you toss up a completely unrelated topic in order to basically confuse your target and/or the audience and make them forget about the real important issue they were originally discussing. I suggest if you get caught in a tough spot to throw out a red herring and slowly back out toward the door… then when you reach the other side make a break for it!
Week 3: The Importance of Listening Up
- Often times smart people, or people that want to be recognized for being smart want to impress and to do that they often think they have to run their mouths
- Many people like to talk, but listening is also an important quality to have
- If you can’t listen to what someone else is saying you won’t be able to make a coherent thoughtful response anyway
How to Listen and Still Have Fun
- Try it out and see if it works for starters. If you start listening you might realize you had been missing out on a lot by jumping in all the time
- Listening can be fun because good listeners can sometimes make friends more easily than good talkers. By listening you show interest in someone else, and people like it when others are interested in them
- Meditate and listen to your own thoughts. Don’t feel the need to but in and interrupt all of your thoughts, just let them flow.
Week 4: The Importance of Knowing the Classics
- Classics are a part of our culture
- There are references made to classics in the news, in movies, in books, and sometimes even in the classics themselves
- Many of the greatest classics are known as classics because of their beauty, and are well worth reading for enjoyment
- Remember, this is how people got their entertainment before the modern apps, internet, and television of today
How to Read Classic Works and Still Have fun
- If you are not so sure what you would like to read, try websites that summarize classic works, such as spark notes or cliff notes. Merely knowing summaries puts you ahead of much of the pack anyway.
- If you have children, or babysit, try reading out some Classics to them, perhaps acting out the parts of the characters in the book to make it more entertaining
- Join a book club and discuss the books with others. Learning why some classics are important and meaningful to others might be an eye opening experience for you.
Week 5: The Importance of Keeping up Appearances
- Appearance is important because a smart individual could make all sorts of appearance mistakes (see below) and actually be a genius but get treated like an idiot because people may not tolerate such mistakes
- You don’t want people thinking you are an idiot, especially if you are not
How to Keep up Appearances and Still Have Fun
- Have an idea of your facial expressions, pay attention to them to make sure you aren’t doing anything too silly, maybe practice in the mirror
- Some people look puzzled frequently, leave their mouths to hang open, drool, or stare in a trance at the opposite sex. These are all things you should avoid and you need to learn to monitor your own composure and expressions
- Keep a good posture, and be polite. Say Hi to acquaintances you see in public and ask them how they are, but don’t harass them since they could be in a hurry
- Avoid using slang or slangish type words. Words like “ya’ll”, “ain’t”, “gonna”, and “woulda” are all big repeat offenders. You may want to cut trendy type abbreviations too, such as “FYI” and “411”.
- The only way to have fun with these is to ask a friend to slap you in the face (preferably in public) every time you commit any of these violations. For the more soft stomached individuals, set up a jar where you have to pay a quarter for every blunder to charity, or your mom, or whoever.
Week 6: The Importance of Playing Video Games (or Computer Games, App Games, etc.)
- Video games aren’t just mindless fun, they can increase reaction time, activate parts of your brain you don’t normally use, increase coordination, and possibly teach you something new in the process
How to Play Video Games and Still Have Fun
- This one is kind of self explanatory but anyhow here are some ideas.
- A caveat is that many games might make you dumber, so use your better judgment here
- Try games or apps specifically geared toward making people smarter, such as Brain Age for the DS
- Try games that deal with real world environments, such as Endless Ocean for the Wii
- Try games that deal with abstract patterns, like Bejeweled or Tetris
- Better yet, program your own video game, that would really make you smarter wouldn’t it?
Week 7: The Importance of Focusing on Your Weaknesses
- Everyone likes to focus on what they are already good at, because it is fun and easy, but the real challenge is focusing on your problem areas
- The benefit to working on your weaknesses is these are the areas where you have the potential to grow the quickest.
How to Focus on Your Weaknesses and Still Have Fun
- Ask your friends to tell you something ‘dumb’ you do all the time, or an area where your ‘knowledge’ is terribly scarce, and bet them 20 bucks you can impress them with your corrections or newfound knowledge in a week’s time
- Learn from one of your weakness areas (e.g., physics, geography, etc.), then tell a stranger you are an expert in that area and see if you can fool them into believing you
- Apply to be on Jeopardy or some other quiz show. There is no motivator like knowing you might be made a fool in front of a national audience.
- If it is really that hard and painful to focus on a true weakness just learn something new in an area you already like. If you like martial arts just learn a new technique you know nothing about.
