Intelligence increases when you think less
Guy Claxton in his book “Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind” argues that the mind works at different speeds. Some of its functions may be performed at lightening speed, others take seconds, minutes or even days to complete.
Some of these processes can be speeded up, like we can become quicker at crossword puzzles and math. Other processes cannot be rushed. We need to learn to respect these slower processes and give them the time they need. It is these slower, deeper thought processes that often enables us to lead fulfilling, deliberate lives.
The society we live in seems to operative on the motto “Think fast, we need the results”. This may sometimes be counterproductive.
Each individual learns, thinks and knows in different ways. These modes of mind operate at different speeds and are good for different mental jobs.
The proverbs, “He who hesitates is lost” and “Look before you leap” have opposing meanings. Yet both are true.
Roughly speaking, the mind has three processing speeds. The first, which is faster than thought is wonderful for situations that demand an instantaneous reaction, like getting out of danger. This is a reflex action and has evolved in our species enabling us to achieve rather complex manoeuvres without thinking about them.
Then there is thought itself. The sort of intelligence which involves figuring matters out, weighing the pros and cons, constructing arguments and solving problems. Our society labels people good at solving these sorts of problems as “bright or clever”. Hence most education systems only focuses on developing this type of thinking.
But there is another mental mode that proceeds more slowly. It is often less purposeful and more playful, leisurely and dreamy. In this mode we are ruminating or mulling things over, being contemplative or meditative. We may be pondering a problem, rather than trying to solve it.
Latest cognitive research show that this leisurely, apparently aimless ways of knowing and thinking are just as “intelligent” as the faster more direct ones. Allowing the mind time to meander is not a luxury that can be safely cut back as your life gets busier.
On the contrary some kinds of everyday predicaments and natural phenomena are better approached with a slow mind. Some mysteries can only be penetrated with a relaxed unquestioning attitude. Scientific evidence shows convincingly that the more patient, less deliberate modes of mind are particularly suited to making sense of problems that are intricate, shadowy and ill-defined – the truly intelligent stuff.
Einstein seems to have used the leisurely, slow mode of thinking and look where it got him.
It seems that we need the tortoise mind as much as we need the hare brain. Ensure that you develop yours, give yourself a chance to daydream. You never know where it may take you.
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