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Difficult to put the long and emphatic list of cognitive enhancements together with the penultimate paragraph: 'You shouldn’t expect to increase your IQ or any

Difficult to put the long and emphatic list of cognitive enhancements together with the penultimate paragraph: 'You shouldn’t expect to increase your IQ or anything of that nature.' If I can't expect even a 1% rise in intelligence, what am I really achieving cognitively?

sk0g 8y ago
Motivation and will to live, maybe? What good is extreme intelligence if you can't push yourself to crawl out of bed?
- sdiepend 8y ago
  Correct, excercise really makes me feel better and motivated.
MichailP 8y ago
It is not that you get smarter, you don't get more stupid. I think it has something to do with extraordinary energy demand of the brain. 50 year olds can restore their cognitive ability to the level of 30 year olds through physical exercise. As Jordan Peterson puts it in one of his interviews: "Your brain is a very demanding organ, and if your cardio-vascular system is compromised then you get stupid... Brain is very metabolically demanding and if you are not in good physical shape then one of the things that suffers most greatly is your cognitive function". [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29qqv-REAZk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29qqv-REAZk
jraby3 8y ago
Throughout the article they did mention improved working memory, focus, and a host of other benefits. Maybe IQ isn’t the best measure of these benefits.
- Emma_Goldman 8y ago
  You may be right. But all of the suggested benefits seem like they should effect intelligence: - Higher frequency brain waves increase 'attention, memory, and information processing' - A heightened visual cortex increases our ability to pick out features in our environment - Restocking neurotransmitters to optimal levels - Healthier blood vessels improve working memory
  - abledon 8y ago
    these are all forms of 'intelligence' in a piece of life. I say if our body has transformed its blood vessels into a more 'healthier' state then the overall organism is operating more intelligently. Just not the type of intelligence associated with analyzing our external environment.
canofbars 8y ago
My anecdotal data is I am able to focus better after riding a bike to work. I may not be any smarter but I can still get useful work done for longer.
ahartmetz 8y ago
I find that exercise helps me get out of analysis paralysis when writing software and just do something. Sometimes exercise also helps me disengage and later re-engage from a different direction. In that sense it's similar to taking a shower but it takes longer and the physical effort itself also changes thinking. The world does look different when you're pushing your body hard, as if fighting for your life. I do strength then endurance - the two somewhat cancel out but I like doing it that way and my goal isn't to win any competitions.

sk0g 8y ago

Motivation and will to live, maybe? What good is extreme intelligence if you can't push yourself to crawl out of bed?

sdiepend 8y ago
Correct, excercise really makes me feel better and motivated.

MichailP 8y ago

It is not that you get smarter, you don't get more stupid. I think it has something to do with extraordinary energy demand of the brain. 50 year olds can restore their cognitive ability to the level of 30 year olds through physical exercise. As Jordan Peterson puts it in one of his interviews: "Your brain is a very demanding organ, and if your cardio-vascular system is compromised then you get stupid... Brain is very metabolically demanding and if you are not in good physical shape then one of the things that suffers most greatly is your cognitive function". [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29qqv-REAZk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29qqv-REAZk

jraby3 8y ago

Throughout the article they did mention improved working memory, focus, and a host of other benefits. Maybe IQ isn’t the best measure of these benefits.

Emma_Goldman 8y ago
You may be right. But all of the suggested benefits seem like they should effect intelligence: - Higher frequency brain waves increase 'attention, memory, and information processing' - A heightened visual cortex increases our ability to pick out features in our environment - Restocking neurotransmitters to optimal levels - Healthier blood vessels improve working memory
- abledon 8y ago
  these are all forms of 'intelligence' in a piece of life. I say if our body has transformed its blood vessels into a more 'healthier' state then the overall organism is operating more intelligently. Just not the type of intelligence associated with analyzing our external environment.

canofbars 8y ago

My anecdotal data is I am able to focus better after riding a bike to work. I may not be any smarter but I can still get useful work done for longer.

ahartmetz 8y ago

I find that exercise helps me get out of analysis paralysis when writing software and just do something. Sometimes exercise also helps me disengage and later re-engage from a different direction. In that sense it's similar to taking a shower but it takes longer and the physical effort itself also changes thinking. The world does look different when you're pushing your body hard, as if fighting for your life. I do strength then endurance - the two somewhat cancel out but I like doing it that way and my goal isn't to win any competitions.