Hello friend,
Most people waste their intelligence. Not because they aren’t smart, but because they’ve never trained their minds to think.
"How to think" was never a topic, yet alone subject in school. In spite of how critically important it is.
A while ago, I wrote an article on intelligence that took off. It struck a nerve. Why? Because most people have never actually been taught how to think.
School fills your head with facts but never shows you how to process information at genius speed. Thinking is a discipline—an underrated skill that separates those who see what others miss from those who stay stuck.
So, I went deep. I started researching how geniuses think—not just what they know, but how they structure their thoughts to make better decisions, faster. And I discovered three things that changed everything:
Intelligence Is Not What You Think
Most people assume intelligence is about raw brainpower—IQ, memory, or some mystical “genius gene.” They look for shortcuts: nootropics, speed-reading tricks, and mental hacks. But real intelligence isn’t about hacks. It’s about behaviour.
At its core, intelligence is the speed at which you learn and adapt. And learning isn’t just absorbing information—it’s changing how you act. If information doesn’t alter your behaviour, you haven’t actually learnt it.
So if you want to become “smarter,” you don’t need brain-boosting supplements or gimmicks—you need to master the mechanics of behaviour change.
Let’s break it down.
The Mind’s Two Operating Systems (And How They Work Against You)
Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking Fast and Slow outlines two mental systems:
- System 1 (fast thinking): instinctive, automatic, emotional. It’s how you recognise a face or dodge a flying object without thinking.
- System 2 (slow thinking): logical, deliberate, and effortful. It’s how you solve complex problems or learn a new skill.
Here’s the problem: System 1 runs the show 95% of the time.
Your brain is wired for efficiency, so it avoids System 2 whenever possible. That’s why people fall for bias, make impulsive decisions, and struggle to think clearly.
If you want to increase your intelligence, you have to train System 2 to become faster and more dominant. This is where most self-improvement advice fails—it doesn’t teach you to retrain your cognitive defaults.
The Mental Biases That Keep You Stupid (And How to Overcome Them)
Most people aren’t struggling with intelligence; they’re struggling with mental interference. These are the top cognitive biases that kill clear thinking:
- Cognitive Ease (The Comfort Bias)
Your brain prefers familiar, simple answers—even if they’re wrong. This is why people fall for clickbait and oversimplified advice.
Fix it: Force yourself to entertain opposing ideas before deciding anything. If something feels too easy to believe, it’s probably incomplete.
- The Substitution Heuristic
Instead of answering hard questions, your brain swaps in an easier one without noticing. Example: “How do I build a business?” turns into “How do I make money fast?”—which leads to bad decisions.
Fix it: Notice when you’re oversimplifying a problem. Ask: “Am I answering the real question, or an easier version?”
- The Sunk Cost Fallacy
You hold onto bad decisions because you’ve already invested time or money. (Staying in a toxic relationship, keeping a failing business alive.)
Fix it: Ignore past investments. The only thing that matters is the future upside.
- Survivorship Bias
You only see the winners, not the failures. This is why people believe in overnight success stories while ignoring the graveyard of those who tried and failed.
Fix it: Study failures, not just successes. What did they do wrong? What patterns emerge?
If you can override these biases, your processing power increases instantly. Your mind stops being a slave to shortcuts and starts thinking clearly.
The Intelligence Accelerator: How to Think Like a Genius
Here’s what geniuses are doing differently:
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They Build Thinking Frameworks:
Geniuses don’t just store knowledge—they organise it into mental models that help them think faster and better. A few examples:
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First Principles Thinking (Elon Musk): Breaking things down to fundamental truths instead of relying on assumptions.
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Probabilistic Thinking (Warren Buffett): Assigning probabilities to decisions instead of relying on gut feelings.
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Inversion (Charlie Munger): Solving problems by reversing them: “How do I fail at this?” then avoiding those mistakes.
Why Smarter People Seem Faster (They Use Better Methods, Not More Effort)
Most people assume intelligence is about working harder, but it’s really about working differently. A simple example: mental math.
If I asked you to multiply 97 × 96 in your head, you’d probably struggle. But a trained mind sees it instantly:
97 × 96 = (100 - 3) × (100 - 4)
= 100² - (3 × 100) - (4 × 100) + (3 × 4)
= 10000 - 300 - 400 + 12
= 9312
This isn’t about memorisation—it’s about better frameworks for thinking. The best thinkers aren’t just smarter; they have better strategies for problem-solving.
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They Train Speed and Accuracy Separately Intelligence isn’t just about deep thinking—it’s about the ability to switch gears between rapid execution and deep analysis.
Example: Chess masters train by playing blitz games (fast decisions) and slow games (deep strategy) separately. You should do the same in your domain.
- They Ruthlessly Cut Mental Waste 80% of your thoughts are useless loops. Thinking is expensive—spend it on what matters.
Fix it: When stuck, ask, "What decision am I actually trying to make?”
How to Apply This Today Here’s how you immediately upgrade your intelligence:
- Train System 2 to Override System 1
- Use Mental Models, Not Just Memory
- Eliminate Low-Value Thinking
📖If this hits home, you’ll love what I’ve put together. I’ve put together a free reading list of foundational books that rewire how you think, learn, and make decisions—like mental weightlifting for your brain.
Grab the free Fundamental Principles Reading List here: selar.com/firstprinciples
Time to upgrade your mind.
Stay sharp,
Praise J.J.
