Learning Part II: Fluid vs Crystallised Intelligence

This is a follow-up blog about learning. Following on from our last post, like a superset in the gym!

One of the compelling, enchanting and awe-inspiring aspects of human behaviour is the concept of total mastery. Total mastery is achieved when a person has enthusiastically pursued something they are outstandingly good at with clear goals, industriousness and a sure direction for a sufficient duration.

Usain Bolt. Maria Callas. Simone Biles, Mozart, Marie Curie, Nietzsche… whatever field of endeavour you are most interested in, there is probably someone who could be deemed the Greatest Of All Time (the G.O.A.T).

All of these people learned to be the best at what they do.

The examples above are a group of people with vast innate gifts. Comparison with such folk can, perhaps, be demoralising.

No one said life is fair, and try as we might, we might not get onto the shortlist for the greatest of all time…. but it’s worth noting that consistent purposeful practice and learning works for everyone else.

You see, Olympic athletes all want gold. Any other result is categorised as ‘not gold’, and that is why the second fastest person on the planet with an Olympic silver medal often considers themselves a loser.

Fortunately, in almost all walks of life you can be successful without being the greatest-ever living example. The trick is to realise it won’t happen by luck, no-one is coming to save you, hard work is essential, and learning to do the job incredibly well is the best investment in yourself you can make. You can learn to be an absolute expert in most areas, and all of the accolades that come with it are yours to cherish.

I want to explore the neurophysiology of learning with an example.

Now stay with me… but… I’m going to use chess!!

Perhaps the greatest player who has ever lived is Gary Kasparov. He completely dominated the world chess circuit as undisputed world No.1 for 255 months. That’s over 20 years. He was a world champion at 22. He was for all intents and purposes a chess phenomenon who no one could beat. He won almost every tournament he entered and could play multiple opponents at once and beat them all. He was arguably the G.O.A.T.

Tangent: We use Gary Kasparov as a good example to understand the processing power both internet search engines and social media giants use to hold your attention. Gary Kasparov, this incredible human, could look at a chess board and see all possible move combinations for all pieces perhaps 8-10 moves ahead.

That is staggering. Thirty-two pieces with a variety of unique moves interlaced with each other on an 8×8 chess board. Quite staggering… But consider this: social media companies use algorithms that can see a billion moves ahead. And… you really think you own your phone… rather than it owns you…?

Tangent over.

So, anyway, back to learning! Gazza, the chess king, eventually retires and moves into political activism and writing. He is a clever chap and can look back with due pride and look forward to contributing elsewhere.

Now as Gary retires, there is a new world number one, Magnus Carlsen. Magnus looks a bit ridiculously impressive too. The comparisons between the retired master and the new kid are inevitable.

Magnus became world No.1 at 19 and is smashing all previous records. He is young, Norwegian and is also ranked best in the world in all the different forms of chess (chess has sexy fast versions too!!). Gary was good at them all but was a strict ‘Auld skool’ player – whereas Magnus demolishes everyone in his path in all forms. He beats them faster, more brutally, and all with a smile on his handsome Scandinavian face.

Now journalists, being what they are (empathy-devoid story-hunting parasites), decided to try and stick a provocative knife in Gary’s peaceful retirement to see if he bleeds. He was asked the big question: “If you played him today, could you beat Magnus?”

His reply: “He is younger than me and likes to read.”

Well done, Gary. Classy, magnanimous and insightful, as he was referring to how our brains learn. The look on the journalist’s face? A mixture of confusion, frustration and disappointment.

This mysterious answer wasn’t meant to be provocative or enigmatic. It was meant to explain and concede the nature of learning and intelligence.

There are two recognised forms of intelligence we consider when trying to optimise our learning. These are fluid intelligence and crystallised intelligence.

Fluid intelligence, in a nutshell, is how quickly you can learn, with the official definition being:

…the ability to face and resolve unknown, novel and dynamic problems and situations.

Crystallised intelligence, on the other hand, is what we acquire and store through knowledge, past experiences and culture.

It is what we see reflected in memory tests, quizzes, general knowledge of trivia, use of language, vocabulary, grammar and prose.

Crystalline intelligence increases as we study, achieve, practise and read.

High intelligence and high conscientiousness are the two biggest psychometric markers for success. We are not all given equal amounts of these (in the same way that I cannot outrun Usain Bolt) and many people have limits in terms of their opportunity to optimise both. The unequal allocation is just life. Or, to put it another way, the opportunity to be the best version of ourselves isn’t necessarily a level playing field.

Either way, the best combination is a big allocation of both types of intelligence: learn fast through high, fluid intelligence and learn a lot through high quality educational opportunity.

Your crystalline intelligence (how much you can remember and apply) tends to remain steady throughout life, perhaps slowly increasing if you ‘exercise your brain’ in a certain way.

Now the scary part: Fluid intelligence decreases from the age of about 22-25. Read that again: your geriatric decline starts in your early 20s. How old are you, by the way?

Kids learn fast, unbelievably fast, if they enjoy the process. But, soon after you leave dental school, the rate at which you can learn starts to decline… unless you stop it, and stop it you can!!

More on that later.

So what did Gary Kasparov mean when he said, “He is younger than me and likes to read.”?

He meant that Gary himself had published a book on ALL of his staggering chess genius/moves/techniques and strategies and a young Magnus had read it. Not just read it but also understood it and subsumed all of that amazing, glorious knowledge. And he did it when he was young.

Gary was acknowledging two things:

Firstly that Magnus would beat him because he had respectfully, honourably and gratefully taken all of Gary’s genius and taken the time to imbibe it all.

Gary had taken his lifetime’s work and condensed it brilliantly into a book. The greatest gift a genius can offer: everything he knows, what it means, and how you can use it; 30  to 40  years’ experience condensed into just 6-8 hours of study.… This gift was taken by Magnus and not just read, but read and applied.

The book was read and understood (fluid) and then applied (crystalline).

Secondly, despite Gary Kasparov’s massive crystalline intelligence, his fluid intelligence was declining as it will inevitably do in us all unless we stop it.

Isn’t that what we should all want? The next generation smarter, better and further ahead than we were? That is why I tire so quickly of egotistical dental teachers who portray themselves as unknowably clever GOATs whom you, the young pretender, cannot outgrow but only emulate in some lesser and pitiful way. NO! I want you to be better than me and then your kids better than you. That is how civilisations grow.

Newton refracted light specifically so you can use an intra oral scanner – Lol!!

So, this decline in fluid intelligence, and how to stop it? Well, I expect the full answer is more complex than we actually know and will involve hormone levels, sleep quality, managing stress and your natural disposition to the effects of negative emotion, but the key is consistent and it really works.

The only recognised and highly effective method for preserving your peak fluid intelligence over a lifetime is consistent physical exercise.

Your mind and body are intrinsically linked… who knew!

Lifting weights is the most important aspect (body weight is fine), but mixed with some cardio a few times per week and you maintain your fluid intelligence for a lifetime. It’s that simple.

Human intelligence and our ability to quickly learn and remember, and perhaps then use, is what sets our species apart. It has made us the custodians of this planet and all other species we share it with. It brings us beauty, art, comfort, safety, abundance, and perhaps one day the stars. The human brain is the most sophisticated entity in the known universe. Preserving it involves sleeping well, eating well and, apparently, staying in good physical shape.

At Aspire we love seeing people learn and have zero ego about you becoming better than us. I love seeing someone do a prep that I cannot fault. It’s awesome, frankly, but best of all is a delegate asking me, “Where can I read more about that?”