The truth is that you probably don’t know mathematics. Math is not what you learned at school. Math is not calculating or applying formulas to get results you don’t even understand. Even studying mathematics involves some things which I wouldn’t label as real math.

Real math is like playing around in the imaginary realms of logic. Mathematical proving is like painting. Just that you’re not dependent on painting equipment. Math is an act of creativity. And that’s one reason why I like it so much.

I know this gotta be kinda hard to believe if you only know school math and never engaged in the real thing. Because obviously, school math doesn’t really improve your creativity. It rather destroys the beauty of the insights gained over the last thousands of years by presenting them as numb formulas that you have to apply in a very specific manner. In a very stupid manner. School math at most trains you to follow fixed schemes. But that’s school math.

Despite those facts, I also liked school math to some extent. I’m not 100% why I did so but I guess it was simply because I was good at it. It was probably also because I like working out my brain. And even that school stuff is activating some few brain cells.

I say few because mathematical proving activates a lot more.

That’s the other point why mathematics is one of my favorite subjects.

Perfectionism and Math

I as a perfectionist also like math because it’s so exact. But at the same time, it’s creative and somehow subjective. This might seem contradictory. And maybe it is.

So math could also be a part of my way out of ‘false’ perfectionism. The logical way out of it. (I’ll still have to think about that one here, let’s see where it will lead me…)

Other Resources

Hopefully you got a vague idea about what real mathematics actually is. If you want to know more about it, I highly recommend you to read Lockhart’s Lament.

I read it some time ago and it really opened my eyes. Not only does it explain in detail why people don’t like school math, it also shows how beautiful math can be. Plus it contains some very nice analogies. It’s really worth reading.

I’ll tell you a little example. If you think you suck in life (and therefore have a negative attitude) your success will be very limited. I don’t want to go into great detail here, but basically, having a negative attitude leads to a vicious circle: You think you fail, therefore you fail. This failing increases your negative attitude, making it even more likely for you to fail in the future.

Fortunately, this vicious circle works very similar with a positive attitude. Well, the circle ain’t really vicious in that case but the principles remain the same: Having a positive attitude directly increases your success. This success reinforces your positive attitude. (Read Why a Positive Attitude Leads to Success for a detailed explanation on why a positive attitude leads to success.)

But not only does your attitude influence your success. Getting knowledge and understanding is dependent on your attitude as well for the same reasons.

So what exactly is the right attitude for learning, reading or thinking?

Be Interested

First of all, you need to be interested in the subject. Being interested leads to a better memorization and keeps you motivated. You might know from school that learning about some boring subject is way harder than learning about a subject you’re interested in.

So, if you want to know a lot about different subjects, the first step you should take is to become interested in all those subjects.

I know, this sounds easier than it actually is, but once you’re interested in a topic, it will be so much easier for you to learn more about it.

Be Open-Minded

Don’t disapprove of something just because it seems to be strange at first glance.

Many great theories seemed weird when they’ve been proposed. The theory of relativity is a perfect example for this. It suggests some really strange things but it has helped scientists a lot to understand more of the world around us.

However, don’t mistake being open-minded for believing anything that is told to you. People lie and people talk about stuff they don’t understand themselves. That’s why the next point is crucial.

Be Critical

This one is especially important if you browse the internet a lot. So this might be especially important for you, I mean, you are just reading an article published in the internet. Don’t believe everything I tell you without asking yourself if it makes any sense.

Seriously, people tell a lot of bullshit. If something seems to be very obscure, then you might want to check the source of this information before you believe it in all its fabulous details.

Try to keep those points in mind.

I won’t go into great detail here, this article is rather meant to provide a kind of overview, so you’ll probably need to read some additional resources to be able to actually apply the methods.

You might feel a little exhausted after trying some of those techniques, but that’s just fine. You wouldn’t expect feeling extremely vigorous at the end of a marathon either, would you?

But the intensity of the individual brain teasers is very different. Some methods will only be a light stimulation while others will significantly increase your intelligence if you use them over a certain period of time. Try out for yourself what works best for you.

1. Optical illusions: Watching optical illusions doesn’t lead to great intelligence, but it’s an entertaining way to generate some stimulation for your brain.
2. Mental calculations: You’d be surprised by what you can calculate mentally in almost no time if you know some easy techniques and take the time to practice. And there are virtually no limits. Moreover, you can probably think of plenty of everyday problems that require some kind of calculation.
3. Mathematical problems: I’m talking about real mathematics here. The kind of maths you don’t need a lot of numbers for. The kind of maths that requires a lot of abstract and logical thinking. It’s just a great workout for your brain and it doesn’t need to be boring at all. (Read Lockhart’s Lament if you want to know what math actually is.)
4. Logic puzzles: There are a lot of logic games that you can play in your spare time or whenever you are bored. They are available at all different degrees of difficulty and some of them are quite entertaining.
5. Riddles: Solving riddles is funny and forces you to think. Besides, you appear kind of intelligent if you can solve them
6. Visualization exercises: Maybe you’ve already heard about image streaming. It’s a perfect example for what I mean by visualization exercises. It is said that it can increase your intelligence. Although I don’t know if that’s true, I know that visualization exercises help you to learn more about your own mind. (Visit WinWenger.com for more information about image streaming.)
7. Writing with your non-dominant hand: You’ve probably already tried to do that some time ago. If you did, you should know about the effectiveness of this task. If you did not, you should really give it a try.
8. Memory training: Learn how to use your memory. It’s not only a way to train your brain, it’s also very helpful in everyday situations if you know how to remember everything you want to remember.
9. Learn to play an instrument: It’s hard to say by how much this can benefit your intelligence, but it definitely leads to some extra brain muscles if you learn new movements and train the coordination of your fingers, hands or arms. (You may also learn new songs instead if you already know how to play an instrument.)
10. Paradoxons: Thinking about paradoxons can be very stimulating. It’s surely not the ultimate way to acquire intelligence, but somehow I like paradoxons. The funny thing about them is that they are all created by human beings, there are no contradictions by nature.
11. Posing questions to yourself: Philosophize. This leads to new insights and requires some slight mental effort.
12. Doing several things at the same time: This is a tough one. Most people don’t even know that you can train the ability to do several things like writing with both hands and speaking at the same time. In fact, there are artists who perform this kind of feat live on stage. You could read The Multiple Mentality Course by Harry Kahne to learn how to do it.