How to be well-read. Why be an erudite and know a lot of words What a person needs to know to be erudite

Set goals for yourself. How will this help the cause? Well, are you happy when you reach your goal? Start small - say, read a book a month. Then - 2 books a month. When you get into the process, you can read a book a week or even faster! Make yourself a list of books, stick to the plan, and you will succeed.

• Set goals so you can spend your time productively. If, for example, you want to finish reading Ulysses this week, then you will not be distracted by the new season of the soap opera!

Read the Top 100 lists. Almost every self-respecting magazine has already published its own version of hundreds of books "that everyone should read." Why not, read them too! You will become very well-read if you master everything. In other words, look for lists and read. For example, you can read works from the lists:

Listen to audio books. Find an audio book, it is in no way inferior to a regular one! If you are too tired to read with your eyes, then listening with your ears, in general, will also pass for reading. This way you can become very, very well-read! This option is especially good for those who spend a lot of time on the road. Make good use of your time!

• Before buying a book, it would be very appropriate to listen to a sample and make sure you like the voice of the reader. If you don't like the voice, the book will read very slowly...

Children learn a foreign language playfully, in parallel with the general development. Scientists attribute this to the peculiarities of memory and the psyche.

For an adult, learning a foreign language is always a challenge. And always a huge benefit. This is an excellent training for the brain and the prevention of memory deterioration in old age. You can also communicate with people from different countries and expand your horizons.

Method 2. Read more

When our parents needed new information, they opened the book. Generations Y and Z draw new knowledge on the Internet. The volume of reading may not have been reduced, but the quality often suffers. After all, books are read thoughtfully and consistently, and articles usually just scroll with their eyes.

Subordinate reading to the plan: make a list of books, distribute them according to areas of knowledge and genres. Services like or Livelib will help to compile such a list. Then methodically read the books one by one. Just do it right - use .

Method 3. Turn to art

Art is not only contemplation. With it, you can develop perception and thinking.

Choose for yourself some area of ​​the cultural activity of mankind and try to understand it. For example, art. Visit exhibitions, watch documentaries, read artist biographies. Gradually, you will begin to understand painting, and at the same time you will learn a lot and take a fresh look at social processes.

Method 4. Watch video lectures

Method 5. Watch smart TV shows

For users of the World Wide Web, television is often associated with evil. Today it’s even fashionable to brag: “We don’t have a TV at home!”.

Indeed, the quality of content on many channels leaves much to be desired, but there are alternatives. For example, Discovery. This TV channel produces very high-quality popular science programs that cannot be legally downloaded on the Web.

Watch scientific programs in the studied foreign language - this is a double brain training.

Method 6. Play video games

Contrary to conventional wisdom about harm, computer games develop reaction, imagination and logical thinking. Scientific studies have shown that children who play video games score higher than their peers.

Playing difficult quests is like solving puzzles. The player has to make difficult decisions in a short time, choosing the lines of the plot development. And it is a powerful brain exercise.

Method 7. Solve puzzles

If you still don't like video games, buy a good old Rubik's cube, tangram or puzzle. Alternatively, download the .

Puzzles "rejuvenate" the brain, develop memory, thinking and perseverance. And they are also excellent time-killers: if you get carried away, you can spend more than one hour solving the puzzle. What else do you need on a train or plane?

Method 8. Make new acquaintances

Networking not only helps build a career, but also develops memory for names and faces.

Besides new person always a source of new knowledge. Communication with a smart interlocutor, even virtual, enriches you spiritually and intellectually.

Method 9. Get enough sleep

The vast majority of studies have proven that a healthy adult needs 8 hours of sleep. And in the dark, comfort and without extraneous noise. These factors affect the quality of sleep.

The connection between good sleep and similar mental activity has also been proven. Read to dispel the last doubts.

Sleep deprivation is detrimental to the brain.

Due to the inhibition of neural processes in the parietal lobe, problems arise with the speed of reaction, and when the work of the prefrontal cortex slows down, problems with vision and the formulation of thoughts begin.

Method 10. Switch to a healthy diet

Avocado, salmon, blueberries, oatmeal - there are many that prevent memory deterioration.

Enrich your diet with fruits, vegetables, greens, cereals and seafood, give up cholesterol sweets, and you will feel that your brain is reaching new capacities.

Intellectual front workers are advised to drink more fluids throughout the day. And it is better to alternate coffee with green tea and mineral water.

Do we need erudition? Around the answer to this question, disputes and discussions do not subside today.

One side of the participants is sure that erudition is something like an eccentric hobby, which can be conditionally called “I want to know everything!”. Those who have fallen into the arms of this hobby strive to constantly expand the horizons of their knowledge and, like true bibliophages, indiscriminately “devour” all the books that come to their hand. Someone collects badges or stamps, while erudite hunt for new knowledge and are endlessly looking for new ways to increase erudition.

So, the answer of the first group to the question of whether erudition is needed is rather negative. They regard the erudite as mere bearers of superfluous knowledge, and not at all smart people capable of generating new things, making scientific discoveries and provide technological breakthroughs.

The second group responds to their opponents with the well-known phrase " If you don't like education, then try ignorance!". And they give a lot of examples when ignorance really costs prohibitively:

• a doctor who failed to make the necessary diagnosis in a timely manner,
• a history or literature teacher whose knowledge is limited to a school textbook,
• a lawyer with little knowledge of the law,
• psychologist making diagnoses “over the phone”…

Behind each such case is often not only a lack of professionalism, but also a low level of general education, leading to an inability to critically assess the situation and select adequate tools for analysis and correction.

Actually, erudition in the original sense of the word meant " beyond ignorance or rudeness» (ex-ruide). In other words, the possession of such a breadth of knowledge that does not allow primitive and naive explanations of the structure of the world. So, it contributes to the development of a special mindset!

An erudite has a critical view of the world

Increasing erudition leads to the expansion of knowledge in a variety of areas and scientific disciplines, which in itself is already useful for any person focused on mental development and personal growth. But there is another unique consequence of developed erudition: the collection of knowledge from different sources allows them to be compared with each other, compared and critically evaluated.

Today, such a critical view of the world is more useful than ever. The flurry of information that falls upon us every day gradually makes us indulgent to its deceit. We do not have time to check it and "swallow", suppressing doubts about its reliability.

Erudite individuals evaluate information quite differently. For example, comparing how the same fact is described (for example, historical event) in different sources, they easily detect inconsistencies and contradictions. So their "excessive" knowledge of history helps them to discard in a timely manner the information that is written with insufficient scientific conscientiousness.

Scholars look at the elephant from different angles

AT scientific center Bonn, inside the park zone, there is a sculpture symbolizing scientific objectivity - an elephant, which is felt from different sides by 4 blind men. One touches the elephant's leg, the second touches the trunk, the third touches the tail, and the fourth runs his hand over the elephant's body. This sculpture is an illustration of the famous parable about the argument of four blind men about what an elephant looks like, where each of them repeated about what he touched:

« The elephant is a wide pole!»

"FROM lon is a thick flexible hose!»

« The elephant is a little rope!»

« The elephant is a rough wall!»

And only if you put all four images together, you can understand what an elephant is. And it is the erudites who do it better than others.

Or another example. How do you answer the question about consciousness. If you do not use this term as a professional, then most likely you will simply say that this is a difference between a person and an animal. You may be using words like " thinking», « understanding" and " awareness”, as close in meaning or even synonyms.

But professionals will answer the same question in different ways. The philosopher will note that consciousness can be public and private. The doctor will say that you can lose consciousness or be in an unconscious state. The lawyer will point out that it is important to consider whether the suspect has reached the age of consciousness. The psychologist will connect the conscious and the unconscious.

An erudite, as a rule, is able to consider the category of consciousness from all these points of view..

With Wikium you can increase your erudition online"

How to increase general erudition

So, if you set yourself such a goal, then take into account the following recommendations.

1. Learn and learn new words

At school and college, almost every day you learned new terms, got acquainted with scientific concepts and categories, considered them in the context of a particular theory or technology. Along with the end of the training, the flow of new word-symbols into your consciousness also stopped. You stay in the same semiotic space all the time, not giving your brain a reason to form new neural connections, and therefore to develop your intellect.

By themselves, learned new words do not automatically make a person an erudite, but after all, a whole chain of their family ties stretches behind the new concept. These connections restructure your ideas about the world. The more such connections, the more actively the cognitive simplicity of thinking is replaced by cognitive complexity.

What specific actions are behind this advice:

• Set yourself the task of learning and memorizing 3 new words every week.. And not just memorize, but use them in your oral and written speech.
• Look for and assimilate words that mean different actions in different areas of knowledge such as building renovation and event renovation. When you come across an unfamiliar word, take your time to look up its meaning in the dictionary. First, try to understand for yourself what it means, and only then check the correctness of your reasoning or guesses.
• Read technical and scientific literature and strive not only to understand what this or that new term means, but also what other concepts and categories it is associated with.

1. Expand your thesaurus

Thesaurus is your individual vocabulary. It can be increased through the practice of using synonyms in your speech. Synonyms are called words that are different in sound, but the same in meaning (examples: discover and find, explore and study). Using synonyms, you can diversify your speech.

In addition, synonyms often mean the same thing only for an unprepared person, and an erudite will easily explain the difference to you, for example, between:

• rock and mountain
• typhoon and tsunami
• meaning and meaning.

1. Read analytical articles and critical reviews

Such a reading will allow you to compare your idea of ​​​​an issue with the comments of competent specialists.

As a result, you will get three points of view:

• stated in the original
• an expert in this field,
• your own.

Critical reviews are especially helpful to help you see vulnerabilities in the logic of the author of the analyzed work, and to compare the two points of view himself. Such an activity turns reading from passive consumption of information into mental work, which is called comparative analysis.

1. Visit special sites to increase erudition

Of course, we are talking about sites designed for pros. There you will not only be able to expand your knowledge, but also train in order to develop the intellectual skills of an erudite:

• building an objective picture of the world,
• critical thinking,
• comparative analysis.

1. Write more than ordinary people

Start writing texts on a specific topic. But not everyday or popular, but scientific or philosophical and artistic. Written speech allows you to structure thoughts, puts them in a certain logic.

The written text is a reflection of your consciousness, so it will be easier for you to determine what you are strong enough and well versed in, and what is still your area of ​​proximal development.

1. Read as much as possible!

And let it be not just books with entertaining stories. Read descriptions of scientific experiments, philosophical reasoning, serious fiction.

No matter how various merry fellows tease erudite people, and no matter how snobs speak of them with disdain, erudite people always remain in demand both in a working environment and at moments of rest.

It is not for nothing that one of the most important roles in a management team or a project team is called an "expert" - a carrier of versatile knowledge, well-versed in a variety of areas and therefore able to suggest exactly where to look for answers to complex questions that stand in the way of a team goal.

In the age of high technology, the mental abilities of a person are the basic foundation for success in life. The ability to quickly memorize and reproduce information, erudition, competence - all these features relate to the concept of "intelligence". Let's see what is meant by this term, and also learn how to develop intelligence.

The essence of the concept

For the first time, intelligence and its components were described by the German scientist Wilhelm Stern at the beginning of the 20th century. Then a lot of scales and methods for diagnosing mental abilities appeared, including the famous IQ test.

Intelligence is defined as a stable set of human mental abilities that allow him to adapt to the environment, learn and change it.

It is impossible to equate this concept with cognitive, mental abilities. They are only a working tool of the intellect.

The most detailed model for this term was proposed by the American psychologist Joy Paul Gilford. According to him, intelligence includes 120 factors.

All of them can be classified according to three indicators:

1. content (mental work of a person);
2. operations (method of information processing);
3. result.

The development of intelligence is possible if work is carried out on all these points. However, in ordinary life, a person can have many ideas that he analyzes in every possible way, but cannot put into practice. He just doesn't have the skill to do it. It is very important to know how to increase your intellectual level in all areas. But more on that later.

Charging for the mind

Let's consider in more detail how to develop intelligence with the help of special actions. Before moving on to concrete examples, it should be noted that the development of intelligence is impossible without the ability to fully relax.

The human brain must be active, process a large amount of information. It's impossible without good night. Normally, 8 hours is enough for a person, but it all depends on individual characteristics. The main thing is that the individual feels rested and full of vital energy to improve his intellect and develop creativity.

In addition, active rest is also important. Perfect for this hiking, running, cycling, swimming. At the same time, the head has the ability to temporarily disconnect from solving global problems.

And now let's go directly to the exercises and ways to develop the intellect:

• Board games

This is the most famous and ancient way to improve the mental abilities of a person. Playing chess, checkers and backgammon allows, involves intelligence and creativity. Thinking, memory, will, emotions are actively working here. The player logically plans his moves, trying to predict the opponent's response.

In addition to well-known games, intelligence and psychological board actions increase well. These include the games "Mafia", "Evolution", "Dixit" and others. In such games, not only knowledge is important, but to a greater extent communicative competence in order to convey your point of view to others, to feel the players.

• Puzzle

The name itself suggests that the brain will have to work. Puzzles include the Rubik's Cube, puzzles, solving crosswords and scanwords, mathematical and other riddles.

Thanks to this, it is possible to competently organize intellectual leisure for both adults and children. After all, it is very important to introduce the child to mental operations from childhood. When solving puzzles, the work of fine motor skills is also included, due to which the ratio of visual analysis, thought and action develops.

• art

Here, the relationship between intelligence and visual creativity is most clearly seen. While a person is engaged in creativity, the brain is actively working and can find solutions for very important tasks. This is also called insight or insight.

The fact is that when drawing and sculpting, an individual falls into a light trance state, renounces everyday life. This helps to activate the unconscious impulses that are responsible for brilliant ideas.

The ability to draw and sculpt in this sense does not matter. The main thing is to surrender to the creative process. You can simply draw spots and lines, paint a picture to a pleasant melody.

• Foreign languages

How to develop intelligence through study foreign languages, understandable to all. The more knowledge, the wider the field for their application. It's not the quantity that matters, but the quality.

A person should be interested in the language being studied and the very culture of a given country, find the consonance of words, compose poems, songs in this language. This is what involves a bunch of "intelligence and creativity."

• Reading

Books for the development of intelligence are an indispensable assistant. Through reading, a person not only learns new things, but also plunges into unusual worlds, gets acquainted with the secrets of science, comprehends new cultures. How to develop intelligence in the process of reading, because this is a common human occupation?

The right choice of books is important here. As already described above, it is necessary to read thoughtfully and with pleasure. If the book is not interesting, do not force yourself. Such reading will not bring joy, which means it will go to waste.

• Template break

A person whose life is subject to a clear routine often acts by inertia. Work and existence on the machine do not even allow the individual to think about how to increase intelligence, and whether it should be done at all. Unfortunately, this is how most people live.

It is important to find the strength in yourself to break this vicious circle. You usually have to start small. For example, change the route to work. Walk in the park for an hour in the evening. On the weekends, do something you haven't done before. Instead of household chores, go to an orphanage or to a neighboring city. Breaking the template allows you to look at the world differently, actualizes mental activity.

This article gives only some of the ways to increase intelligence. In this process, the most important thing is to understand how life will change when the intellectual level becomes higher. What will then happen to the inner world, the family, how will prosperity, relationships with others change? If the picture is positive, then this is the right path of development.

The connection of intelligence with mental processes

The human psyche is a complex structure, therefore all processes in it are interconnected and interdependent.

In particular, intelligence is more influenced by the following internal realities:

• Thinking

Some scientists even considered these concepts synonymous. But this is fundamentally wrong. Thinking is the process of learning and processing information, and intelligence is the ability to correctly apply knowledge at the right time. Without mental operations, the intellectual level of a person would be very low.

Willpower is needed in order to master new material, study important books, bring thoughts to the final result.

• Memory

The ability to save, store and reproduce information is an integral part of intelligence.

• Attention

Intelligent people are distinguished by an attentive attitude to the world around them. They are able to notice the smallest details, analyze and study them. The development of intelligence is closely related to the improvement of human attention.

• Creativity

About this sweet couple: intelligence and creativity, Guilford wrote. This term refers to the ability of a person to think creatively, that is, outside the box, to synthesize original ideas.

Key indicators of intelligence

Psychologists have identified four key characteristics of intelligence:

1. The depth of the mind is the ability to get to the bottom of phenomena and events.
2. Inquisitiveness - curiosity, the desire to learn new things.
3. Flexibility and mobility - the ability to act outside the box, bypass barriers, overcome difficulties.
4. Logic - the ability to justify one's point of view, to correctly present the material.

Erudition and intelligence

The development of intelligence is closely related to such a concept as erudition. Let's figure out what it is?

Erudition is a set of deep knowledge in any field of science or life.

Erudites have an inquisitive mind, always looking for new information on a topic of interest to them. An intelligent person does not stop at one area, he develops in all possible directions. The line between these concepts is rather shaky. An erudite may also be interested in several areas at once, but, for example, be a layman in communication.

It is important to learn the following: in order to increase your intellectual level, you need to strive to become an erudite person in any field.

How to increase erudition ordinary person? The best way- reading thematic books. Moreover, the quality of reading is extremely important. It should be thoughtful, meaningful. A person should write down or mark favorite or controversial phrases, questions, look for an answer to them.

After reading the book, you can discuss it on a special forum so that knowledge works, and does not lie in memory as a dead weight. In the special psychological and pedagogical literature, you can also find out the opinions of scientists on how to develop intelligence.

Read. You are primarily interested in reading. Maybe you don't like to read big novels - they seem too big, too heavy for you. Why not try reading magazines or comic book novels first? Or choose a book with stories - read a little and also gradually assimilate what you read. But the most important thing you can do is to devote time to reading, at least a little, but every day.

Move on to more difficult tasks. After a month or two of reading individual passages, try to move on to more serious challenges. For example, choose modern classics like Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (the title may be slightly different depending on the translation) or choose one of Lemony Snicket's books. They are designed not only for children - these books are read and loved by millions of people. If you've tried reading but still find it hard to get used to such large volumes of books, try reading the Reader's Digest, which offers abridged versions of regular books, as well as fresh articles from various magazines.

Find a book club. Once you start reading, you will want to discuss what you have read. Many people sign up or start a book club. It's simple - call a brother or sister and a couple of friends. Meet them for coffee and agree on which book you will all read. Meet again in a month and hopefully everyone has time to read the book so you can discuss it. Talk about the topics you've discovered with this book, share with your friends how it made you feel or the funny moments you remember. In addition, the book club will help you not to stop reading - you know that you will be discussing the book in a couple of days, so you have a goal - you must read it to the end.

Set personal reading goals. Many very well-read people engage in so-called "parallel reading" - they read several books at the same time. Maybe you will have one book lying by the bed, which you will read a little before going to bed. Maybe you will have a book in the bathroom that you also read from time to time, or another one in the office, etc. Even if you don't want that kind of confusion, you can still set goals like "I want to read the classics next year" or "This year I'll read all of Shakespeare's comedies, and next year maybe I'll read tragedies." Even if you do not fully achieve the goal, you still have time to read something from the list. Try to set yourself a time frame for your reading goals.

Choose well-known books. If you like reading unusual things, great. But if you want to become a well-read person in the conventional sense, you should choose books that others have heard about. Ask a librarian to help you. There are two benefits to reading famous books: firstly, you will understand common book references from other people, and secondly, you will become more educated in a way that you did not even think about. For example, many have heard of the book To Kill a Mockingbird. At the party, one of your acquaintances complained about racial intolerance. While none of your friends are racist (hopefully), this acquaintance is the only one who has publicly voiced his opinion. Tell him, "You're the new Atticus Finch," giving that person a great compliment and showing you're an educated person at the same time.

Enjoy reading. Perhaps you like science fiction more than classic literature - there's nothing to be ashamed of. Or maybe you like it better romantic stories. You can find this in the literature as well. Or maybe you find that you like English poetry but don't like American poetry. So what. Everything you read makes you a well-read person. You get to know new words and ideas from people from all over the world and different time periods. Whatever you want to read, believe me, there is a lot of material for you. You are not a fan of Shakespeare, but you know all the laws of Asimov's robotics - you are still a well-read person and you will have more fun reading what you like.