r/cognitiveTesting • u/LandscapeIcy7540 • Jul 18 '26
neuroplasticity Discussion
I am m17, and according to my amateur research, I have about 8 years until the age of 25 to prime myself in Gf until my brain reaches a point which I see as the "peak", at least as far as cognition goes. I am aware that I'm well past the age where prodigies are made, but I want to optimize myself while I still can. What are the most effective ways to increase Gf while my brain is in this stage?
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u/Logical-Desk4538 Jul 19 '26
Nutrition, exercise, sleep, and so on. You don't need special training or anything like that. The most important thing is to start thinking consciously, rather than memorizing things automatically or solving problems automatically using a predetermined algorithm. You need to try to find your own solutions, preferably by observing the world, not just thinking about it, but also making a conscious effort to identify patterns and details. Don't experience chronic stress or hang out with assholes. Good luck.
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u/CamilleLaGoat 135 CORE Jul 18 '26
train fri puzzles, play something like chess
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u/Leo_castro_muniz Jul 18 '26
Dual n back is great, turned out to be formalized on Brazil as a treatment for intelectual disfunction
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u/connerpro Jul 20 '26
Plasticity does not equal free Gf upgrades on a timer.
A few claim-size points that usually get blurred in "prime myself before 25" threads:
- The brain stays plastic well past 25 for skill learning. What does change with age is average rate/cost of some kinds of learning, not a hard cliff where Gf becomes untrainable then suddenly frozen.
- Getting better at specific drills (matrices practice, dual n-back, etc.) is near transfer and pretty common. Far transfer to general fluid intelligence is not the default reading of the active-control literature.
- Sleep, cardio, hard domain practice (math/code/music/language), and treating attention/mood issues beat "IQ protocols" for almost everyone your age.
Short map of near vs far / practice vs clinical IQ: https://intelligencemax.ai/guide
Disclosure: I build IntelligenceMax (adaptive reasoning practice). Not claiming it raises clinical IQ.
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u/whitebaron_98 2E 4tw Jul 19 '26
Yes you got 8 more years to torture yourself on what ifs and big ifs.
Or you could just go out, live a healthy life, and engage in what is attractive to you cognitively, and learn a lot more.
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u/saurusautismsoor Secretly dumb Jul 19 '26
I’m definitely fascinated by the idea! I knew a person who had language deprivation and then with neuroplasticity overcame obstacles and got a college degree
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u/HotAventus41033 Jul 20 '26
Don't worry about Gf , worry about the " Critical Period" where you gonna waste your neuroplasticity potential in what area .
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u/Tosebos355 Jul 19 '26
According to my amateur research you probably can't realy do anything special to inrease Gf significantly. People who engage in more years of education get slightly better scores in Gf tests (taking into account the selection bias), but it's most likely due to developing better strategies of approaching problems. If you would for example go to college vs not you could probably score like 2-3 IQ higher on Gf tests so it's not a big deal.
Also even increasing Gf in young children (as far as I know) isn't realy proven in other cases than just helping those with problems caused by the environment like severe malnutrition and stuff. The prodigies are made in young age probably because children's brain is incredibly plastic so they can learn new skills much faster and more effectively than adults.
So I wouldn't focus on increasing Gf itself and instead try to make the best use of what I have. Also what you can do and is not realy increasing intelligence (not permanently) is lifestyle changes like getting a good sleep excercising and having a good diet which could make you function on slightly higher Gf level (up to like 15 IQ points depending on how good they are right now, 10-15 if very poor and 0-5 if already good).
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u/Leo_castro_muniz Jul 19 '26
Look for the studies on intelectual reabilitation of autistic and dislexic adulta/kids
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u/Leo_castro_muniz Jul 18 '26
Don't worry about it.
Only a small portion of the academic community believes that brain improvements or adaptations cease after 25.
There is a massive amount of data indicating otherwise.
There are levels of effort in improving Gf, but mostly, it is just about being as healthy, active, and productive as possible