Some time has passed since my articles about increasing fluid intelligence and I feel like I owe everybody an update.
I helped more people run self-experiments and I gave away the instructions to about 20 more to set up their own, the results:
I now have n=17 datapoints and the effect holds, though reduced, consistent across every single intervention subject (~4 points of IQ)
Even with a lot of care none of the intervention experimenters followed the protocol exactly, I’d say mean compliance was at ~40% with the max around 70%
None of the 20 people I sent my original protocol to followed through and tried to execute it
Increasing fluid intelligence is somewhat analogous to reversing the aging process as far as our CNS is concerned, so I assign it great importance.
On the other hand, people don’t seem to care that much about it… or rather, people hardly care much about anything that doesn’t fit particular obsessive shapes. It is a trait of our modern world, or maybe even of our condition, that enacting change is hard — and asking people to do that, even with a lofty reward in sight — is near impossible.
I’ve switched my aims more to understanding the CNS and finding loci of control — both to give individuals more agency over their own mind, and to give minds more agency over bodies.
Presently I’m looking into EMGs, as well as trying to craft my own NIR stimulation systems that get feedback from NIR detectors, but whether this will become “a thing” or whether it’s just a step in my exploration is yet to be determined.
I’ve refined my critical stance on science:
We have reverted to Aristotelian method, we try to describe static snapshots of reality.
I’ve also refined the messaging around how to fix it:
Look at what physicists did from the early 18th to the mid 20th century, try to come up with theroeis of change instead of describing states.
If this message resonates with you, maybe you should drop me a line.
I have a temporary lab in Barcelona where I’m working together with some awesome folk on trying to understand the CNS from this perspective. If you are interested in passing by or joining I might be able to offer you an odd room or couch, some awesome group-house vibes, and bare-bones equipment.
Expect to hear more from me soon, including but not limited to:
An analysis of the n=17 IQ dataset (with added 2-4 months after tests looking at effect persistence)
Storeis about me fumbling with EMGs
Deep dives into NIR stimulation and tomography
Please share more. I would love having more descriptions of the specific way you did practice/implement the each exercise/intervention, like 1 post/vlogs per intervention so that the comments can focus on discussing only 1 per post (even the ones that might not work).
It would be valuable to me and I believe, to lots of people that need to get some hype and momentum to start experimenting.
Just enough to start learning by blindly imitating some interventions, that might lead to further down the road to tweak some of them to trigger more changes or to adapt it to fit it in our idiosyncratic lifestyle.
Learning the feelings of changes associated to some interventions will be lead to also being able to find other exercises/interventions that have a similar changing effect.
Like, experimenting with your niche tibetan metta meditation series, might lead to find some specific taste that was expressed in those and that we can find in unforeseen places.
or experimenting with your specific contracting/relaxing neck (the one I'm most interested in right now) might lead to someone finding that a simpler or stronger or just another way to trigger this feeling can be found (i.e. by finding inspiration from his idiosyncratic life; memories from random games played at childhood that achieved that; odd or missused exercise at the gym that feels that way; ...)
hey - interested in trying this and learning more about it.