The Mental Skills for Becoming an Everyday Genius
Nelson Dellis, six-time USA memory champion, argues that genius isn't innate but consists of trainable mental skills including memory, focused reading, effective studying, and problem-solving. He provides practical techniques for developing these abilities and explores more esoteric topics like intuition and remote viewing.
Summary
Nelson Dellis returns to discuss his book 'Everyday Genius,' which challenges the notion that genius is an inborn trait. He defines genius as 'a trained relationship with your mind' combined with broad working knowledge, rather than an innate gift. Dellis emphasizes that memory forms the foundation of thinking well, arguing that memorization enables critical thinking by providing the raw material for mental processing.
Dellis explains his 'See, Link, Go' framework for memorization: visualizing information in memorable ways, linking it to spatial locations (like memory palaces), and choosing how long to retain it through practice. He advocates for focused reading over speed reading, emphasizing elimination of distractions and backtracking while using techniques like finger-guided reading.
For studying, he recommends active recall and spaced repetition over passive review and cramming. The book covers practical mental math techniques, including converting between imperial and metric measurements using simple multiplication and division tricks. Dellis discusses problem-solving frameworks used by geniuses, emphasizing first principles thinking, pattern recognition, and iterative experimentation.
The conversation ventures into more esoteric territory, including remote viewing protocols that Dellis has personally explored. He describes specific techniques for developing intuition, including dream journaling and meditation practices that many acclaimed geniuses have used to access creative insights.
Key Insights
- Dellis defines genius as a trained relationship with your mind combined with broad working knowledge of the world, rather than an innate gift
- Memory is what makes us human according to Dellis, and losing memory through conditions like Alzheimer's demonstrates how fundamental it is to our identity
- Modern education's shift away from rote memorization toward critical thinking is flawed because you cannot learn to think without having information to think about
- Memory athletes don't claim to have natural photographic memory but instead use ancient techniques that anyone can learn through practice
- Learning should feel difficult at first, and if it feels easy you're probably not actually learning effectively
- Number sense is fundamentally a comfortable relationship with numbers that can be developed through practice and confidence building
- Problem-solving ability across geniuses comes from constantly practicing problem-solving and recognizing patterns from extensive exposure to similar challenges
- Remote viewing was used by military programs through the 70s, 80s, and 90s to gather intelligence, with psychics providing verified information while sitting in rooms with no prior knowledge of targets
Topics
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