TheRedArchive

~ archived since 2018 ~

21
22

I am not the sharpest tool in the shed and frankly it's getting so bad that it's ruining my quality of life.

I also have no friends, am i screwed?


[–]PM_Me_OK6 points7 points  (8 children) | Copy Link

Read more. Search for things to read and search this exact question here on reddit, (not in this sub) and on Google. I don't have any friends at the moment either, but its okay because I've got myself and I don't feel lonely because I'm here with me lol. Might sound kinda dumb haha but its true...but just try to learn things and become the best person you can. r/theredpill and r/nofap are good for self improvement. Search for self improvement subreddits and stuff.

[–]noobster_2020[S] 0 points1 point  (2 children) | Copy Link

In regards to the friends issue I don't really give two shits about it if it weren't for the fact that women seem to like guys who are popular.

Nofap is a good subreddit and I haven't watched any porn in two weeks however I still jerkoff but I don't know if I should go entirely cold turkey or not.

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (1 child) | Copy Link

Don't do it for the women. Do it for yourself and because you want to.

[–]RocketManV1 point2 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Haha, love the username.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (3 children) | Copy Link

Those subs tells you how to think and do. If you want to be smart, think for yourself, practice using your brain, decide for yourself depending on information, you can decide to follow others though - that is your free will.

[–]noobster_2020[S] 0 points1 point  (2 children) | Copy Link

Good points you raise, I need to get better with my self judgement as well; how would one do that by the way?

[–]RocketManV0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

Dude, there is nothing wrong with having this shit down. There is nothing wrong with aligning yourself to something because they "have it figured out." Go with that until you can learn what you like, because through that you can learn how to develop this.

[–][deleted] -1 points0 points  (0 children) | Copy Link

Experience, just live your life and don't get hung up on mistakes. Anyone who blames you for making mistakes is a fucking moron - it's a vital part of life to live and fail and then succeed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_Vg4uyYwEk

[–]monzzter2211 point2 points  (3 children) | Copy Link

You want to be smarter? There are two components to that.

One is biological. You can't really help that, aside a good diet and don't eat lead paint. Genetics you cannot change. But don't discount the power of the food you put in your body.

The second one is pretty simple. Behavior.

Learn things. It exercises your mind for understanding and critical thought. It doesn't have to be anything special. Follow wikipedia links for a couple hours. Keep going for a little while.

Think things through and make good decisions. Don't be prideful, rash, emotional in your decision making. Really look at yourself and really look at the potential consequences of your options.

You really can just "be" smart. Just a little self reflection and effort to control your behavior is all it takes. You won't change your genetics but you can put your smarts a good many points higher and you just might see that is all it takes to be above average.

[–]noobster_2020[S] 1 point2 points  (2 children) | Copy Link

So your saying that I read Wikipedia articles for a couple of hours ? Interesting you say since I already do that for the most part except I skim through.

What you say makes sense in terms of having a calm mind. I sometimes have a bad habit of getting upset when I don't understand a discussion when I am in a group conversation and immediately feel left out.

[–]TheReindeerGuy0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

Wikipedia is a great source of information where you can gain a lot of knowledge but I doubt you gain intelligence in the sense of being able to grasp ideas or concepts more quickly.

I recommend that you read informative books about whatever topic you want to know more about, read few pages a day until you die. You can also try more formal education, be it attaining a useful degree, or doing MOOCs. The benefit of books and education is that is that it gives you a lot breadth and/or depth on a topic or several. This requires you to actually stick to that topic for a long time allowing you to fully grasp the concepts and ideas and that way training your brain in doing this.

Also, simply ask questions when you don't understand something.

[–]Dreamtrain0 points1 point  (1 child) | Copy Link

This should tell you everything: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5kxiJYJNVA#t=1m09s

[–]throwitofftheboat0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

I like that last look he gives him. Drink up, you idiot.

[–]PillScarlet 1 points1 points [recovered] | Copy Link

There are different kinds of intelligence. Apart from genetically inherited intelligence (how quickly you can grasp new, complex ideas etc), there's the intelligence of experience and knowledge which can be increased by reading and education.

As I get older I realise most important of all is the concept of emotional intelligence. Being able to decline a short term fleeting pleasure for a long term gain. Being organised, disciplined, committed.

I know plenty of guys that are nowhere near as 'smart' as me, but are doing better in life because they have stronger impulse control and the ability to stick to a long term plan.

In short, I wouldn't worry too much if I was you. Be thankful for what you have and make the best of it. There's something for everyone out there.

[–]noobster_2020[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

Yea sometimes I forget that I could have had it much worse and I do not have a good impulse control; that is something else I should work on right there.

[–]SparkyTemper0 points1 point  (1 child) | Copy Link

You wrote two complete sentences with no spelling, punctuation or grammatical errors. Your smarter than a good percentage of the English speaking world already.

[–]noobster_2020[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

Thanks, I try my best!

[–]Sepean0 points1 point  (1 child) | Copy Link

Learn stuff.

Dixit's Art of Strategy

Greene's 48 Laws of Power

Kahnemann's Thinking Fast and Slow

Malhotra's Negotiation Genius

Navarro's What Every Body is Saying

Mitnick's Art of Deception

If anything of those books stick it will give you a HUGE boost in understanding what goes on around you and how to play to your advantage.

[–]noobster_2020[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

Thanks

[–]RojoEscarlata0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

Start reading

https://youtu.be/J4v_34RRCeE

“genius" aren't born, they are made.

[–]nicechallenge0 points1 point  (5 children) | Copy Link

Delay instant gratification, read, learn a new language, meditation, debate with yourself, but the most important is to never stop learning because your brain is like a muscle.

[–]noobster_2020[S] 0 points1 point  (4 children) | Copy Link

Learning German and French already on and off.

Good point about how the brain is a muscle.

[–]nicechallenge0 points1 point  (3 children) | Copy Link

Try duolingo, 30 mins per day only, that's what I'm currently doing it doesn't required anything but my phone or too much of my time so it was easy to incorporate into my daily routine. Hope it helps bro!

[–]noobster_2020[S] 0 points1 point  (2 children) | Copy Link

It does help thanks, how long have you been using duolingo and how much of a difference has it made?

[–]nicechallenge0 points1 point  (1 child) | Copy Link

At the beginning of this year I downloaded the app and use it for a whole month(january 2015) it takes a month of 30 min daily to get through all the levels, when I finally finished I decided it was enough so I was gonna take a break. That break lasted until August of this year XD when I discovered the red pill and decided to take self-improvement seriously. Anyways I've been using duolingo since August nonstop everyday and now I have a 76 days streak, to be honest it's not magic and after one month you can't expect to be completely fluent but It has really helped me to understand wikipedia articles relatively easy, also my french teacher told me that my pronunciation was getting better. I suggest you to give it a try and go from there. Once it's a habit it becomes easier.

[–]noobster_2020[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

Lol, well with all due respect one does need a break regardless!

I think so long as you like the culture of the language your learning and your using other resources in learning French such as going to French class you're doing it right.

Yeah I will definitely check it out!

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (1 child) | Copy Link

read plenty o' books. And learn a foreign language. And don't forget to learn to cook. Women love it when an awesome meal fo' 'em.

Remember that it is you attempting to improve!

Keep it real!

[–]noobster_2020[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

Thanks for the tips, they're all pretty good.

I have been learning German and French on and off for the past couple months now, I gotta stick with that.

[–]cmkinusn0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

Take up books that expand your vocabulary. Seriously, expanding your vocabulary and your understanding of the vocabulary you already posses are proven ways to increase your intelligence. Your mind literally expands its ability to think when it has more words, your conscious mind gains access to those points in your imagination that you could never reach with words or thoughts before.

One way that I think about it is this: words are what encode your neurological processes into a format that your conscious brain can understand. (Might not be correct in a full sense, but it helps me understand our brain better) Expanding your vocabulary allows you to encode more of those processes and to more efficiently encode in general.

[–]formlessphilosophy0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

Here is my advice as a dumb person (child) who became smart:

1) Read lots of books (not internet surfing). Maybe try for one book a month to begin with. I read about a book a week. Personally I prefer non-fiction such as philosophy, business, economics, self-help, and psychology.

2) Try to think very rationally. Study a bit philosophy and psychology. Be skeptical and very thorough in your reasoning skills. Try to break concepts down to first principles so that they are obvious/self-evident. Think a lot. Ask yourself questions a lot.

3) Conversation with intelligent people. Try and make friends with smart people and have conversations with them. If you don't already have access to them, meet them. Talk and talk and talk and talk.

[–]rhys55840 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

[–]Thuren-1 points0 points  (1 child) | Copy Link

Being smart and being intelligent are completely different things. There are lots of intelligent, but dumb people and it's better to be smart than to be intelligent.

To be smart you have to be a bit courageous and confident in your thinking. If you know car salesmen are really good at manipulating, a smart person finds a way to mitigate that fact so that they can decide what's best for themselves. Like waiting a week before they buy big stuff.

A dumb person would allow the salesmen to manipulate them so that they get to do that short term decision (like getting a cool but overly expensive car) without having to feel responsible. Read up on cognitive dissonance.

Being smart is more of a choice. Intelligence is a trait you are born with, make the best with what you've got.

[–]noobster_2020[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

It is a choice indeed

[–]Roelland-1 points0 points  (1 child) | Copy Link

What I don't get is your wish to become smarter.

Eventually it doesn't give you any more friends. It doesn't make you in interesting person just because you know so much. Instead of becoming smarter, look at how you become happy with your life. I'm not saying it's an easy road; the stress, the isolation, the self-pity. I'm trying to say this without being it a cliche; it's going to be good eventually.

If you want a concrete tip: do the things you love, with passion and (most importantly) without shame. If you like videogames: search on what it takes to make a great videogame. Learn about map design, narratives and the human behavior. You like reading books or want to read more books? Watch an explanation about your favorite books (Crashcourse Literature)

But still... being smart doesn't make you a better person. Sometimes it's the opposite; To much information about the world can make you sad. I don't want to encourage you by that last sentence, but i think you want to be smart for the wrong reasons; being liked by others because you know so much. Just focus on yourself and what you love the most. If you want to be smart, do you own thing with passion. So kick the fucking door in, and live you own life. Because you do that, you will find the people who will love you.

[–]noobster_2020[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children) | Copy Link

The reason I wish to get smarter is because when I process new information whether from people talking or reading instructions it takes me longer to comprehend the information than it would for other people.

Thanks for the link I love that channel btw

You can kill a man, but you can't kill an idea.

© TheRedArchive 2024. All rights reserved.
created by /u/dream-hunter