10 simple exercises to develop speed of thinking

Hi all! Today we will talk about how to develop speed of thinking. Since it determines how quickly you make decisions, and effective ones at that. Find a way out of difficult life circumstances and in general, you are an intelligent and fairly erudite person.

There are situations when every second counts, and another person’s life may depend on how quickly you can come up with something. Or victory, success and future.

In general, I think you yourself understand that this skill is necessary for absolutely every person, regardless of his profession and type of activity.

Even a child sometimes has to process large amounts of information instantly, otherwise he risks falling significantly behind his peers. Losing their favor or even getting a scolding from parents or teachers for being “slow.”

What helps increase the speed of thoughts

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Everyone's thinking speed is different, and it's not always realistic to achieve what you want when you see how quickly and easily someone else does a task that takes you a long time. But it is quite possible to increase the speed of your thinking. This is facilitated by:

1) Facial gymnastics. When the face is not kneaded, the face is “cold”, thoughts are confused, words are difficult to find. If the face is stretched, the head works much better, faster. This is effective!

2) Speed ​​of eye movement and ease, speed of facial movements. Wean yourself from walking around with a sour, lethargic, expressionless face and sleepy eyes, it not only doesn’t make you look good, but also kills your brains. If you have trained your face to be lively, your thinking will become more lively.

3) Selection of templates, collection of algorithms. Look for solutions, memorize, collect a collection of solutions and algorithms.

4) High internal tempo. Internal tempo is your overall internal speed. Unwind your inner motor and the speed of all your internal processes will increase.

5) Head massage. During the shower, when jets of water vigorously massage the scalp, the functioning of the blood vessels in the brain instantly improves and a lot of great ideas immediately come to mind. And if you finish your shower with a douche of cold water, your whole body becomes alert and alive, your head becomes fresh, and you will be able to think clearly for the next few hours.

6) Master auto-training and relieve fears. In particular, practice “Unconventional Actions”, train courage and develop positivity: this is really useful not only for the speed of thinking, but also in life in general.

You may be interested in an article about the development of logical thinking.

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Recommendations

Novelty

When new information enters the brain, it actively starts working. That's why experts recommend periodically changing your route to work, trying to brush your teeth with the other hand, and going on trips to change the environment. Yes, in the end, read the book upside down and understand what it is about.

When there is no mental stress, our hemispheres seem to go into hibernation. Therefore, the reaction becomes slower, things that were previously known well are forgotten, and so on.

So make it a rule to arrange workouts for yourself every day, even if it’s just a different road - but under no circumstances go into automatic mode when you yourself don’t notice how you’re performing your duties.

Online simulators

Be sure to check out these electronic exercises. On this site, you will find excellent simulators that will help you develop mental abilities and speed of thinking.

Nutrition

There are foods that are vital for the brain. Without them, he is unable to process the information received efficiently and quickly. Therefore, include red fish, nuts, fruits, vegetables, herbs and even coffee and green tea in your diet.

You will learn more about what else is healthy and should definitely be eaten in this article. Help your body not only take care of you, but also develop, become smarter and more productive.

Beautiful speech

Get rid of parasite words, they only limit our abilities. Since there is no need to think about the appropriate adjective for the situation, if you can simply say “well, that’s it,” “how should I say it,” “uh,” and so on.

Expand your vocabulary by familiarizing yourself with dictionaries. This way your memory will become stronger, and you will be known as an interesting conversationalist.

And as a training, you can focus on the number of filler words in your interlocutor’s speech. This way you will also train your powers of observation.

Humor

Humor is our everything. It not only helps to live through the difficulties and vicissitudes of fate, while maintaining cheerfulness and optimism, but is also one of the main signs of a developed, erudite person.

So read as many funny stories, stories, anecdotes, etc. as possible. If you understand jokes, and instantly and without others explaining what they meant. Then consider that you were able to achieve tangible results in the development of reaction and speed of thinking.

Articulation

When the face is “inanimate,” the words are not pronounced clearly—the person gets confused and distracted. Accordingly, there can be no talk of any lightning-fast thinking. Take care of the articulation of your speech, do gymnastics for your facial muscles, as they are directly related to the speed and quality of information processing.

If you don't know where to start, follow this link.

Massage

Head massage improves blood flow, which has a beneficial effect on the functioning of blood vessels in the brain. Accordingly, a lot of ideas and solutions immediately appear. Sometimes it’s enough to just take a shower for insight; the effect will be enhanced if it also turns out to be contrasting.

Hobby

Pay attention to fine motor skills. If you knit, weave something from beads, paint with your fingers, and the like, this will have a beneficial effect on your cognitive abilities.

In your free time, it is much more useful to do handicrafts than to watch TV on the sofa. Which only takes away time and does not give those sensations and emotions that a person gets by creating and creating, admiring the result of his own labor.

Spirit of Speed

To improve and make running more comfortable, there are the following recommendations:

choose a more inspiring place to train. Let it be more interesting than the previous one, so new exercises will be performed more easily, as if in a familiar place

Due to the change of environment, it is easier to set yourself up for a better result;

jogging with a friend. It doesn’t matter whether you run together or not, the main thing is that you feel the presence of a partner, and therefore you can evaluate yourself from the outside, which will give you a chance to think about what you should strive for;

run with your opponent. This does not mean that you must run with a real person; come up with the image of a runner who will train at a certain distance at a speed you set.. When the situation is favorable and you are psychologically ready for high-speed running and developing speed qualities, then success guaranteed, because self-confidence plays an important role

When the situation is conducive and you are psychologically ready for speed running and developing speed qualities, then success is guaranteed, because faith in yourself

plays an important role.

What else can you do to develop your thinking speed?

• Try something new every day. Let it be an aroma or taste, a method of action or a change in the usual route. When the brain works, becoming familiar with a new environment, this has a positive effect on the speed of thinking.
• The oil contained in nuts has a positive effect on the brain. In the process of eating walnuts, more oxygen is produced in the cells, they are better nourished and their functions improve.
• Eat balanced and according to your needs. Do not overload the stomach and liver, give preference to plant foods.

• Solve riddles and crosswords, this is a great way to train your thinking.
• Listen to classical music. It has been proven that the vibrations of classical works have a positive effect on a person’s intellectual abilities. This is taken advantage of by caring parents who play Mozart or Bach for their children instead of lullabies. Music is a specific stimulant for genes that transmit signals to the brain.
• Try not to abuse alcohol. The negative impact of strong drinks on brain activity has been proven.
• Keep a diary (write by hand or choose an online resource for this). Analyzing your own thoughts helps you concentrate and think faster and more efficiently.
• Use scents to stimulate brain activity. Try surrounding your workspace with mint, lemon or cypress - these are the most famous invigorating scents. At the end of the day, take a bath with aromatic rose oil.

No matter how old you are, brain training is always beneficial. Visit the “Tasks” section on our website, solve interesting problems, play games, and your thinking will always be fast and effective

What slows down thinking

In everyday life, we often do things that negatively affect the speed of thinking:

• doing monotonous work
• we waste time watching primitive TV series, useless videos with low intellectual load
• doing unproductive reading

It is advisable to reduce all this or completely eliminate it. If your work involves monotonous actions, it is good to do a variety of things in your free time and come up with interesting leisure activities. It is necessary to watch films more often that provide useful knowledge, and read not light novels, but books that make you think.

The speed of thinking is also negatively affected by:

• constant excessive fatigue
• insomnia and lack of sleep
• drinking alcohol, smoking
• low self-esteem

Everything is simple here: if you want to process and absorb information faster, give up bad habits, develop a daily routine and stick to it, be sure to get enough sleep and rest, and also develop self-confidence. Thanks to intensive work on yourself, you will be able to reduce factors that negatively affect the speed of thinking.

Effective online exercises for developing speed of thinking

Constantly train your gray matter. The brain is very similar to muscle mass; if you do not train it, but neglect it, then it will not work to its full potential and will atrophy. Constant training with Brain Apps will help your thinking to be fast and efficient.

• The Piggy Bank game will help you think faster, and the skills you acquire will always be useful when making purchases.
• The game “Letters and Numbers” helps develop reaction speed and logical thinking.
• The mathematical game "Operations" is useful for schoolchildren and adults. Helps develop speed of thinking along with logic.
• “Complex geometric switches” are suitable even for small children who do not yet know how to count, since the game contains elementary figure images.

Our service has prepared other exercises for you that you can get acquainted with during regular training. In your personal account you will find information and recommendations on games, as well as all your results.

What is thinking

What is thinking? There are many theories, but scientists have not come to a final conclusion. I will not delve into complex and incomprehensible terms now and will try to explain everything in simple terms. Thinking is a thought process that offers different neural connections (pathways) for solving various issues, situations, circumstances, thoughts.

The quality and speed of these paths depends on how developed thinking is. If you haven’t developed your brain for a long time, haven’t read books, haven’t solved problems, then your thinking can only provide 2-3 ways to solve a simple problem and they will be mediocre.

The more you develop your brain, imagination, memory, broaden your horizons, improve your logical and creative thinking, the better the quality of your neural connections (thoughts) will be.

To develop thinking, it is necessary to approach the development of each feature of the brain.

Disclaimer: training takes to the next level

First of all, it is worth saying that it is better to start such training after completing the basic exercises of playing football. The goal of our lesson is to teach the player to see the field and quickly navigate the game. We must remember that without these skills an athlete will never be able to reach the heights of excellence. And yet there is a minimum of physical activity here; the training develops the football player’s thinking more.

Of course, the most important thing in sports is desire and hard work. But at this stage of training we need equipment: a mat, chips or cones, a running ladder, a barrier, balls of different sizes, a blank sheet of paper and a pen - all these items will be needed when doing home workouts. Some things can be replaced with improvised means, but it is better to purchase everything you need in an online store.

Logical thinking: what is it

The concept of “logical thinking” is easier to explain if we break the phrase into “logic” and “thinking.” Let's try to figure it out together, highlighting the main thing.

Logics

The concept comes from the Greek “reasoning”, “thought”, “the art of reasoning correctly”, “the science of thinking”. Let's look at the concept, taking as a basis the science of correct thinking. It consists of several aspects, such as laws, methods and forms of human intelligence, namely his thoughts.

Logic is needed in order to achieve truth in the process of reasoning. Thanks to active brain activity, a certain scheme is launched that leads a person to the end point. The result is taken not by intuition, but from previously acquired knowledge.

For this reason, logic is often called a science that allows one to reach conclusions through many conclusions and their connection. The main task of logic is to summarize the existing fragments together. As a result, a person receives true knowledge regarding the subject of reflection.

Thinking

Thinking allows you to find connections between aspects of reality. However, for the process to occur at the “correct” level, you need to think objectively

That is, before the main tasks, it is important to put yourself at the center of the current process, and not observe everything from the outside. Objective or logical thinking must obey the basic laws of logic

Logical thinking

From the above we can conclude what “logical thinking” is. As a result of the thought process, a person applies knowledge acquired earlier. Then, through inferences, they are processed. All structures are connected in a logical chain in order. Conclusions are not based on assumptions, but on clear evidence, facts, prudence, objectivity, and the general laws of logic. Ultimately, based on the existing premises, the truth is obtained.

Speed ​​and efficiency of thinking

Every person has a mindset, which is of course natural, but everyone’s mindset is different when it comes to such parts as the quality of thinking, its effectiveness, and the final goal, which is also quite natural. And how can one define human thinking as part of the mental process, in the form of a reaction to the environment, if we take into account such an important component of it as efficiency? We can check the effectiveness of thinking in only two ways: the first method is the final result, and the second is the time during which this very result was achieved. There is, of course, one more indicator - this is the meaning of the result that was achieved, but we will not touch on it, because I am still a supporter of democracy in the aspirations of every person. Therefore, everyone chooses individually to pursue what goal, everyone has their own rationality in choosing, something else is important for us now, to understand the way to achieve this goal, and thereby determine the effectiveness of thinking.

In general, this very effectiveness begins to manifest itself at the stage of defining a goal, for example, you can set a goal to live well, or you can set a more specific goal, that is, take certain actions in order to live well and even better. In addition to goals, there is such a thing as a person’s reaction to the reality around him, any external manifestations cause a reaction in us, all our senses transmit information to our brain that it processes. We all have different processing speeds; some think and make decisions quickly, while others slow down. But can the speed of thinking be considered an indicator of its quality and effectiveness? Regarding quality, absolutely yes, because thinking is comparable to a computer processor, the faster data is processed, the more data can be processed, quickly arriving at the correct result and avoiding unnecessary errors.

Just a second, how can we bypass them when, having calculated everything in a matter of seconds, we actually did not come to the result, because only our activity can show how effective our calculation was? Yes, the human brain can work at different speeds, but getting to the result is a much longer path than just a series of chemical processes in the head. It turns out that speed determines the quality of thinking, but this quality shows how effective it is, and the result is confirmation of this effectiveness. The speed of thinking cannot be an indicator of efficiency, for the simple reason that it is possible to quickly process initially incorrect information, the reliability of which, in most cases, we cannot know.

If you and I just think about how much in our lives we cannot verify personally, and are forced to trust other people as a result of this, you will simply be horrified at how naive a person you are. I did not bother to calculate the percentage of what is built in our life on postulates and established public opinion, but I assure you, it is very large. Can you know for sure that it is cold in Antarctica, and hot in Africa, that there is no oxygen in space, and that the Roman Empire even existed, if you have not personally checked it? You believe historians, astronomers, scientists, geographers and God knows who else, because this is considered normal. And maybe in most cases our faith is not empty, but nevertheless, I think you understand what I’m trying to tell you, everything that we haven’t checked is not one hundred percent accurate.

So, from all this information, our thinking is built, and it doesn’t matter how the process of such thinking goes, what we get as a result is much more important. If the result is different from what was planned, then, logically, you should check the entire process chain, and it is better to do it in reverse order, since this way you will go through all the stages of your planning much faster and ultimately stop at the initial data. This is why people have a complete lack of logic, and because logic does not fit in with the data that they have put in their heads and on which they base all their thoughts. Start digging into the details of any case, and you will find a lot of inconsistencies. What kind of result can we talk about then? As an example, I can take communism, which collapsed for understandable reasons. People stopped simply believing, they began to check, because they did not see the result, the result that they expected.

And any utopian will give up on you if you start pestering him with specifics and details that he cannot explain logically, because there is no logic in this. A person’s thinking is always based on certain initial data and his own desire, as a result of which he plans all his actions. A person wants to earn money and live well, but in the database he only has information that work leads to money, the more you work, the more money, and you also work not for yourself, but for another person. It is clear what his actions will be, and how long and persistently this person will go to the result, calculating a lot of different moves, based on what he knows.

The speed of thinking here has absolutely no meaning, it does not affect efficiency and the final result, because it will only be effective if a person processes incorrect information and gets a different result, which will be unique in its own way, so to speak. And then we talk about smart and stupid people, and geniuses and idiots, about successful people and losers. We must understand that even an outright idiot was guided by certain calculations in his head before doing his idiotic act, without this understanding, it will be difficult for us to understand our own thinking, which is also flawed. Experience gained through knowledge confirmed by one's own seeing, listening, feeling and other analysis greatly improves the quality of thinking, provided of course our memory is developed enough to remember both positive and negative results.

People will always make mistakes, for the simple reason that our brains do not accumulate information in such a way that we can eventually know absolutely everything. We are born to study all our lives, and only thanks to the fact that we do this to a greater or lesser extent, we can think differently from each other, differing primarily in the effectiveness of our result, confirmed by the final result, and of course, its objectivity and reasonableness. But the speed of thinking can be trained; there are no components in a person that cannot be trained.

How to understand that you need to improve your thinking speed

Before you do anything, you need to make sure that it is necessary for you personally. So, I propose to answer a number of questions:

1. You have difficulty waking up in the morning. You can't cheer up without coffee. Mental activity peaks around lunchtime, after which it falls again.
2. You feel chronic fatigue.
3. Solving a 7th grade geometry problem is an insurmountable obstacle.
4. Having to figure out how a new program works is annoying.
5. You don't have enough time, but you don't actually do anything.

If you answered yes to 3 or more questions, you definitely need to increase your thinking speed.

Exercises

What if…

Model completely different situations in your head and sketch out the most likely scenarios. You don’t have to go far, take as a basis some of your difficulties, which at the moment are a limitation that does not allow you to achieve success and realize your needs.

Let's say you haven't taken a vacation for a long time, guided by the idea that everything would be lost without you. Because your colleagues will definitely not be able to cope with the amount of work that you usually do. So imagine what exactly will happen if you really leave for a whole month.

Or the child will not be able to pass the final exams in order to enter the desired higher education institution. What terrible thing will happen?

By the way, in addition to training the speed of your thinking, you will become more aware and stress-resistant. Because you will understand in advance about all the pitfalls that may arise at any moment. Accordingly, you will be ready for them.

Foreign language

If you know any foreign language at least a little, try to think in it. Think thoughts to yourself, for example, in English. If you can’t remember a word, turn to dictionaries and translators.

Then believe me, when you switch to your native language, you will be surprised to discover how quickly you begin to think.

If this exercise is easy enough for you due to your good level of knowledge, then perform it during active physical work.

Timer

Adults, in principle, do not have any particular problems with reading. They complete this task quickly enough without straining themselves. What if you take a book you haven’t read before and turn on the timer? Select any paragraph and note how many seconds it takes you to complete it. Just be sure to retell it later.

Since it is necessary not only to mindlessly rattle off what was written like an automaton, but also to understand the meaning that the author wanted to convey.

Word game

You will again need a stopwatch. Think of one letter and write down as many words as possible that start with it.

Compare the results, the more often you play, the easier it will become to choose words. You can even have a competition with your friends. Whoever comes up with the most ideas in a minute wins.

Brevity is the soul of wit

Imagine that you need to convey very important information to your loved ones. But the possibilities are limited - you are only allowed 50 characters. Each time, think through your messages so that they are succinct, but at the same time understandable.

In this case, you will learn not only to be clear to others, but to quickly make decisions, understand veiled meanings, and so on.

Improving acquired skills

Of course, our lives are full of familiar and ordinary activities. Among them you can find sewing, drawing, and cooking. But I will advise you to diversify your leisure time by complicating household chores and acquired skills.

This will help stimulate neural connections to additional load. Start reading literature that, in addition to theory, has practical implementation. Get acquainted with drawing styles unknown to you, master a different type of cutting or sewing. Discover the world of raw food cooking and put what you learn into practice!

This approach obliges you to achieve higher performance, and your brain to be healthy and productive.

List of exercises

So, here is a list of sample activities in your free time that will allow you to increase your thinking speed in a fairly short period of time. True, you will have to do them constantly.

1) There are special exercises for quick thinking. As a rule, these are all kinds of tasks on the selection of words, arithmetic calculations, tasks with figures in space. If you are just starting out, you can choose the entry level with easy tasks, but keep in mind that the tasks will gradually become more difficult. All of them are completed on time.

2) Solving crossword puzzles. Do not think that this is an activity for older people and those who do not know how to use a computer. In fact, solving crossword puzzles, especially difficult ones, allows you to learn a lot of new information. Of course, it does not directly develop a broad horizons of thinking speed, but it greatly activates the functioning of neurons in the brain.

3) Solving charades and puzzles. This method of developing quick thinking is more suitable for creative individuals. They are known to be not particularly strong in the exact sciences, and quick thinking is inseparable from correct logical conclusions.

4) Learning foreign languages. This method is more suitable for those who are not good at the humanities, that is, “physicists”. It has been proven that knowing two or more foreign languages ​​dramatically increases the functioning of neural connections in the brain and even slows down the aging process.

5) Development of left hand functions. As a rule, most of us are right-handed. If a person begins to intentionally train his left hand to perform simple daily movements (writing, drawing, brushing teeth), then after some time his thinking speed will improve. Remember, most creative people are left-handed.

6) Sensory development. For faster thinking, the ability to navigate in space and intuition also play an important role. It is very simple to develop it: when no one is home, move around the apartment blindfolded, examine objects by touch, try to collect a broken cup, placing it, for example, in a bag.

If you follow these recommendations or find special tasks on the Internet or even entire sites dedicated to the development of erudition and thinking, and complete all the tasks, you will very soon find that you have become much smarter, more productive in the workplace, and more interesting in communication.

You can check how successful you are in developing quick thinking using a special psychological method for studying quick thinking, which is somewhat reminiscent of an intelligence test (IQ).

Increasing the speed of decision making alone

Field vision and decision-making speed are interconnected. Field vision is a good understanding of the game and a non-standard decision to start an attack, and decision-making speed is the correct action on the football field within a limited time. It is possible to learn both skills alone. The main thing is to add 2-3 tasks when performing one exercise. For example, take a tennis ball in your hands, throw it from one hand to the other and at the same time control or dribble the ball with both feet.

It is best to develop the speed of decision-making with the help of exercises where there is more than one action. Try to set a time limit for completing them, add objects, acceleration, work with chips and try to use the whole body.

Photo: istockphoto.com

Exercises to improve field vision and develop reaction speed must be added to basic ball handling skills. It is enough if you work on your thinking speed 2-3 times a week. Just 15-30 minutes to the main workout is already a great addition.

Lifehack:

You can improve the quality of your thinking outside of training. To do this, time yourself and read a chapter of any book as quickly as possible. Now time yourself again and quickly retell the main information you just read. Do this exercise regularly, each time trying to reduce both the reading time and the retelling time. This way you develop both the speed of perception and the speed of reproducing information.

Structuring Arguments

What skills does it train: the ability to check information, think logically and reasonedly.

There are two types of content: informational and persuasive. The first one simply states the facts. For example, the article says that water is wet and the sun is hot. The second type tries to convince you that wet water is healthy or that you should buy sunscreen.

Persuasive content globally consists of three parts: thesis, premises and conclusions. A thesis is a statement, for example: “Drink water - it is good for your health.” Premises are various arguments in favor of the thesis, and conclusions are a logical conclusion from the arguments that confirm the initial statement.

Your task is to learn to identify these persuasive components in any content and check their reliability.

Read the article or watch the video. Find the thesis, premises and conclusions in them. Check the truth of the premises and the logic of the conclusions. If the text claims that water is good for health, then it should contain references to research as premises, and the conclusion should indicate exactly why it is useful, based on the work of scientists.

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Tricks for Fast Thinking

It's easier to think with two hemispheres

The first trick is to develop both hemispheres of the brain in parallel. We need to exercise our logical thinking and develop our creative abilities. At home, you can solve math problems (start with simple arithmetic exercises or algebra), and then listen to classical music or draw for a while.

You can also enroll simultaneously in courses to learn how to work with a computer and play the guitar (acting, vocals). Alternating between logical and creative activities will greatly stimulate your brain.

Developing reaction speed

The speed of reaction reflects the speed of thinking. Take a tennis ball and throw it at the wall with one hand and catch it with the other. A few minutes a day - and your reaction will be enviable! You can also use various tests to check your attention span, such as the proof test.

Use a mind map

During the day, a person has a huge number of ideas, the development of which could give significant results. But, as they say, what is not written down is forgotten.

Keep a so-called mind map in which you will include all your ideas. This allows you to structure your thinking, create associations and navigate them faster.

Improving blood flow

To develop speed of thinking, it is also important to pay attention to the scalp, facial muscles and eyes. Scalp massage improves blood circulation, saturates the blood with oxygen and improves brain nutrition

Performing circular eye movements several times a day broadens the focus of attention - this will allow you to cover more information. Facial gymnastics removes stagnant processes associated with thinking, since facial muscles are directly related to emotions.

Use technology

There are many smartphone applications that allow you to develop your thinking speed. When stuck in traffic or in line, use it to improve your thinking skills.

For example, a game called “Balda” perfectly trains attention and reaction speed

Be patient, and within a month of following these simple recommendations you will notice significant progress. You will become more accepting of new things and enjoy learning.

You will make an informed decision faster and generate new ideas. Perhaps you yourself will come up with ways to develop the speed of thinking that are suitable for you.

Basic qualities of human thinking

Individual characteristics of thinking in psychology are usually determined by the following qualities:

• Logicity is the ability to follow a certain sequence when considering a question, i.e. order determined by logic. This is the ability to think, prove the correctness or fallacy of a conclusion, and check the course of reasoning.
• Depth of thinking (thoughtfulness) is the ability to find the essence, the main thing, the most essential, often hidden. This is the ability to understand not appearance, but essence; formulate an idea based on a variety of facts, understand as a whole, notice patterns, understand the causes and anticipate the consequences.
• Broadness of thinking is the ability to consider problems from all sides, interconnected with other phenomena and sufficiently critical, covering different areas of knowledge.
• Flexibility (plasticity) – the ability to change ways of solving problems in changing circumstances. Flexibility of thinking allows us to consider phenomena and objects, relationships and properties in different aspects. If conditions change, flexible thinking allows you to restructure the initial data and use their relativity. When new inputs are received, plans change to take them into account, as a result of which the plan for solving the problem also successfully changes. This property is associated with the mobility of thought processes.
• Inertia of thinking is the opposite of flexibility. Inert thinking does not look for new ways, preferring to reproduce what has already been learned and known, that is, it is a tendency to think in stereotypes when a person experiences difficulties when it is necessary to switch to another system of actions.
• Originality of thinking is a person’s ability to pose new questions; use known experience, and at the same time show independence of judgment and find an independent solution. Independence, originality of thinking presupposes self-criticism (knowledge of one’s strengths and weaknesses). Independence also reveals the creative nature of thinking.
• Critical thinking is the desire to evaluate objectively, apply only proven judgments, and carefully check objections before discarding them. It involves the ability to identify the advantages and disadvantages of reasoning and prove the truth of the propositions put forward.
• Speed ​​of thinking is the speed at which thought processes occur. It manifests itself in the amount of time needed to solve problems and in the ease of implementing ideas. Quick thinking is especially important in critical situations, when you need to make a decision very quickly and take action.
• Clarity of thinking is simplicity, sincerity, and uncomplicated expression of thoughts.
• Inquisitiveness is the need to find the most suitable solution to a problem.
• Wit is the ability to quickly navigate the material and find the right solutions to problems.
• Initiative is the desire to search and find a solution to a problem independently, in a wide variety of ways and means.
• Originality is the ability to generate new ideas that are different from those already familiar.

In psychology, the following are also identified as individual characteristics of thinking:

• The pace of development of thought processes, which is understood as the least amount of exercise that is required in order to understand and generalize the principle of the solution.
• Economy of thinking is the number of sequential reasoning that allows one to learn a new pattern.
• Stability is the preservation of a focus on previously identified important features and generally accepted patterns.
• Awareness is the ability to verbally express both the result of the work done and the techniques that were used.

All individual characteristics of a person’s thinking are important for the correct assessment of his abilities and knowledge. But the fundamental sign of thinking is the ability to identify the main thing, the most essential, in order to then, thinking independently, move to new generalizations. Thinking is much more than a statement of an event or a fact. His path is to delve into the essence of a phenomenon and discover the general law of development of all somewhat homogeneous phenomena, no matter what their external differences.

Cognitive qualities of thinking are individual in nature and undergo changes with age, but the main thing is that they can be corrected, their performance can and should be improved. Thanks to the plasticity property of the brain, its cognitive functions can be developed at any age. Thinking and attention, memory, perception can be trained daily, with pleasure and benefit using exercises for the development of thinking in adults.

Type of thinking and temperament

As is well known, there are two main types of thinking: rational (analytical) and irrational (imaginative). It is believed that men have the first, and the second? women. This is also popularly called “male” and “female” logic.

It is impossible to say which one is better, because, as recent research has proven, the figurative type of thinking in certain situations has advantages over the logical one (for example, if you need to find a creative solution to a problem). In addition, it should be remembered that the speed of thinking is closely related to a person’s reaction to current events, and the reaction is primarily temperament.

It has been noticed that choleric and sanguine people react faster to external stimuli than phlegmatic and melancholic people. This means that the speed of thinking of the former will be better than that of the latter.

Individual characteristics of thinking

 Cognition is achieved not only through sensations and perceptions or the reproduction of what was previously perceived. A person cannot obtain answers to many questions by directly perceiving certain objects or reproducing what is known about them. In these cases, you have to look for answers indirectly, drawing conclusions from existing knowledge. The search for experience, which cannot be obtained directly from perception or by recalling specific facts, but requires conclusions from acquired knowledge, represents a mental activity or a thinking process.

Thinking is inextricably linked with sensation, perception, and ideas as the main sources of knowledge about the world. The main function of thinking is knowledge of the essence of things and phenomena, the natural connections between them, which is a necessary condition for using them in practical activities. Man creates new objects to satisfy the evolving needs of both the individual and society. Before doing anything, a person imagines what needs to be done and how he will do it. This representation of subsequent actions and what will be achieved by them constitutes one of the characteristic features of work as a specifically human activity. The creation of a new one, first in the form of only an “ideal” (image, idea or idea), is a process of imagination, in which the transformation of past experience is carried out. Thus, thinking and imagination are two interrelated mental cognitive processes in which reality is reflected indirectly by acquired knowledge. This allows not only to penetrate into the essence of objects and phenomena, but also to carry out creative activity.

A person gets to know the world around him (things, phenomena, other people) and himself in order to, by performing various types of activities (game, educational, work, social, etc.) and influencing these objects, achieve some specific social and personally significant goals. Sensations, perceptions and ideas, together with involuntary attention and visual-figurative memory, give a person information about specific objects and their directly cognizable properties. These forms of mental reflection represent the sensory foundations of human cognition of objective reality. But such knowledge of individual objects and phenomena of the real world is not enough to answer three cardinal questions that arise when solving any practical problem: “What and how to do in the current situation and what should happen as a result of the action?” Knowledge of an individual does not provide grounds for prediction.

When thinking, a person proceeds from the knowledge of the individual, obtained in sensations and perceptions. By generalizing, we hide the general in individual objects and phenomena of reality. Without the perception of the individual there can be no generalization.

Thinking is closely related to speech. Highlighting the signs of objects and phenomena. A person denotes them with a word. Designating each perceived object. Its signs or action. State or attitude. A person reflects them in general! A person brings each particular case under a general rule. Generalization is the first most important sign of thinking. A generalized reflection of reality, which is thinking, is the result of processing not only the experience of one person and his contemporaries, but also of previous generations. This experience is reinforced through language in oral and written speech (in the lecture given by the teacher; in the instructions given by the master when issuing an assignment; in the content of textbooks on the subject). Therefore, the poet's thinking generalizes the knowledge of many people.

The second important feature of thinking is the indirectness of the reflection of reality in it, which makes it possible to identify and understand what does not directly affect analyzers, but becomes accessible to consciousness only thanks to indirect signs, often obtained through instruments. In general, a person resorts to indirect cognition in the following cases: 1) When direct cognition is impossible due to our analyzers (for example, those that do not perceive ultrasound) or the lack of appropriate analyzers (we do not have analyzers for capturing X-rays or penetrating radiation); 2) When direct knowledge would be fundamentally possible, but in modern conditions it is completely excluded, since the radiated processes have either already occurred once or are yet to occur (in the study of history, paleontology, archeology, etc.); 3) When direct knowledge is possible, but irrational. Indirect cognition is based on the presence of objective relationships and natural connections between objects and phenomena and their reflection in consciousness. These connections are usually hidden and cannot be perceived directly. In order to find out them, a person resorts to mental operations - compares, juxtaposes facts, analyzes them, generalizes, makes inferences, conclusions.

Thus, thinking, as already noted, is the knowledge (reflection) of relationships and natural connections between objects and phenomena of the surrounding world. It makes it possible to understand the patterns of the material world, cause-and-effect relationships in nature and in socio-historical life, the patterns of the human psyche. The source of mental activity is practice. Work, learning, play, any type of human activity requires solving mental problems. Just as for sensations, perception, and thinking, practice is the criterion of truth. Generalizations and conclusions that a person makes based on general provisions are verified by practice, which amends mental activity and plays a corrective role. Practice is also the area of ​​application of the results of mental activity.

In turn, human practical activity without thinking is impossible. It is necessary both for planning activities and for their implementation and control. While acting, a person comprehends his actions, outlines what needs to be done, what changes to make in activities, how to overcome existing difficulties, and improve the quality of work.

Thinking can be defined as a mental process of cognitive activity, characterized by a generalized and indirect reflection of activity, thanks to which a person reflects objects and phenomena in their essential characteristics and reveals their relationships.

Thinking as a generalized and indirect reflection of activity is the highest mental process, characteristic only of man. Animals have only the rudiments of thinking in the form of concrete practical thinking in the process of indicative manipulation.

The physiological basis of thinking is the reflex activity of the brain, those temporary nerve connections that are formed at the root of the cerebral hemispheres. These connections arise under the influence of second signals (speech), reflecting reality, but they necessarily arise on the basis of the first signal system (sensations, perceptions, preconditions). Unlike primary signals, secondary signal (speech) connections are more complex systems that reflect various relationships between objects and phenomena.

In the process of thinking, both signaling systems are closely connected with each other. The second signaling system, being a highly organized tool for the exchange of information, allows for unlimited orientation in the surrounding world; Through it, the highest human adaptation is created - science. In this case, the second signaling system relies on the first. Its constant and close interaction with the first signaling system determines the inextricable connection of the generalized reflection of reality, which is thinking, with sensory knowledge of the objective world through sensations, perceptions, and ideas.

It should be noted, however, that the leading role in thinking is played by the second signaling system, since thinking is a reflection of reality generalized through words.

Individual characteristics of mental activity, differences in the mental activity of people are manifested in various qualities of thinking, the most important of which are breadth, depth and independence of thinking, flexibility of thought, speed and criticality of the mind (Fig. 1).

Breadth of thinking is the ability to cover the entire issue as a whole, without at the same time missing out on the particulars necessary for the matter. This quality of thinking is based on comprehensive and deep knowledge. The breadth of thinking is manifested in a person’s horizons and in the ability to consider any issue in the diversity of its connections with other phenomena.

Depth of thinking is expressed in the ability to penetrate into the essence of complex issues, the ability to see a question, a problem. The quality opposite to the depth of thinking is the surface of judgments and conclusions, when a person pays attention to the little things and does not see the main thing.

Independence of thinking is characterized by a person’s ability to put forward new problems and find ways to solve them without resorting to the help of other people. The formation of this quality is one of the most important conditions for the development of creativity and initiative in every employee of the enterprise.

The flexibility of thought is expressed in its freedom from the evolving influence of techniques and methods of solving problems fixed in the past, in the ability to quickly change actions when the situation changes. Inertness, stereotypedness, and stereotyped thinking are qualities that are the opposite of flexibility of thought, which develop with little variability in tasks during the learning process and the absence of discussion when developing solutions. To prevent rigidity and stereotyped thinking, it is necessary not only to diversify the tasks, but also to get students to solve them in a variety of ways, followed by an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of each of them.

Quickness of mind is a person’s ability to quickly understand a new situation, think about it and make the right decision. Resourceful and quick-witted people are people with a quick mind. The speed of the mind depends on knowledge, on the degree of development of thinking skills, as well as on the individual pace of mental activity, which is usually based on the greater mobility of nervous processes in the root of the brain.

Rice. 1. Components of mental productivity

It is necessary, however, to distinguish between quickness of mind and haste of mind. The latter is a manifestation of the lack of formation of the habit of long and hard work, of a thorough analysis of the situation. Often people with such a characteristic feature of the mind, without thoroughly thinking through the issue, pick out one side and rush to give a solution. You should be patient when working with them and restrain them from giving insufficiently thought-out answers.

A certain slowness of mental activity can sometimes be caused by the type of nervous system - its low mobility. In this case, it is necessary to promote the development of an individual style of mental activity.

Criticality of mind is a person’s ability to objectively evaluate his own and other people’s thoughts, carefully and comprehensively check all put forward provisions and conclusions. A person with a critical mindset never regards his statements as absolutely true, infallible and comprehensive. If it turns out that his judgments do not correspond to reality, he will analyze the situation, discard them and look for new solutions. Criticism of the products of one's own thinking can also extend to the products of the activities of others. However, this requires the development of such qualities in the individual, high demands on himself and others.

Individual characteristics of thinking also include the previously noted preference for using visual-effective, visual-figurative or abstract-logical types of thinking.

Literature:

1. Galperin, P. Ya. Formation of mental actions//P. Ya. Galperin. Reader on general psychology: Psychology of thinking. - M., 1981.
2. Descartes, R. Discourse on the method to correctly direct your mind and find the truth in the sciences // R. Descartes. Op. In 2 vols. M., 1989. T.1.-s. 296
3. Ivin, A. A. The art of thinking correctly: Book. for students. - M.: Education, 1986. - 224 p.
4. Kudryavtsev, T.V. Psychology of technical thinking. - M., 1975, p. 268
5. Teplov, B. M. Practical thinking // Reader on general psychology: Psychology of thinking. - M., 1981.-147 p.

Exercise 1. Connecting the unconnected

A very interesting exercise! Useful not only for children, but also for adults. This exercise is used as a test during castings for radio presenters. Imagine, you come to a casting, and they say to you: “Come on, my friend, connect us a chicken with a pole.” In all seriousness, that's what they say!

This is precisely the point: you need to combine two completely unrelated concepts. Radio presenters need this in order to quickly and beautifully compose summaries to songs during live broadcasts, for easy transitions from one topic to another.

Well, it’s suitable for children to develop creative, imaginative, quick thinking.

So how do you connect a chicken with a pole? There are many options:

1. The chicken walks around the pole.
2. The chicken was blind, walked and crashed into a pole.
3. The chicken was strong, it hit the post, and it fell.
4. The pole fell right on the chicken.

Want to practice? Fine. Connect:

• chamomile with milk;
• headphones with jellyfish;
• boots with the moon.

Next, invent it yourself.

Development of thinking in children

The mental activity of a child has a special structure of cognition. When a baby is born, he begins to study everything around him, draw parallels, and look for connections between his discoveries. Gradually developing, the child begins to reason, imagine, a fantasy world appears, and speech not only appears, but also becomes more literate over time.

Development of preschool thinking

In preschool children, thinking is based on their ideas. And the activity of thought goes beyond the scope of real events, which speaks of the rapidly expanding limits of knowledge due to the skill of carrying out operations using one’s ideas.

This change in thinking was facilitated by a change in speech and, accordingly, the establishment of the most complex connections between the child’s operations or discoveries.

Thinking games

Games to develop thinking, what could be better? By playing, you develop your thinking. Before you know it, it will become easier for you to solve everyday problems, come to a good and quick answer, and find a rational solution. Do you like this approach? Then let's try it!

Anagrams

Anagrams will help develop such qualities as: thinking, attention, concentration, speed of thought, speed reading. In this game you have to choose 1 option out of 4, in which only those letters that are part of the given word are mixed

Each round a new word is given. Remember that time is limited! The faster you look for the answer, the more points you will get at the end of the game.

Gorbov-Schulte tables

The Gorbov-Schulte table is another great game for training thinking, which focuses on qualities such as: attentiveness, reaction, memory, visual search. It is required to mark the presented numbers in a cyclic sequence: minimum black, maximum red.

Also a version of the Gorbov-Schulte table with saving statistics:

Color matrix game

The “color matrix” game will be an excellent trainer for your thinking. A field of cells will open in front of you, each of which will be painted in one of two colors.

Your goal: determine which color is bigger. The game, of course, is for a while and therefore you have to try. As the game progresses, the field will expand if the answers are correct or narrow if the answers are incorrect.

Game "Quick Count"

The game "quick count" will help you improve your thinking. The essence of the game is that in the picture presented to you, you will need to choose the answer “yes” or “no” to the question “are there 5 identical fruits?” Follow your goal, and this game will help you with this.

Game "Simplification"

The game “Simplification” is a wonderful trainer, not only for mental arithmetic, but also for logic. You will come across examples both simple and complex. But not everything is so complicated in reality, you just need to figure out how to simplify or find the answer from the proposed answers. To do this, you will have to think logically!

Game "Number Reach: Revolution"

An interesting and useful game “Numeric Spanning: Revolution”, which will help you improve and develop your memory. The essence of the game is that the monitor will display numbers in order, one at a time, which you should remember and then reproduce. Such chains will consist of 4, 5 and even 6 digits. Time is limited. How many points can you score in this game?

Game "Memory Matrix"

"Memory Matrices" is a great game for training and developing memory. In the presented game you will need to remember the placement of the colored cells, and then reproduce them from memory. How many levels can you complete? Remember, time is limited!

Game "2 back"

Also, to develop memory and thinking, I recommend an exercise like the “2 Back” game. A sequence of numbers will be displayed on the screen that you will need to remember, and then compare the number of the last card with the previous one. This is a powerful memory and attention training, this is an exercise that is available after registration, are you ready? Then go ahead!

Another game that can be classified as a memory exercise is “Memory Comparison”. A good exercise for developing memory and speed of thought. At the beginning, a number is given that you should remember, then a second one is given, and you will need to answer a question that does not change during the game. A great game to train your brain. Let's try to improve your memory with us!

Accelerated thinking (Thinking disorders V.M. Bleicher)

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Thinking disorders V.M. Bleicher Acceleration of thinking is characteristic of manic and hypomanic states of various origins and is observed in manic-depressive psychosis, as well as in manioform states of exogenous origin, sometimes in schizophrenia, mainly in the onset and in its circular form. When thinking is accelerated, disturbances in its dynamics come to the fore, manifested in the lability of judgments.

Characterized by rapid, facilitated emergence and change of thoughts. The judgments of patients with accelerated thinking are superficial. This, as well as attention disorders inherent in states with accelerated thinking, explains the low mental productivity of patients in a manic state. Mental productivity is even lower in symptomatic manias of intoxication or infectious origin, since in these cases the phenomena of increased exhaustion of mental processes become of great importance (such conditions are classified as astheno-manic). The performance of patients with mild hypomanic states and cyclothymia may be relatively good. The more pronounced the acceleration of thinking, the less effective the patient’s activity. Attention disturbances in manic states are primarily characterized by its instability. The combination of unstable attention, facilitated formation of associations, and accelerated flow of thoughts leads to peculiar changes in the patient’s speech - individual statements are not connected by any common idea, random associations are characteristic, often in consonance. The object of thinking becomes any object to which the patient pays attention. With a significant acceleration of thinking, they talk about a leap of ideas - thoughts replace each other so quickly that from the outside it is perceived as a continuous stream of words. At the same time, with a leap of ideas, in contrast to schizophrenic fragmentation, it is still not difficult to grasp the sequence of thoughts and their, albeit very superficial, interconnection. Only in cases of extremely sharp acceleration of thinking does the observer lose the ability to perceive transitions between individual thoughts. In these cases they speak of manic (vortex) confusion. Accelerated thinking, due to its instability, is characterized by an easy loss of the object of reasoning. Speech during a jump in ideas reflects the chaotic nature and increased variability of the purposefulness of thought processes, and the patient’s high distractibility. With accelerated thinking, patients do not dwell on individual ideas; their judgments are hasty, ill-conceived, one-sided, and superficial. Accelerated thinking is generally superficial and inconsistent. In psychological research, such ill-considered, hasty judgments of patients are easily corrected by pointing out to the examinee the mistake made. The exception is cases of angry mania, when the patient sharply negatively perceives any attempt to interfere with his reasoning. The impression of acceleration of the course of mental processes during an objective examination of patients in a manic state turns out to be external. Thus, the speed of sensorimotor reactions and the latent period between the pronunciation of the stimulus word and the response in a verbal experiment are often not accelerated. On the contrary, an increase in these indicators is occasionally observed and is associated with instability of attention. The acceleration of thinking is determined by the ease of associations and lability of judgments, rapid changes of thoughts. Typically, accelerated thinking occurs against a background of heightened mood and euphoria. At the same time, a phenomenon that seems paradoxical at first glance is noted - with obvious superficiality of judgment and low productivity of mental activity, patients in a manic state sometimes amaze their interlocutor with apt remarks and their powers of observation. The fact is that their intellectual level is not reduced, and their ability to sharply judge, wit, often evil, and observation do not suffer. A. A. Perelman (1957) considered this feature of such patients as a sign of the preservation of the potential capabilities of their intellectual activity, the determining goals in thinking. At the same time, they exhibit some lack of control of judgment and weakness of inhibitory systems, which is manifested in a certain decrease in the sense of tact and insufficient ability to be embarrassed. This explains the fact that a patient in a manic state can tell another person to his face what a healthy person would prefer to hide. W. Jahrreiss (1928) distinguished the following variants of the jump of ideas. 1. Mental leap of ideas - rich and poor in images. The picture of a race of ideas rich in images corresponds to its descriptions in typical circular mania. Poor in images of the leap of ideas, it is distinguished by the small number of ideas that arise in the patient’s thinking during its vortex acceleration. Clinically, the lack of images of the jump of ideas manifests itself mainly in the acceleration of speech and verbosity with a narrow range of ideas and images. Transitions from one thought to another occur not so much due to the lability of thinking, the ease of the emergence of semantic associations, but rather due to consonance or under the influence of external impressions. The role of internal incentive mechanisms can be traced significantly less in the mental production of patients with a lack of images and a jump of ideas. The onslaught of speech does not correspond to the volume of ideas and images that arise in the content, which is striking in its poverty. In this case, thinking has little content, despite its external acceleration. In such cases, they speak of unproductive mania, which should always alert the psychiatrist in terms of a possible diagnosis of the schizophrenic process. 2. Speech jumping of ideas is also mainly based on associations of consonance and is often observed in manioform states in patients with schizophrenia. It is often observed during catatonic excitement. 3. “Mute”, speech-poor leap of ideas is also called a whirlwind influx of thoughts - mentalism (PH Shaslin, 1914). Mentism is understood as an influx of thoughts, memories, and images. This symptom is distinguished by its involuntary occurrence and insubordination to the will of the patient. Subjectively, the patient experiences an influx of thoughts extremely painfully; their direction does not depend at all on his consciousness; no volitional effort can either stop the influx of thoughts or direct them into the usual direction of reasoning. Often these thoughts do not even acquire a clear verbal form and appear in the mind in the form of images, ideas, and concepts devoid of specific content. Many psychiatrists consider mentism as a type of associative automatism (minor automatism). Mentism is observed in schizophrenia (especially in the onset and during the sluggish course of the process, when there is no pronounced mental defect), sometimes in exogenous-organic psychoses, in their initial stages, in cases of mild disorders of consciousness with manic stupor. In mentism, K. A. Skvortsov (1938) saw the initial stage of automatism, the beginning of the oncoming alienation of thoughts. A characteristic feature of mentism in schizophrenia is its protracted course, the influx of thoughts leaves the patient only for a short time. 4. Vortex confusion is considered as the highest degree of expression of the race of ideas. Vortex (manic) confusion is difficult to distinguish from confusion in exogenous-organic psychoses, from an amental state. Their differentiation is possible only by analyzing the movement of psychopathological symptoms and taking into account the somatic state of the patient. V.P. Osipov (1923) believed that the basis of vortex confusion is the weakness of the associative process in connection with somatogenic asthenia. From a clinical point of view, the acceleration of thinking is not a diagnostically unambiguous symptom complex. The variety of its manifestations reflects both the specific essence of the pathological process and the peculiarities of pathogenesis inherent in a particular stage of the disease and often the severity of the disease and the intensity of its severity. It should be noted that the presence of accelerated thinking significantly complicates the pathopsychological examination of the patient. This primarily applies to manioform states in patients with schizophrenia. Acceleration of thinking in such cases often masks thinking disorders typical of schizophrenia. Only when manic-like manifestations subside do thought disorders of a schizophrenic nature clearly appear. We must remember this and not rush to a diagnostic judgment in cases where the clinical picture simultaneously shows signs of accelerated thinking and schizophrenic symptoms.

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Courses for the development of intelligence

In addition to games, we have interesting courses that will perfectly pump up your brain and improve your intelligence, memory, thinking, and concentration:

Development of memory and attention in a child 5-10 years old

The purpose of the course: to develop the child’s memory and attention so that it is easier for him to study at school, so that he can remember better. After completing the course, the child will be able to:

After completing the course, the child will be able to:

1. 2-5 times better to remember texts, faces, numbers, words
2. Learn to remember for a longer period of time
3. The speed of recalling the necessary information will increase

Secrets of brain fitness, training memory, attention, thinking, counting

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Super memory in 30 days

As soon as you sign up for this course, you will begin a powerful 30-day training in the development of super-memory and brain pumping.

Within 30 days after subscribing, you will receive interesting exercises and educational games in your email that you can apply in your life.

We will learn to remember everything that may be needed in work or personal life: learn to remember texts, sequences of words, numbers, images, events that happened during the day, week, month, and even road maps.

Money and the Millionaire Mindset

Why are there problems with money? In this course we will answer this question in detail, look deep into the problem, and consider our relationship with money from psychological, economic and emotional points of view. From the course you will learn what you need to do to solve all your financial problems, start saving money and invest it in the future.

Speed ​​reading in 30 days

Would you like to quickly read books, articles, newsletters, etc. that interest you? If your answer is “yes,” then our course will help you develop speed reading and synchronize both hemispheres of the brain.

With synchronized, joint work of both hemispheres, the brain begins to work many times faster, which opens up much more possibilities.

Attention, concentration, speed of perception are enhanced many times over! Using the speed reading techniques from our course, you can kill two birds with one stone:

Learn to read very quickly Improve attention and concentration, since they are extremely important when reading quickly Read a book a day and finish your work faster