How to Become Smarter (45 page)

The previous section discusses evidence that you can improve
crystallized
social intelligence by acquiring special knowledge and skills. As for
fluid
social intelligence, my personal experience suggests that a healthy person can enhance it by means of biological treatments. According to the natural intelligence theory (Chapter One), a “natural” diet or the one similar to the ancestral diet of humans will improve functioning of the brain. This improvement, among other things, includes enhancement of fluid social intelligence. The latter change, if it is real, should be detectable by multitrait-multimethod tests and by self-rating questionnaires. Subjectively, an improvement of social intelligence should facilitate social interactions. Suppose a person cannot get along with certain people or finds it difficult to operate in some social situations. A treatment that is supposed to improve fluid social intelligence should reduce or eliminate those difficulties.

My self-experimentation suggests that the natural intelligence theory is applicable to social intelligence. You may recall that we defined the ancestral diet as a 100% raw diet that consists of salt-water fish, ground beef, nuts, fruits, and vegetables and does not allow any artificial ingredients. This diet is similar to the diet of the
Homo
species who lived more than 300,000 years ago. (
Warning:
This description is for information purposes only and readers should avoid consuming raw animal products because they carry a significant risk of infectious disease, possibly a risk of a life-threatening illness (
Table 1
). The subsequent paragraphs describe safe diets that are as effective or even more effective than the diets that include raw animal foods.
) I tested the ancestral diet with various modifications in 1998, 2002-2003, and in 2008 (several months within each of those years; for about a week in 2011). This diet facilitates interactions with other people, but only if I do not tell anyone that I am on this “strange diet.” This diet can cause occasional episodes of infectious disease, some of them mild, but others severe and protracted, which a person with a weakened immune system may not survive. The ancestral diet is not socially acceptable in most cultures, with rare exceptions, such as ethnic groups living near the Arctic Circle. Thus, in principle, the ancestral diet should improve social intelligence and similar, but safer diets will be beneficial as well. In theory, improvements in food-testing technologies may make the ancestral diet safe in the future,
^B
but in the near future, some other approaches may be more feasible.

Chapter One
describes how I developed some of the safe “smart diets” based on the above-mentioned ancestral diet. For example, just like the ancestral diet, the antidepressant diet (
Chapter Four
and
Appendix II
) contains raw protein-rich foods and excludes all artificial ingredients. Boiling of fruits and vegetables and pasteurization of dairy are allowed because there is no evidence that these methods produce any harmful chemicals. Self-experimentation suggests that these changes make no difference for both subjective and objective mental performance. The modified high-protein diet (
Chapter Three
and
Appendix II
) is the next step: it adds nuts and certain amounts of meat (high-quality protein) to the antidepressant diet. This diet still excludes all artificial ingredients. Practical testing suggests that the effects of the modified high-protein diet are similar to the effects of the ancestral diet, except there may be a slight increase in physical fatigue. You can reduce fatigue by means of cold hydrotherapy (
Chapter Two
). The third smart diet, the fruit-and-vegetable diet (
fifth section
of Chapter Three and
Appendix II
), resembles the low-protein vegan diet of some primate species, who are frugivores (humans are omnivores).

These three diets do not carry a risk of infectious disease and are more socially acceptable than the ancestral diet. At the same time, they offer the same or even better benefits in mental abilities compared to the ancestral diet. For example, the fruit-and-vegetable diet offers a higher information processing speed than the ancestral diet. (The higher speed can manifest itself as less boredom and higher activity in social situations.) The antidepressant diet has almost the same antidepressant properties as the ancestral diet and provides a similar improvement of fluid intelligence. The modified high-protein diet improves attention control and fluid intelligence in the same way as the ancestral diet and offers almost the same information processing speed. The depressant diet (
Chapter Four
and
Appendix II
), though not a “smart diet,” provides better self-control than the ancestral diet or any other diets that I know. Somewhat unexpectedly, the depressant diet also facilitates social interactions, although it is not the best diet for problem-solving. The unexpected beneficial effect of the depressant diet on social intelligence may be due to the absence of all artificial ingredients and foods cooked at high temperatures.

I would like to stress the important role of boiled whole grains in mental health and peaceful relations with other people. Although the smart diets do not include this food, this book recommends a balanced diet based on boiled grains most of the time, with occasional use of a “smart diet” (one week or less). In my experience, prolonged exclusion of grains from the diet tends to promote irritability, argumentativeness, and conflicts. You can add boiled whole grains to any smart diet and this will improve social intelligence and make you calmer, friendlier, and less impulsive. If you overdo it with boiled grains, you may get bored, in which case you can replace them with boiled potatoes for a day or two (it’s a balancing act).

Some of the noticeable social benefits of the smart diets are the following: low shyness and high confidence (all three diets), a good ability to maintain conversation with anybody (all three diets); increased sharpness of the wit and an ability to crack jokes and make other people laugh (fruit-and-vegetable diet); “thick skin” or low propensity to take offense (modified high-protein diet and antidepressant diet); general ease of socializing and the absence of awkward or unpleasant situations (all three diets); an ability to get along with almost anyone (all three diets, although prolonged exclusion of grains from the diet may increase irritability and conflicts); an ability to ignore anyone (modified high-protein diet; except you won’t be able to ignore your boss at work); and a friendly and patient attitude toward people in general (modified high-protein diet and antidepressant diet). These benefits can manifest themselves within one to three days, and many of them disappear or diminish when I return to the conventional mixed diet. We reviewed the possible adverse effects of the smart diets in the corresponding sections of the book.

100% compliance with the “smart diets” is not necessary to enjoy the benefits. You can achieve similar results using a brief period of a strict diet followed by maintenance on a diet that is 95-98% compliant. Social situations often involve eating and strict diets can be inconvenient. With partial compliance, it is possible to eat everything in small amounts. You can reduce consumption of “disallowed” food using techniques from the section about food restriction in
Chapter One
.

As proof of principle, the opposite approach—worsening of social intelligence by means of a “dumb diet”—also works. The bread-and-sugar diet that we discussed in
Chapter One
increases the amount of interpersonal problems and makes social interactions more difficult, awkward, and unpleasant. It also increases clumsiness and the number of errors at work.

In conclusion, several safe diets can improve social intelligence, based on my experience, and these data support the natural intelligence theory.

• According to the natural intelligence theory, diets that approximate the ancestral diet of humans (Chapter One) should improve functioning of the brain in general and facilitate social interactions in particular.
  
• The antidepressant diet, the modified high-protein diet, and the fruit-and-vegetable diet improve social intelligence in much the same way as the ancestral diet, according to my self-experimentation. The depressant diet, though not a smart diet, also facilitates social interactions.
  
• 100% compliance with these diets is not necessary, and you can maintain similar results with 95 to 98% compliance.
  
• Moderate consumption of boiled or steamed whole grains is crucial for good social intelligence, and you can add these foods to the above-mentioned smart diets.
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The previous sections dealt with improvement of social interactions and now it’s time to talk about methods that make it easy to spend some time alone. One of the prerequisites to effective performance of some mental tasks, such as studying, is temporary solitude, lasting from several hours to several days. We can define solitude as a state of social isolation or a lack of contact with other people. Solitude is different from loneliness in that loneliness is a negative mental state often associated with solitude or with a lack of a close relationship. It is possible to feel lonely even in the company of other people. In contrast, solitude means social isolation and it can be voluntary and free of negative feelings. Temporary solitude may result from a move to another city, a divorce or a breakup of a close relationship and, in this case, it can cause feelings of loneliness. Solitude is not uncommon and about one quarter of households in the United States consists of a single person living alone. In this case, solitude is often present at home but not at work.

This section describes some techniques that make temporary solitude comfortable, even for extended periods of time, up to several months. If you try to apply these techniques, the desire for social interaction will not disappear, but rather, social interaction will no longer be a painful need. In other words, these methods will help you to overcome the fear of solitude and allow you to spend some time alone when necessary, without feeling lonely. There are several benefits of temporary and comfortable solitude. First, it will help you to concentrate on mental tasks, such as writing a research article or a book. Second, it will help you to cope with inevitable periods of social isolation that can happen in life, for instance, solitude resulting from moving to another geographic area. Third, it can help you to become more selective in social contacts and relationships. The fear of solitude may drive a person to fall in with a bad crowd or to have abusive friends. On the other hand, comfortable solitude will allow the person to have only good-quality social contacts and to wait for a psychologically compatible relationship.

Without further ado, the following is a list of these approaches, which I have tested and find helpful. We will start with the most effective techniques:

1. The creativity regimen from
   Chapter Four
   is by far the most effective way to stop the feelings of loneliness and boredom. You don’t have to use the creativity regimen all the time: it works even if you use it several days a month. You may have to use it for several days at the beginning of a period of social isolation. This method should break your prejudice against solitude, and you will see that solitude can be easy and comfortable. Once you realize that you can spend some time by yourself without feeling lonely, you will be able to use your usual diet for extended periods while living alone. You may have to resort to the creativity regimen again on rare occasions, when you start feeling lonely due to some external factors, such as negative life events. In general, if you live alone, it’s a good idea to use one or two days a week of the antidepressant diet. This will prevent or reduce the feeling of boredom. Daily cold or hot hydrotherapy (
   Chapter Two
   ) is also beneficial during social isolation, even if you do not make any other changes in your lifestyle. If you feel lonely, you can use cold and hot showers, or the combination, as often as you like, up to 3 times a day. Don’t use adapted cold showers after 7 PM. If you use hot hydrotherapy
   before
   9 PM, finish it with an adapted cold shower, in order to prevent changes in your sleep pattern.
   
2. Another effective approach is to watch your favorite movies or TV series and to interact with other people by telephone and on the Internet. These techniques can allow you to feel that you are in the company of people, even though you are alone physically. Watching your favorite sitcoms on DVD is the most effective approach within this category. Other favorite TV series on DVD and plain random watching of television are also useful. I have watched “Seinfeld” and “3
   ^rd
   Rock from the Sun” many times, all seasons from start to finish. I also love “The X-files.” My point is, television is not a bad way to pass time, and it is not going to make you dumb. If you watch television, this does not necessarily mean that you don’t have a life. If you feel lonely, you can also use internet chat and post on various message boards. (Underage readers should beware of internet predators and unsafe websites.) Internet chat such as
   Yahoo! Chat
   can help you to kill time and will cheer you up. Several hours will fly by like a minute. There are chat rooms and message boards devoted to any imaginable topic and these electronic means of communication can help you to not feel lonely. Chatting with your friends and relatives on the phone is another helpful approach.
   
3. Avoid silence. When you are feeling lonely, try to always play your favorite music or radio stations in the background while you are doing household chores. Try to avoid even a few minutes of silence. You can also listen to music or radio at work using headphones. At work you will usually be around people, i.e. not alone. Therefore, you will need the music or radio at work only when you are performing some task in social isolation. If you are not feeling lonely, music can be a distraction and interfere with your work. My former coworkers will recall that I was always bugging them to turn down their radios in the lab. Nonetheless, I always play some quiet music in the background when I write something; I am listening to Madonna as I am writing these lines.
   
4. Another approach is participating in some social activities with your friends or family every now and then. This can clear your head and give you a fresh perspective on whatever mental work that you are performing.
   
5. Finally, writing in a diary is useful. It can put your thoughts in order and make you feel less lonely and less unhappy. It will also help you to make thought-out decisions and to plan your life. Make sure that you have absolute privacy and can write any private thoughts in the diary. You can achieve this by means of encryption software, and my favorite is BestCrypt from Jetico, Inc.
   Keep in mind that skillful people can remove passwords from documents made in Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat (except for Word 2007 and later versions). Therefore, these types of documents are not secure even when you protect them with a strong password. BestCrypt allows you to create a secure encrypted container, much like a separate local disk on your computer, where you can store any documents. You can also work on these documents while your BestCrypt container is unlocked (mounted). When you lock the BestCrypt container (dismount it), it will be impossible to crack it, if your password is complex and difficult to guess. Your password will be secure if you make it at least 8 characters long, include both letters and numbers as well as capitalized letters and special symbols (such as & # * and others).