Fluid vs Crystalized Intelligence

Apparently, many physicists, scientists, and even entrepreneurs hit their innovation peak early in their careers. And they waste the latter end of their lives miserable because they continue to chase success to rival that of their youth. Turns out, there's a scientific reason for this inability.

PJ Milani
March 01, 2023

Howdy to my 1,687 supporters! 👋🏻Here's your weekly visual dose of I.D.E.A.'s in under 3 minutes! 😊💙💙💙,PJ

🤔 INTERESTING

Concept from the book "From Strength to Strength" by Arthur C. Brooks

I've been thinking about age a lot recently so I was intrigued to come across the above concept from Catell's Intelligence Theory. Apparently, many physicists, scientists, and even entrepreneurs hit their innovation peak early in their careers. And they waste the latter end of their lives miserable because they continue to chase success to rival that of their youth. Turns out, there's a scientific reason for this inability.

There're two types of intelligence (and they're affected by age).

Fluid Intelligence: Ability to solve problems by coming up with new innovative ways to attack the problem. Peaks somewhere between ages 20-25 and then slowly declines afterward.

Crystalized Intelligence: Ability to solve problems from accumulated knowledge (make connections). This grows stronger with age.

The problem comes when people neglect making the jump from fluid intelligence to leverage crystallized intelligence during midlife. Important to note, these intelligences are not related to IQ.

From the book: "From Strength to Strength" by Arthur C. Brooks. (amazon link)

📐 DESIGN

For this week's template, we're tapping into UX which is a valuable inspiration for visual thinking.

Example: "It's time to work out." Choice 1: "LET'S GO" Choice 2: "Snooze"

In the above example, the question is optional (it can even be a declarative sentence or a warning signal). It's just used to frame the context of the choice.

Note where the mouse is. You can hover it over a choice to nudge your audience to one of the choices. Alternatively, you can hover the mouse in the middle to let your audience decide.

🔮 ENCHANTING

Two images: Hero trying to climb a ladder to a gem in the clouds. Left: "by yourself" hero falls off toppled ladder. Right: "with support" Two friends hold ladder for hero climbing safely. Center text: "Reaching Goals" highlights the importance of support when pursuing high goals.

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Success is a team support.

🧠 ANALOGY

A painting of a beautiful sunset on a wall. Text: what a consumer sees. A magnifying glass magnifies the segment of the painting with lens to see all puzzle pieces that make up the painting. Text: what a creator sees. The creator's perspective shows the painting as a collection of small, carefully crafted pieces that fit together to form the overall scene.

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Use a creative lens to see the master pieces.

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😊 Thank you for Reading!

Until next time! Stay Curious! 👋🏻-PJ Milani

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