New study
Do intelligent people’s brains work slower?
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Do smart people think faster than less smart people? According to a new study, it even seems to be the other way around: the brains of intelligent people seem to work even more slowly.
Intelligent equals fast? We often believe that and think: If you are smart, you have to think, work and answer quickly. But, is this really the truth? In fact, a new study by the Charité in Berlin suggests something else, namely that intelligent people often take even longer to complete complex tasks. However, there is an important reason for this.
A team of researchers from the Charité Berlin led by the head of the brain simulation section, Prof. Petra Ritter, together with a colleague from Barcelona, have 650 brains for a study examined. The neurologists simulated the brains of real people on the computer. They found out that intelligent people, i.e. those who scored higher in an IQ test, solve simple tasks faster than less intelligent people, but need more time for more complex problems.
Intelligence study based on brain simulations
According to the simulations, people who can solve larger tasks faster show less synchronization between the different brain regions. Apparently, this means that such people tend to jump to conclusions when making decisions rather than waiting for upstream brain regions to take the necessary steps to solve the problem.
The test subjects with higher intelligence quotients took more time to solve complex problems – their brains therefore worked more slowly. However, they also made fewer mistakes than the faster-acting people with lower IQs. Petra Ritter explains: “It is the right balance between stimulation and inhibition between the nerve cells that influences decisions.”
Whoever is faster does not necessarily achieve the best result
In everyday life, this could mean, for example, that intelligent people quickly slam on the brakes at a red traffic light because this problem does not require complex processing of different brain regions. However, if they have to find the best possible route for a certain distance, it will probably take smart people longer than less smart people. Then the brain of the latter finds a way faster – but it may take longer or be more uncomfortable because there are more traffic lights. The faster solution is not necessarily the better one.
“For more complicated tasks, you have to hold things in working memory while you look for other solutions and then reconcile them,” says Michael Schirner, a scientist in Ritter’s lab. “This collection of evidence for a certain solution sometimes takes longer, but then also leads to better results.”
Ultimately, this means that intelligent people usually make simple decisions faster than less intelligent people. However, if the problems are more complex, they take more time for them. Because their brains may work slower in this case – but usually achieve the better result.
Sources used: bihealth.org, mdr.de, nature.com