Memory and Intelligence: Are They Connected?

Anthony Metivier's Magnetic Memory Method Podcast

Are memory and intelligence connected?

Of course they are.

After all, how could you ever display your intelligence without using your memory to speak?

But let’s dig deeper.

Working memory and intelligence are connected in some interesting ways.

And when you understand these, you can use your natural memory to boost your own intelligence quickly.

Even better:

You can help others do the same.

Ready?

Let’s get started!

The Link Between Memory and Intelligence Explained

Intelligence comes down to drawing upon remembered experiences to plan and make decisions.

Indeed, it is a sign of high intelligence when individuals take time to plan before making snap decisions.

Of course, as neuroscientist David Eagleman points out in The Brain: The Story of You, we don’t always have time to plan out our decisions.

To help us see how the intelligence centers of the brain light up when faced with logical problems that need to be decided quickly, neuroscientists study people’s brains as they consider the trolley problem.

But here’s something interesting:

In these scenarios, it is typically not intelligence, but emotions that guide how people make decisions.

Emotional Intelligence and Memory

According to researchers, emotional memory always involves physiological responses. These can range from happiness to anger whenever our episodic memory brings up something from the past.

But the idea that emotions are not part of our intelligence is suspect at best. Of course we draw upon past emotional experiences to help us make decisions.

Not only that, but there are many subconscious mind exercises that seek to extract past emotions so that intelligent decisions can be made. Without using your emotional memory, it’s hard to elicit positive emotions required for motivation.

Music also involves both emotional intelligence and memory. To be able to memorize song lyrics and perform with gusto draws upon both.

Plus, actors often draw upon emotions and memory that utilize many aspects of intelligence. They do this to memorize their lines and perform them.

Can You Have a High IQ and be Forgetful?

You can have a high IQ and suffer from low working memory. Or, you can experience the reverse.

This is because many factors can cause working memory issues. You might be tired, distracted or simply not paying attention. You might also be experiencing a serotonin or dopamine issue.

The truth is that everyone forgets, even if an individual has done a lot of work to improve their IQ. No matter how smart you might be on an average day, things can get in the way of both your memory and your intelligence. Even the best memory champions forget things.

Also keep in mind that IQ typically involves tests that rely upon abstract thinking and reasoning in response to symbols.

My Best Memory Resources

If you really want to experience better intelligence, it’s pretty simple. Set specific learning goals and use memory techniques to boost your understanding and recall.

Here’s a list of my best resources for learning these skills quickly:

• Memory Palace
• Major System
• PAO System
• Pegword Method
• Read Faster
• Critical thinking exercises

By combining memory and reading techniques with critical thinking, you’ll automatically boost both your recall abilities and intelligence.

The reason this mix works is because we often cannot understand certain things until we get them into memory.

Yet, so many people persist in putting things aside and giving up. That’s simply not necessary. If you would just spend a bit of time committing things to memory, soon you’ll start to understand.

It’s like this in language learning as well. Many polyglots agree that you’re better off committing vocabulary and phrases to memory so that you can understand grammar more quickly. It seems like studying grammar is the thing to do, but it’s far from the smartest path.

Memory Vs Intelligence

At the end of the day, we need multiple levels of memory in order for our intelligence to work.

These levels go beyond the episodic memory we talked about above. We also can include:

• Procedural memory
• Autobiographical memory
• Long-term memory
• Context-dependent memory
• Visual memory

And of course, there are even more categories to explore.

The more you know about memory, the more intelligent you can be about setting goals to improve it, write about it or simply enjoy thinking about it.

So what do you say?

If you’d like the ultimate guide to memory improvement, grab this FREE Memory Improvement Kit:

It will help you rapidly learn the best techniques I know for improving your intelligence so that you have wonderful things worth remembering.