has anyone actually gotten smarter, in the past few years, by studying rationality?

sboo

I feel I've learned a lot about problem solving from less wrong (and HPMOR in particular). be concrete, hold off on proposing solutions, et cetera. The effect*, unfortunately, doesn't seem to be as much as I had hoped.

Small increases in intelligence are extremely general and even recursive, so it feels worth the effort. But, I found alternatives much more effective (though still modest) then studying/discussing/applying the sequences. like meditation or smart drugs.

I'm interested in other lesswrongers experiences in cognitive enhancement.

* by "smarter" I mean "better at problem solving", where examples of "problems" are writing a program, finding the right thing to say to resolve interpersonal conflict, memorizing some random fact quickly and then recalling it quickly/vividly. let me know if you want further clarification.

I'm interested in other lesswrongers experiences in cognitive enhancement.

I've noticed some positive changes in my work efficiency that seem to have happened after I took a more serious attitude to paying attention to my thought processes, writing things down, and systematically approaching tasks:

Though do take this anecdotal evidence with a grain of salt, as the below relates to a high school career (from 10th to 11th grade. I suspect you might not be able to get as effective gains if you're in a higher level environment like university or a technical career)

I've been going to bed earlier this year, despite having a heavier workload in school (around 1 hour earlier, on average, from 10:30 to 9:30).
I've managed to maintain approximately the same grades while doing so, and I'm managing to work in more time to read books (~30 min day) and now exercise every two days (~50 min), and end all computer usage after 7:00, phones and tablets included, all habits I didn't consciously form last year when I hadn't paid much attention to how I thought about things and used time.