If it is true that we are at our smartest during our 20s? In that case I should have spent most of my adult life riding off into the sunset. I’d have been past my prime just a few years after I became a professional. Have I just been wasting my time? But how about the experiences we accumulate over time? When is the balance between experience and cognitive ability struck? When does our mental prowess peak?
Mental Plasticity Versus Crystallized Intelligence
Intelligence is destined to falter at some point in our lives, but it’s also a multi-faceted matter. We may start forgetting our keys or wallets, but this doesn’t mean our intelligence had sunk. Intelligence isn’t one-dimensional. We can quickly analyze situations, provide solutions to problems, and detect complex patterns. That is referred to as our fluid intelligence. This varies from crystallized intelligence, which is the ability to use knowledge, facts, and experience. This has nothing to do with our capacity to access our memory. They peak at different phases in our lives.