How to become the smartest: ranking of the best books to increase erudition in 2022

An erudite is always an educated person, but not every educated person is an erudite. Who can be considered an educated person? In explanatory dictionaries, wikipedias on this subject, there is an absolute confusion of opinions. Perhaps, becoming an erudite, you will be able to put an end to this issue. Now only one thing is clear: an educated person is literate, has a culture of behavior, vocabulary, has a broad outlook, in-depth professional knowledge of the highest level of education. And special books will help you become more erudite.

Is there any benefit from erudition

Erudition is a concept of a higher level. Translated from Latin, this word means a scientist who has overcome rudeness and ignorance.An erudite person, unlike an educated person, has a broader outlook, he absorbs knowledge through books, research, analysis, not through manuals and textbooks on the subject. Erudition appears on the basis of education, constant reading, personal comprehension of the sources read. A person who has a breadth of knowledge that allows a person to improve, at the same time rejects primitivism in explaining the structure of the world, helps the development of society.

Some of the participants in the debate on the topic “do we need erudition” consider the excess of knowledge harmful. They call erudition an "abstruse hobby" that is not applicable in everyday life. Knowledge collectors, they say, read everything indiscriminately, most of this knowledge will never be useful to anyone. Most likely, this part of the debaters has little in common with educated people. The reverse side of high education is ignorance, with such baggage a bright future really becomes illusory and unreal.

What gives erudition:

• the ability not only to study the subject, but to generate new things, to make discoveries;
• organize technological breakthroughs, ensure technical progress;
• the study of the issue from different sources allows you to compare, evaluate the accuracy and fidelity of the knowledge gained;
• personal growth, intellectual development, training of memory, logic.

The most famous parable, emphasizing the need for erudition, is about the argument between four blind men who tell what an elephant looks like. There is a sculpture in Bonn: each of the blind men holds on to a separate part - a leg, a trunk, a tail, a torso. And they describe the elephant exactly according to their feelings: a pole, a hose, a rope, a soft wall. The elephant does not work until all their images are combined together.This will be scientific objectivity, which erudite people possess to a greater extent.

How to become an erudite

In everyday perception, erudition is knowledge that can be shared with others. But getting this knowledge by reading everything that came to hand will not work. Cramming to remember is also not an option. The main thing in this matter is not the amount of read, remembered facts, but the ability to analyze, compare, critically evaluate, and verify the information received. But a must read. What and how much - now we'll tell you.

1. It is better to start with a topic that is closer. For starters, try to become an erudite in your field. When colleagues recognize you as an expert polymath, you can move on to another field of interest.
2. You can increase your level with the help of encyclopedias. Big Soviet, for example, or thematic ones, there are many of them on different topics for different age groups. They are brief, concise, but quite a lot of knowledge on any range of issues.
3. There is a special training of erudite scholars according to the method of the game “What? Where? When?" It suggests a seemingly strange, but actually very interesting list of works that really increase erudition.
4. For two decades, non-fiction book fairs have been held in Russia - a term that singles out the sector of non-fiction, scientific, and applied topics in literature. If you want to show off the breadth of your horizons, then you need to read non-fiction. It includes dictionaries, memoirs, popular science literature, cookbooks - all sources of information that carry facts, not speculation.

The ability to analyze includes checking the sources of information, invoices.Having facts on one topic from different sources, having knowledge, the ability to think logically, one can become an erudite in a particular direction - science, religion, politics, etc.

Why is non-fiction good?

A broadly educated person does not begin with nuclear physics, but with fiction. For the development of intelligence, it is a very important stage. Knowledge of the classics when communicating with others will immediately betray your education. Further, erudition rests on popular science and scientific literature, which has an antagonistic definition - non-fiction (non-fiction). This part of the literature includes:

• journalism;
• popular science publications;
• encyclopedias, dictionaries, reference books;
• biographies, memoirs;
• religion;
• psychology;
• self-knowledge, self-development,
• art, culture;
• sport, health.

Of course, not funny "popular pictures" from a series of how to quickly lose weight or get rich from an unknown Namer, but written by professionals, experts in their field. The current shaft of printed products does not have time to be studied, analyzed, and verified. Some people trust false information without having time to verify its authenticity. True scholars will never appreciate a fact from one source of information. They will read a few, find inconsistencies, get a real version of the event. Because they look at the elephant as a whole, which means they know how to analyze.

Non-fiction XX International Book Fair

It is difficult to make a list of the best books for the development of erudition, because this is a purely individual question. But the experts of the largest Book Fair in Russia may well advise.

Gregory Burns. What does it mean to be a dog. And other discoveries in animal neuroscience

Per. from English. I. Evstigneeva. Moscow: Alpina Non-Fiction, 2022. 333 pages.

489 - 547 rubles.

Scientists study animals in an attempt to discover cognitive abilities. Stories about scientific experiments on dogs, dolphins, fur seals are presented by one of these scientists. Does a dog understand what color is called blue? What is "here" and "there" - we understand, but fur seals? Scientific research is always a difficult but interesting process. Having taught dogs not to be afraid of a tomograph, the scientist told what is going on in a dog's head. Fur seals understand musical rhythm, dolphins "see" with the help of ultrasound. Everyone has feelings similar to human.

• the author seeks to show that the animal world plays an important role in the life of the planet. They lack only speech skills, otherwise they see, feel, rejoice like people.

• laboratory experiments on animals cannot be promoted, this is a mockery of animals.

Lyalya Kandaurova. Half an hour of music. How to understand and love the classics

Moscow: Alpina Publisher, 2018. 438 pages.

499 - 504 rubles.

To the generations that grew up after Perestroika, the author-musicologist explains the essence of classical music. Easy-to-read formatting into four parts. What do the original names mean, read for yourself, it is not written abstrusely, it is easy to read, interesting. The author twists the plot like a film detective, intricate, mysterious, fascinating. Any play that is described can be downloaded and listened to by code on the Internet. Knowing the history of creation, the principles of collecting notes into beats, listening becomes much more interesting.

• thanks to the author: I discovered the polyphony of Okegem;
• qr-codes - you listen to the work about which it is written, this is a good plus.

• graduated from a music school, but it was difficult to maneuver among the variety of terms.

Dilshat Harman, Mikhail Mayzuls, Sergey Zotov. Suffering Middle Ages

M.: AST, 2018. 416 pages.

457 - 696 rubles.

A rare example when an Internet public (community of history lovers - half a million subscribers) became a bestseller. Here you will find explanations for marginalia on the margins of manuscripts and frescoes of the Middle Ages, strange, sometimes completely obscene. Monkeys in the margins of ancient manuscripts, bawdy figures on church walls - why such sacrilege? 600 illustrations, well-written text, seasoned with humor - such a historical thing turned out. Enlightenment nature, innovative ideas, made it controversial for scientists, but one of the most widely read historical publications.

• it turned out to be a solid encyclopedia of medieval icon painting for only those who enter the topic, not for professionals;
• half a thousand illustrations are cool: European, Christian painting (Catholics, Protestants, Lutherans); the main goal - to unravel the symbolism of medieval paintings, was successfully completed.

• often the image is not on the page where it is mentioned, this is annoying;
• frivolous pictures, the authors help to understand their meaning, but there is nothing about the drawing technique, color symbolism.

Non-fiction Book Fair "Red Square"

A selection from the "Popular Science Book" series is made up of publications that had an increased demand at the fair, which pleased the literary expert-critic.

Richard Dawkins. The Selfish Gene

Publisher: Gorpus, translated by N. Fomina, 2013. 512 pages.

564 - 576 rubles.

The author's first book (1976) remains the most read of all his works. This is a masterpiece of literature and biology, published in 20 languages. Well illustrated, it will talk about evolution and genetics. What is obvious to biologists will become a discovery for the "non-biological layman." Informative, interesting: we will take a walk with the author through time from an insect to a person, we will talk about the strategies of nature, behavioral characteristics, and the “cultural revolution”.

• the author is an excellent interlocutor, smart, subtle, simply talks about complex things;
• we - biological machines - tough, but honest;
• serious scientific work, controversial, but presented at a very accessible level;
• even for a 100% humanist, it turned out to be too tough.

• absolutely no illustrations, diagrams, graphics.

Diana Halpern. Psychology of critical thinking

Publishing House PITER. Series: Masters of Psychology, 2000. 512 pages.

Electronic version, download for 240 rubles, 512 pages.

The electronic version is free to download, 158 pages.

Serious work on cognitive psychology, informal logic, in which there are many psychological studies. Interesting descriptions of delusions - logical and intuitive, options for analyzing argumentation, tools for developing effective thinking, and many other issues related to logic, memory, and brain function. A good guide for those who want to think in a modern way, will help with self-education.

• the structure of the text is correct - from simple to complex, each chapter is like an independent work, at the end - conclusions, terms, it is very convenient to study;
• a lot of quotes, examples, tasks - the head works, it’s not just read diagonally;
• real research, practical application suggested - excellent.

• not found.

David Edmonds. Would you kill a fat man?

Publishing house of the Gaidar Institute. 2016. 256 pages.

Philosophical work on the topics of ethics - "what is good and what is bad." Science is subtle, with a lot of contradictions, paradoxes, described by the author with knowledge of the matter. Easy to read, lots of useful information. Ethical dilemma: are you ready to push one fat man onto the rails in order to save five tied to the same rails? Questions of the moral philosophy of "walking over corpses" or universal love have always been of interest precisely because of the complexity of the choice.

• excellent narrative structure, easy to read, interesting;
• informative: it catches the fact that there is no “correct” answer to some questions, both are wrong.

• a lot has been written about the “trolley problem”, an important point, but it is only a stepping stone to the main topic;
• for some reason, the author delved into the personal lives of women philosophers, not at all on the topic, but the analysis of the problem is not enough.

TOP 7 best books that improve erudition

When in the television game "What? Where? When?" the team gives the correct answer to a question that is indirectly related to science, history, the audience is simply amazed: ridiculous topics, but experts answer. Because there are no stupid questions for them. It is also important to know who eats bees, how lemon changes the color of tea, because there are laws of physics and chemistry, logical chains, interconnection with space.

• most of the books in this direction provide answers to numerous questions, becoming the starting point for a serious study of other issues, and the horizons are expanding;
• almost all authors reveal topics with humor, but behind every word there is scientific confirmation or generally accepted opinion;
• each author is a scientist who has his own theories, discoveries, and very useful publications.

• in most books on this subject there are few illustrations, but there are many specific terms that make it difficult to understand the essence.

Bill Bryson. A Brief History of Almost Everything

Publisher: AST. Series: Civilization: birth, life, death. Translation by V. Mikhailov, 2016. 608 pages.

584 - 644 pp.

A completely unusual encyclopedia about various fields of science - from Darwin's theory to black holes. She received an award for her contribution to the development of science. It is already a bestseller in America. The author sought to prove that complex things can be told simply, then knowledge will be obtained easily, without straining for accurate calculations. It was written in the end in an unscientific language for the average reader who wants to expand their horizons. But the external ease of reading does not speak of entertainment topics.

Having become interested in any topic, you will quickly find more serious publications about it. From simple to complex is a quite productive way of gaining knowledge and developing erudition. By the way, the encyclopedia deals with the development of the Universe, civilizations, human nature, the most important world discoveries.

Stephen Juan. Weirdness of our body

Publisher: Ripol-Klassik. Series: Extraordinary in the ordinary. Translation by A. Davydova, A. Romanov. 2016. 560 pages.

386 rub.

Primitive school anatomy does not give a complete picture of our body. About how the most complex mechanism works inside, what processes take place in it, the author tells with knowledge of the matter and a sense of humor.How a person is born and dies, the likelihood of accidents, their consequences - complex, but important issues for perceiving oneself in this world, are covered without tragedy, popularly, with ease. Dwarfs, giants, genetic anomalies, diseases, longevity - the author tells about all this and much more.

John Lloyd, John Mitchinson. Book of General Delusions

Publisher: Phantom Press. Series: The Book of General Delusions. Translation by A. Rakhuba. 2012. 384 pages.

304 rub.

People very often make mistakes, because knowledge is relative, facts can be misinterpreted, literature is mostly useless. General delusion gives rise to a fear of recognition and is fixed as a norm. This is what the authors are thinking about. Lightweight, easy to read. It will be very useful for scholars: 320 questions, most of which are in IQ tests, are analyzed in detail and explained.

Robert Enwood. Why bears don't run downhill and 200 more interesting facts that need to be explained

Publisher: Kind book. Series: Books for the curious. 2010. 320 pages.

276 - 470 rubles.

The author collected incredible, ridiculous, interesting stories, beliefs, questions in pubs, on the streets, in shops. Having studied the topic comprehensively, he found a reasonable answer, arranging it in an easy popular form. Yes, dogs shouldn't be fed chocolate. No, a person's height is not a constant, in the evening it is 2 cm lower than in the morning. Do guinea pigs sweat? Isn't it stupid questions, but the answers, having a scientific background, send scholars to various sections of anatomy, physics, genetics. And this is not nonsense at all.

Augustus Brown.Why the panda stands on its head and other interesting stories

Publisher: Colibri. Series: Galileo. Translation by V. Svechnikov. 2010. 384 pages.

206 rub.

It is very useful for erudition to have knowledge about our smaller brothers. The amazing world of animals can not only surprise with their skills and abilities, but also show human habits. Or is it a man adopted from animals? It turns out that they also have problems of fathers and children, there are parties, games of "mafia". Written with humor, easy to read, surprising from the first page.

Mick O'Hare. Who eats bees? 101 answers to seemingly idiotic questions

Publisher: Ripol-Klassik. Translation by I. Novoseletskaya. 2007. 256 pages

The electronic version is free to download.

The surname of the author in social networks is written in different ways: Hayer, Khara, Khair. He loves unusual, ridiculous questions, he is happy to look for answers to them that can surprise and enlighten you. His presentation style is popular with readers of all ages. After reading the answers, you can show off interesting facts in the company.

Mick O'Hare. Why elephants can't jump and 113 more questions that will baffle any scientist

Publisher: Kind book. Series: How and why. 2011.256 pp.

271 - 303 rubles.

Continuation of the previous one. Again strange and funny questions, smart professional answers. The author is the editor-in-chief of a popular scientific journal, where subscribers send their questions. Here there are stories about the amount of memory a person has, what is the height of a butterfly's flight, why the face crooks when eating sour food.Elephants can't jump, and sparrows can't walk - what a paradox! Looking for answers.

TOP 5: Train the brain

Any human organ requires nutrition, training. Our brain is trained through the thought process. Reflections, memories, make him work, without work he will atrophy. As the cynics joke: the gyrus will straighten out - there will be nothing to think about. With true scholars, this cannot happen; for them, the real pleasure is to train the process of thinking. For them, the following list.

Stanislav Muller. Unlock Your Mind: Become a Genius

Publisher: Peter. Series: Himself a psychologist. 2009. 192 pages.

85 rub.

The electronic version is downloaded for free (available for 55 rubles)

A practicing psychologist believes that anyone can easily become a genius. The question is in the speed of perception of a skill or knowledge. For an average person, the brain works at 3-5%, for a talented person - at 10%. How to activate cells so that a person becomes a genius? There are management technologies that trigger "super learning" in any person. Read, learn to pump your brain, increase intelligence, erudition. Technologies of superthinking, supermemory - look here.

• if you do not expect an instant positive effect from the method, understand the scope, then many basic abilities can be unlocked.

• it was not possible to achieve the activation of the potential, it did not work.

Edward de Bono. Teach Yourself to Think: A Self-Guided Guide to Developing Thinking

Publisher: Potpourri, OOO. Translation by A. Kurskov. 2010. 288 pages.

274 rub.

The brain is a memory machine, but it can be trained by turning it into a mechanism for processing accumulated experience, making it not only accumulate memories and skills, but also create something new. The author has developed a technology to improve the brain. Only five stages, after passing which, genius threatens you.

• it is easy to read, it is not difficult to understand the program;
• the author suggests re-evaluating your thought processes, actively starting to train your memory, and doing this all the time.

• a lot of criticism of Socrates, Aristotle, Plato - that's really in vain;
• more scientific than popular, few examples, many questions.

Tony Buzan. Memory cards. Getting ready for exams

Publisher: Rosmen-Press. Translation by O. Panova. 2007. 120 pages.

192 rub.

The Super Thinking series is an unconventional but very simple method of working with memory. The Buzan method helps to activate the brain, expand its capabilities, which will lead to a more efficient thinking process, increase intelligence, and expand erudition. Fast brain work will increase productivity, reduce the time spent on a task. The bestseller today has become a reference book not only in education, science, this method is actively used in business.

• there is no better manual on the possibilities of the brain;
• useful for those who work with a large amount of information;
• well written, easy to digest, found a new way of remembering.

• a lot of water, the manner of presentation is around and around;
• graphics, drawings are almost all black and white, sad.

Tony Buzan, Michael J. Gelb. Learn to learn or juggle

Publisher: Potpourri. Series: Success! 200. 176 pp.

160 rub.

The electronic version is free to download.

You can strengthen the potential of the brain with the help of the author's technology of Buzan and Gelb by reading this book. The program developed by the authors takes into account the work of the body and the brain at the same time. The technique has been tested on the participants of numerous seminars, in the field of higher education, business structures, and the army. The result was impressive, because many expand the capabilities of the brain with the help of this program.

• systematically, broken down, structurally - just the perfect guide;
• especially necessary for those over 40: in vain do you think that memory deteriorates with age.

• teaches you to juggle and... that's it.

O.A. Andreev. memory development technique. Tutorial

Publisher: Phoenix. Series: Psychological workshop.2013. 320 pp.

144 rub.

Andreev's technology has been tested on thousands of ordinary participants in his lessons and seminars. The author is sure that the initial potential, the age of the student does not play any role. Anyone can make the brain a real biocomputer. Having mastered Andreev's technique, a person will easily assimilate any information, memory will improve, synchronization of consciousness and subconsciousness will occur. The reading speed will increase to 10 thousand characters. per minute. Accordingly, intelligence will grow. It is important that Andreev's methods are patented, they have certificates of "Invention", there are several of them - different stages, directions of memory development.

• a lot of useful information, but it takes a lot of time to implement;
• there is a disk, special tables to help.

• an abundance of Indian names, yoga postures;
• meditation, asanas require the body to train itself, only then you can remember the reason - memory training.

A few simple tips for beginners

If you are interested in accumulating knowledge, analyzing, understanding, knowing more about everything around you, you need to have a few mandatory habits.

Save up new words

Study newly heard terms, words. While you were studying at the university, the flow of new concepts was quite large, the brain worked in a good mode. Next, you need to train it yourself so that the creation of neural connections does not stop.

Separate words will not make you an erudite, but each word will lead to a thread of family ties that you will build and study. Your perception of the world will be more and more subtly structured. The larger the tangle of connections, the faster the simplicity of thinking changes to cognitive complexity.

In practice it will look something like this:

• learn at least three new words a week, keep in memory;
• first try to understand an unfamiliar word without a dictionary, reason logically, try to guess its meaning, then check with dictionaries;
• analyze words that have different effects in different areas: factory reconstruction - reconstruction of a historical event;
• read popular science literature, study terms, try to understand their meaning, connection with other categories, wrap a ball of connections around each word.

Replenishment of the thesaurus

Your vocabulary, storeroom - your thesaurus dictionary. You can expand it by using synonyms in writing and speech. By diversifying speech with words that are identical in meaning, but different in sound, you replenish your vocabulary. Example: arrived, arrived, got, granted, appeared, visited, looked ...

In addition, synonyms often superficially combine concepts, a real scholar can easily explain the difference between a typhoon - a cyclone, a mountain - a hill.

Criticism and analytics

Be sure to read criticism, reviews of specialists, experts on the issue of interest. This is the only way to get an objective picture, and not a personal opinion based on first impressions. By studying materials on a specific issue, you will get several points of view:

• from the original source;
• personal;
• subject matter expert.

Criticism is useful in terms of understanding weaknesses. Having three different opinions, you can compare, analyze. With this approach, reading ceases to be a passive assimilation of information, turns into mental efforts, called comparative analysis.

write a lot

Written speech is the materialization of your thoughts, it is very difficult. You need to learn to express thoughts in writing, this will help to structure them, build logic. Of course, it is preferable to write not letters to relatives, but on popular science and philosophical topics.

Trying yourself in different sectors of knowledge, you will understand what your strengths are, and where you still need to gain your mind.

Read anytime, anywhere

Not detective stories or romance novels, but philosophical treatises, memoirs, scientific articles. Fiction must also be present, but smart, serious, classical. Today you can read e-books downloaded to your tablet, audio versions are available (although they are more difficult to perceive and remember). Reading very productively trains the brain, develops memory, broadens one's horizons.

You can talk as much as you like about Internet search engines, where you can find an answer to any question in a minute, but only an erudite is able to give out not just information, but analytics: a complete versatile picture, solutions, uses, consequences. The Internet is an assistant to the erudite, but is unlikely to replace it in the near future.So - train your memory, replenish your vocabulary, move towards perfection!