10 Websites That Will Make You Smarter Than 99% of People

Main ideas / lessons

• Much of the internet is designed to steal attention, but some websites can actively train thinking and learning through interactive experiences.
• The video highlights 10 sites that build intelligence by engaging different cognitive skills, including:
  • memory
  • perception
  • problem-solving
  • decision-making
  • learning frameworks
  • simulation-based understanding
  • resilience/financial planning
  • hands-on making
  • game theory
• A common theme across many recommendations is learning by doing—interacting, experimenting, and playing rather than passively consuming information.

Methodologies / instructions presented (by website)

1. Human Benchmark (brain testing)

   • Take quick cognitive tests.
   • Focus on the verbal memory test:
     • Words appear one at a time.
     • For each word, decide whether you’ve seen it before.
     • Continue as the list grows until the task becomes difficult due to familiarity.

2. Quick, Draw by Google (machine learning/vision game)

   • An AI shows you an object.
   • You have 20 seconds to draw it.
   • While you draw, a neural network tries to identify your drawing.
   • Watch how the AI can be wrong, illustrating how computer vision works in real time.

3. Supercook (reduce recipe trial-and-error)

   • Enter the ingredients you already have at home.
   • The site finds recipes you can make with those ingredients.
   • Reduce friction by avoiding recipes that require ingredients you don’t have.

4. Lichess Practice (chess pattern recognition training)

   • Skip long chess theory and go straight to interactive puzzles.
   • Practice common tactics (examples mentioned):
     • forks
     • pins
     • skewers
     • checkmates
   • You make the move, and the site immediately tells you whether you found the right idea.
   • Use it like a “gym” for recognizing patterns.

5. Book recommendation tool using sliders (mood-based discovery)

   • Instead of choosing a genre, adjust preference sliders.
   • Example slider dimensions mentioned:
     • Funny ↔ serious
     • Happy ↔ sad
     • Safe ↔ disturbing
     • Predictable ↔ unpredictable
   • Recommendations change as you move sliders, guiding you toward the experience you want.

6. Untools (visual thinking frameworks)

   • Use a library of visual frameworks to support:
     • problem solving
     • decision making
     • communication of ideas
   • Framework examples mentioned:
     • Minto Pyramid
     • feedback frameworks
     • systems thinking
     • other mental models
   • Goal: view a complete framework on one screen instead of reading a long critical thinking book.

7. PhET (interactive science simulations)

   • Use interactive simulations created by the University of Colorado Boulder.
   • Examples mentioned:
     • build circuits
     • experiment with gravity
     • explore chemistry
     • drop a virtual skater onto a ramp to observe kinetic vs. potential energy changes in real time
   • Emphasis: interact with the phenomenon instead of only reading formulas.

8. Spent (financial decision simulation)

   • Start with $1,000 and try to survive a full month.
   • Life events occur (examples mentioned):
     • a car breaks down
     • bills arrive
     • someone gets sick
   • You must choose between competing priorities; decisions affect future outcomes.
   • Lesson emphasized: financial problems can compound quickly when there’s little room to recover.

9. Instructables (hands-on step-by-step projects)

   • Browse a large project library made by people who built the projects.
   • Project categories mentioned:
     • electronics and Arduino
     • 3D printing
     • crafts
     • cooking
     • robotics
     • science experiments
     • unusual/weird inventions
   • Learning approach:
     • pick a project
     • follow step-by-step instructions
     • progress from not knowing how to building it

10. The Evolution of Trust (Nikki Case) (game theory via play)

    • Play an interactive game teaching game theory.
    • Start with a basic choice: cooperate or cheat.
    • As play continues:
      • different strategies compete
      • mistakes are introduced
      • observe outcomes with vs. without trust
    • Lesson: complex theory becomes understandable through direct gameplay.

Overall wrap-up conveyed in the video

• The video claims these 10 sites can make you smarter than most people by turning learning into interactive practice.
• It notes that all 10 links are provided in the description and encourages choosing which one to try first.

Speakers / sources featured (as mentioned)

• University of Colorado Boulder (source of PhET simulations)
• Nikki Case (author/creator of The Evolution of Trust)
• Google (Quick, Draw—implied via “from Google”)
• Human Benchmark (referenced for cognitive tests)
• Lichess (referenced via “Lichess practice”)
• Makers/users of Instructables (projects created by people in Instructables’ community)
• AI / neural network (used within Quick, Draw; referenced generally as AI/neural network, not as a specific named entity)