Extending Capacity-Strategy Brain Training Primer: Trident G Theory
More of what you need to know before starting your brain training.
In the last Substack article I discussed the Strategy-Capacity method for brain training. This article extends your primer to a foundational theory of intelligence that IQ Mindware training is based on.
The Trident G Theory (1) offers a neuro-cognitive framework for understanding how human intelligence operates. It explains how our brains balance familiarity and novelty, effort and creativity, structure and flexibility to meet the demands of an ever-changing world.
Below, we break down its basic principles with examples to make the concepts clear and relatable.
1. The Intelligent Brain: A 'Brain Critical' System
Imagine your brain as a master conductor, poised between two extremes: order and chaos. At one end, order represents structured routines, habits, and predictable thinking patterns. At the other, chaos symbolises the unstructured, novel, and unpredictable.
The brain operates most intelligently when it is at or near a critical point - a finely tuned state between these extremes (2, 3). In this state, the brain can:
Transition rapidly between tasks or mental states.
Adapt dynamically to new challenges.
Balance focused effort with flexible exploration.
Example:
Think about brainstorming for a novel idea. You might start in a more chaotic, exploratory mode, generating a range of possibilities. As you settle on a promising concept, your brain transitions into a more ordered state, organising and refining the idea into actionable steps.
2. The Trident: The Structure Of Intelligence
The trident is a three branch and stem model for how intelligence operates (1, 5, 6). Its shaft represents subcritical (lower energy) crystallised intelligence (Gc), while its three forks embody supercritical (higher energy) fluid intelligence (Gf).
Crystallised Intelligence: The Shaft
This is your repository of knowledge, skills, and learned strategies. It operates when tasks are familiar or routine, relying on well-practiced behaviours.
Example: Typing on a keyboard is a crystallised skill - fast, efficient, and automatic because it has been honed through repetition.
Fluid Intelligence: The Forks
Fluid intelligence takes over when the task at hand requires novel thinking, problem-solving, or adaptation. It is the flexible part of intelligence that helps you navigate cognitive challenges in uncharted territory, where you can’t rely on familiar routines and responses.
3. The Three Forks of the Trident: Control, Creativity, and Fluid Integration
Executive Control (‘Left Brain’ Fork)
This prong is about effortful control and the ability to exploit existing knowledge to solve problems and reduce uncertainty. It thrives on planning, predictability, and precision.
Example: Planning a budget requires executive control to calculate expenses, allocate resources, and ensure goals are met. Another example is concentrating to follow a set of instructions repeatedly to try to make the process automatic.
Creative Exploration (‘Right Brain’ Fork)
This prong represents divergent thinking - the ability to explore new possibilities, take risks, and innovate. Creativity requires a willingness to embrace uncertainty and push beyond the familiar.
Example: Designing a unique marketing campaign demands creativity to generate fresh, engaging ideas.
Fluid Intelligence (Central Fork)
Fluid intelligence integrates the strengths of control and creativity, enabling you to flexibly move between modes depending on the situation. It excels in relational reasoning, connecting ideas and knowledge across different domains. Relational reasoning, or the ability to consider relationships between multiple mental representations, is directly linked to the capacity to think logically and solve problems in novel situations (6).
Example: Imagine solving a complex problem at work. You use executive control to focus on known strategies, then fluid intelligence to adapt when those strategies fall short, tapping creative exploration to develop a novel solution.
The span across the three forks defines the capacity of your intelligence. A wider span means greater adaptability and the ability to function effectively in the face of diverse cognitive challenges.
4. Mindfulness: Cultivating an In-The-Zone Near Critical State
At the core of intelligent functioning near criticality is the ability to be in a state of relaxed alert readiness. This is a hallmark of open monitoring mindfulness, which is now known to correlate with brain criticality (6). This state aligns closely with the critical brain state, where transitions between modes of thought are smooth and efficient.
Why Mindfulness Matters for Intelligence
Mindfulness, particularly in the form of open monitoring mindfulness, helps you:
Maintain relaxed focus, enabling smooth shifts between tasks.
Balance structured thinking with creativity.
Quickly transition from effortful control to automatic, habitual responses.
Example: Training in a Mindful State
When engaging in Capacity-Strategy Brain Training, mindfulness ensures you are in an optimal state to:
Dive into working memory exercises like the n-back.
Strategically solve problems using step-by-step mindware.
Transition seamlessly between the modes of control and creativity.
By cultivating mindfulness, you set the stage for the efficient application of both crystallised and fluid intelligence.
A good introduction to guided open monitoring mindfulness practice is Sam Harris’ Waking Up program - you may consider trying for a month to get up to speed.
Bringing it Together: Intelligence as an Integrated System
The Trident G Theory provides a comprehensive lens for understanding how our brains function. Through balanced operation between crystallised intelligence and the three prongs of fluid intelligence - control, creativity, and integration - we can navigate complexity, achieve our goals, and innovate in the face of challenges.
With tools like the Capacity-Strategy Brain Training Method and mindfulness practices, you can actively enhance these dimensions of intelligence, unlocking your potential to think, act, and create at your highest capacity.
The Gf-Gc-Gx Framework: Integrating Internal and External Intelligence
On the Trident G Theory, intelligence operates on three interconnected levels in the ‘near critical’ zone:
Gf (Fluid Intelligence): The ability to reason, solve novel problems, and adapt in real-time.
Gc (Crystallised Intelligence): The fluid application of consolidated knowledge, skills, and strategies.
But also…
Gx (External Intelligence): The extension of cognitive abilities through interaction with external tools, systems, and environments. (7)
Tools and Technologies as Cognitive Extensions
Many tools can act as extensions of the mind, enhancing both fluid and crystallised intelligence:
AI Systems like ChatGPT enable brainstorming, planning, and problem-solving by offloading routine cognitive tasks.
Smartphones and Productivity Apps manage schedules, track progress, and remind users of priorities, strengthening executive function.
Specialised Software supports complex analysis, design, and data modelling, expanding the scope of problem-solving capabilities.
Example: A researcher using AI to deepen their literature review into a topic of interest not only saves time but also frees cognitive resources to identify novel research questions, fostering deeper creativity.
Information Accessibility: Expanding Gc through Digital Knowledge
External intelligence (Gx) dramatically amplifies crystallised intelligence by providing instant access to vast knowledge resources:
Search Engines and Online Libraries: Make global knowledge accessible in seconds, transforming how we approach learning and decision-making.
Collaborative Platforms: Enable collective intelligence by facilitating the sharing of ideas, strategies, and solutions across networks.
Example: A student can access a global database of academic papers and their relationships using an AI-powered app such as Connected Paper, and use AI to summarise key points.
Enhancing Fluid Intelligence (Gf) Through Offloading
External tools free mental resources by handling routine tasks, allowing fluid intelligence to focus on complex reasoning and creativity:
Reducing Cognitive Load: Tools manage repetitive elements, enabling users to tackle multifaceted problems.
Fostering Adaptability: By automating routine processes, users can dynamically shift focus to higher-level reasoning.
Example: In strategic planning, an AI assistant can perform data analysis while the individual focuses on refining objectives and exploring innovative approaches.
Social Networks: Sharing Knowledge and Building Motivation
Social platforms play a critical role in external intelligence (Gx) by fostering motivation, accountability, and shared learning:
Peer Feedback: Social communities provide diverse perspectives that enhance understanding and strategy refinement.
Motivation through Accountability: Sharing progress in groups encourages commitment and sustained effort.
Example: A language learner in an online community shares weekly progress, receives constructive feedback, and adopts new techniques shared by others, accelerating their development. Another example is the Discord community in the IQ Mindware ecosystem.
Multiplier Effects in Intelligence Development
The interaction between internal capacities (Gf/Gc) and external intelligence (Gx) creates positive feedback loops for cognitive development over time that can augment intelligence levels quite dramatically. This is the well-known ‘multiplier effect’ in intelligence research and can explain why there may be up to 20 point IQ increases within 3 years of college (8).
Principles underlying Gx multipliers include:
Adaptive Learning: AI-driven tools personalise challenges to user needs, ensuring consistent improvement.
Compounding Knowledge: The more tools are used effectively, the more they expand both internal and external intelligence.
Social Networks: High IQ social networks can provide a motivating and challenging learning environment to induce multiplier effects.
Example: A designer using AI to explore creative concepts finds inspiration for new projects within a motivated, high IQ team, which in turn enriches the projects, as well as the AI and team’s ability to suggest increasingly refined and cognitively challenging options.
Brain Criticality and Technology: Being 'In the Zone'
The optimal state of intelligence, referred to as brain criticality, balances focus and openness. Technology can support this state when used mindfully:
Relaxed Alert Readiness: Tools that adapt to user input - like AI brainstorming or interactive design platforms—encourage flow states where creativity and focus thrive.
Efficient Transitions: Integrating mindfulness with technology ensures smooth shifts between divergent (creative) and convergent (executive) thinking.
Example: A writer uses AI to generate initial story ideas (creative mode) and then refines the narrative (executive mode), maintaining focus and flow.
Strategy-Capacity Brain Training
The Strategy-Capacity brain training method (9) exemplifies the synergy of Gf, Gc, and Gx:
N-back Training (Gf): Builds core working memory capacity, enabling dynamic reasoning and problem-solving.
Mindware Exercises (Gc): Develop step-by-step strategies for handling complex scenarios.
Technological Augmentation (Gx): Apps, AI, and collaborative platforms (Discord) enhance both capacity building and strategy execution.
A Future of Integrated Intelligence
The Trident G Theory offers a vision of intelligence that is:
Brain-Based and Extended: Balancing neural processes with external tools and networks.
Dynamic and Adaptive: Supporting transitions between control, creativity, and integration.
Individual and Collective: Harnessing the power of shared knowledge and AI-enhanced tools.
Summary
In our ever-changing, complex world, intelligence is not just about what we know or how well we solve problems - it’s about how we adapt, explore, and innovate while leveraging the tools and environments around us. The Trident G Theory offers a fresh, comprehensive perspective on intelligence, integrating internal cognitive capacities like Gf (fluid intelligence) and Gc (crystallised intelligence) with Gx (external intelligence) - the synergistic interaction with tools, technologies, and social networks - in states that are mindful and are conducive to flow.
This framework combines the control and creativity of the human mind, with the power of modern technological extensions. Through this lens, intelligence is not static but a dynamic process that can be cultivated and expanded through targeted training and mindful interaction with the world.
References
(1) Ashton Smith, M. (2024). Trident G: Free Energy & Brain Criticality Based Theory of Intelligence & Resilience. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/wnre3
(2) Cocchi, L., Gollo, L. L., Zalesky, A., & Breakspear, M. (2017). Criticality in the brain: A synthesis of neurobiology, models and cognition. Progress in Neurobiology, 158, 132–152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pneurobio.2017.07.002
(3) O’Byrne, J., & Jerbi, K. (2022). How critical is brain criticality? Trends in Neurosciences, 45(11), 820–837. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tins.2022.08.007
(4) Benedek, M., & Fink, A. (2019). Toward a neurocognitive framework of creative cognition: The role of memory, attention, and cognitive control. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 27, 116–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2018.11.002
(5) Wilson, R. C., Bonawitz, E., Costa, V. D., & Ebitz, R. B. (2021). Balancing exploration and exploitation with information and randomization. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 38, 49–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2020.10.001
(6) Dürschmid, S., Reichert, C., Walter, N., Hinrichs, H., Heinze, H.-J., Ohl, F. W., Tononi, G., & Deliano, M. (2020). Self-regulated critical brain dynamics originate from high frequency-band activity in the MEG. PLoS ONE, 15(6), e0233589. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0233589
(7) Clark, A., & Chalmers, D. J. (1998). The extended mind. Analysis, 58(1), 7–19. https://www.alice.id.tue.nl/references/clark-chalmers-1998.pdf
(8) Sauce, B., & Matzel, L. D. (2018). The paradox of intelligence: Heritability and malleability coexist in hidden gene-environment interplay. Psychological Bulletin, 144(1), 26–47. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000131
(9) Ashton Smith, M. (2024). Strategy-Capacity Training: An Intervention Method for Effective Far Transfer. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/z6fjt