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Learning New Skills Can Help You Think Further Ahead

Recent research sheds light on how you can train your brain to think further ahead.

Sara Novak
BySara Novak
Credit: Tsuguliev/Shutterstock

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Wouldn’t it be great to be able to know someone’s next move and beat them to it? It’s the key to winning a game of chess, negotiating a deal, or winning a round of poker. It makes us better at the tasks at hand, but it may also be that we were better at these skills in the first place.

According to research, expertise lays the groundwork when it comes to thinking farther ahead. The more skill you have in something like chess, the better equipped you are to think steps farther ahead when compared to a novice. In a study published in the journal Nature, researchers found that participants are better able to think multiple moves ahead because they have a better handle on the game. In essence, you can teach yourself to think farther ahead.

Lead study author Bas van Opheusden, who is himself an avid chess player, ...

  • Sara Novak

    Sara Novak

    Sara Novak is a science journalist and contributing writer for Discover Magazine, who covers new scientific research on the climate, mental health, and paleontology.

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