My Journey Toward Genius: Understanding the Brain, Thinking, and Creativity

Part 1: How Do I Invent Faster and Become a Polymath?

When I was in school, the spiritual world remained hidden from me. I prayed in the Islamic tradition, but I had no sense of telepathic communication or mystical insight. What I did have was a steady record of academic success: in most examinations I ranked first, second, or third. My method of study was simple yet effective — I learned by repeating lessons aloud, except in Mathematics and subjects that required mathematical reasoning. Mathematics was my favorite subject, and unlike many of my peers, I never memorized solutions. Later I discovered that even strong students often relied on memorization, while I relied on understanding. I also never benefited from leaked exam questions, which were unfortunately common in Bangladesh. Instead, I revised nearly the entire syllabus before each exam. I was a consistent, diligent student.

In 2003, while reading a book on Educational Psychology, I realized that many of my physical and mental traits aligned with those described in geniuses. That revelation inspired me deeply. I began developing my own theories in psychology, imagining that if I ever became a psychiatrist or neurologist, I would contribute original ideas. Soon, my curiosity expanded into physics, biology, and neuroscience. I grew confident that one day I would create new theories capable of explaining vast phenomena.

From that year onward, I abandoned rote learning entirely. I approached every subject with the goal of true understanding. I discovered that if I read with deep comprehension, I could recall the essence of any concept or the answer to most questions after just one reading. Around the same time, I learned to meditate. Meditation sharpened my concentration, enabling me to study for long hours and think deeply about any subject. I was training my mind like a muscle. Concepts such as “breaking out of the comfort zone” and finding the “second wind” became guiding principles, helping me push through fatigue and extend my intellectual endurance.

My ambition was to become a scientist, and the rise of the Mathematical Olympiad in Bangladesh offered the perfect arena. Two gifts from that period shaped me profoundly:

• Mathematical competition, which drove me to spend countless hours solving problems.

• Books on problem solving, which introduced me to systematic methods.

Before those books, problem solving meant reading a question and constructing a solution directly. Afterward, I learned to decompose problems, plan solutions step by step, and then execute the plan — a process known as multilevel planning. This approach transformed my mathematical thinking and contributed greatly to my success in Olympiad competitions.

During my years pursuing a BSc in Computer Science and Engineering (2006 onwards), I was filled with excitement about the future of science and engineering. Fields such as Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Biotechnology and Biomedical Engineering, Nanotechnology, and Space exploration constantly occupied my thoughts. I dreamed of contributing to these frontiers — perhaps through groundbreaking inventions and discoveries, or by supporting them with investments once I had built a great fortune.

New questions began to occupy my mind. By 2013, I would find answers to most of them. The questions were:

• How can I invent faster? With current methods I might secure a few patents, but how could I accelerate invention? I wanted to understand the process of invention itself. Could creativity become systematic rather than accidental?

• How can I research across multiple fields, when most scientists and professors specialize in one or more narrow subfields? Most scientists devoted their entire careers to increasingly specialized fields. I wondered whether there might be a different path—one that allowed broad expertise without sacrificing depth.

• How can I learn faster, so that I may become an expert in many disciplines?

These questions marked the beginning of my quest to become not only a scientist, but a polymath — someone capable of weaving together knowledge from diverse domains into new insights and discoveries.