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These people, who keep clearing away at the pub quiz or at Trivial Pursuit - you don't have to like them, but they do compel respect.

How do they know all this?

Do they just read so much more?

Curiosity and openness to new things are certainly good conditions for acquiring a broad range of general knowledge in the course of life.

A well-connected brain is another requirement.

At least that is what a study from 2019 by neuroscientists from the Ruhr University Bochum and the Humboldt University in Berlin suggests.

Source: Getty Images / Andriy Onufriyenko

Erhan Genç's team examined the brains of 324 men and women using a form of magnetic resonance imaging that allows the course of nerve fibers to be tracked in the brain.

The method is called diffusion tensor imaging.

It gives an insight into the structural networking of the brain.

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All participants also had to take a general knowledge test.

The so-called Bochum knowledge test consists of more than 300 questions from different domains.

In the final step, the researchers compared the results from both studies.

It showed that participants who performed better on the test tend to have more efficiently networked brains.

Source: Getty Images / Elizabeth Livermore

How is that related?

Biopsychologist Genç, first author of the study, explains: "We assume that individual pieces of knowledge in the form of partial information are scattered over the entire brain."

In order to combine the information that is stored in different areas of the brain and to successfully call up knowledge, efficient networking of the brain is essential.

Erhan Genç, biopsychologist, Ruhr University Bochum

When asked about the capital of Georgia, for example, the brain has to combine the concept of a capital with knowledge about the country of Georgia.

The more efficiently the brain is networked, the easier it is to link information to get the answer.

So much for the explanation of the neuroscientists.

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Based on the study, it cannot be said whether there is actually a direct mechanism of action between general knowledge and the efficiency of networking, and what it looks like.

It is also conceivable that people who are naturally curious use their brain a lot to absorb, store and call up information.

That could lead to particularly good networking.

The results of the study are interesting in any case, since comparatively little attention has been paid to the connection between general knowledge and brain structure.

For example, it is more frequently examined which areas of the brain are associated with cognitive performance such as logical thinking or language skills.

And here you can directly test your knowledge yourself - however, normal general knowledge is not enough: