Desired increases in brainpower

Lots of people seem to think I'm smart but I don't really feel that I am. I have lots of little pieces of stuff and I'm good at patterns and extrapolating ideas and have solid intuitive stuff and pick up skills quickly but I'm interested in so many things that my knowledge isn't very deep in anything.

It's often awkward for me, sitting with other engineers, listening to them talk about papers and mathematical theorems that they just assume I've read or know about.

Highschool left me woefully unprepared for anything. Not just in the specifics but in general learning and study habits. What I'd really to read right now are some good books on studying quickly with a high rate of retention. Of course, there's so many books on that subject that it's not easy to chose one at random and it be likely to be a decent one. Any suggestions would be highly appreciated.

Considering some re-organization

I'm getting tired of having so much stuff in my house. No room to move.

In my studio, I think there's a couple of things I could do. I'm not using my drafting desk for anything more than a plant stand these days. It's kind of stupid and a waste of space. I should perhaps consider breaking it down and putting it in storage. I could cut a piece of masonite to drop over my animation desk and use it in place of the drafting desk when I want a big drawing surface. It's not as stable but that's not really an issue with the sort of work I'm doing and if I need a more stable surface, I can use the fold-up table I've been using for sewing.

I think I could also eliminate the smaller bookshelf from my studio space. Then I could move my keyboard to that corner (nearer my computer)

Shuffle my animation desk into the corner where the drafting table is, move the chest of drawers over beside it, and perhaps set up a plant stand. Not sure. Need to think about it but I really do need to do something. I have too much 'stuff'.