No. We're getting smarter it's just that we're also getting more cynical so we don't see it.

I'd say based on recent forum threads on this site, the answer is yes. At least I feel they're lowering my IQ.

Yes, we are much less intelligent than ever. And it's thanks to the government. They take away personal responsibility by providing free health care (Canada, Europe, not so much America) and social programs (welfare, SS, etc.)...and they've made it harder than ever to succeed in business thanks to overregulation, overtaxation and destroying the economy.

This generation:
+ Social programs
+ Medical care
+ Sense of entitlement
+ Regulations
+ Taxation
+ Education (number of degrees, not intelligence)
+ Spying on internet use, phone calls, texts, emails, etc.
+ Patriot Act
+ Blind faith in government (George Washington and the boys would think everyone today is a pussy)
+ Debt
+ Inflation
- Value of your savings (just re-stating inflation)
- Value of a degree (more people getting them lowers the value of having one)
- Personal responsibility
- Likelihood of succeeding in business
- Personal freedom/liberty


All of this has lead to the shittiest generation in history. I wish I was alive in the 1950's, or better yet the 1870's before governments became greedy whores and you actually had personal freedom.

If you take a look at our IQ scores, technically we're all getting smarter.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flynn_effect

I think the truth is even smart people make dumb mistakes, and that people on average aren't very smart to begin with. We're all human, get over it.

At first I was gonna say "no".



After reading some of the posts in this thread though, I'm not so certain anymore.

On average? Not at all.

You have to remember that, until about a century ago, 90% of the population was an uneducated underclass, and a significant proportion of people couldn't read or write.

That is no longer the case. Pretty much everyone has at least a certain base level of intelligence, and is certainly more knowledgeable than the average person used to be, thanks largely to the invention of the internet.

It may well be the case that the "ruling class" as such is getting stupider as it moves from an intellectual elite to a democratic popularity contest, but that's something else entirely.

I agree.

I don't think we're getting stupider at all, it's our laziness that is getting worse.

We're also conversing on the internet. A lot of smartasses surf the internet.

Judging by the popularity of Justin Bieber, reality television, and iProducts......

Yes, definitely.