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Forums - General - Are we getting more stupid?

 

Are we getting more stupid?

Yes 85 72.65%
 
No 20 17.09%
 
Maybe? 12 10.26%
 
Total:117
dsgrue3 on 01 February 2013
Soleron said:
dsgrue3 said:
Soleron said:

...

Complete unfair in regards to IQ examination. How many people actually practice IQ exams? I would argue it's in the neighborhood of 0.0001%. The standard IQ of the masses increases generation over generation - that has absolutely nothing to do with training.

People that state "IQ is a flawed metric" tend to be those lacking in such a metric. "Not taken seriously anymore" - well, MENSA certainly takes it seriously and last I checked, there's still a $1 Million MacArthur Fellows ("Genius Grant").

Misinformation on your part. No doubt about it.

They don't practice IQ exams, but they do practice more of the reasoning skills one needs to pass them by virtue of average school leaving age being much later.

IQ is not worthless but it is not a good general measure of intelligence, and there will never be one.

Mensa is an organisation of people who want to be special flowers with their super high point scores. I see it the same as Xbox Achievements. If it makes you happy then great but it doesn't mean anything.

The other thing you mentioned has nothing to do with IQ? Even if it did, how does that constitute official or scientific recognition of IQ, which is what I'm looking for here? Why is there no decent standardisation of IQ if it is so important, general and repeatable?

No, there is no conclusive evidence that the population's IQ as measured is rising. There are too many sources of error to be certain of this, and enough doubt in what literature there is for it to not be a fact yet.

LMAO!

Yeah, hide and seek of the 1930s was way different than hide and seek of today. So much more demanding today, right? EQ is a great way to relate IQ to success.

IQ testing is stardardized, not sure why you don't understand this and we do indeed increase in IQ with each generation.

Ever head of the "Flynn Effect"?

Start reading: http://www.indiana.edu/~intell/flynneffect.shtml



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Soleron on 01 February 2013

From your page:

"Flynn believes that the increase is actually an increase in abstract problem solving rather than intelligence."

So as I said, the ability to do an IQ test is increasing (cause unspecified), but intelligence (the subject of this thread) is not.

I don't wish to debate IQ further, it would require me to link a bunch of social science papers and I think their methodology is poor and my time is valuable.

If you'd like to make any more points concerning the thread topic I will respond.



dsgrue3 on 01 February 2013
Soleron said:

From your page:

"Flynn believes that the increase is actually an increase in abstract problem solving rather than intelligence."

So as I said, the ability to do an IQ test is increasing (cause unspecified), but intelligence (the subject of this thread) is not.

I don't wish to debate IQ further, it would require me to link a bunch of social science papers and I think their methodology is poor and my time is valuable.

If you'd like to make any more points concerning the thread topic I will respond.

From your previous post:

Soleron said:

No, there is no conclusive evidence that the population's IQ as measured is rising. There are too many sources of error to be certain of this, and enough doubt in what literature there is for it to not be a fact yet.

Ouch. LOL and then you get mad at me for responding to that? Wow.

You're entitled to your opinion, as is Flynn. Which fields use abstract problem solving I wonder? Is it science, mathematics, and engineering? Hmm, curious. Only it isn't.



Soleron on 01 February 2013

I should have used the word 'intelligence' instead of 'IQ' in the quoted sentence.



Fayceless on 01 February 2013

The belief that the world is getting dumber is one that has been around for centuries. It's as old as human civilization. Yet any scientific analysis, of modern or historical trends, shows that it is simply not true. Anecdotal evidence and flawed perceptions of reality are the only things backing up such a belief.

It's like we believe the world is more dangerous. The world is not more dangerous than it was 100 years ago, we are simply more aware of the danger (and safer for it!)



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DiscussionTime on 01 February 2013

Actually we are getting smarter.

With the internet and smartphone data plans, "stupid" people can literally find out important information at the drop of a hat.

A stupid person today is better equipped for knowledge then a stupid person 100 years ago.



weaveworld on 02 February 2013
Kantor said:
weaveworld said:
If so I blame capitalism. In order to make money people need to be stupid enough to buy your products. So once they do, don't challenge them to become smarter or you'll lose business.

Capitalism has existed since the origins of humanity when the first person thought to trade one of his possessions for the possession of another.

Even large corporations are nothing new.


True.

It has evolved however. The amount of money made does not equal the progress mankind makes anymore. The system holds us back, or peace and wealth does.



Kantor on 02 February 2013
weaveworld said:
Kantor said:
weaveworld said:
If so I blame capitalism. In order to make money people need to be stupid enough to buy your products. So once they do, don't challenge them to become smarter or you'll lose business.

Capitalism has existed since the origins of humanity when the first person thought to trade one of his possessions for the possession of another.

Even large corporations are nothing new.


True.

It has evolved however. The amount of money made does not equal the progress mankind makes anymore. The system holds us back, or peace and wealth does.

I disagree. It's what keeps us moving forward.

The communist utopia sounds great on paper until people realise that if they just stop working, they gain a whole bunch of free time and lose nothing, and that working harder is going to earn them literally nothing at all. It requires a selflessness and dedication that I don't think humanity on the whole possesses.



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Player1x3 on 02 February 2013

Your average person today is billion times more educated than your average person 200 years ago, so we're not getting more stupid



SxyxS on 02 February 2013

yes-we are tought to be more stupid,either by religion,drugs or tv.
stupid people are easier to control

thx to prozac and other heavy drugs hidden behind the name medicine,real drugs imported by the government(since Air America)
extremly primitive tv shows
and wrong teachings in school(charlotte iserbyte-the dumbing down of americans)

for the non stupid there is another instrument to keep them numb-political correctness