Are we getting smarter?

[Joshpantera]

 

This is interesting to consider. I see where Rogan was trying to go with it. 

[pantheory]

This was an interesting video. My take on the question "Is humanity getting smarter?" is not optimistic. As explained in the video, mankind's advance in intelligence was partly due to the idea that smarter men could attract more females, to better support them having larger families that could live long enough to reproduce, perpetuating greater intelligence via these progeny. Today more intelligent couples have fewer children because they realize that smaller families are generally better off financially in an urban environment.  Large families in cities today are generally produced by those of average or lower intelligence, with less education. The world over, these lesser intelligent children are outnumbering those of greater intelligence. I do not see this trend changing in the foreseeable future. If not, then the average human intelligence would be going down rather than up.

 

I do expect, sooner or later, that mental powers could be improved by computer exercises, study or otherwise, by eugenics and epigenetic manipulation, by computer-mental links, surgical modification and implantations, by nootropic drugs, etc.

 

Although more knowledge is available to most people today, knowledge does not equate to the standard definition of intelligence. There are a number of natural aptitudes that make up intelligence and some may not be improved much by learning.

 

There is no agreement concerning the list of aptitudes that determine intelligence but here are a couple lists of them, often used by schools, and by business for hiring purposes.

 

Mathematical, verbal, spatial, logical, musical, existential, intra-personal, interpersonal, naturalist

 

https://medium.com/the-mission/the-7-intelligence-types-you-need-other-than-math-and-language-bd6035b3f447

 

Here is another list often considered to be separate aptitudes of intelligence, some tests of which can be improved upon by study and practice

Numerical reasoning, Verbal reasoning, abstract reasoning, deductive reasoning, inductive reasoning, diagrammatic reasoning, mechanical reasoning, spacial reasoning, assessment-of-probabilities reasoning, In-basket tests, situation judgement tests, cognitive ability tests, mental speed and agility tests, recognition and commonality tests

https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=5WXvWseqDqnn5gKXupDwAg&q=common+aptitudes&oq=common+&gs_l=psy-ab.1.0.0i67k1j0i20i263k1j0i46i67k1j46i67k1l2j0j0i67k1l2j0l3j0i10k1.1418.2899.0.6062.8.6.0.0.0.0.237.934.0j4j1.5.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..3.5.933.0..35i39k1j0i131k1j0i20i264k1.0.80DQNdTyQXc

[mymistake]

There will be extraordinary individuals.  Unfortunately the average has to be calculated as the average.

[older]

4 hours ago, mymistake said:

There will be extraordinary individuals.  Unfortunately the average has to be calculated as the average.

And half of all the people on the planet are below average. (In Congress, it's certainly more than half.)

[Joshpantera]

This all points to the aspect of the video juggling back and forth between intelligence rising from one perspective, but lowering from another. Some look at it one way, others another. And in the process we to have to consider all possible perspectives. 

 

What catches my attention is that IQ tests have consistently had to bump up the average, showing an increase in over all IQ. It's not surprising to me because kids, especially young kids these days, never cease to shock me at how smart they are compared to kids when I was growing up. They navigate electronic devices like second nature, from very young ages. That alone must account for an increase in intelligence.

 

And in agreement with Rogan, I'm focused in on the internet and the ability to try and fact check just about anything you're told. When I was a kid I remember reading through encyclopedia's researching things like the history of Halloween, the history of Druids in the British Isles, and other areas of interest that I was trying to fact check against what I was being told at church school about the evil's of Halloween and why we're not to celebrate it. That's something that launched my skepticism at an early age, and my attention to questioning authority. If I had the internet back then, it would have opened up such a wealth of knowledge which would have led to greater intelligence. But comparing myself back then to a child now, they are clearly much more intelligent and well informed from younger ages. 

 

And from this perspective, around the world is taking place this general trend where ever children have access to smart devices and / or the internet while growing up. From there, I could see this potentially leading into what Pantheory has mentioned. And it seems reasonable to consider what sort of advancement in technology and medicine will arise in the near future. Could we then implant learning devices into the brain? Download information like Neo in the Matrix? That would really change things up if so. Imagine uploading the history of philosophy, the history of comparative mythology and world religion, archaeology, textual criticism, all of the sciences, etc., etc. All of the Maths. 

 

If we're on course to evolving into something like an advanced space traveling civilization, it stems to wonder about how knowledge may increase in order to get us there. With these potential advancements I can imagine the low IQ's of the future being akin to the high IQ's of today. And if synthetic intelligence becomes a thing, there may well not be any low IQ's at all.