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I think the point is that IQ is always normalized to 100, so that "average" is 100% of the time "average" for the current population. Maybe a 100 IQ person now

I think the point is that IQ is always normalized to 100, so that "average" is 100% of the time "average" for the current population. Maybe a 100 IQ person now has more intellectual horsepower than a 100 IQ person from 200 years ago, but that doesn't have any effect on what is being said.

ricksplat 10y ago
> a 100 IQ person now has more intellectual horsepower than a 100 IQ person from 200 years ago That's not what I meant. I meant that "scores" were increasing - which is the reason for normalisation against present population. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence_quotient#Flynn_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence_quotient#Flynn_ef... IQ test scores have been rising at an average rate of around three IQ points per decade So IQ in absolute terms has been increasing steadily - but this doesn't necessarily tell us anything about whether intelligence has been increasing or not.