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I think most will agree that there is an evolutionary selection against intelligence (I think the term is "dysgenic mating"). For example, highly educated peopl

I think most will agree that there is an evolutionary selection against intelligence (I think the term is "dysgenic mating"). For example, highly educated people (reasonable proxy for intelligence, at least it used to be) have fewer children. Agree, from a society's point of view (if you believe that intelligence is positive and at least partly hereditary, which I guess is pretty indisputable), one would want to provide incentives to correct this. Tax reductions per child (scales with income) would be one approach.

tharne 5y ago
Like a lot of the comments here, this seems to conflate education and intelligence, when in reality the relationship between the two is tenuous. When talking about the attributes of highly educated people, the most common trait you're likely to find is diligence, which is not at all the same as intelligence though perhaps more important. Education certainly does seem to decrease family size, particularly rates of female education.
- sandstrom 5y ago
  This study (with more than a thousand citations) of 70,000 school children in the UK measured IQ at age 11 and compared with educational outcome (GCSE; standardized tests) at age 16. The correlation was 0.8. Deary, I., Strand, S., Smith, P., Fernandes, C. (2007). Intelligence and Educational Achievement. Intelligence https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0160289606000171 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S01602... I'd also argue that it's plain common knowledge. If you ask 100 people on the street, "Do clever kids have an easier time in school?", I think the answer would be a resounding yes. Sure, there is a lot of "junk education" out there. Schools that will accept anyone, and give everyone good grades regardless of performance. That's why I wrote "at least it used to be". But Western educational systems hasn't yet regressed to a level where it's all trash.

tharne 5y ago

Like a lot of the comments here, this seems to conflate education and intelligence, when in reality the relationship between the two is tenuous. When talking about the attributes of highly educated people, the most common trait you're likely to find is diligence, which is not at all the same as intelligence though perhaps more important. Education certainly does seem to decrease family size, particularly rates of female education.

sandstrom 5y ago
This study (with more than a thousand citations) of 70,000 school children in the UK measured IQ at age 11 and compared with educational outcome (GCSE; standardized tests) at age 16. The correlation was 0.8. Deary, I., Strand, S., Smith, P., Fernandes, C. (2007). Intelligence and Educational Achievement. Intelligence https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0160289606000171 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S01602... I'd also argue that it's plain common knowledge. If you ask 100 people on the street, "Do clever kids have an easier time in school?", I think the answer would be a resounding yes. Sure, there is a lot of "junk education" out there. Schools that will accept anyone, and give everyone good grades regardless of performance. That's why I wrote "at least it used to be". But Western educational systems hasn't yet regressed to a level where it's all trash.