3 ms·

There is no evidence people are measurably more intelligent now than two-three decades ago.

by varjag 1y ago

_ink_ 1y ago
I think there is evidence: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flynn_effect https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flynn_effect
- aleph_minus_one 1y ago
  And there is evidence that this trend has been reversing in the last decade(s) (Reverse Flynn Effect): https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a43469569/american-iq-scores-decline-reverse-flynn-effect/ https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a43469569/american-...
- varjag 1y ago
  Nearly everything around you save for a sliver of software was invented (and often built) by people over the last hundred years. There is no empirical evidence for qualitative difference in intelligence, certainly not to account for sudden onset of infertility. If the effect from 1934 to 2008 had been 14 points (believable given advances in nutrition and education), what had it been from 2008 to 2025? And is it reasonable to believe that those hypothesized couple points from the old median did it?
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
tempestn 1y ago
Yes, the genetics wouldn't have significantly changed over such a short period, but the environment has.
- staunton 1y ago
  Genetics isn't all that matters. Things like malnutrition (and a lot more things) very much also do.
  - sheiyei 1y ago
    I think the point is that the evolution of human intelligence reached a point that enabled us, over evolutionarily short timescales, to develop an environment (social structures etc.) that broke evolution as it was – the meaning of "fittest" is now rather arbitrary in human context.
    - tempestn 1y ago
      I'm not sure it is arbitrary, just different from what it was a hundred or a thousand years ago. There's no real survival differentiation in modern society, and while classically beneficial traits like physical fitness and intelligence do help with finding partners, most people are able to do so regardless. The other big difference now though is that people can have sex without choosing to have children. So istm the most successful traits from an evolutionary perspective at this point are those that encourage a desire to have more children. (If there's a genetic predisposition toward religious adherence, that's a likely example.)

There is no evidence people are measurably more intelligent now than two-three decades ago.

by varjag 1y ago

There is no evidence people are measurably more intelligent now than two-three decades ago.

_ink_ 1y ago

I think there is evidence: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flynn_effect https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flynn_effect

aleph_minus_one 1y ago
And there is evidence that this trend has been reversing in the last decade(s) (Reverse Flynn Effect): https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a43469569/american-iq-scores-decline-reverse-flynn-effect/ https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a43469569/american-...
varjag 1y ago
Nearly everything around you save for a sliver of software was invented (and often built) by people over the last hundred years. There is no empirical evidence for qualitative difference in intelligence, certainly not to account for sudden onset of infertility. If the effect from 1934 to 2008 had been 14 points (believable given advances in nutrition and education), what had it been from 2008 to 2025? And is it reasonable to believe that those hypothesized couple points from the old median did it?

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

tempestn 1y ago

Yes, the genetics wouldn't have significantly changed over such a short period, but the environment has.

staunton 1y ago
Genetics isn't all that matters. Things like malnutrition (and a lot more things) very much also do.
- sheiyei 1y ago
  I think the point is that the evolution of human intelligence reached a point that enabled us, over evolutionarily short timescales, to develop an environment (social structures etc.) that broke evolution as it was – the meaning of "fittest" is now rather arbitrary in human context.
  - tempestn 1y ago
    I'm not sure it is arbitrary, just different from what it was a hundred or a thousand years ago. There's no real survival differentiation in modern society, and while classically beneficial traits like physical fitness and intelligence do help with finding partners, most people are able to do so regardless. The other big difference now though is that people can have sex without choosing to have children. So istm the most successful traits from an evolutionary perspective at this point are those that encourage a desire to have more children. (If there's a genetic predisposition toward religious adherence, that's a likely example.)