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I was watching Hell on Wheels on netflix this weekend and was curious about progression of human IQ. The stuff I found online does not sound right:
All I was trying to figure out was the average IQ of people living in the 1800 v now )
This second chart does not sound right to me either: I have met East Asians that thought they were smarter then every-one, but I can't say that Asians are smarter.
I sometimes think we are less educated in what it takes to survive in this modern world. overall. One needs to use brain to survive first and foremost ;is my thought.
IQ itself is a skewed measurement, but speaking in generalities problem solving skills decline through atrophy if not exercised regularly. Hunter gatherers have to problem solve constantly to survive. Someone with a repetitive job and safe sources of shelter and food does not.
Racial comparisons are polarizing and less than useful in general.
IQ itself is a skewed measurement, but speaking in generalities problem solving skills decline through atrophy if not exercised regularly. Hunter gatherers have to problem solve constantly to survive. Someone with a repetitive job and safe sources of shelter and food does not.
Racial comparisons are polarizing and less than useful in general.
I think that the way we measure IQ might be a problem.
1. You are problem solving in your daily life, only the problems are different since hunter gathering.
2. We have internet and computers that place facts at our fingertips. We can research anything fast.
The chart is saying that average IQ in 1950 was higher then now. 1940 was WW2, it was devastating to Europe. How is it possible that IQ is higher 1950 then now ?
Russia, China, US, EU, Canada all have literacy rates over 95%. I mean global literacy has increased in 100 years, so how is it possible that we are dumber?
All I was trying to find out, is the difference in eras. What was average intelligence during civil war, Ancient Rome, middle ages, Egypt etc...
I don't think you will find your answer. If they tested for iq during those times their baseline was likely different so the results are going to be skewed.
You're wise to have a healthy skepticism for things you find online. You should trust a source in relation to how well it has been vetted. Random websites generally indicate only that the writer has access to a computer. For one, IQ isn't a great measure of changes with time as it is supposed to be normalized. If you look a little harder you can find people who say intelligence is going up:
They take current IQ tests and older IQ tests and have the same group of people take both. Invariably the old tests give higher IQs than the new ones, suggesting that people are getting smarter. There's even a Wikipedia entry on this, so it must be true ;-)
If you want to know how "dumb" folks are these days, ask the following questions...
1) About how long does it take the Earth to rotate on its axis?
2) About how long does it take the moon to revolve around the Earth?
3) About how long does it take for the Earth to revolve around the sun?
4) Is it always dark on the far side of the moon?
The amount of knowledge that the general population has
The ability of people to thrive in their daily lives
The quality of schooling
The ability to get high scores on a random IQ test
Etc.?
I'd say that people today are dumber about traditional knowledge topics (astronomy, mathematics, etc.), but damn, they can tell you all you ever wanted to know about Hollywood celebrities, TV shows, movies, etc.
The amount of knowledge that the general population has
The ability of people to thrive in their daily lives
The quality of schooling
The ability to get high scores on a random IQ test
Etc.?
I'd say that people today are dumber about traditional knowledge topics (astronomy, mathematics, etc.), but damn, they can tell you all you ever wanted to know about Hollywood celebrities, TV shows, movies, etc.
Younger generations are better with technology then older people. You have helped your grandma setup her VCR and your kid will help you setup you cellphone
But you have good point.
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