Why our IQ levels are higher than our grandparents'
by frankiespeakin 20 Replies latest jw friends
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JeffT
Snarky answer: they dumbed down the test.
Serious answer: Measuring IQ is a slippery business, better education may account for better ability to take a test. I would not be surprised that better health care and nutrition are significant factors.
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tec
Agreed with Jeff (the serious answer).
Before I took an IQ test, i thought that these measured your potential... your capability... measuring what your mind is capable OF. Then, various factors (education, etc) might determine if you live up to your potential. But taking a test, I saw that I could study up on the areas that I know I am weak in (like geometry, which I strongly dislike, lol)... and improve the score. Also, that someone who might not be good in math may get a lower score, but that might just be because they did not have the education to help them; not because they lacked the capacity to understand/know.
Peace,
tammy
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Simon
Yes, it could be the real change is our definition of 'intelligence' and what we value.
There have been some clever, ingenious people throughout history. That shouldn't be confused with education.
Also, I've seen programs where current kids were given the curriculum from the 50 years ago and they could not keep up with the level of math and mental ability even though some things now are more advanced.
Generally, we're losing the ability to understand how things work deep down but gaining the ability to work things.
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jgnat
The talk is excellent. What we've gained is to think in the abstract - the hypotheticals. The speaker uses skill with a rifle as an example. A hundred years ago, a sharpshooter might be able to put in one bullseye in ten bullets. Now we put in a hundred a second. Did our skills grow exponentially, or did our equipment improve?
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JeffT
Generally, we're losing the ability to understand how things work deep down but gaining the ability to work things.
Case in point: I learned accounting just as desktop computers started becoming commonplace. Most of my training involved green columnar pads and a pocket calculator (itself quite an advance from earlier years). The computer was a tool I used to do to things, most of the actual work went on in my head. In the last few years of working I found more and more recent college graduates that did not really understand debits and credits and fine points of accounting and financial management. The attitude and knowledge was "the computer will do it." Mostly they got along, if the power went out they were lost. Ever watch a grocery store clerk try to count your change when the computer wasn't working?
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humbled
There was a discussion here recently ( couldn’t find it) on IQ.
This seemed relevant so ...here it is.
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MeanMrMustard
@humbled:
Here it is:
It started in some other thread and degraded into another claim of racism. This OPs video was referenced in here too, including an interview with the same man that was the topic of the above thread.
I actually spent a while looking into it, and it rubbed me the wrong way to hear racism brought into it. In the end, I found a video of Sam Harris on the same topic.
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jp1692
BBW, they’re going back down. The “Flynn Effect” is reversing, or normalizing, to the curve. Time to check your facts and update your data.
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waton
BBW, they’re going back down.
Yeah, intelligent ladies have fewer children, but they should, and the ones with the maximum brood are at the opposite end of the SAT test (if any). and then there are the screens, buttons stifling thought.