I wonder if you could analyze internet discussions for an effect.

  • Llewellyn@lemm.ee
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    15 hours ago

    Intelligence is a factor of many things, and most of those factors are not genetic.

    You are very vague…

    • echolalia@lemmy.ml
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      10 hours ago

      Im not going to write some big long podt, just two things:

      1. people, on average, are not getting dumber. Anything you noticed observationally about dumb people having more children does not seem to have any effect on the world. Human nutrition has improved vastly over the past 100 years, as has education, etc.

      2. IQ increases every year. I don’t think this is evidence people are getting smarter because I think IQ is a poor measure of intelligence. I’m pointing this out to you because your statement about “IQ drifting toward the bottom’” is factually untrue.

        • echolalia@lemmy.ml
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          7 hours ago

          Sorry, I thought this was in another thread that was actually talking about IQ. I’ve clicked through too many articles.

          This article doesn’t mention IQ at all, even though your response does. IQ isn’t an absolute quantitative measure for intelligence even though many people conflate them - this is probably why the article doesn’t mention it.

          I’d dig into the Financial Times article that this Neoscope article is about but it’s pay-walled. The neoscope article makes some case for intelligence declining (I don’t have time to read those citations right now), but I’d point out this doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with less intelligent parents having children. It could be evidence that the material conditions for us ordinary citizens is declining as a whole (I think we would both agree on that point). Cost of living is up, people are working longer. Long COVID probably has something to do with it, and stress.