Are People Getting Smarter or Dumber?
- Thread starter Julianking93
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Hard to say in truth. On the one hand, you've got masses of drooling council-bred morons that like nothing more than to drink cheap beer and watch the latest episode of 'World's Shiniest Objects' (and having been brought up on an estate, I know what I'm on about), but then on the other hand you've got a small group of people doing absolutely eye-bleedingly amazing stuff like colliding sub-atomic particles, or working out where all the dark matter went (even though its a billions of years old mystery- where do you even start with that? I'm no thicky, but I wouldnt have a clue where to start).
I think humanity has reached a point where you have a big mass of stupid breeders who will inevitably, via the genetic lottery, sire a small group of really smart people. The smart people are often too busy making big chunks of metal fly through the air at the speed of sound, or curing cancer and so forth to have many sprogs of their own, but that doesn't matter, because locked away in the rutting thickies is the code for the next generation of clever bods.
I think humanity has reached a point where you have a big mass of stupid breeders who will inevitably, via the genetic lottery, sire a small group of really smart people. The smart people are often too busy making big chunks of metal fly through the air at the speed of sound, or curing cancer and so forth to have many sprogs of their own, but that doesn't matter, because locked away in the rutting thickies is the code for the next generation of clever bods.
The general public has not usually been educated. It was as late as 1880 that education became compulsory in Britain, and it was 1918 in America before all states made school mandatory.
Even then, it was pretty basic stuff.
So no, we've become smarter, but a lot of us choose to do nothing with this new-found intellegence, which is still better than the complete lack of education in the masses beforehand
If you're talking about our natural threshold for being smart, however, then that's completley unchanged. All people are smart, but the mob has the IQ of something you'd scrape off your shoe
Even then, it was pretty basic stuff.
So no, we've become smarter, but a lot of us choose to do nothing with this new-found intellegence, which is still better than the complete lack of education in the masses beforehand
If you're talking about our natural threshold for being smart, however, then that's completley unchanged. All people are smart, but the mob has the IQ of something you'd scrape off your shoe
HG wells had it right. The smart are getting smarter and the dumb are getting dumber.
Eventually I strongly believe we'll have the "Morlocks" and "Eloi" - even if we dont shove the "Morlocks" underground I do think there's a rift between the smart / dumb, and the dumb are breeding with the dumb, and smart with the smart
Eventually I strongly believe we'll have the "Morlocks" and "Eloi" - even if we dont shove the "Morlocks" underground I do think there's a rift between the smart / dumb, and the dumb are breeding with the dumb, and smart with the smart
Idiocracy is a satire, folks. Much like Brave New World, you aren't supposed to take the premise seriously-its an extreme example to highlight a point.Gilbert Munch said:
There again, Satire was rendered pretty much defunct by that ICP song 'miracles', so I can see why it'd go unappreciated. If you haven't heard that hilarious pile of drivel by the way, its well worth it, and is pretty pertinent to this discussion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7WXoMp8Ews
Thats because the link isn't really genetic but is more to do with the social environment and upbringing.Dags90 said:
The children of intelegent people are more likely to be introduced to material that is mentally stimulating than the children of people who arn't as intelegent, there are exceptions but this is true for the most part.
As an example, I wouldn't have learned to play chess if it wasn't for the fact my uncle is an enthusiast. Or that people who are over-weight are more likely to have children who are over-weight because the dietry mistakes they make will be repeated by their children because its what was "normal" when they grew up.
Like I said before "there are exceptions" but in general its true.
I think people are getting both smarter and dumber, it's kind of a half and half situation. There are more people who know how to operate a complex device, while there are others who spend their life on welfare just trying to live day by day on it. In then end, I could see humans divide into subspecies, with the smartest people creating our next Evolutionary child.
I think that people feel they are smarter. But the way in wich we value education has changed greatly.
People know far less about the world and the way it works, and have little respect for knowledge nowadays.
But if you can find a way to get your computer to download a torrent your a fucking genius.
Who gives a fuck that you think ASIA is a country and Vietnam is a state in china that the USA won an awesome War against with the help of those friendly Germans and China.
People know far less about the world and the way it works, and have little respect for knowledge nowadays.
But if you can find a way to get your computer to download a torrent your a fucking genius.
Who gives a fuck that you think ASIA is a country and Vietnam is a state in china that the USA won an awesome War against with the help of those friendly Germans and China.
It's interesting. People are becoming more and more reliant on other people's efforts, but they aren't necessarily becoming less capable of intelligent action or thought. They just require less knowledge of the things they use and rely on.
/threadmarter said:
Especially around here, you could paste a big "LIMITED EDITION" sticker on the foreheads of smart people. God how few there are og those around here.
They're both, at the same time.
People's aptitude for learning has only increased in modern times due to the widespread availability of information. At the same time, what comes with the widespread availability of information is the widespread availability of misinformation.
Have you ever been sure of something that you later found out to not be true? That makes you stupid. The trick is to not be stupid when it counts.
People's aptitude for learning has only increased in modern times due to the widespread availability of information. At the same time, what comes with the widespread availability of information is the widespread availability of misinformation.
Have you ever been sure of something that you later found out to not be true? That makes you stupid. The trick is to not be stupid when it counts.
Ahahah, you sir, summed up my views. I blame the worsening schools (My little brother comes home and tells how people in his class mispronounces English words because the teacher did as well! And for the record, we're Norwegian) and the fact you mentioned, smarter people have few to no kids (Come on people, we're too many humans already!) and the stupid ones think it's taboo to not have any! >: (marter said: