The two groups are drifting further and further. We will have 20% of the world's populace being brilliant and the rest...Kharloth said:
People know more trivial facts, however common sense and wisdom are at an all time low.
Are People Getting Smarter or Dumber?
- Thread starter Julianking93
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People know more trivial facts, however common sense and wisdom are at an all time low.
Actually, I would say that we are getting more stupid. Normally, with evolution, the dumbasses get killed off, but with our hospitals and medical care, they aren't dying because of their stupidity.
People have always been stupid.
"Insanity in individuals is something rare-
but in groups, parties, nations and epochs is the rule."
-Friedrich Nietzsche.
What we're looking at right now is merely a period of unprecedented, unrestricted, uncontrolled stupidity and most of it has to do with the fact that at the moment really anyone can say anything, and an addled masses are willing to sit in front of their computers and TVs at stare apathetically away while they do everything in their power to remind themselves that everything is alright.
"Insanity in individuals is something rare-
but in groups, parties, nations and epochs is the rule."
-Friedrich Nietzsche.
What we're looking at right now is merely a period of unprecedented, unrestricted, uncontrolled stupidity and most of it has to do with the fact that at the moment really anyone can say anything, and an addled masses are willing to sit in front of their computers and TVs at stare apathetically away while they do everything in their power to remind themselves that everything is alright.
Evolution is not a thing that favors improvement, but rather adaptation. People getting dumber is therefore not some form of "devolution" (for lack of actual words), it is just as much evolution as plants that gain protection against predators or animals that gain the ability to regrow teeth infinetely. Therefore, people getting dumber is not necessarily a reason for them to die out (unfortunately).
To get back to the actual topic; I definitely think people are getting dumber and dumber. I attribute this to a few causes;
-First of all our society. The most popular form is that of capitalism, where supply and demand determine the market. Capitalism favors the biggest group, because that is where the money is. Sure, they may not all have much of it, but if you can sell your products to two people instead of one (disregarding their financial state) that is the way to go. On the other hand, you also want to make a product that is easy to create and doesnt require countless hours of research just to get it to sell. In other words, you want people who are not picky and are big in number. Hence, your solution is to go for people who are not exactly all that intelligent. If you cover everything that is around average and below, you can get yourself easily up to 60-80% of all people as a potential target audience.
Unfortunately, this means that people of higher intelligence are ignored quite often, since they are as a group simply not that interesting. Hence, "entry media" (as I like to call it) are all that is being created, while the more complex outings are either ignored or not made at all. Games, I feel, are a prime example of this.
-Then we have our own nature. The problem is that everyone is still primitive at heart; we compete with each other and block out things that are alien to our environment. Quite curuiously, people with high intellect are actually considered aliens as well. Reasons can be; they work more effectively, they are faster, they ask a lot of questions. These are all things that have a good chance of incurring the anger (maybe even wrath) of your colleagues who feel threatened. In some occassions, you might even get the manager on your case as well, for the abovementioned reasons. Apparantly, in a Dutch study done last year, about 20% of people with high intellect cant find a good place to function thanks to the reasons above. Apparantly, a lot more of them are not able to employ themselves fully, most probably due to them adapting to their environment and "keeping quiet". I was not able to find a figure on that though.
In other words, our current society seems to shun people of higher intellect. They are not important as a target audience and (can) give threatening impressions on other areas. With everything working in favour of the people of average intellect (or lower), it is no wonder society seems to get dumber and dumber.
To get back to the actual topic; I definitely think people are getting dumber and dumber. I attribute this to a few causes;
-First of all our society. The most popular form is that of capitalism, where supply and demand determine the market. Capitalism favors the biggest group, because that is where the money is. Sure, they may not all have much of it, but if you can sell your products to two people instead of one (disregarding their financial state) that is the way to go. On the other hand, you also want to make a product that is easy to create and doesnt require countless hours of research just to get it to sell. In other words, you want people who are not picky and are big in number. Hence, your solution is to go for people who are not exactly all that intelligent. If you cover everything that is around average and below, you can get yourself easily up to 60-80% of all people as a potential target audience.
Unfortunately, this means that people of higher intelligence are ignored quite often, since they are as a group simply not that interesting. Hence, "entry media" (as I like to call it) are all that is being created, while the more complex outings are either ignored or not made at all. Games, I feel, are a prime example of this.
-Then we have our own nature. The problem is that everyone is still primitive at heart; we compete with each other and block out things that are alien to our environment. Quite curuiously, people with high intellect are actually considered aliens as well. Reasons can be; they work more effectively, they are faster, they ask a lot of questions. These are all things that have a good chance of incurring the anger (maybe even wrath) of your colleagues who feel threatened. In some occassions, you might even get the manager on your case as well, for the abovementioned reasons. Apparantly, in a Dutch study done last year, about 20% of people with high intellect cant find a good place to function thanks to the reasons above. Apparantly, a lot more of them are not able to employ themselves fully, most probably due to them adapting to their environment and "keeping quiet". I was not able to find a figure on that though.
In other words, our current society seems to shun people of higher intellect. They are not important as a target audience and (can) give threatening impressions on other areas. With everything working in favour of the people of average intellect (or lower), it is no wonder society seems to get dumber and dumber.
Well... it kinda seems like Idiocracy could turn out being relatively accurate. The dent between 'smart' people and 'dumb' people surely is increasing I'm afraid. There is still some kind of hope, everyone still have potential for something, hopefully they'll discover that something and become really useful for humanity. Under which category I fall? I don't know for sure anymore.. anyway.. there is hope, right?
Sadly, anything I could say has been said better by XKCD.
http://xkcd.com/603/
Today, individuals know much less of the total available knowledge, and the amount of knowledge to know is thousands of times greater. Any example of, "Intelligence" might seem depressingly low these days, until you realize how much lower it used to be. Your average redneck hick it actually, probably, a lot smarter then an ancient dirt farmer.
Also, as for the seperation between the very smart and the dumb? Well, thats because with the advance of science, it becomes physically possible to be much, much smarter. The lowest isn't any lower, the highest is just higher.
http://xkcd.com/603/
Today, individuals know much less of the total available knowledge, and the amount of knowledge to know is thousands of times greater. Any example of, "Intelligence" might seem depressingly low these days, until you realize how much lower it used to be. Your average redneck hick it actually, probably, a lot smarter then an ancient dirt farmer.
Also, as for the seperation between the very smart and the dumb? Well, thats because with the advance of science, it becomes physically possible to be much, much smarter. The lowest isn't any lower, the highest is just higher.
both. like someone near the top of the thread said, the dumb are getting dumber, and the smart are getting smarter.
f*cking wikipedia
f*cking wikipedia
on average, dumber, on media (word for statistical term for the middle distance between the minimum and the maximum?) smarter, i think there are more geniuses than there used to be.
One of my all time favorite quotes.acosn said:
Indeed people have always been stupid, but since almost everyone has access to the internet to spout their unfiltered thoughts of random dribble, it is much more apparent that there are stupid people.
In all actuality, there probably is no increase in the percentage of stupid people, there's just more of them along with more smart people.
If anything though, with the advancement in technology and the easy access to knowledge over the web, people are probably getting smarter, but then again, as stated before, that also just gives way to more people to stare blankly at a computer screen.
There is more information available now than ever before but in my opinion people on average are still getting dumber.
Sarah Palin will try her utmost best to prove you wrong.Demented Teddy said:
OT: I never seem to notice a good medium. The smart are very smart, and the dumb appear, to the smart, to be immensely dumb, and I suppose those at the happy medium get lumped into both groups, by both groups.
The smart are going to see anyone not quite as smart as them as irrevocably dumb, and will therefore classify anyone who might have strong levels of intelligence, but not on a par with theirs, as dumb. Vice versa when dumb people have to classify the medium.
Although I've yet to meet dumb people who would admit that they are stupid. I for instance might be a complete idiot, but I wouldn't say so (unless I was a Greek philosopher, but of course admitting stupidity appears to imply wisdom - not so I say, just an excellent level of humility). What I find funny are the people posting here in a way that makes them look like complete idiots, whilst the posts seem to entail they have the utmost in intelligence.
Ah, but then I love to notice the amusing side to most things. I watch debates for the gaffs, not the oratory.
Some people plateau their intelligence while others improve it. The more time passed the smarter some people gett but in their perspective everyone's getting dumber. We can plateau intellingence in this culture as there isn't any real need to get smarter. Overall we're smarter though.
Sorry I just love this video of Idiocracy's vision of a president.
Sorry I just love this video of Idiocracy's vision of a president.