The intelligence of the human race

[TheRookie8]

I think the younger generations are becoming stupider because their influenced by many things like poorly written TV shows and commercialism. So they will grow up, they'll breed a generation of half wits and the cycle will continue.

I cannot resist (do not take offense)...

..."stupider" is not a word. The word is "dumber".

My God, it's spreading!

 

[Hinro]

I have my own theory of what is happening. I've worked at a movie theatre for the last 4 years and I've run into a lot of people that either do something stupid or ask a stupid question (The most prevalent, but not by far the worst, being where the woman's washroom is. Doesn't sound like a stupid question except that my podium is right at the entrance to the washroom and there's a big orange sign that says ladies right beside me so, if they can see me, why can't they see the sign?). My theory is that when people enter into a building that everything gets handed to them (like a movie theatre or other amusement places), and they don't have to do any work, that part of their brains shut down as it's not needed causing them to be more likely to do or say something stupid.

Unfortunately I only have two cities in Canada to go by and, therefore, my analysis is limited to those two cities rather close to each other. If I could go to other cities in other provinces or even countries, I would love to broaden my research area and compare notes on the different theatres and see if it's more likely to happen in certain environments or if it's a universal phenomenon.

 

[Quazimofo]

Wait, people still bowl? Or just nerds?

I'm pretty sure most metrics have measured the average intelligence to be increasing, though IQ testing has always been contentious.

hey, i still like to bowl sometimes... i sure as hell don't take it seriously but it is fun with a group of friends. that could make some people pause, they may not know if they wanted to play more than a game or two, and whether or not 3 hours would be enough or too much, so they could save a few pennies. i doubt it would take 10 mins to decide, so they were a bit stupid yes, but just keep in mind some deals do not work for everyone, and some people are indecisive as hell.

 

[MaltaElvoret]

Can we take the warning labels off of everything? and I do mean EVERYTHING. Get some good old Darwinism back in the system. Only the strong survive, everyone else only does it once.

 

[MaltaElvoret]

At work today, I had a large group of people walk through the door. They asked me what the best deal we had was and I told them. They then asked for what the regular price was, which I told them. So you have some context, I work at a bowling center. The special was 3 hours for $15, regular was $5 per game and $4 for shoes. The group had to stop and think about it. They literally had to stop for at least 10 minutes to figure out what was the better deal. I wouldn't mind so much if they had moved out of the way, but no. Instead they stood there like cows blocking the road for others.

Is it just me, or is the intelligence of the human race slowly declining? Maybe its just an American thing, but this is happening on a daily basis. Thank you for letting me rant. I would also like to hear some other experiences like this.

If you want to give me some context, tell me how long one game goes.

OT: Nope, it isnt. But the population of people who think they are oh so vastly superior to the rest of the human race on these forums is rapidly rising.

Jesus, you people annoy me.

Has anyone ever wondered why people who complain about the stupidity of other typically work in shitty, low paying jobs? You would think there fancy IQ would have them somewhere nearer to the top...

An average game for one person can take as few as five minuets. Also, the fact that people with low paying jobs has little to do with the IQ of the person making the observation. After all, I work in a low paying job because I was going to school and needed to pay for it.

Also I love the people who break rules and then get mad at the employees who try to tell them not to break the rules again with an angry tone in their voice. After all, the employee is upset that they had to go talk to the customer like a five year old who can't read the sign with the rules.

 

[Zero_ctrl]

There was a Cracked article about this a little while back: (Remember, they are a satire site so take everything with a grain of salt)
5 Complaints About Modern Life (That Are Statistically B.S.) [http://www.cracked.com/article_18983_5-complaints-about-modern-life-that-are-statistically-b.s..html]

 

[Dags90]

hey, i still like to bowl sometimes... i sure as hell don't take it seriously but it is fun with a group of friends.

I think the best defense I've heard of bowling is that its something you can do that can involves alcohol and minors without getting you arrested. So I could tag along with my older sister and her friends going out to get something to drink, as long as they paid extra for a bowling lane.

 

[Tdc2182]

Wait, people still bowl? Or just nerds?

Hey! I bowl!

Although I guess I am a nerd...

OT: You know, go outside and take a look around. We've defied gravity, built mountain sized buildings and managed to keep Snooki alive for the past year and a half.

I think the human race is doing pretty damn well for itself all things considered.

 

[MaltaElvoret]

At work today, I had a large group of people walk through the door. They asked me what the best deal we had was and I told them. They then asked for what the regular price was, which I told them. So you have some context, I work at a bowling center. The special was 3 hours for $15, regular was $5 per game and $4 for shoes. The group had to stop and think about it. They literally had to stop for at least 10 minutes to figure out what was the better deal. I wouldn't mind so much if they had moved out of the way, but no. Instead they stood there like cows blocking the road for others.

Is it just me, or is the intelligence of the human race slowly declining? Maybe its just an American thing, but this is happening on a daily basis. Thank you for letting me rant. I would also like to hear some other experiences like this.

If you want to give me some context, tell me how long one game goes.

OT: Nope, it isnt. But the population of people who think they are oh so vastly superior to the rest of the human race on these forums is rapidly rising.

Jesus, you people annoy me.

Has anyone ever wondered why people who complain about the stupidity of other typically work in shitty, low paying jobs? You would think there fancy IQ would have them somewhere nearer to the top...

An average game for one person can take as few as five minuets. Also, the fact that people with low paying jobs has little to do with the IQ of the person making the observation. After all, I work in a low paying job because I was going to school and needed to pay for it.

Also I love the people who break rules and then get mad at the employees who try to tell them not to break the rules again with an angry tone in their voice. After all, the employee is upset that they had to go talk to the customer like a five year old who can't read the sign with the rules.

Still, was it really necessary to make the 500th "Lets all talk about how stupid other people are in order to feel better about ourselves" thread today?

This forum has so much potential and people like you, along with what I call the "Ignoring the value of human life makes me look cool" crowd, are ruining the whole thing.

Wow I hadn't fully realized that my topic (along with the other 499) was ruining a site with a few thousand topics. Also, I don't do this so I look cool. I did this so I could vent and get opinions from other members of this society.

In retrospect I should have just made an angry Facebook post and called it a day, but I stand by my decision to post it here. I already know what all my FB friends are going to say.

 

[JezebelinHell]

Maybe it is because you work at a bowling alley? I worked at a bowling alley as a bartender. They don't get more intelligent with alcohol but they do tip pretty well. I could pull in $120 in tips alone in 6 hours of slinging booze. Be glad no one threw an ash tray at you when you cut them off at the end of the 3 hours because they "bowled" too much.

I seriously doubt that most people know how long an average game for them and friends will take. If you have 6 or so people and they are drinking or goofing around, 3 hours could be just one game. It isn't like they are focused drunk league bowlers. I get more worried when people are clueless about things they are familiar with.

 

[loc978]

Meh, technical education is just being overlooked. Those people who have trouble accounting for hourly rates versus per game rates at a bowling alley could probably tell you all about stats in their favorite sport or the exploits of their favorite rich person.
It's not "intelligence" on the decline, it's priorities in intellectual growth.

 

[Atheist.]

At work today, I had a large group of people walk through the door. They asked me what the best deal we had was and I told them. They then asked for what the regular price was, which I told them. So you have some context, I work at a bowling center. The special was 3 hours for $15, regular was $5 per game and $4 for shoes. The group had to stop and think about it. They literally had to stop for at least 10 minutes to figure out what was the better deal. I wouldn't mind so much if they had moved out of the way, but no. Instead they stood there like cows blocking the road for others.

Is it just me, or is the intelligence of the human race slowly declining? Maybe its just an American thing, but this is happening on a daily basis. Thank you for letting me rant. I would also like to hear some other experiences like this.

I work at a bowling alley, too. The customers we get are either league bowlers who know exactly what's going on, or completely fucking retarded. It's hard to find an in-between.

The completely retarded people annoy me to no end. I seriously wish they'd stop coming. Especially when they try to complain, thinking that one game = everyone in their party. How could we possibly make enough money that way? 10 people playing a single game takes around 1.75 hours. Why would we charge the same as one person only taking 10 minutes for a game?

 

[MaltaElvoret]

Maybe it is because you work at a bowling alley? I worked at a bowling alley as a bartender. They don't get more intelligent with alcohol but they do tip pretty well. I could pull in $120 in tips alone in 6 hours of slinging booze. Be glad no one threw an ash tray at you when you cut them off at the end of the 3 hours because they "bowled" too much

No they threw a pair of shoes at me.

Yeah, and be honest about it, you already knew what people on this site were going to say too. 10 people saying "Yeah, people are kinda getting dumber... Let me explain why I am better than anybody else", 10 people saying "Well, statically we are getting more intelligent" and 5 people telling you how annoying these topics are.

Fucking go and search for the words "intelligence, human, race" and tell me how many fucking topics like this pop up. I counted over 10 on the first fucking page of results. Hey, mods? Can we get a sticky? This thread perhaps? Change the title too "Discuss how stupid other people are compared to you here"?

I have no argument towards that, and am in fact in full agreement.

I work at a bowling alley, too. The customers we get are either league bowlers who know exactly what's going on, or completely fucking retarded. It's hard to find an in-between.

The completely retarded people annoy me to no end. I seriously wish they'd stop coming. Especially when they try to complain, thinking that one game = everyone in their party. How could we possibly make enough money that way? 10 people playing a single game takes around 1.75 hours. Why would we charge the same as one person only taking 10 minutes for a game?

It seems I'm not alone in my struggles.

 

[Nickompoop]

Here's my theory: people as a group are ridiculously stupid, no doubt about it. People as individuals, on average, are smart. For some reason, people lose a good 20-30 IQ points when they group together.

 

[Andothul]

Quite honestly this is a rediculous question.
Anyone who has any sense of history knows the humans are smarter now than t
hey ever have been before and will continue to get smarter as technology and society moves forward.

Humans brains have actually gotten smaller since our early ancestors but
that doesn't mean dumber.

For example a crow is about 10 times smarter than a cow but a cow has a brain ten times larger.
Its all about circuitry.

I think the question you want to ask is have Humans become complacent or too domesticated?