Could Technology be Causing a drop in average intelligence?

[TakenItSeriously]

I've been noticing that the people seem to be much less reasonable in their thinking these days, as compared to periods like 10-20 years in the past. I also happened to come accross a couple of articles about studies and/or standard tests that appear to agree.

 

The only hypothesis I saw given in the articles was that it has been suggested by a few that weve reached our evolutionary peak which is about as random a reason for an excuse some concern as I can think.

 

Other examples that would seem like clear indicators to me are the divergence of peopleles opinions most evident in politics, but also across all sectirs it seems.

 

Theres even a trend to elect dumber politicians who have replaced intelectuals and weve lost the ability to compromise for the greater good and we would rather sacrifice the greater good just to hurt the other party.

 

I've always been a moderate so about as close to neutral as you could be I imagine with no party affiliation and hadn't followed politics as closely as I ahould have, but these days being a moderate seems to mean that everyones both sides are taking stupid positions about half the time based only on party lines and I can't even begin to discern which is the lesser of two evils

 

I dont want this to be a political discussion but its just the most striking evidence and the greatest cause for concern. How can a government survive when the shift is towards extremism. That's a recipe for eventual collapse which should cause everyone to worry if they aren't already too worried about their own governments..

 

Everything that was unthinkable 20 years ago seems to be the standard today.

 

Has anyone done any research that looks at automation, expert systems, or AI trends to be a cause.

 

As an interested observer, I would speculate that technology could be the best candidate. since the effect seems to be world wide. Perhaps it has become too easy where we don't need to think nearly as much as we used to and just like the body, if you don't use it you loose it.

 

It's recently been accepted that intelligence can vary over time, I haven't read much about the details.

 

But for the body we understand that and at least make some effort to compensate through excercise. But I'm sure that most are still under the impression that intelligence is static. Even knowing differently probably hasn't motivated many to do anything about it.

Edited March 12, 2017 by TakenItSeriously

[fiveworlds]

Theres even a trend to elect dumber politicians who have replaced intelectuals and now weve lost the ability to compromise for the greater good and we would rather sacrifice the greater good just to hurt the other party.

 

 

Complacency ww2 is over.

 

I've been noticing that the people seem to be much less reasonable in their thinking, as compared to periods like 10-20 years in the past and I've also noticed a couple of articles about studies and standard tests that appear to agree.

 

 

Or maybe you just didn't hear about it 20 years ago with the lack of social media. As I see it everbody says stupid stuff. Now everybody knows when you say stupid stuff. Standard tests? Yep I haven't had to count anything in my head in years computers do that.

Edited March 12, 2017 by fiveworlds

[Strange]

Looks like you are wrong:

 

 

The Flynn effect is the substantial and long-sustained increase in both fluid and crystallized intelligence test scores measured in many parts of the world from roughly 1930 to the present day.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flynn_effect

 

So, before looking for the cause of an effect, it is always worth checking if the effect exists.

Edited March 12, 2017 by Strange

[Moontanman]

I think he may have a point, I look forward to his defense of his speculation. I think you need to go back quite a bit further than 20 years ago to see the effect. Our ancestors often had to be a jack of all trades, one individual had to at least gain moderate control over multiple skills. Now we often specialize to the point that someone with a specific talent may in fact be almost helpless in other areas of needed skills. I would like to see some data from as far back as possible.

[Sensei]

Argument for your thesis:

- social media consuming people's time, on stupid things, like constant making selfies every couple minutes and commenting "friends" photos.. etc. etc.

 

Argument against your thesis:

- easy access to knowledge, now people don't have to have paper encyclopedia, everybody can search net/wikipedia, for information that they need.

It is/could be the most important for 3rd world country people.

[iNow]

Of course our surroundings and available resources influence the way we think and what we think about. Technology is no different. We "outsource" mental processing at every chance and both memory and problem solving capability is shifting.

 

On net, we are exercising the muscles used to search for answers much more than the muscles used to reason through them. Whether or not that makes us more or less "intelligent" is another conversation though, and depends largely on how we define intelligence.

[Velocity_Boy]

Probably the middle aged adults and the elderly as well of every generation since Socrates has opined that the younger folks of their times were intellectually challenged. As well as lazy, disrespectful, and ungrateful. This is all about as rare as oxygen molecules.

 

And I disagree with your opinion anyway, about today's younger set. I am in my late 30s and am around 20-somethings quite a bit, since I have recently returned to college. I find most of them smart and resourceful and wiley. And often respectful of their elders.

 

Besides.....Define intelligence? There are two types, you know. At least according to the psych folks. Fluid and crystallized. Imho, fluid is more important. And I find no real dearth of it among the younger.

[CharonY]

Regarding extremism, go back further than 20 years and you will see extremism at a much more massive scale than we see today. Thus, it appears to be unconnected the technological developments in the last 20 years.

 

Misconceptions regarding intelligence have also been mentioned. One of the things I have notice is that the constant and ubiquitous availability of information seems to result in two major effects. The first is shorter attention span and patience regarding assimilating larger chunks of information over a longer stretch of time. This results in an expectation of instant-answers. Connected to that, there seems to be a data-search paralysis. It used to be the case that you scour the library until you find a source that is a) well researched and b) presented in a form that you actually understand. Now you have so many sources that paradoxically people (students) seem to be less inclined to look more than one source and stop at the first random source that kinda sounds like what they think may be connected to a topic.

 

This does not appear to be any way related to intelligence, but rather that we are not doing a good job in teaching kids how to use the modern information pathway. For the most part, I suspect, because he have no idea, either.

[StringJunky]

Regarding extremism, go back further than 20 years and you will see extremism at a much more massive scale than we see today. Thus, it appears to be unconnected the technological developments in the last 20 years.

 

Misconceptions regarding intelligence have also been mentioned. One of the things I have notice is that the constant and ubiquitous availability of information seems to result in two major effects. The first is shorter attention span and patience regarding assimilating larger chunks of information over a longer stretch of time. This results in an expectation of instant-answers. Connected to that, there seems to be a data-search paralysis. It used to be the case that you scour the library until you find a source that is a) well researched and b) presented in a form that you actually understand. Now you have so many sources that paradoxically people (students) seem to be less inclined to look more than one source and stop at the first random source that kinda sounds like what they think may be connected to a topic.

 

This does not appear to be any way related to intelligence, but rather that we are not doing a good job in teaching kids how to use the modern information pathway. For the most part, I suspect, because he have no idea, either.

The first Google page.

 

 

Of course our surroundings and available resources influence the way we think and what we think about. Technology is no different. We "outsource" mental processing at every chance and both memory and problem solving capability is shifting.

 

On net, we are exercising the muscles used to search for answers much more than the muscles used to reason through them. Whether or not that makes us more or less "intelligent" is another conversation though, and depends largely on how we define intelligence.

Outsourcing mental processing might be at the cost of reducing neuroplasticity over time due to it requiring less effort to find information and not retaining it, or needing to, internally so much due to its easy accessibility from external.sources; instead of racking your brain just ask Google. I'm going on the use-it-or-lose-it idea.

[TakenItSeriously]

This was qauestion about an observation of a sudden behavior shift that that I thought might be explained by an IQ shift and wanted to know if there was any research to support or deny it.

 

Most but not all of the replies seem to have each, individually imagined something completely different and each started to attack based on IDK what and I dont want to know.

 

So Ill just let it drop here and leave this awkward mess alone, but you shouldn't read anything into that.

Edit to add that i missed the last few posts befor this one which included an analysis that seemed spot on.

Edited March 13, 2017 by TakenItSeriously

[Velocity_Boy]

Complacency ww2 is over.

 

 

 

 

 

Or maybe you just didn't hear about it 20 years ago with the lack of social media. As I see it everbody says stupid stuff. Now everybody knows when you say stupid stuff. Standard tests? Yep I haven't had to count anything in my head in yearts computers do that.

Uhh, if I were you I might've left that last bit out. The OP is gonna take it as a confirmation of his original point! LOL

[metacogitans]

Reading skills have never been better than they are right now. Everyone owning handheld devices with internet access which they are reading on primarily while using is the main reason I can think of for that.

People are very educated on topics which used to otherwise be somewhat privileged information back before an internet age.

 

To be honest, the decades when television had complete grip over the lives of everyone was when humanity was at its dumbest.

 

As for when we were smartest, the first half of the 20th century is when problem solving skills were strongest, especially for westerners and Europeans; the knowledge and education people had then was also more applicable in the real world, especially when it comes to understanding machinery and physics; most significant inventions came from that time period.

[Velocity_Boy]

Reading skills have never been better than they are right now. Everyone owning handheld devices with internet access which they are reading on primarily while using is the main reason I can think of for that.

People are very educated on topics which used to otherwise be somewhat privileged information back before an internet age.

 

To be honest, the decades when television had complete grip over the lives of everyone was when humanity was at its dumbest.

 

As for when we were smartest, the first half of the 20th century is when problem solving skills were strongest, especially for westerners and Europeans; the knowledge and education people had then was also more applicable in the real world, especially when it comes to understanding machinery and physics; most significant inventions came from that time period.

 

 

Great post; excellent points. And I am in total agreement with all of it.

 

Studies have shown (LOL..love that phrase) that young adults, with their seemingly slavish devotion to handhled devices and social media, are actually reading on average MORE words per day than was somebody of their same demographic some three deacdes ago. Or even two decades ago.

 

IQ tests in "fluid intellgence" also show they are just as "smart" if not "smarter" than any previous generation. Your mention of problem solving skills being strongest at the first half of the 20th century could be debatable. Many people don't realize that using electronic devices and media and even figuring how to send and read short, terse, tech-speak laden messages as in texting also requires problem solving skills. That said, I'm not going to debate are deny your claim. I have no reaosn to, and also no information or knolwedge on the p.s. skills of folks from 1900-1950 or so. But I will opine that I believe most oyung poeple today, if plunged into a situation where they had to solve any of thoe typical problems from back then, would do just fine.

 

I hope we can put this groundless and oft-disproved opinion from the OP to rest now. From what I have seen the thread author has yet to provide even a singe fact or even compelling idea as to why he thinks today's younger people are left wanting intelledtually and morally. it is simply personal opinion. And we know what that is worth insofar as the scientific method is conerned, right?