are people gettting dumber ?? - read on and discuss?

Question

Evolution meant that as we competed with other animals and indeed other species of early humans there was an advantage to being smart.
In caveman days if u were stupid enough to walk off a cliff or play fetch with a sabre toothed tiger u would die thus weeding out the thick from the genepool.

These days you can do just about anything and some surgeon will put u back together - i say let the thickos die


discuss

Answer 1

Yes, I agree with you. Also those who purposefully inflict damage on themselves. E.g druggies - no one is forcing a needle in their arm, its their choice!! Also with (most) fat people - its your problem - nobody is forcing a fish supper down your fat throat, so why should the NHS have to pay for treatment for these 'waste-of-spaces'!! Also the scum that roam the streets, what use are they to our society??

Answer 2

How do you define smarter and dumber? We're going to just use the United States in this discussion, because that's where pretty much everyone on here is from.

In the good ol' US of A, the amount of adults that can read and write is at an all-time high. Every child is educated through at least a year or two of high school, it's the law. 35% of high school graduates go on to college. 15 years ago, only 28% went on. More people live and work in urban areas than rural, and more and more people go on to get masters degrees than every before. So in those ways, we are getting smarter.

But say all of the sudden, everyone had to grow their own crops again. People who are at least well-educated, but have lived in large cities their entire lives would starve. For example, I've lived in the city my whole life. The only farms I ever saw were on school fieldtrips to places like Plymouth Planation to show how people lived in the 16 and 1700's. I can read latin and tell you about Howard Zinn's social theories, explain different neurons of the brain and perform calculus, but I probably couldn't grow enough food to live on.

Hundreds of years ago, that would have mattered. But, people have evolved to using mental knowledge over physical knowledge of the earth and plants. Although the older knowledge is still respected because we can't live without it, humans are no longer required to know how to run a farm or slaughter a chicken.

So are we getting dumber? Well, on average, we know more now. But that doesn't mean we could have lived in the past. The people from back then who knew only farm life probably wouldn't last very long in our world. It's a trade off of knowledge. Is it better or worse than the past? Either way can be argued quite well, and in the end, it's inconclusive. I guess you just have to decide for yourself.

Answer 3

It's true in some way, that numans are currently opposing evolution; for example, the rise of agricultural practices over hunting. For the latter you had to be cunning, the former is repetitive work, allowing the less intelligent to make up for it with hard work. In fact, society, civilization itself is dangerous to evolution.

But, if we did away with all that there would be no morality; in other words the end of human beings. This is a moral philosophical argument I am using here.

Well, actually, morality is one of the signs of intelligence. It is the ability to put another above yourself, the ability to fight the primal urge to 'let the thickos die'.

As a matter of fact, if we did kill all the undesireables, I am afraid that you might not be here. Try to be sympathetic.

Answer 4

Getting dumber? No. I think we've evolved more intelligence. But I also think intelligence is formed after birth, not inborn with the DNA or anything (unless you have a gene defficient that makes the intelligence limited). However, I think because life has evolved into what it is now, with people having the option to go to other people to fix all their stupid problems (mental and physical), it gives them freedom to be as retarded as they want, and thus, a lot of people do seem stupid today. Back then, I'd say b/c of the lack of what we have today, people HAD to be smart if they basically wanted to live.

Answer 5

There is too much multitasking. People don't seem to know anything really well. Just enough to pass by. And I think because they are having to jump around a lot and do other things. People are more caught up in their own lives and don't see the big picture.

Answer 6

Some people get dumber and some get smarter. Look at all the a-holes suing McDonalds for crap like the coffee was too hot! That is dumb and ridiculous. But look at all the smart...technology, medical advances, humans can now perform miracles with science!

Answer 7

One dumb thing that comes to mind is lawyers and law keepers fighting for rapists and murderers to keep their 'human rights'. Are they still human? Yes humans make mistakes - but mistakes are not deliberate like those acts. No way should those people be treated like the rest of us.

Now that's off my chest, i think we're just waiting for everything to be done for us. Fewer people are willing to step up and put their abilities, egos, and god forbid their asses on the line to do something taht benefits the greater good. How many talents must be laid to waste by this kind of selfishness and laziness? Now there's a stupid thought.

Answer 8

i think people get dumber because they rely on luxury. They have no practice and experience, most our experiences are enjoyment and fun not the other end of the debate.

I would say it is different for what class you are, and that it is possible there could be a revolution of intellect, with poorer classes becoming much more intelligent, and richer classes mutually competing each other and thus getting know where.

Would it be fair to say that we are not get dumber we are just not using our brains as much.

Answer 9

Oh my God I have been saying that for years! And the signs on everything too, like on a pack of peanuts - may contain nuts! Also in my college they've made the windows so that you can't open them because too many idiots are falling out of windows! And these people are being allowed to breed! You are a genius I totally agree!

Answer 10

Ah Eugenics! Always a favourite of any budding fascist...
Actually people are getting dumber, viz this question; this answer and of course George W Bush!

Answer 11

Not necessarily, we are still evolving and getting smarter as a race, however many of us are simply relying on technology to make our lives easier and as a result we are becoming lazier.