Are people getting less intelligent?

Question

Has human evolution ran into a brick wall? Or is it just that now with so many people breeding our gene pool as become more and more shallow? Without natural predators anymore to weed out the weak..... We as a global population seemed to have become more and more stupid.

The advent of modern medicene seems to have helped things along. With more and more people surviving that really should have died simply in the name of decency. That could be dragging us down.

Is it just simply that we don't need to think as much as we used too? With all this technology to think for us, are we evolving to the point where our brains might become smaller and less useful?

What is making us dumber?

Too all of you asking what intelligence is.

It's problem solving ability. To be able to use brain power in such a way to help you solve a given problem, or set of problems.

Also to understand and untilize information given to you. Or to be able to find the information you need to solve a problem.

Your attempts to be ironic fail....

Answer 1

when in the course of history it became necessary for survival, mankind evolved and adapted, because it was necessary for existence. men of genius or more often curiosity engaged in study, experimentation and observation.
current times see men living longer, but not smarter. the next great leap in humanity will occur after the next great plague or disaster, natural or man made. we see evidence of this after each hurricane or earthquake, people are lost, cannot survive a few days without modern conveniences. whole cities come to a standstill.
there are few people who have the need or desire to better themselves or help their brother. we are a world too consumed with our own pleasures, and petty differences.
we have become dependent on our technology and slaves to them.

Answer 2

yes, I empathise with you and I know exactly where you are coming from., I believe they are getting less intelligent, but it has nothing to with evolution. In fact there is a clandestine effort by very powerful people to reduce the intellect of children and people generally. This is done through the use of the education system , the media, and last but not least, the legal system. Did you know that the Rothschild family is the richest in the world ? Their estimated worth is 500 trillion dollars.. more than half the world's total wealth. They pretty much control the news around the world, and this includes TV stations, radio stations, books, magazines, newspapers galore... they own the Assiociated Press and Reuters. ! Now you're asking a lot of questions no doubt and shaking your head. However I have researched this for well nigh twenty years and I can tell you there's a great deal going on that you wont ever read in the newspapers or find in any form of general media. Why are people and especially children being made stupid ? It is to make them easy to control... These guys are dedicated to controlling the world and I can tell that they have selected the White race as their greatest enemy. The so-called "dark races" are being promoted over the White through immigration policies, movies, legal works, economics and jobs, etc., etc... Am I being "racist" ? In fact We are being brainwashed into believing such catch-phrases , including rascism, sexism, homophobia, and all the other such terms represent an evil way of thinking so that we wont even talk about them or express an opinion, see ? It is silence by peer pressure and fear basically, since they cant openly declare freedom of speech to be banned. You may not recognise this now, but sooner or later you will see what is going on. What you are told on the evening news or in the newspapers , etc., is very biased and conceals the real truth The media deals in half truths and innuendoes and outright lies. ... this real news is what you will never find in the media or the education system,.. Go to the internet and check this stuff out... the Bilderbergers; the Trilateral Commission; the Council on Foreign Relations; the Black pope; the Committee of 300; the Committee of 13; the Illuminati; the Federal Reserve (a private bank!); Skull and Bones; the '911' hoax ... you will find many more links... I welcome any comments from you at my icon email address.

Answer 3

If you observe studies related to intelligence, you will discover that intelligence has remained fairly constant, though formal studies do not go back all that far.

I think what you are noticing is the growth of laziness and greed among much of the world, simultaneously. Those two qualities running in tandem make for some very rude, sloppy people. There is also a growing desire to have immediate gratification in the areas of food, sex, education, entertainment, you name it, without actually taking the time to earn any of it. This makes it seem like people are getting dumber. Many people CHOOSE to be stupid, while they aren't actually stupid, which makes it all that much worse.

I agree that people SEEM to be much more stupid than ever. Have you ever looked over a middle-school English Literature text from the 1950's? I had a Lippencott 8th grade English book. I used to read it and work the problems at the end of the chapters. It was far more difficult than any of the work I had to do in any of the university level English classes I took. Nobody would dream of publishing something like that for students today.

Yes, people seem to be getting stupider and stupider, but it's not a genetic thing. It's turned into a fast-paced McDonald's kind of world where most people only care about themselves. They're all pampered pets. It's a laziness thing.

Answer 4

It seems to me the evolutionists have reached another gap in their theories. I think the problem isn't so much that people are getting less intelligent, rather than their arrogance about their technology makes them think they don't need to do as much for ourselves. Rather than think out a problem, it is easier to let a technological device do the work.
Modern medicine too has its limitations. And, doctors are not gods, and they MAKE mistakes. People who SHOULD not die through some illnesses do with human error, while others survive more serious illnesses.
Mankind is its own worst predator and will do a sufficient job at wiping out civilization.

Answer 5

Yes. along with technology comes less dependence on our own brain. ( don't have to think just do.) Many feared the future would cause humans to rely on machines in stead of doing things for ourselves, therefore causing the human race to become nothing more than cattle. ( This was a common theory in the sixties.) apparently it is coming true. For further research, check out the book 1984 by George Orwell. ( It was written in the sixties, and covers the fears of modern technology. )

Answer 6

The failing education system is making us dumber. Now, instead of teaching facts, the lesson plans are geared toward test taking skills. Sure, this means the test scores of today's students are getting better, but it also means they come away from 12 years of school having learned less.

Answer 7

Yes and no.

We're becoming a lot more intelligent as a whole, however we are becoming a lot lazier.

I think a lot of it has to do with people being selfish, and wanting to avoid putting effort into doing things. It makes them appear slow and unintelligent, when they actually just aren't trying.

Answer 8

I think alot of things are making us dumber so to speak. We get everything so easily now off the internet, so we dont' have to learn to search for information. We don't read as much because we have much more entertainment. I think it all boils down to us being lmore lethargic due to more technology.

Answer 9

Evolution has nothing to do with smarter or dumber.

Maybe being dumber has an evolutionary value we haven't noticed yet. Like, if dumb people have more kids, thats all it takes, natural selection favors them.

Nothing is bad or good to evolution! Ignorance is bliss anyway.

Answer 10

I believe that you have reached a paradox. If we were still barbaric enough to fight like animals in order to 'weed out the weak' then we would still need to evolve further. Maybe we are growing in other aspects other than physical strength. I don't think that we have gotten less intelligent, but we are putting our intelligence to more creative use.