Are human beings getting dumber ?

Question

I recently saw the movie idiocracy and it addressed a intresting cultural problem. Yeah I know, it was a crappy movie, but are we evolving into a species of idiots ? Intelectuals and proffesionals are having fewer and fewer children and the undereducated and underprivliged are passing their genes on at a normal rate. In a couple of hundred years will the average person be like a guest on the Jerry Springer show ?

Answer 1

I think human beings are getting dumber and less healthy, but not for the reasons you state. Once upon a time, if you were stupid enough to put a nail gun up to your head, or go fight a bear with your bare hands or whatever you would die. If you were born with defective genes and had a disease or were physically very impaired, you would die. With modern medicine they don't die anymore. There are a lot more defective genes being kept in the gene pool and the human race is suffering because of it.

I know, I know. It's horrible of me to say this. I don't want these people to die necessarily. I'm just saying that over time this is going to have an effect on the human race as a whole.

I also agree that humans are mostly under educated rather than stupid. With the technology today we aren't required to use our brains. We shouldn't have/need calculators to do simple addition and subtraction for example. If you don't use it you lose it. Look at Paris Hilton. She's never had to think a day in her life because of money and technology. Thank god everyone isn't like her.

Answer 2

It's easy to assume that is true. I've felt the same before. But, I think that there has always probably been a constant balance of deep thinkers to people who are less intellectual. There's is always that conscious group of people that innovate and ask why (like you're doing now)? Back before mass media, these great thinkers were the only ones you heard from in the form of literature etc. Now shift to modern times, and these days, mainly because of mass media, all we tend to see is the reflection or representation of the masses. Reality tv for example, or commercialized music. As far as things like typing. Well, consider that in past generations(before the internet) a person that was able to have a public voice had to be well educated and their thoughts would be in the form of scholarly writing. Now days, a kid can get on the net and type anything. However, I do think the misuse and dependence of technology is creating an intellectual/emotional disconnect between people and what is real in life. However, I'm not saying that technology is all bad. I read an interesting article that stated that the weight of the human brain has decreased over time; however, this could be due to better wiring, which makes up for the decrease in mass. Basically, to answer your questions, I don't think any of them are necessarily true, but you could argue it though haha just turn on the tv.

Answer 3

The species as a whole is not getting dumber, but those unlucky enough to get a public education in the US sure are! The politcal correctness, teachers unions, US govt, ect..are leading to a generation of Americans that will be ill prepared to compete in the global job markets. If you think I am kidding, go online and pull up some test questions in math, science, history, and social studies from 100 or even 50 years ago. I recently saw an 8th grade exam from the 1870's that i would be willing to bet 75-80% of today's high school seniors would fail. We don't have failing students, we have a failing education system.

Answer 4

I don't see any evidence, yet, that human beings are getting dumber, but there does seem to be a lot of evidence that people don't use the intelligence they have. Your point about professionals having fewer children is an interesting one, but the fact is that intelligence does not necessarily correlate with education. There are a lot of dumb intellectuals out there writing really bad books, and an awful lot of really smart garbage men who can't get their foot in the door to escape their situation. Social and cultural circumstances play a major role in this, moreso than just intelligence. In the overall scheme of things, however, you could be right. It will take at least several generations to be certain.

Answer 5

Undereducation isn't genetic. These people do not have undereducated babies. At least, their babies aren't any less educated than the average baby.

What you describe appears to be a form of natural selection only if you ignore the role of environment in human development. It also ignores the wide, wide range of people of average intelligence and talent, who are probably having more children than the smart and the dumb combined. So I don't think people are getting dumber. I think much of our entertainment is extraordinarily dumb, but that's another issue.

Answer 6

We rely more on technology to help us with our work and our daily lives, but this does not make us dumber. Think about how much more we know about the world and the universe than we did 100 years ago. The same will be true in another 100 years.

Answer 7

Heck jimmy, I sense you already know the obvious answer to your question. Because all the various media flood us non-stop with physical/financial, mental/emotional, and spiritual/philosophical JUNK-FOOD, does not mean OPPOSITE streams don't exist simultaneously. For example, check out, www.Share-International.org. I've been planning to write a book for a long time now entitled, "FROM PONY-EXPRESS TO E-MAIL" as proof that humanity is moving forward and upward, I mean like rapidly.

Answer 8

Huh? too many big words in that there question -- just sorta kinda skimmed over it -- oh Jerry Springer -- that there is good TV watching -- for sure -- what was the question now?

Answer 9

I don't think humans are getting dumber. Just lazier. Which will ulitimately lead to their undoing.

Answer 10

Intellectuals were always well-known to be homos. Plato, for instance.