Are we getting dumber?

Question

Seems the less inteligent people are having many more kids than the smarter ones are. Seems the more intelligent wait for the right time to have kids, where as the not so smart pop them out like rabbits. Also, since we don't really have any natural predators, evolution seems to favor the dumb ones that reproduce like no tomorrow, there is nothing to clean up the gene pool like a natural predator. So, what do you think, are we getting dumber as a whole? Have we reached our peak in knowledge?

Answer 1

I have said it before, and say it now, and will say it tomorrow, we are the dumbest, stupidist beings on this planet. And having children the way most people are having them is just another proof that we are so dumb. And yes, the dumber someone is the more children they have.
I was watching this program on the Discovery channel and they were talking about some kind of gazelle and they were saying how the pregnant females delay the development of their fetuses when the circumstances are not right -like lack of water or food- So I was thinking, while animals know when to stop having offsprings, we, the "intelligent race" keep multiplying like rats despite all the f**ed up conditions that we are living in, and the thing that pisses me off even more, is that these idiots know exactly what mess and misery they're getting their poor children into, but do they stop for a second and think about it ? No. Again, typical human stupidity.

Answer 2

I may be dumb, but, I not Stupid. :-D
I look at the two words used like this. A person may be dumb in an area they are not interested. Say Algebra. They see no need for Algebra and never learn. To be Stupid, a person just can not learn. I have never met a person that is stupid. Everyone is capable of learning something. I do see today many are dumb. We go to College and get a Degree, so, we not stupid, but, we focus on just enough to get a job. Many years ago, people knew how to do other things besides their job. Today we choose to be dumb in those areas and hire a person that have a degree to fix what we are dumb in. A good example is a dog. Many not know how to give a dog a worm pill and think that only the Vet knows. My Vet showed me how when I was 8 years old, very simple and it not take a degree. He told me, he learned the same way he showed me from his dad!
So, we are becoming dumber as we no longer learn to do things or just not want to know. I know Heart Doctors that can not change the oil in their car. They are dumb in that area, but, not stupid, they could learn. Maybe they choose not to learn as it a dirty job they rather pay someone else to do.
Now, to explain the unplanned family, from my point of view. We not know a whole lot anymore other than a job and we bored. Bored people have sex. Study some of the History of City Blackouts etc. The TV not work, Birth Rates go up. Sex seems to be good entertainment when the Electric is Out. There is no longer an imagination to light a Candle and tell stories or play a game. OR just talk! Those things are boring and sex is fun. Can always sleep afterwards. :-)

Answer 3

Poorer people have more kids than richer people. But that doesn't necessarily mean they are dumber. There is a lot of genetic diversity in humans, so if a poor person has lots of children, there is agreater chance they will give birth to a very smart person. While a rich couple can have one kid and by luck of the draw have a dumb one who leaches off of their parents money. I have seen it written that the natives of New Guinea are genetically the most intelligent in the world since their ancestors had to thrive in a place with some of the least natural resources in the world. They had to be smart to survive there. They are still poor and have lots of children because they are so resource-deprived.

I also think you are confusing knowledge (which always increases) and average intelligence (which may or may not change over time).

My thoughts on an interesting question.

Answer 4

Probably you're correct. Likely the gene pool's changing in a lot of subtle ways as a result of the chaotic 20th Century.

Nations sent their most courageous, best and brightest out to get themselves killed throughout the 20th Century, at an average age that preceded reproduction.

Changes in the Japanese national 'personality' can probably be explained in this way, along with German, former USSR, US, even French.

Meanwhile, the percentage of the Chinese population dying in those wars and genocides was far smaller. Hence, observe which population is rising to the top, and which are sinking.

Answer 5

I think having children is a personal choice,and not an easy one.
I don't necessarily feel its my right to judge a child born to an unintelligent person in that they will end up the same,education wise,that child has the chance to better themselves in society...
On the other hand I also feel Technology has erased some of the basic knowledge that learning is based upon...Its sad to me that the kid at McDonalds cannot count back my change without the aid of the electronic cash register specifying the amount due!
No one ever stops learning,whether it be from books or common sense,there is always room for more information if one is willing to accept and absorb it..=)

Answer 6

Yeah you're right and Y!A is proof of that.

It seems whenever we do find a predator (David Berkowitz, Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, Charles Manson, to name but a few) we remove them from society. I guess this is a good thing.

But as a whole, there do seem to be a lot of people out there who's speech and mannerisms would indicate that even basic education isn't free, or it's beyond they grasp.

Answer 7

The increase in the non religious population who don't generally have many children, conversely increases the population of the fundamentalist who tend to breed like mad!!

So perversely increasing secularism also means increasing fundamentalism!!

Answer 8

we have gotten dumber as a whole for many reasons. our knowledge will continue to grow but only for a small percentage of society. many social circumstances to consider.

Answer 9

we are definately getting dumber because now we have spell checks and sms language this all brings down our iq

Answer 10

Let me guess.... you have HEAPS of kids right? What an ignorant and closed-minded question.