Why our IQ Levels are Higher Than our Grandparents'

[Marnetmar]

[MFG38]

Let me tell you why that's BS.

Random Dumb Girl: "Goodbye America, hello New York!"
Random Wise Boy: "New York is in America."

This is an actual example of an actual situation.

[Maes]

I don't think such a comparison can be made without taking the socioeconomic environment ainto account -the very least, public education is better and more affordable today in most Western and even most developing countries, and the chances for those truly gifted to shine are higher -as well as for most to reach a reasonable level of functional intelligence, or rather, alphabetism. That's also the reason why globalization is such a problem today -you don't have to compete just with billions of uneducated coolies or cotton pickers anymore, but with people just as smart as you -if not more- most of which will also be poorer -and therefore more driven and motivated- than you, and which can replace you in the blink of an eye, no matter what your position or function.

[Quast]

Maes said:

I don't think such a comparison can be made without taking the socioeconomic environment ainto account -the very least, public education is better and more affordable today in most Western and even most developing countries, and the chances for those truly gifted to shine are higher -as well as for most to reach a reasonable level of functional intelligence

This is exactly why using IQ to measure anything is largely bullshit. Frankly I would assume nowadays an academic like flynn would consider IQ to be about as useful as phrenology.

[Marnetmar]

I suppose that mentioning IQ in the thread title was a bad idea, because I do agree that the IQ is a pretty faulty measure for measuring intelligence.

I suppose what fascinated me about this video were the reminders of how much more capable we are of analytical thinking and understanding abstract concepts due to the evolution of technology and philosophy.

[j4rio]

Marnetmar said:

I suppose that mentioning IQ in the thread title was a bad idea, because I do agree that the IQ is a pretty faulty measure for measuring intelligence.

It's just measured inaccurately. The most precise way to calculate it is 150 minus number of Dallas episodes you've watched.

[DooM_RO]

Marnetmar said:

I suppose that mentioning IQ in the thread title was a bad idea, because I do agree that the IQ is a pretty faulty measure for measuring intelligence.

I suppose what fascinated me about this video were the reminders of how much more capable we are of analytical thinking and understanding abstract concepts due to the evolution of technology and philosophy.

Maybe it is faulty but what other unbiased methods are there to determine the mental capacity of a person? At the moment we don't really have better methods.

[Dragonsbrethren]

j4rio said:

It's just measured inaccurately. The most precise way to calculate it is 150 minus number of Dallas episodes you've watched.

I thought it was the amount of pain commercials for reality TV shows cause you.

[j4rio]

But that would make out grandparents intelligentially superior to us.

[40oz]

That video really makes me wanna read up on some american history now

[Aliotroph?]

DooM_RO said:

Maybe it is faulty but what other unbiased methods are there to determine the mental capacity of a person? At the moment we don't really have better methods.

Condensing the results of a wide range of cognitive tests into a single number is silly, though. It's useful to compare different kinds of tests like he describes, but it's not useful to try and pigeonhole people based on an IQ score, as was common in the 20th century.

Maes makes good points about these kinds of scores varying widely depending on your life circumstances. This is why these discussions usually focus only on Americans: their culture and education are a lot more homogenous than a large group of countries would be (and because Americans always think they're the whole world anyway...).

[Quast]

Aliotroph? said:

This is why these discussions usually focus only on Americans: their culture and education are a lot more homogenous than a large group of countries would be

Stating that one particular nations culture and education are more homogenous in comparison to a 'collection of others' would be true for any nation.

But truthfully, you're fooling yourself if you really think public education throughout the us is universal or fair.

[geo]

I've known 2 grandfathers that were sharp until the day they died with some idiots as grand children. Otherwise I'd say that school and deterioration of brain cells.

[Coopersville]

Isn't IQ adjusted for each generation?

[Aliotroph?]

Coopersville said:

Isn't IQ adjusted for each generation?

That was the point of the video. The average score has to be adjusted because each generation (in America) gets better at the skills being tested.

What I'd like to know is how they get these numbers. Are most Americans tested at some point in school? Do psychologists take samples of the population every year? Would the sorts of people who utterly fail school, even in cases with poor standards, also score higher than their ancestors?

[Snakes]

Our IQ levels are higher because, unlike our grandparents' lack of savvy approach to the internet, we're smart enough not to take IQ tests that ask for our emails afterwards