Are Human Beings Getting More Stupid As Time Goes By?

Not "stupid". Less informed, less experienced (imo, on purpose). "Dumbed down" isn't even the best descriptor. Preferring ignorant.

Ignorant means never learned or been taught. Like just because you never learned Japanese, that doesn't make you 'stupid'.

a reply to: MysterX

No. This generation of humans is the most educated generation of humans ever. IQ's are constantly increasing to the point that they have to change the way IQ tests are graded to keep the population near the medium. On top of that all scientific studies show that humans today are just as capable of critical thinking and high intelligence as humans back in the Stone Age.

Anecdotes are fun to use to lament the increasing awareness you have of stupid people in society, but they aren't indicative of all humans.

a reply to: MysterX

The more education we get, the more stupid we become.

Here's a good one, a true story from a few years ago:

A company came to install massive transformers & cables for a series of 16 die-ovens to keep the steel dies hot.

On my rounds, i felt the heat coming from the thick cables in the cellar, almost too hot to touch!

Having reported this, i went & found the senior engineer who was still on site, and told him they were going to melt sooner or later.

He looked a bit surprised, and asked me how many of the ovens were on.
"All of them" says i.

"No, no they arent all supposed to be on at the same time" he says, looking really worried now.

I pity his wife, having to choose which one of the 4 rings to cook dinner on....

These peeps earn 3 times my salary, yet i pity them.........

More and more, Alex Jones and his kind are being taken seriously. I think that answers the question.

a reply to: MysterX

Yes, i think schools are not keeping up generally, nor are colleges when compared to industry.
We all too easily let ourselves be distracted by the mundane, not only do we miss the bigger picture, most of us don't WANT to see the bigger picture, it's outside our self-imposed comfort zone.

What worries me is that, while we often do dumb things without thinking, having your heads filled with Instagrams etc is not good for your concentration. When i was at school the teachers had many different ways to get & keep your attention. Some used humour, others used fear of the cane.

Making a topic FUN is a good way of getting peeps to relax & get their attention without ruffling feathers.

Granted there is a lot more to learn than in the 60's but learning never stops if you are inquisitive, ideally school should begin at 1 year and finish at 20 or so, that won't go down well with the younger members, lol.


No smartphones for under 18's Give them a slate & say 'write your name'

a reply to: MysterX

...or parents breaking legs while playing Pokemon Go while their children wander about....

Why is it called common sense, when it is so uncommon? Hmm?

I tend to think that an average person pulled from 200 years ago into our time would be shocked at how much we need to know in order to live. Yeah, they might know the best way to snare a rabbit for dinner, but would they know anything about how to communicate over the Internet, how to drive a car at high speeds in traffic, how to program a remote control to watch TV, who all these famous people are, and so on.

So, I basically agree. It's not so much that people are less intelligent, but rather we're always bumping up against the limits of our intelligence because all the distractions.

originally posted by: MysterX
What do you all think? Any truth to this do you reckon?

I can see why people might think that. As a species we have pretty much taken natural selection out of our world (though not completely), survival of the fittest doesn't apply anymore. It used to be that you had to have money to have a family but the benefits system changed all that.

Then there's all these modern gadgets making us lazier and more dependant on more gadgets. It's easy to see the theory


I'm on the fence...

originally posted by: MysterX
Are Human Beings Getting More Stupid As Time Goes By?
What do you all think? Any truth to this do you reckon?

It appears like that, because 'thought/ego', that 'possessed those happy apes on that blue planet 130,000 years ago is, at long last, dying!
It will be gone completely in a short couple centuries, leading to (necessary for) Universal Enlightenment/unconditional Love!
The death of 'thought/ego' is why Bhakti yoga (the yoga of Loving devotional service, preferred for Kali yuga, this age), rather than Jnana yoga (the yoga of philosophers, intellect based, preferred for earlier ages), is taught.

I'm feeling generous, some stars for thoughtful answers!

There is something else going on though, although there is a lot more to learn than 100 years ago, or even 40 years ago (around that time i was told by a teacher i would never own a laser, now i have 20) but our capacity for learning has also increased. Apparently, our Alpha brain waves are increasing in frequency, also the Schumann resonance, are they connected? I think so, the one affects the other maybe.

Knoweledge has taken on a different meaning, anyone nowadays does not need to know semiconductor theory to use a smartphone....but it sure would help if you need to make or repair one.

Learning has to be as broad as possible, kids need to learn not only mechanics but chemistry, biology etc and of course social skills (like in actually talking, not apping), That's why schooling should start as early as possible (like languages) and go on till 20 or so. By that time you will have turned out a well educated, responsible, productive human being.

If the trend continues the Turing test may become an obsolete term.
The Discovery channel is currently scripting a new series called "Manifesto".
Maybe they know that will make more sense with the upcoming Mansion beach/Optane release?

a reply to: MysterX

I believe that humans are getting more stupid. I feel like we are about to be living,literally,like the movie Idiocracy, the election and results, the attitudes, the ignorance, most of the time I feel like I am the only 'smart' person around, then I will meet someone who see it all too, and we can talk about how people have become, with a solid understanding of what it is that we are seeing and hearing. My fiance sees it too, we have talked about this at length, it is like people are losing their good sense.

I somehow believe this too. Even if I do not agree that humans are 'stupid', most are becoming less and less self-aware, more and more 'brainwashed'.

humans are capable of amazing feats and have been since the dawn of time. id call that smart.

but we are only human and either have moments where we slip up or get sucked into shiny things or sugary things or things that are bad for us. right?

id say we are more distracted these days then anything

a reply to: MysterX

"Last week, Kent, England. My Wife and I were out shopping for Christmas gifts (to give to Father Christmas of course) and happened to go in to a branch of 'The Body Shop'.

My Wife selected the products she wanted and handed them to the Young, smartly dressed Woman serving behind the counter.

"Thank you, and did you manage to find everything you were looking for today?" Asked the Woman serving.

Feeling a bit mischievous, i quipped back at her "No...where do you keep all the bodies?"

A reply to the above part of your post.

I was in a branch of Body shop at Ashford in Kent (UK) just before Christmas, one of those horribly busy days where everyone is rushing around, all glued to their phones, you know the ones. Anyway I was in the line to go and checkout my goods when some wild man actually said to the young assistant "where do you keep the bodies" The poor girl did not want to insult the guy but for a second was as flummoxed as I was. Several of us in the store had a good laugh at that guy after he left I mean come on, Really!! Some people eh!!

I dunno,I know several 20 somethings who don`t know how to change a tire.I won`t even get into driving a car with a manual transmission with anyone much less discuss the internal combustion engine.I am not a mechanic.

I will define the terms from my point of view, explain my definitions, and then elaborate on my opinion that people, at least in the United States, and most likely the rest of the world, are less intelligent than we were twenty years ago and beyond.

I define intelligence as the ability to acquire information, to discern the value of information, to measure multiple deductions in order from most to least likely, and finally to apply procedures mentally and physically to prove the value of information, the value of a deduction, and the value of worth or consideration.

I define stupidity as the condition in which an individual or group chooses to forgo intelligence in favor of championing behavior, cause, and bias which can be proven with intelligence to be driven by potentially the least valuable information, deduction, consideration, and/or ultimately action.

I define common sense as the set of traditional knowledge which transcends culture and whose bounds are survival, regard for the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being of any or all individuals, mental and physical coordination, the ability to understand the difference between agency and compulsion, and the ability to recognize true authority versus imposed authority.


We have acquired more knowledge, yes. I do not believe we have acquired more useful knowledge, at all. However, that depends on whether someone considers a set of knowledge to be valuable for improving someone's life experience. Someone may really need to know how Kanye West thinks. As for me, knowing would not improve my life because I have no reason for that information.

That being said, I fully believe people are choosing stupidity over intelligence, far and wide - and therefore it would be disingenuous for me to be shocked that some people choose not to see what I see.

But it is indeed quite visible to anyone who is willing to sit and truly consider without bias of any kind.

People have the capacity for intelligence... Everyone does.

People, however, somehow do not possess equal capacity for the ability to even care to truly weigh one's own bias versus attainable knowledge.

It is my opinion that humans all-together are less graceful and more foolish. The reason is because people have chosen a hard heart and puppet strings above love and freedom.

That's because people are indeed smart enough to realize that love and freedom require the most sacrifice.

Those who are truly the brightest(and there are those who are not celebrated because they would rather not be treated so) become that way because the love of people, the love of freedom, and ultimately the love of freedom drives these individuals to succeed so that nothing is beyond their grasp. They're not Jack-of-All merely, but master of all that they've concluded is within their moral and possibly fated necessity.

Specialization is for the employee. When clocked out, this should not be the case.

Some say that laziness drives ingenuity. That's absolutely false. Laziness drives thinkers insane. Thinkers look lazy or idle, but they're working harder than coal miners with emphysema on their craft.

The results are revealed as proof quickly or hundreds or even thousands of years down the road. There is no glory for the truly bright in a world of the blind.

The level of blindness chosen by people in this age is historically notable.

Someone says to their self, "I am a rich engineer. I am intelligent." Behold the eventual fading away of that one. Someone else says, "I'm not good at much. I just do what I know.". That's a politician or a fool by choice. Behold the fading away after much suffering of that one.

The world has access to the same knowledge set, and yet nobody is sure of anything anymore. Some have said that the one who thinks they're sure is wrong. Agreed. That one should know they are sure to be found right. It's interesting how many people guess and then defend that guess until their heart is about to stop beating.

The ass is the most stubborn animal. But a lion rarely fails to compare himself to his prey. Be considerate, but when consideration has manifested into knowledge, be sure. Do not consider perpetually, for even a little consideration goes a long way.

People do not do these things anymore. These were cultural habits in even the pagan societies two thousand years ago. These cultural habits tend to resurface every hundred years or so, only to fade out after a hundred more. It has seemed to me so far that true improvement in society occurs during these times when society becomes more open to the truth and therefore less arrogant and childish. One generation is wise, the next is foolish, and the cycle continues without a pattern much more specific than that.

I believe the next human generation of people have the potential to be the most open to the bright ones, who are not enlightened in evil, but seek truth and find it.

The spirit of the generation of the last 20 years has been almost as foolish as it can be. The last 20 years have seen a rise in arrogance, lies, manipulations, immorality, and childishness which rivals the most spoiled of the generations of history.

I've seen some sparks here and there, found within the new generation. Some seem to be less biased, more geared towards peaceful debate, more geared towards ignoring advertising and discovering good music, more geared towards the truth, justice, and also forgiveness.

They are under 10 years old, but I see it. That generation does not like our generation. The only upside to our arrogance is that our children hate having to live under it, which opens their eyes to seek truth, seek good.

We'll see if they hold up. If they do, then you will see manual technology, technology that improves our lives and the lives of others, instead of technology which acts as a slave on our behalf - and yet tech will still be subservient; well, even more so consideration today, most of us are slaves to technology. Computers are very good, but they're also very wrong about the world. All of their calculations are based in an abstract world. Only when we harness their abilities for ourselves and use our enhanced intelligence and intuition to observe will we be using technology the right way.

Some idiot will attempt to put that stuff in our bodies. The bright ones will find a way for it to serve us and for us to access it without it governing us. And then the wave of the wisdom of society must be in the positive at the time that occurs.

As things stand now, I'm appalled at the level of unintelligence in the world. But I don't let them know that. I still enjoy their company and respect that people are so lost that we've forgotten that we choose to be blind to so much, and do not choose for some more...

Staggering ignorance.

But human, warmish, friendly as can be expected. Worthy of gratitude. I am torn on the topic of people always.

I might sum up everything I said simply.

The common sense of people has radically diminished to the point that if it were possible, common sense would depart; then so would the human spirit with it.

Common sense is absolutely key to developing true intelligence - not the backwards idea of intelligence we have today.

Common sense can absolutely be taught because that is what parents primarily teach their children. By instruction, by allowance, common sense is.

I think humans are becoming more selfish. As for the topic question. They are just less informed than they should be.

I feel mankind has had alot of information or common knowledge lost through various means...
Im sure most would agree war has done much to destroy not only cultures but also so much written history... Let alone the information skills oral history etc lost due to the deaths of elder males which could have been a total loss seeing as the only surviviors would have been women or young men who never had the information or were forced to conform to the ideals of their enslavement. So even if they had some of the information the separation from each other and the conditions of their existence doomed the knowledge to be lost over time...
If we look back at the remnants of distant history it could be argued that technology of the past may well have superseded our own... This to me shows how near extinction level events of nature may have been even more effective at dumbing down the collective knowledge of mankind... And the sad reality is that this all too easily could happen again...
But I wouldn't say that mankind is becoming less intelligent nor would I say we are on a steady curve on the rise...
Instead it looks more like a roller coaster to me...
It seems to me that another factor at play is that we as the human race do not have enough common goals or beliefs which we push or strive to find answers or accomplish goals... I believe if somehow we had a misson and it was a collective goal shared by and worked upon openly and freely that we would see answers and results become a steady climb...
English is becoming the language of the world it seems the internet is a worthy tool for sharing in real time... Perhaps there is hope for our future...