Humans Are Getting Steadily Smarter, Especially Girls

Geniuses are getting brighter. And at genius levels of IQ, girls are not as far behind boys as they used to be

Come on guys, are we going to take this lying down....................in front of the television with a bag of Cheetos?

SOURCE

SCIENCE has few more controversial topics than human intelligence—in particular, whether variations in it are a result of nature or nurture, and especially whether such variations differ between the sexes. The mines in this field can blow up an entire career, as Larry Summers found out in 2005 when he spoke of the hypothesis that the mathematical aptitude needed for physics and engineering, as well as for maths itself, is innately rarer in women than in men. He resigned as president of Harvard University shortly afterwards.

That such unelucidated environmental influences can have real effects on IQ is eloquently illustrated by the Flynn effect. This phenomenon, brought to the world’s attention in the 1980s by James Flynn of the University of Otago, in New Zealand, is that average IQs around the world have been rising at the rate of 0.3 points a year for the past eight decades.

No one knows what causes the Flynn effect. Theories range from better nutrition, via a more stimulating general environment (thanks to such things as television, radio, the internet and video games), to the phasing out of lead in petrol and paint. What is clear is that it cannot be a change in gene-given ability, which is what most people mean by “nature” in this debate, because too few generations have passed for natural selection to have had any meaningful impact.

I blame the internet.

instead of being out doors everyone sits inside and is reading what's on their computer screen. Also video games have a lot to do with it because many games force you to use your problem solving skills. Everyone is in a situation where they are learning without realizing it. Just think of how very few people used to actually read something as compared to the many who are forced to read something on a regular basis via the internet. Instead of just staring at the TV with a glazed look in their eyes they are actually forced to mentally focus and interact therefore their brain power is steadily increasing higher than they would have otherwise

This is not good news,

I dont want women getting smarter, or at least not till I have daughters.

I tend to agree with one side of the OP story in that telling girls they are stupid, incapable and life support for a baby maker has led to more women never even trying to hit their personal dreams or potential than any other single thing. Personally, I think the idea of viewing anyone by race OR gender as having a certain capability level in anything is ignorant and bigoted.

The only place I'd say there is an honest to goodness difference between men and women for potential and options in life is physical. Even there, enough females care enough to overcome even that to show it's no iron clad rule itself.

I have another suggestion for why IQ's are rising though......and it's far more dramatic than even I ever suspected. I had no idea the numbers were this bad.

US High School Graduation Rates 1870 - 2010 (Single page PDF Document)

The Grad rate was a measly 2% in 1870. It didn't rise to 50% until 1940! ...and even today, we sit below 70% as an average. No one needs told that among those 70% who get the technical piece of paper, there is still a measurable % that are functionally illiterate. Amazing huh? At least, as the OP notes, we're headed in the right direction! Another 50 years and maybe literacy will be the rule with only a rare exception.

not in the sandy hook threads

I guess there is always an exception that proves the rule

I always feel it is important to specify what kind of intelligence we're refering to in such topics- it is misleading sometimes, when it sounds like we're summing all the different types of intelligence into one (you're either smart or not). That idea is way outdated and I think it can be detrimental to individuals in various ways.

The article says-

In the general population boys are well known to do a bit better than girls in maths. Girls, in turn, edge out boys on tests of verbal reasoning. The result is similar overall IQ scores. Among the best young mathematical brains, however, that equality does not pertain. Here, boys do a lot better at maths than girls—but less better than they used to, as the researchers discov

So we're talking mathematical ability here, where we're seeing the girls catching up to the boys and getting close to equilibrium.

Unfortunately, they didn't find boys making the same progress in verbal reasoning.

Obviously.

It is also interesting to remember that there is a correlation found between IQ levels and fertility- the higher the IQ the less fertile the person or population.

Some of the gifted kids nowadays are amazing. It's getting ridiculous.

For example:
www.popsci.com...

Oh my.

According to a new study published in Trends in Genetics Journal, humans are progressively becoming less intelligent.

www.wsusignpost.com...

My daughter is smarter than I was at the same age. By way more than 0.3 IQ points, and I was in the gifted class.

There are examples of rapid evolution:

Cichlid Fish in Lake Victoria Link here

Italian Wall Lizards Link Here

So, I wouldn't rule out evolution completely.

Women have always been smarter.

Since the dawn of time, when we lived in caves, women controlled men. "Go out and hunt", they said, "We'll stay in the cave and do a bit of painting, maybe rearrange the rocks", they said.

While we were off getting killed by saber-toothed wombats, the girls had chats and picked lice from their hair and exchanged recipes (You actually cook the meat? Wow, you go girl!)

Fast forward to the women getting the vote, basically an entire nation started saying, "Yes, dear".

And now we finally have proof? HA!

Originally posted by beezzer
Women have always been smarter.

Since the dawn of time, when we lived in caves, women controlled men. "Go out and hunt", they said, "We'll stay in the cave and do a bit of painting, maybe rearrange the rocks", they said.

While we were off getting killed by saber-toothed wombats, the girls had chats and picked lice from their hair and exchanged recipes (You actually [I]cook[/I] the meat? Wow, you go girl!)

Fast forward to the women getting the vote, basically an entire nation started saying, "Yes, dear".

And now we finally have proof? HA!

You hit the nail on it's pretty pink head.

Womens intelligence hasn't increased, they always had it but society limited their using it. Girls weren't supposed to show their knowledge in the past, they were supposed to show common sense and the ability to bring up the children to have morals. Both of those are honorable traits. So now the women have entered the world of man, they get to show their intellect without alienating themselves. Often nobody is adequately structuring the family though when both adults are working.

is that average IQs around the world have been rising at the rate of 0.3 points a year for the past eight decades.

0.3 x 10 years = 3 iq points a decade.
3 points x 8 decades = 24 IQ points over 8 decades.

It's a nice increase. But isn't there a thread lately on ATS saying that IQ tests are flawed.

Originally posted by Phage
Oh my.

According to a new study published in Trends in Genetics Journal, humans are progressively becoming less intelligent.

www.wsusignpost.com...

I think this refers to a genetic potential for intelligence, not the actual realised intelligence. Basically, because the selection towards intelligence is weaker, humans have become somehow genetically less intelligent, however this effect was more than offset by environmental influences making us more intelligent.

Hopefully genetic engineering will correct this soon..

reply to post by happykat39


I read somewhere recently that they though humans had reached their peak intelligence already and it was in the decline. I kind doubted it, but I know I read it somewhere.

Originally posted by GogoVicMorrow
reply to post by happykat39

 

I read somewhere recently that they though humans had reached their peak intelligence already and it was in the decline. I kind doubted it, but I know I read it somewhere.

I think this is one of those issues that you can find studies both for and against, depending on whose definition of intelligence you use. There are so many facets to intelligence that it can be difficult to pin it down to any one thing.

When I went to my wife's graduation the other month I was amazed at how many more girls were getting their degrees than lads.
One factor was the subjects, sure, but I think that there's something extra involved.
Tell you what, if I was 18 and at uni, I'd get no work done, that's a fact.

reply to post by SprocketUK

Tell you what, if I was 18 and at uni, I'd get no work done, that's a fact.

There are really two facets to the increase, or decline, in intelligence. If you have to factor in the inner city schools where the dropout rate is closer to 100% than to 50% from pregnancy and gang activity among other things, it has to bring the average IQ numbers down. But if you look at the best and brightest among the worlds children you cannot help but marvel at all they have to learn, that their parents and grandparents never knew existed, like using computers and the internet and all the high tech gadgets that didn't even exist when we dinosaurs their age.

At 73 I pretty much missed out on the sexual revolution. I was already married and had a family by the time it got under way. Boy, what I wouldn't give to be able to regress back in time to the high point of the revolution. You think YOU would have a hard time getting your studies done, I would probably have to have taken courses that required little more that showing up once in a while in a warm body to keep from being failed out in my first semester.

If women really were getting smarter, I wouldn't have to ask for my sandwich.

(ducks and runs)

This here flies in the face of research I saw posted here a few months back, saying that mankind were getting dumber, and that a random chap from then thousand years ago, would have had more raw smarts than your or I do. I wonder why it is, that both suggestions can be given such voice, without cancelling themselves out !