

We're getting slower... and more dumberer. - hownottowrite
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289613000470?np=y

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edtechdev
These studies measured reaction times. There's only a negative .31 correlation
between reaction time and intelligence test scores. Just chewing gum lowers
your reaction times.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reaction_time#Mental_chronometr...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reaction_time#Mental_chronometry_and_cognitive_ability)

Actual intelligence scores have risen each decade:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flynn_effect>

Also, the "We" in these studies is no longer just a narrow range of middle to
upper class white males. If you look at sub-groups, most likely everybody is
rising even when the overall average might be declining.

This is what happened with SAT scores since the 60s: "SAT scores don’t decline
because students get dumber; they go down because more students take them."
[http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/college_guide/blog/average_...](http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/college_guide/blog/average_sat_score_declines_as.php)

So the question is, have reaction times gotten slower because of more people
being tested, or other factors? I'd imagine in decades past, participating in
a psych experiment was a more "special" occasion warranting heightened
attention and performance than it is today.

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RyanMcGreal
Maybe the problem is that we don't have open access to published scientific
papers.

~~~
agravier
You're lucky, I've just found a copy on the floor. On which website should I
host it? I don't want to exceed my dropbox bandwidth quota.

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agravier
Well, no need to bother, I just found it at
<https://anonfiles.com/file/c9ae38ed613d426f4f5fa7d17b60e977>

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ireadqrcodes
no we are not! We have got more data to consider before reacting! An other
example: Children remember things better than adults because they don't need
to go through as many connotations that come with information and can focus on
the "simple" facts. Adults have got to push all the data trough their
experience and brain filters to add it to the bigger picture ... yes reaction
is getting slower, intelligence .. no.

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JPKab
I find it revealing that the authors go from a study which demonstrates
(according to them) a general drop in IQ, yet make what appears to be a big
jump in pinning the blame for said IQ drop on the societal trend of the less
educated having more children than the more educated.

I get the feeling this is geared more for press and controversy than a real
scientific conclusion.

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616c
Why have a peer-reviewed journal when we can talk about the documentary?

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy>

Jokes aside, I guess I will have to read the article, would this not been the
case from the beginning? How drastic are changes in IQ averages over hundreds
of years? Is it possible that there highest IQ holders were not a very slim
strata of society, or are we to suppose over time that the margin and spread
is getting wider?

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hansbo
How is the Flynn effect related to this? As I've understood it, the average IQ
has, since the turn of the century, risen by around 20 points.

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cLeEOGPw
Well, if we develop good enough exoskeletons maybe even people born without
brain could reach adulthood and reproduce.

