
Get Smarter - robg
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/print/200907/intelligence
======
tokenadult
Very interesting article--you're good at spotting new publications that
"delight the mind," as the guidelines say. The article talks about a lot more,
but I wouldn't quote this little piece: "Most people don’t realize that this
process is already under way. In fact, it’s happening all around us, across
the full spectrum of how we understand intelligence. It’s visible in the hive
mind of the Internet," because that relates to something I heard a while back
at a lecture by John Raven, current publisher of the Raven Progressive
Matrices IQ test. He said that rather than thinking of intelligence as a trait
of an individual, we can think of it as an emergent property of groups. Better
communication among groups leads to more intelligence for all of humankind to
enjoy. Thanks for sharing the article and boosting our intelligence here on
HN.

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giardini
Usually we have to wait awhile to see the errors of our fortune-tellers.
Luckily this fellow is wrong right out of the starting gate:

We know that communications overload reduces your IQ:
[http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/sep2007/ca20070...](http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/sep2007/ca20070920_461254.htm?campaign_id=rss_null)

Of course, that's just e-mail at work. But the "dumbing-down" of IT, education
and work in general is unlikely to increase our IQ.

Derek Bickerton, sometime co-author of the article's referenced William
Calvin, believes that we may already be going the other way. In his book
"Adam's Tongue" he points out how, over time, humans are becoming eerily
similar to ants or termites, He also notes that it takes about 40 generations
for a wolf to become a domesticated dog-like animal and that the caste system
in India, which has probably been in place longer, may have left a permanent
trace upon it's members.

~~~
radu_floricica
The article compared communication overload with calisthenics. Of course that
right after doing exercise you're not at your top performance... but stop for
a while and the benefits of months of training will show.

In other words, he's comparing long time IQ change, and you're talking about
short term.

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pie
I am fascinated by the underlying concept of this article, that society is
evolving to support a shared awareness or a certain augmented intelligence of
the individual. Just look at how much has shifted in society regarding
specific knowledge vs. a more general intuition or analytical ability.

I'm somewhat annoyed by the depiction of stimulants as intelligence enhancing
pharmaceuticals. These drugs certainly do affect behavior (and as such they
obviously play into that old "99% perspiration" maxim). However, I would argue
that stimulants (specifically powerful drugs like modafinil and ADD
medications) usually cripple intuition and creativity.

To me, these aspects of mental agility are significant components of
intelligence. Intensely focusing on an extended stretch of work seldom yields
optimal results (aside from those truly inspired "in the zone" moments). Years
of experience/experimentation would indicate that I need sleep, breaks, and a
balanced mind to produce anything even resembling my best work.

Has anyone here actually felt MORE intelligent while taking modafinil or ADD
medication (or to a lesser extent, even coffee)? I'm very curious to hear what
you have to say.

~~~
CoreyLoose
Once a month or so during college I'd devote a day to taking an ADD medication
and working all day. I feel that I did more, and better, work under the
influence.

I would start working on a Sunday morning at 8AM and besides a lunch break I
wouldn't take stop until 10PM or so. I was working on an art major as well as
doing some web development on the side at the time, and for these sessions I
feel I was working at or above my normal creative and intellectual output for
the majority of the time.

Besides a stamina boost for the day I also feel there is a similar effect to
the Balmer Peak. (<http://xkcd.com/323/>) I would be much more confident then
my average self, and because of it try (and sometimes accomplish) things that
I would normally shrug off as out of my league.

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truebosko
Am I the only one who isn't a fan of taking "performance-enhancing" drugs to
stay more alert, get things done, etc?

Do we even know the long-term affects of taking such drugs?

(I know it was only a small reference in the article, but it's the only thing
that bugged me about the entire piece)

~~~
ivankirigin
It's certainly prudent to avoid things before long term effects are known, if
that's what you mean by "isn't a fan".

That isn't the same as declaring others are wrong for doing it. Risk tolerance
(and the reward for doping) vary wildly between people.

Do you drink coffee?

~~~
truebosko
I do, but coffee and a new drug approved by the FDA are two very different
things.

I guess my initial comment should have been worded a bit more differently, as
Coffee IS a drug ;) My bad.

~~~
ivankirigin
Coffee is grandfathered in, like aspirin. Aspirin probably wouldn't pass FDA
screening today, because of the stomach problems it causes so many people.

