

The Great Pacification (review of Steven Pinker's new book) - klenwell
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/09/books/review/the-better-angels-of-our-nature-by-steven-pinker-book-review.html?_r=1&nl=books&emc=booksupdateema2&pagewanted=all

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klenwell
The detail I found most interesting from the review:

 _If the average teenager today could go back in time and take an I.Q. test
from 1910, he or she would have an I.Q. of 130, which would be better than 98
percent of those taking the test then._

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tokenadult
The detail you mention is called the Flynn effect. Here is a link to a lecture
by James Flynn, the discoverer of the Flynn effect, on the implications of
that research.

[http://www.psychometrics.cam.ac.uk/page/109/beyond-the-
flynn...](http://www.psychometrics.cam.ac.uk/page/109/beyond-the-flynn-
effect.htm)

