Pre-genetic-augmentation human intelligence doesn't have to be plain old meat, either-- there's a renaissance of cognitive enhancement occurring right now in the nootropic field, with many different chemical compounds under investigation along with a few less traditional approaches like Thync/tDCS or "brain exercises". As far as eugenic paring of the human gene line toward higher intelligence goes, I wouldn't think about producing an ubermench for another 20 years, at which point we can then wait another 30 years for the freshly born cohort of ubermenschenkinder to mature to adulthood, then another 30 years for the ubermenschen to realize that the last generation solved the problems they were raised for, leaving even harder and more inscrutable mysteries for them to chase. I think a GATTACA style genetic inequality is inevitable.
One gargantuan thing the author didn't mention which will probably be responsible for rapidly rising perceived intelligence is the quality of living improvements that are underway for the world's poor. The more people raised to a standard of living that allows for the highest levels of education and divorce from economic necessity, the more superintelligent people we'll see in the world. It isn't because these people are dumb until they get money, it's because mathematical or scientific intelligence is not at all developed or rewarded under the current paradigm of poverty, leading to an appalling amount of intelligence-potential wasted. The rising worldwide standard of living is going to furnish us with more and more people who have the proper intelligence, training and mindset (most important items listed last!) to contribute to difficult problems.
I feel people vastly underestimate the difficulty with enhancement. Disease, insanity, obsession, boredom, depression, and on and on it goes. Even twins can have dramatically different physical and mental strengths.
Personally, I suspect this has to do with sci-fi generally hand waving away such things.
Why does an artificial limb feel like a heavy attachment, when a real limb doesn't?
What's the cognitive enhancement version of that - a screen reminding you of things isn't "making you smarter", presumably a neural implant reminding you of things isn't making you smarter either. And reminding you... how, calling for your attention? That would be distracting, not helping.
Discussions about blindness come with comments like "it's not like vision with your normal eyes closed, it's like seeing with the eye in your elbow". What kind of cyborg enhancement is going to make you better at cooking and predicting flavours and textures? Better at imagining engine innards? Better at deciding if you want to go somewhere or not?
The difference between a chip on your desk or in your head doing it with you looking at the results, and you doing it, but enhanced is huge.
Yeah, I think people tend to discount or forget the eccentricity and maladaptivity of ultra-high intellect people. I think it's also possible to be paralyzed by high intelligence as a result of existential angst-- a problem that intellect is poor at solving.
One gargantuan thing the author didn't mention which will probably be responsible for rapidly rising perceived intelligence is the quality of living improvements that are underway for the world's poor. The more people raised to a standard of living that allows for the highest levels of education and divorce from economic necessity, the more superintelligent people we'll see in the world. It isn't because these people are dumb until they get money, it's because mathematical or scientific intelligence is not at all developed or rewarded under the current paradigm of poverty, leading to an appalling amount of intelligence-potential wasted. The rising worldwide standard of living is going to furnish us with more and more people who have the proper intelligence, training and mindset (most important items listed last!) to contribute to difficult problems.