I think people generally are as clever as they need to be in their life. The less you use your brain the stupider you get. My pet example is that before calculators and decimal currency came in everyone in the UK could do mental arithmetic in three bases. Now most can hardly add or subtract two numbers. We forget how to do quite basic things if we're not practising that skill even how to talk and interact with others.
If "dumber" refers to the biological aspect of the brain, then I don't think we are any dumber. However, I believe we are much less educated, much less refined, and much less aware of the world around us. Many college-level courses are laughable. If you want to be depressed, look at a high school curriculum from 50 or 100 years ago--it's more rigorous than most colleges today!
An interesting question and it should be a good read for me after I make another coffee. But right off the bat I’m wondering if having to write ‘formerly known as Twitter’ is a sign of ‘dumb’ ?
Great article. Yes, we have noticed people just do things they probably would not have prior to COVID. It was a mistake to listen to authorities in lockdown and let the government do the thinking. I pray we don’t do that again.
I think many are changing into helpless idiots because the government and media treat them that way. They want someone else to be in charge. That could also be related to the mass PTSD people are experiencing but not understanding. COVID was stressful no matter what you believed. I don't think most people have dealt with the true significance of that yet.
You wrote, "if people didn’t like the dumber programs, they would be canceled." I'm not entirely sure this is accurate. In the past it would be, but with things like the woke beliefs and ESG artificially subsidizing stuff like crappy movies, I wouldn't put it past them to keep crappy TV shows just because it's meeting their woke-esg-type requirements.
I think people generally are as clever as they need to be in their life. The less you use your brain the stupider you get. My pet example is that before calculators and decimal currency came in everyone in the UK could do mental arithmetic in three bases. Now most can hardly add or subtract two numbers. We forget how to do quite basic things if we're not practising that skill even how to talk and interact with others.
Yes. I’ve been working on a piece that reports people are getting dumber. The idea started when I read this:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-13380029/average-iq-score-states-us.html
I raised a high IQ kid so this topic has always fascinated me.
If "dumber" refers to the biological aspect of the brain, then I don't think we are any dumber. However, I believe we are much less educated, much less refined, and much less aware of the world around us. Many college-level courses are laughable. If you want to be depressed, look at a high school curriculum from 50 or 100 years ago--it's more rigorous than most colleges today!
In 2010, I worked in Primark (clothing store in the UK)
I was holding a box of socks, open, with the socks visible.
I was stood under a big plastic sign that said SOCKS AND TIGHTS
In my hands, clasped around the box, were more socks.
A little round woman comes up to me, and shrieks in a voice I shall never forget:
DO YOU DO SOCKS?
I looked her up and down, considered my hangover, and replied:
"No,"
An interesting question and it should be a good read for me after I make another coffee. But right off the bat I’m wondering if having to write ‘formerly known as Twitter’ is a sign of ‘dumb’ ?
Or is it just irritating?
It sure seems like they are.
Great article. Yes, we have noticed people just do things they probably would not have prior to COVID. It was a mistake to listen to authorities in lockdown and let the government do the thinking. I pray we don’t do that again.
I think many are changing into helpless idiots because the government and media treat them that way. They want someone else to be in charge. That could also be related to the mass PTSD people are experiencing but not understanding. COVID was stressful no matter what you believed. I don't think most people have dealt with the true significance of that yet.
You wrote, "if people didn’t like the dumber programs, they would be canceled." I'm not entirely sure this is accurate. In the past it would be, but with things like the woke beliefs and ESG artificially subsidizing stuff like crappy movies, I wouldn't put it past them to keep crappy TV shows just because it's meeting their woke-esg-type requirements.
We hold people to progressively lower expectations of competence and behavior. What we see are the results of those lowered expectations
Yes yes they are. I recently read a study which metered average IQ in Britain is now 96
I'm a 147 and don't consider myself a genius but 96 is borderline ‘brain is a bucket of goo’