Are dunces increasing?

Question

With dangerous diet patterns,and changing lifetstyles it is being said that IQ level of most of the people is decreasing,this has been established by many lifestyle habits and patterns across the world.In the present circumstances is it safe,can anything be done??

Answer 1

nope-----you just hear more about them these days, with the use of computers and different forms of  technology it is easier to bring attention to themselves

Answer 2

Sure, things can be done.  ^_^  But getting your clique of Rich White Men, your CEOs and One Percenters, *on board* to do this is going to be like pulling teeth at best, and a *complete* non-starter at worst.

Basically....the idea is to put *funding* or money, *back into* public education, and to do it in a manner that funds everyone, *equally*, to the *maximum degree possible*.

Meaning *everyone*, in rich and poor neighborhoods alike and in rich and poor *nations* alike, has access to the highest standard of public schooling possible.  Which, frankly, doesn't even *exist* anymore in the United States--we'd have to borrow a *ton* of ideas from Japan, Austrailia, France and so on, just to create this Maximum Standard School.

And what would be taught there?

Well, we can't micromanage *everything* there since this would be a *worldwide* effort, but...there *are* some things that really *should* be taught across ALL cultures.

--LITERACY.  Full literacy.  Not only do you learn how to *write*, but you learn how to spell, use proper grammar, and how to *think* in complete sentences whether you *use them* or not.  Not only do you learn how to *read*, but you learn how to read in a manner that is less about *decoding* and more about *comprehension in context* and about *being Able to think about and discuss what you read*, calmly and rationally.

--CIVICS.  No, not Hondas silly.  ^_^  This is about being *taught*, openly and explicitly, what the rules, rights, duties and obligations *are* for a citizen of your nation.  Granted, this does presume a degree of Rule of Law that might not *exist* in some dictatorships, but the general point of it is that you *teach* people, from a young age, what the Laws of Society are in general, what the Culture is in general, and what *standards* of conduct and ettiquette are *expected*.

--MATHS AND SCIENCE.  Yes, they go together, and this is about more than "calculator skills".  Kids have a better chance at learning advanced maths *young*, things like calculus and geometry, while their minds are still pliant enough to treat numbers and their relations *as a language*.  So yes, drill the basics so that everyone knows what 2+2 is, but also introduce the advanced stuff, and the *practical stuff* like budgeting too, at younger ages, so that the *ideas* are in there solidly at a young age.

And the same goes *doubly* for other calculuses like:  The Scientific Method, Double-blind Testing, Publishing and Peer Review.  Focus on *both* the Geeky/Techie side of How Things Work, *and* on the theoretical basis.  If you keep the language straightforward, it *can* be done--I *myself* knew how, roughly speaking, a *television* worked in the second grade, and had a *pretty good* idea how Einstein's Relativity worked in the third grade.

But in order for this to work, you *have to* keep this stuff fun and accessible...hence the need to balance between the Geeky "How to..." side and the more Theory-heavy "And this is Why..." side.  Give the kids *something for everyone*, and *challenge them*.  Most kids *want to be* grown ups.  Most kids *want to know* what grown ups know.  *Use this*.  Give them the exposure, the taste, of the broader world, in words they understand.  ^_^  They can handle it if you *believe in them* and support them and *give them a fair chance*.

--HISTORY.  Not just Dates and Names either...laundry lists are *boring*.  Introduce the idea of *Full History* as a *Way of Thinking* at a young age.  Part of it ties into Full Literacy....when you *read* the Story of Our Lives and Times with the *intent* of understanding it, and with the *intent* of thinking about it and openly discussing *and questioning it*, this is a natural outcome.  Get kids used to the idea that *people write history* and that people can *s***w that job up*.  Encourage people to read between the lines and to "ask dumb questions".

Again, this one presumes an Openness, a Perestroika, a Freedom of Expression, that may or may not exist in some dictatorships, but hey.

--PHYSICAL EDUCATION.  But *not* P.E. as you know it, not the aggressive, neglectful, team-sports-oriented *mess* you normally think of.

I'm talking about actual *classes* where kids and people can *work out*, *Improve their fitness* for the subject as they do in *every* other class there, and *cultivate new skills* like they do in every other class out there.

In other words, something that at once a) addresses the obesity crisis of our youth in *many* developed nations, and also b) gives people *tools* in terms of self-defense and attributes, that they can work with to inoculate themselves from the *bullying* crisis that exists in the United States and other nations.

In short....less about competition, more about *solving problems* that effect the *non-jock, out of shape, bullied and harrassed MAJORITY* of our youth.

Of course, there's a catch to all of this.

It would have to get FUNDED, not just fully but to the MAXIMUM degree worldwide.  Which would require *taxes* globally, on all Electronic Mass Media and their Advertising.  And it would also need taxation, *locally* in the form of taxing the *excessive* difference between CEO salaries and those of their lowest-paid workers.  ALL nations and ALL companies would have to be on board and buy into this.

In short, even having one standard for the *developed world*, for it's dozen or so *rich nations*, would be a non-starter.  Getting everyone to agree and getting the One Percenters to *SPEND THEIR MONEY* on other people's children when they've been hired to be *GREEDY PSYCHOS* is a non-starter.

Not to mention, the United States would have a *hissy fit* over a) the notion of ONE Standard school being good enough for "their backyard", never mind that the local, PTA controlled systems just *don't work*, and b) that their kids might have to *double* the amount of time spent in school--including giving up that *huge and Destructive* three-month summer vacation--in order to catch up....

But hey...you know how it is.  ^_^

You can lead a horse to water, but if he doesn't drink...it would be *cruel* to ram his nose into the trough until he drowns (or kicks your tail getting out, most likely).

I can create all the detailed reforms in education I like, detail it right down to the desks the pupils sit in.

But the politicians and the Money People who *own them* REFUSE to listen to anything but their bling.

What can you do?  Thanks for your time.  -_-

Answer 3

I don't think actual intelligence is decreasing, I think people are more willing to be led like sheep thereby lowering the need to use intelligence. I'm sure you know otherwise smart people who eat at the burger king or buy an suv cuz the powers that be tell them it's the good thing to do.