Are we as a human race slowly becoming dumber?

Question

I've heard claims that the average IQ of human beings has begun a steady decline over the years. Are we becoming stupid?

Answer 1

Yes.

Yahoo! Answers is proof.

Answer 2

i'm with you on being concerned. Not only that we are being one of the laziest nation. It's scary.

Answer 3

I think so too

I've  been told today by my teacher

our public high school's graduation rates are at its lowest within 30 years ago till now.

Answer 4

you really shouldnt use i.q. to determine if the human race is getting dumber, the world population is growing, especially in poor and developing countries, so maybe the world as a whole needs to stress education

Answer 5

We seem to be declining quickly. Is it something in the water?

Part of it has something to do with a widespread attention deficit disorder. Video games do not help.

No one has any patience any more. Everything must be instant gratification, so it prevents us from really learning. I'm just getting older, so a bit of decline is natural (at 56).

Everyone is so stressed out. You need sleep to recharge your brain. you need to clear the clutter from your life and focus on what is important. We're so messed up we can't cope at all. We're all so busy - mostly doing nothing important.

Answer 6

There is a dumbing down effect going on.

The economy needs large numbers of consumers, and in fact an every growing number of consumers.

Now, if everyone was content with what they had and didn't want anything new, the economy would crash. We have a need to create more and more products to feed more and more consumers. This is best accomplished by dumbing down the consumers and marketing things more and more to the uneducated, young and easily trained. The best consumers and the most sought after market is the young, not very intellegent C student. That represents the largest market with the most growth potential and the easiest to convince that the need more and more new products.

Answer 7

I don't think we are becoming dumber, I don't think that man as a hole has lost any knowledge in about 2000 years.

Its just that as daily life becomes easier and easier, the average person is subjected to fewer and fewer problems to solve.

One hundred years ago if you wanted heat you had to build a fire. running water, fresh food, washing, not even radio. The average person back then had to solve so many problems on a daily basis that their problem solving skills were always keen.

What problems do we face - what size batteries go in the remote control.

Answer 8

It requires greater intelligence to create greater technology; however, because of that great technology our planet is covered with an information net which makes the stupid things people do far more apparent.  That in itself is a good thing: if we can see the stupidity and not like it... then maybe we'll put a stop to it.

Answer 9

I think so, marks are dropping, teachnology is making us dumber

Answer 10

No we are actually getting smarter with each generation, we seem to be having to problem with values but nothing we can't sort out.

Answer 11

Harsh conditions push a species to adapt and evolve, to use every tool and every ounce of knowledge that it has to survive. By so radically changing our environment we've removed these conditions. There's nothing beyond our own will to better things to push us forward anymore.

However another reason for this could be that people live very specialized lives now. We all fit in to part of the machine called humanity and grind away until we die. As a majority, we've stopped evolving. There are of course the occasional geniuses, but those are the exceptions and not the rule anymore.

Answer 12

I disagree completely with this.

There is this great movie called "Idiocracy" about this. It is rated R so I dont know if you will be able to see it? Its about the society in a couple hundred years and how they are wicked stupid. Probably one of the funniest movie in my life (although they had some uneeded and pointless inappropriate stuff)

Answer 13

note that smart people go and get educated and get good jobs, usually have about 2 kids on average. meaning the smart population is decreasing!

jk but hey it's a theory

Answer 14

I don't know.   However, the nature of intelligence varies widely (e.g. spatial intelligence, verbal, social/emotional, etc) as I found in Mensa.   Human intelligence also changes fundamentally (.e.g the shift that made us visually literate and capable of reading images; the shift that accommodated to written language).   It's suggested that accommodation to short sound-bites in news etc,  processing digital inputs (e.g. internet), and multiple  visual symbols (traffic, advertising signs etc) coupled to less READING is producing minds which avoid deep and subtle analysis and critical abstract thought, but are increasingly capable of multi-tasking - so more superficial.    In the west we are bombarded with information, but information isn't insight.   And paradoxically, limited reading (i.e. vocabulary, the tool of thought) coupled to mass information, inhibits lateral connections.   We are also more informed of the stupidities throughout the world.   So we are more aware of stupidities, and less able to deal with them.   And whilst we have the most information and knowledge ever available to us, most people cling to familiar outdated ideas and "world views" (e.g. religion, economic paradigms etc) for security -- least likely to equip us to deal with the emerging realities we ourselves create (e.g. climate change).   Similarly, most narrow their focus to avoid alarm, at the same time that all fields of human intellectual activity demand that focus to understand them (e.g. the various sciences etc).  So perhaps we are not so much more stupid, but act more "stupidly" or inappropriately to available information..   That's my theory as a summary, anyway. How else to explain George Bush, and those who voted for him,  etc!

Answer 15

We focus on the wrong things in life. We're not stupid but we don't always use our brains like we should. In other words, we let the world and world leaders have an effect on us.

Answer 16

IF THE HUMAN RACE HAS BECOME DUMBER, WE WOULD NOT PROBABLY HAVE THIS TECHNOLOGY TO GET ANSWERS TO OUR QUESTIONS. AND THINK ABOUT THOSE SUPERSONIC PLANES. THIS IS THE MIND OF TODAY'S GENERATION, THEY ARE LIKE THE CONCORDES.

Answer 17

oh yes i firmly believe the gene pool is getting very shallow--just look at some of the questions on this site and some of the answers. have a great day

Answer 18

I think we are...

Answer 19

no were not slowly were incrediable getting stupider.

Answer 20

I agree that technological advances have made us mentally lazier; we barely need to remember anything because it's most likely written somewhere in the internet.  It also could be argued that because we don't really need to remember anything, we have the ability to store more in our minds... if that makes any sense.  Overall, I blame society-blamers.

Answer 21

i think its all personal.

now we have so many things to offer... we can gain way more intellect in the present time then ever before because of new knowledge...

and some people take advantage of that.

look at other countries and how they progress in education

and how we progress in technology is amazing... i can learn things ten times as fast now online then someone could in the 70s searching through a library for the answers

but it take a individual to realize what is up for grabs

and most people here in america are lazy and most things are everything is so easily accessible now. the youth in our society like to fall under streotypes and labels that television, radio, and magazine broadcast... so i have no hope for most.

but i think there are still people out there who are against and well before their time.

an Einstein, kennedy, lennon, shakepeare... maybe

we are well overdue for one

i think people who are willing will always become smarter

and thats how it always has been

youre either a lazy a s s or not.

and people ive met recently have all brought me new hope in humanity... cuz i realized not everyone is an idiot. i no longer feel alone in crowded rooms

Answer 22

watch idiocracy.

Answer 23

Not dumb. just evolving

Answer 24

unfortunately, i think so.