OPINION
Only a mainstream media journalist could argue that a decline in general intelligence is a good thing. Probably because, if everybody else dumbs down, the numbnuts in the media might finally have something to feel good about themselves.
Of course, we, ah, ‘more experienced’ folks always like to think that ‘kids these days’ are getting stupider than ever. This time, though, we may be right. It’s science!
New research from Northwestern University in Illinois finds that American’s IQs are dropping. IQ – a term that stands for Intelligence Quotient – has been used for decades as a standard measure of problem-solving ability, intelligence, and logic and reasoning skills. From 1932 until 2012, IQ scores increased as much as five points per decade, a phenomenon known as the “Flynn Effect.”
However, researchers from Northwestern University have discovered a “reverse Flynn Effect” going back all the way to 2006.
The Flynn Effect has, of course, always been puzzling. Taken on the face of it, the folk of the late 19th century should have been drooling morons. Which clearly wasn’t true. So, should we be worried about a decline from an apparent apex of human intelligence?
Study author Elizabeth Dworak and her team examined data from almost 400,000 people who had taken an online personality assessment called the Synthetic Aperture Personality Assessment (SAPA) Project. The test provides users with insight into 27 different personality traits, and there are also sections that measure cognitive ability.
The researchers found that scores associated with “verbal reasoning (logic, vocabulary), matrix reasoning (visual problem solving, analogies), and letter and number series (computational/mathematical)” all declined from 2006 to 2018, while scores for 3D rotation or spatial reasoning increased. These changes were consistent regardless of education level, age, or gender.
The first thing that should be pointed out is that these are not an IQ test, per se. While they test many of the same areas, they also test others (such as emotions, social skills, etc).
Dworak stressed that the decline in scores doesn’t necessarily mean Americans aren’t as intelligent as their grandparents or great-grandparents were.
“It doesn’t mean their mental ability is lower or higher; it’s just a difference in scores that are favoring older or newer samples,” she said in a press release. “It could just be that they’re getting worse at taking tests or specifically worse at taking these kinds of tests.”
Dworak also said there are numerous possibilities for the decline, ranging from poor nutrition to a rise in screens and media consumption to pollution and a decline in overall health.
In other words, poor attention spans and poor reading and comprehension skills may also be dragging test results down. IQ tests for spatial reasoning as well – and it’s well known that staring all day at a single focal point has badly affected spatial skills such as catching a ball.
“If you’re thinking about what society cares about and what it’s emphasizing and reinforcing every day, there’s a possibility of that being reflected in performance on an ability test,” Dworak said, citing the increased emphasis on STEM education over the last ten years.
Dworak also noted that since the SAPA project was advertised as a personality test, users could have been less motivated to answer questions that did not directly relate to personality, resulting in lower scores for sections dealing with aptitude.
On the other hand, if users are declining in such key attributes of general intelligence such as reading and comprehension, concentration and spacial skills, how is that functionally different from becoming less intelligent?
And here come the excuses.
IQ measurement has a controversial history. Many scholars and researchers believe that IQ tests don’t give an accurate picture of what we refer to as intelligence. There are also questions as to the validity of IQ testing across disciplines – IQ tests tend to measure academic aptitude at the expense of social and emotional intelligence and artistic creativity. And there are strong historical ties between IQ tests and the eugenics movement.
Fatherly
Of course IQ tests measure academic aptitude. That’s the point, you idiots. “Academic aptitude” is just another word for intelligence. “Social and emotional intelligence” isn’t a real thing, either: it’s just a modern, touchy-feely invention. IQ has consistently been shown to correlate with general aptitude.
As for “historical ties” with eugenics: so what? That doesn’t falsify IQ as a reliable measurement, no more than the strong historical ties of academics and doctors with the Nazi movement invalidates either of those.
Would the mainstream media like to be judged by their strong historical ties with, say, communism?