You may not have noticed, but we are living in a golden age of intellect and consciousness.
Our score has been rising since the invention of the IQ test a hundred years ago. Today, a person with an average level of intelligence is considered to have more genius than a person born in 1919. This principle is called the Flynn effect.
This increase in our mental capacity is a matter of happiness, but for how long? Recent evidence suggests that this capacity is declining, rather than declining. That is, we have reached the extremity of intellect and consciousness.
The question is, can the extremes of intelligence be reached? And if that is the case, then what is the meaning of the fall after the rise for the man of the future?
How did human intelligence originate in antiquity?
That is, the time when our ancestors started walking on two legs three million years ago. A scan of the fossilized skulls shows that the brain of the two-legged bean man, Australopithecus, was 400 cubic centimeters larger, about the size of a third of today's human brain.
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| Human intelligence originate in antiquity |
Of course, big brains cost more. The modern human brain needs 20% more energy to function. So in order to provide extra energy to the big brain, we have to give up some other benefits.
There can be many stimuli for this brain growth. But according to an important theory, our mental development is due to the group life or the consciousness needed to live together.
After Australopithecus, human ancestors began to form the largest groups. Probably a factor as to why they're doing so poorly is because of the fact that humans have come down from the trees to live on the ground and that predators are a serious threat to human survival. The advantage of group life was that in this way man could pool resources and adapt to a changing environment, and children could be cared for together.
But as we know from personal experience, living with others is not an easy task because you have to take care of everyone's habits and likes and dislikes, and that you can tell them a secret. And when you're engaged in a group activity, such as hunting in a group, you stay in touch with each member and coordinate your activities. For today's man, some mistakes are only a source of embarrassment, but for our ancestors it was a matter of life and death.
In addition to these immediate difficulties, members of large social groups may have exchanged information with each other, improved each other's inventions, which may have led to new technologies and cultural innovations, such devices may have come into being. Which would have made it easier to hunt. All of them require strong observation and the ability to learn from others, and this need may have given the brain another boost.
Four million years ago, the brain size of Homo hydelbergenesis (an ancient human species) was 1,200 cubic centimeters. This is just a little less than the current volume of the modern human brain, 1300 cubic centimeters. When our ancestors migrated from Africa about 70,000 years ago, they were smart enough to settle anywhere in the world. The images found inside the caves testify that he began to consider the great universal questions, which probably included questions about the origin of man.
There will be few experts who insist that the recent increase in IQ is due to genetic evolution, as genetic mutation requires more time.
It was only 100 years ago when scientists introduced the IQ, the measure of mental ability. Success in IQ depends on the interconnectedness of different cognitive abilities. That is, your power of reasoning and your ability to put it into words and find similarities in different forms is related to your ability to calculate. Therefore, IQ is considered as a tool to bring out the 'general intelligence' or the hidden abilities of the brain.
Although IQ is often criticized, research shows that its scores provide useful indicators or indicators to test performance in a number of areas that have been particularly useful in determining the ability to acquire knowledge. Are (This is not surprising since they were initially used in schools). They are also useful in assessing the ability to learn new skills on the job. But this method is not without flaws and many other factors can also contribute to your success. But in general, it helps to differentiate between people's ability to learn and their ability to use complex information.
The rise in IQ apparently began in the early 20th century, but psychologists have only recently begun to pay attention to this process. This is because the IQ score has been set. That is, after the test, a set of criteria is applied to people's scores so that their IQ can be tested against a permanent IQ score of 100. In this way, the ability of those who pass various IQ tests can be compared on the same scale. However, unless you look at the repository of information, you do not realize the difference in the IQ of different generations.
When researcher James Flynn reviewed the scores of the last century, he found a steady increase in them, which was three points higher than in any previous decade. In some countries, the gap has now reached 30 points.
Although the Flynn effect theory is currently being debated by experts, the increase in IQ in the new generation compared to the previous generation may be due to environmental factors, not genetic mutations.
Probably the best comparison is the change in our height. For example, our height is about 11 centimeters or five inches longer than in the 19th century. But that doesn't mean our genes have changed. Rather, it means that our overall health has improved.
It is possible that some of the motivations behind both changes. Better medicine, reduction of childhood diseases and good diet will definitely help us to get better physically and mentally. Some experts believe that the reduction in the amount of lead in petrol has also had a positive effect on our mental capacity. In the past, lead has had a negative effect on our ability to think and understand. So the cleaner the fuel, the smarter we will be.
But this picture is incomplete because the intellectual environment in modern societies is also changing, which may have trained our power of imagination and reasoning in childhood. In the field of education, for example, children's ability to think is developed (such as when animals are lactating or crawling). Similarly, to understand and use modern technology, we have to rely on abstract thinking. Just think how many symbols we have to learn and use even for simple computer work. Such a practice of thinking creates in each person the skills on the basis of which he can get a good score in the IQ test.
Whatever the cause of the Flynn effect, there is evidence that we have reached the end of this age of intelligence, our IQ has stopped growing, it is falling. If you look at Finland, Norway and Denmark, for example, the decline there began in the mid-1990s, when the average IQ began to fall by 0.2 percentage points per year. And the total difference from generation to generation is seven points.
Is there a collective decline in IQ?
These trends are relatively new, so they are more difficult to explain than the Flynn effect. One possibility is that education no longer shakes our thinking power or targets those skills. Ole Rogersberg of the University of Oslo, for example, told me that some IQ tests were used to test people's ability to make verbal calculations, but now students are taking the job with a calculator.
Right now we can say that our way of life mysteriously trains our minds.
At a time when scientists are working to unravel these trends, the question of what effect a change in IQ has on society is not out of place. Has the IQ boost under the Flynn effect given us the benefits we hoped for? And if not, why not?
The Journal of Intelligence recently raised this question in a special issue, and Robert Sternberg, a psychologist at Cornell University, wrote in the editorial:
"People probably understand complex phones and other technological inventions better than they did in the early twentieth century. But as a society, what is gained by an increase of 30 points is impressive? The 2016 presidential election was childish. Then the increase in IQ has not been very effective in solving major global or national problems. These problems include the widening gap between low and high incomes, widespread poverty, climate change, pollution, violence, drug-related deaths, and more.
But Sternberg seems a little more skeptical. Because there has been tremendous progress in treatment. For example, the health problems of infants have decreased, although poverty has not been eradicated, but it has decreased globally. And then there are the many benefits of scientific and technological advances that could not have been imagined without an intelligent workforce.
However, he is not alone in asking whether the Flynn effect has greatly improved our ability to perceive. James Flynn himself is convinced that this increase is probably limited to certain reasoning skills. It's just like different exercises strengthen different muscles but do not improve overall health. We have been practicing certain types of imagination and they do not necessarily improve our intellect completely. Probably a factor as to why they're doing so poorly.
The power of creativity can go far beyond artistic expression
Take the power of creativity or 'creativity'. When researchers like Sternberg discuss creativity, they are not just talking about artistic expression, they are talking about more basic skills. For example, how easily can you find an untouched solution to a problem? And how much power do you have over counter-factual thinking, that is, how much ability do you have to find a solution to a problem that has not yet arisen with your own imagination?
Intelligence certainly makes us more creative, but an increase in IQ over a particular period does not increase individual creative thinking. Whatever the cause of the Flynn effect, it did not help us to create new and natural thinking.
Then there is the question of rationality, that is, how good decisions you can make by separating facts from irrelevant information.
You may think that you are as smart as you are intelligent, but it's not that simple. Although high IQ is about accounting, which is essential for understanding the possibilities and risks, there are other essentials to making a reasonable decision that cannot be attributed to a lack of intelligence.
Consider the sci-fi prejudices in the widely available literature. For example, an item that is '95% fat free' seems healthier than a '5% fat' item. This is called framing bias. And it is now clear that high IQs cannot make up for the shortfall, meaning that even the most intelligent people can be affected by such misleading messages.
People with a higher IQ are just as likely to have a confirmation bias. It is the tendency to accept information that confirms our preconceived notions. While ignoring facts that contradict our views. This attitude creates a big problem when we talk about a hot topic like politics.
No matter how high the IQ, it won't save you from the sinkcast bias. Under this trend, we throw more resources into failed projects, although we should try to minimize the damage. This is a very serious problem in the business world. (A well-known example is the continued investment of the British and French governments in Concorde, although it was clear that the project was doomed to failure.)
The tests of 'Temporary Discounting' or 'Sustainable Benefit rather than Temporary' tests do not improve the performance of highly intelligent people either, meaning you do not want to give up short-term profits for the sake of future big profits. However, it is important to think about the long-term benefits of a peaceful future.
In addition to resisting such prejudices, it is important to have general critical thinking skills. For example, the ability to question assumptions, identify the unknown, find alternative explanations for events before drawing conclusions, and so on. All of these are necessary for good thinking, but they have no strong connection to IQ, nor do they come from higher education. A study conducted in the United States found that many people did not improve their critical thinking even after obtaining degrees.
Given this loose correlation, it is understandable why the increase in IQ has not led to a dramatic improvement in our overall decision-making power.
The lack of rationality and critical thinking explains why financial fraud is so common, and why people waste their wealth and health by being fooled by donations.
This attitude can lead to medical errors and injustice in our society. It could also be the cause of the catastrophic release of Deepwater Horizon oil in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 and the global financial crisis. It also plays a role in political factionalism on key issues such as the spread of fake news and climate change. That is why we have failed to find a consensus solution.
How can we avoid major disasters such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill without adopting a critical mindset?
If we look at human history today, we will see how our brains learned to live in more complex societies. And in this modern age, although our abstract thinking has expanded, it has not corrected our irrational inclinations. We assumed that the power of judgment in intelligent people increases with age, but this is not the case.
Looking to the future, we need to think about how to use our brains in the face of reversal or complete reduction in IQ. Preventing this decline should be our priority for the future. On the other hand, we can also try to increase the capabilities that have nothing to do with high IQ.
This way of thinking can be taught. But this requires careful and carefully formulated instructions. Research on doctors' judgment shows that mental error can be avoided if we are taught to think in our own way. It will benefit countless people.
But why teach these skills in elementary education? Wendy Brown de Bruyne of Leeds University Business School and her colleagues have proven that discussions about making mistakes can be included in the high school curriculum. This not only improved participants' performance in subsequent rationalism tests, but also increased their knowledge of historical facts.
Other researchers have revived the teaching of critical thinking in schools and universities. For example, a discussion of the thinking behind a conspiracy behind every important event can teach students the principles of solid reasoning, such as identifying logical fallacies and examining them with evidence. After acquiring this skill, the students became more cautious about misleading and false news.
If rationalism and critical thinking are nurtured in the same way that other faculties of our intellect and consciousness are valued, then these achievements are a beacon for our next destination.
It is possible that the Flynn effect will result in a drastic increase in rationalism, perhaps we will gain more insight. If so, this slight decrease in IQ is not a sign of the end of the golden age of intellect but of a new beginning.
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