Are we being over-populated by stupid people?

[Baz]

Seems like as a society we are going backwards. Stupidity is everywhere!

I wonder if this is due to less intelligent families having more offspring than families who are greater in intelligence.

Just a theory - there has to be statistics on this.

[imcarthur]

Yes.

Ian

[dennis in se pa]

Yes, and for the reason you suggest. And as Ron White eloquently said - "You can't fix stupid!" We are doomed. It is all just a matter of time.

[Rick V]

Idiocracy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[billh1963]

There are stats. I posted something on this a couple of years ago. The average IQ of the world populations has dropped over the last 100 years. We all know the reasons....

[matt f]

case in point, "Honey Boo*Boo."

[Outback Porsche]

Three words...natural selection laws.

[imcarthur]

There are far, far too many examples in the history of mankind for us to assume that this is either a new phenomena or a growing phenomena.

Ian

[1990C4S]

Darwin is being ^&^@-blocked.

People that could not have survived (or reproduced) a few hundred years ago are not at risk any longer.

[widebody911]

There is a finite amount of intelligence, so each generation gets a smaller slice of the smart pie.

[aap1966]

Originally Posted by Baz

Seems like as a society we are going backwards. Stupidity is everywhere!

I wonder if this is due to less intelligent families having more offspring than families who are greater in intelligence.

Just a theory - there has to be statistics on this.

The theory is called "Eugenics".
It had quite a following in the '30's.
Got a bit of bad PR in the '40s.

[Baz]

Eugenics? YIKES......now that reminds me of that "Genetics" class I hated so much in college.

They said that course was used to "weed out" non-serious pre-med students. I was only a 'lowly' Ornamental Horticulture student trying to get my BS then out into the green industry....

There was a guy named Gregor Mendel though....hmmm....

[azasadny]

Yes, indeed we are!

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by Baz

There was a guy named Gregor Mendel though....hmmm....

...who faked his data, BTW.

[vash]

Media and the Internet just gives us more access to each other. I'm sure we have been at equilibrium for a long time. Life would be interesting if everyone was smart. Who would work for the smart folks?

[RWebb]

visit PARF to see proof that the level is low

BUT... NOT for the reason you suggest - there has simply not been adequate time for selection to move gene frequencies that much

Likely causes include env'l. pollutants, defunding of education, shifts in technology (anyone can comment on the internet, and cable TV led to the rise of "news" outlets that are mostly noise)

BTW, it is not proven that Mendel faked his data - it is "statistically unusual" that he got what he got when he did tho

[bell]

[Baz]

Originally Posted by vash

Media and the Internet just gives us more access to each other. I'm sure we have been at equilibrium for a long time. Life would be interesting if everyone was smart. Who would work for the smart folks?

FWIW..I'm not against there being less intelligent humans around...just don't like seeing them out-procreate the smarter humans...is that too much to ask?

[Christien]

Originally Posted by 1990C4S

Darwin is being ^&^@-blocked.

People that could not have survived (or reproduced) a few hundred years ago are not at risk any longer.

I've wondered about this, and I think there might be some truth to it. I read somewhere a few years ago that the current issue of peanut allergies among kids is evidence of it. A generation ago, we brought PB&Js to school and there was no such thing as a "peanut-free facility". In those days, kids with severe peanut allergies died. Now, we realize the danger and take steps to prevent those kids from dying. It makes perfect sense to do so, and if my kid had a peanut allergy, I'd want them to be safe. But it's circumventing Darwin - peanut allergies are now commonplace. You'd be hard-pressed to find a school without at least one kid with an epi pen. Maybe if we had let it go one more generation, the peanut allergy would have been eliminated for good.

[johnsjmc]

The average IQ is 100 by definition. Stupid is likely becoming more obvious because of the concept of equal rights . It has become perverted to mean a stupid idea should be viewed as just as relevent as a smart idea.