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Are We Getting Dumber and Dumber?

December 29, 2022

For a long time, mankind was getting smarter and smarter. In fact, our progress seemed unstoppable. Intelligence research actually confirmed this. But a few years ago, IQ scores stagnated.

https://p.dw.com/p/4LRqd
Sendung Dokumentation " Werden wir immer dümmer?"
Image: NDR/DW
Sendung Dokumentation " Werden wir immer dümmer?"
Image: NDR/DW

What could be the reason for this?

In 1984, the political scientist James Flynn, who lives in New Zealand, discovered that the intelligence values measured in numerous countries had been rising continuously since the beginning of the 20th century. This became known as "the Flynn effect”. The increase was attributed to things like better nutrition and medical care. But above all, it was the result of broader access to education.

Shortly after the turn of the millennium, however, Norwegian statisticians discovered that the Flynn effect was no longer working. On the contrary, some countries have even recorded slightly declining IQ scores since then. To this day, researchers are still puzzling over the question: Why are we getting dumber?
 

Sendung Dokumentation " Werden wir immer dümmer?"
Image: NDR/DW

Many neurobiologists and psychologists suspect that digitization and changes in the media landscape could have a negative impact on IQ scores. Increased screen time and constant accessibility via smartphones have been proven to reduce our ability to concentrate. Our brains are simply overtaxed. And external biological factors could also have an impact on intelligence, such as the exponential increase in fossil fuel production and the everyday use of plastic.



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