lizzie
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I meant to add in my last post, that "stupider" is indeed a proper word.
Interesting article here on recent human evolution. Apparently brain size in humans has shrunk in the last 5000 years. A possible reason is given in the article I will link to:
Humans Still Evolving as Our Brains Shrink - Evolution | Human | Theory | Man | Paleontology - FOXNews.com
In other words, the need to be intelligent isn't as much of a biological imperative as society becomes more complex. Stupid people are able to survive and reproduce. The phenomenon that we see today, with the less intelligent underclass reproducing itself at a higher rate, has been present for some time.
Please vote on your opinion of this theory.
Please vote on your opinion of this theory.
Please vote on your opinion of this theory.
Surprisingly, based on skull measurements
I would actually argue that the average person in modern, western contexts is actually dumber than the average aborigine. They are less than equal in basic problem solving (using tools to an end), less physically capable, and are placed into societies with ideological constructs they choose to side with and cannot see out of.
Has the average person become stupider in last 5000 years?
The male homosexual brain differs in several ways, the main one being that the corpus collosum (the conduit which connects the two halves of the brain) is less massive. Homosexual men, on average, tend to be better at languages and verbal articulation, as well as spatial thinkers. There hasn't been enough study into potential evolutionary reasons for homosexuality, but I think gay men are meant to serve a special role in society that is hard to observe because of our modern social order. Maybe in tribal society it would be more clear.
Also, to the general aspect of the OP, food sources for humanity in the world have increased in the whole since the advent of agriculture, and, in the past 50 years, the Green Revolution. People are getting taller and our brains are receiving more nourishment. It'll be interesting to see how this affects our brain output. Not to mention the internet and access to a wide array of information and stimulus which we are processing in ever larger quantities!
Yes, but is that intelligence?
I think creativity and intelligence are unrelated
i can't agree with that. the most creative people i know are highly intelligent. of course, that's anecdotal only.Yes, but is that intelligence?
I think creativity and intelligence are unrelated - though it is an interesting study. (I tried to find the article that I read about this in but can't quite land my hands on the exact one - it wasn't biased, it was in a science-journal of sorts....anyway)
Creativity happens as a result of intelligence. Just look at the greatest minds of the last century. All highly creative individuals.
Interesting article here on recent human evolution. Apparently brain size in humans has shrunk in the last 5000 years. A possible reason is given in the article I will link to:
Humans Still Evolving as Our Brains Shrink - Evolution | Human | Theory | Man | Paleontology - FOXNews.com
In other words, the need to be intelligent isn't as much of a biological imperative as society becomes more complex. Stupid people are able to survive and reproduce. The phenomenon that we see today, with the less intelligent underclass reproducing itself at a higher rate, has been present for some time.
Please vote on your opinion of this theory.
What I talking about is "Stupider"......
Normally I don't comment on people's grammar or spelling....but I wasn't sure if the title were meant to be ironic....rather than saying "Has the average person become more stupid in the last 500 years".....
Brain size does not indicate intelligence level. That's a pretty basic tennet of neuropsychology. Brain complexity and organization determines intelligence
I meant to add in my last post, that "stupider" is indeed a proper word.
Hand the average aborigne a calculator and see if he can figure out how to balance a check book. Hand him the jack and lug wrench and see how long it takes him to change the tire on the jeep. And lets not pretend your average aborigine isn't loaded to the gills with ideology aka religious superstitions.
Take your average city dweller, give him a stick and tell him to dig for kasava roots, and he'll have at least a general idea of what to do. Give him some vines and tell him he needs to make a fishing net, and he'll figure it out.
Don't confuse the aborigine's culturally transmitted behaviors and knowledge with his native intelligence, which is, on the average, no different than the city boy's.
Wow you can put down what it takes to survive in a untamed environment, put down the complexity of the skills they use to get by and build their homes etc. It would take him about 2 seconds to figure out the jeeps tires never having seen one before. He would be stronger than the average man, and his greater use of manual tools would mean he could faster learn and employ our tools once they were demonstrated to him. Try and teach a 'city' boy to collect honey with handmade ropes and a handful of burning grass to scare away the bees. Not gonna happen. Lets not pretend like your average fool isn't loaded with superstitions here in the west, we call them teabaggers.
It seems to me that the human being of the hunting gathering society would need to have more generalized intelligence and definitely more physical stamina than a human being in an agricultural society.
A human being in an agricultural society would need to have more generalized intelligence and definately more physical stamina than a human being in a McDonald's society.
It really depends on the agricultural society and the type of grain they are harvesting. If the grain suits the land is hardy, requires little maintenance and is resistant to insects, weather, etc. it takes alot less work.
Guns Germs and Steel (the book) is replete (about half its contents) with grains and the effect of them on the societies that harvested them.