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Are humans getting dumber?

Are humans getting dumber?

  • Yes, absolutely.

    Votes: 15 38.5%
  • No, we are getting smarter all the time.

    Votes: 19 48.7%
  • I'm too stupid to answer this question.

    Votes: 5 12.8%

  • Total voters
    39
  • Poll closed .
Are humans getting dumber?

No, smarter. Definitely getting smarter.
Humanity is in a very accelerated phase of evolution right now, and has been for about 200 years.
 
We're not getting dumber; but today everybody's opinion can be heard some way or another, not just the opinion of the elite, so it might seem to some people that we're getting dumber when in fact we're just getting more vocal.
 
I'm getting to that age where such obserations almost come with the territory. I mean, nobody talks about crotchety YOUNG men do they?


Plus, I even have a theory about it.
 
We're not getting dumber; but today everybody's opinion can be heard some way or another, not just the opinion of the elite, so it might seem to some people that we're getting dumber when in fact we're just getting more vocal.

Hmm.

I never thought of it that way...
 
What are your thoughts on this subject?

I don't think I am getting dumber but perhaps you are. I'll be waiting for your next poll to pronounce a definitive judgement:)
 
What are your thoughts on this subject?

I would have appreciated an "other" option. The options presented are too specific, in fact my answer is somewhat of a combination of the other options.

Veto.
 
That is exactly the answer I was looking for.
Society seems to give more voice for dumb people.
Free speech is fine but dumb speech shouldn't be tolerated.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlOMd8Z5-cM"]YouTube - Metallica Free speech for the dumb[/ame]

:lol::lol:
 
More individuals in society may be getting "dumber" but the human race isn't. We are advancing our technologies at an alarming rate every moment. Unless tomorrow my XP will turn back into a 98 and my com-cast goes back to dial up...I think you get my point.
 
In certain aspects, we are gaining and advancing our knowledge and developing and testing new ideas and theories. In other aspects we have retarded some base skills that prior generations of our ancestors would hang their heads in shame, if they could see us now.

Completely agree

We might be able to teach more and more people physics and advanced algebras, but at the same time, the number of people that can balance their checking account is dwindling. We might have a more educated populace in regards to understanding the basics of evolution, yet the number of people that would die if lost in the wilderness on their own would be staggering.

We are certainly to teach more people physics and other advanced subjects but they don't care to learn.

We (the human race) are getting more apathetic which is tied to stupidity and dumbness.
 
In certain aspects, we are gaining and advancing our knowledge and developing and testing new ideas and theories. In other aspects we have retarded some base skills that prior generations of our ancestors would hang their heads in shame, if they could see us now.

We might be able to teach more and more people physics and advanced algebras, but at the same time, the number of people that can balance their checking account is dwindling. We might have a more educated populace in regards to understanding the basics of evolution, yet the number of people that would die if lost in the wilderness on their own would be staggering.

Nah, a lot of that would probably be instinctive.
 
No, just Americans....

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEpp9E6aJGw"]YouTube - REAL REASON WHY USA & ISRAEL WILL ATTACK IRAN[/ame]
 
Creativedreams you don't have to post that video on every topic :roll:
 
Knowledge and factual information are increasing exponentially,
but discernment and judgement are lagging somewhat.

Also, we are gaining in some areas while dropping off in others.

For instance, if you dropped a kid off in the middle of a forest with an iphone, they would easily figure out how to use the gps app to figure out where to go.

If you gave them only a paper map, could they figure out how to make a rudimentary compass or sundial to know which direction to follow?
 
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Yes and this is the perfect thread to show my disappointment in human perception and thinking...

This is a VERY good video on how and why eveything is going on...

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMYAeSBPm2E"]YouTube - War for oil or Death of the US Dollar[/ame]

Equate this into the information...

For you moron's with an I.Q. too low and still caught up in trying to explain every little detail of 9/11 here is another thing that falls into place with the big picture...

I'm sure your I.Q. is too low to even fatham what is going on....

China and Russia threaten nuclear response..........

Saturday, 18 July 2009 09:26

A chilling report circulating in the Kremlin today states that President Medvedev and Chinese President Hu have issued an “urgent warning” to the United States that says if the Americans allow an Israeli nuclear attack upon Iran, “World War will be our response”.

Fueling Russian and Chinese fears are intelligence reports stating that Israel has moved over three-quarters of its Naval Forces through the Suez Canal and has assembled over 30 of its US-built fighter jets in Kurdistan for a planned attack using American made “bunker busting” bombs and nuclear armed cruise missiles.

Russian Military Analysts state in these reports that Israel first plans to use its US-built fighter jets to target Iran’s nuclear facilities, and upon a combined Iranian and Lebanonese Hezbollah “response”, that is said will “rain missiles down upon Israel”, Israeli submarines and surface vessels with unleash nuclear armed cruise missiles against Iran’s military, religious and political infrastructure.

Israeli news sources are also confirming Russian and Chinese fears over an attack by their country upon Iran, and as we can read as reported the Haaretz News Service:

“Israel's recent deployment of warships across the Red Sea should be seen as serious preparation for an attack on Iran, an Israeli defense official told the Times of London on Thursday.

"This is preparation that should be taken seriously. Israel is investing time in preparing itself for the complexity of an attack on Iran. These maneuvers are a message to Iran that Israel will follow up on its threats," the official was quoted as saying.”

President Bush had become so alarmed over Israel’s plan to attack Iran that in an unprecedented move, just prior to leaving office, he refused the Israelis “secret request” for 1,000 of the American bunker busting bombs they wanted, but, Israel had obtained 100 of these dreaded weapons in a 2005 deal with the Pentagon.

Upon Obama assuming the US Presidency, Israel’s Prime Minister gave the American leader a stark warning that “Either you take care of Iran-quickly-or I will”, a challenge that Obama, while in Russia last week, slapped down by warning that the United States is “absolutely not” giving Israel a green light to attack Iran, a curious statement, however, when viewed in the light of the American Vice President Biden stating just days before that “Israel is free to do whatever it deems necessary to remove the Iranian nuclear threat”.

Fueling Russian and Chinese fears over Israel’s planned attack on Iran, these reports continue, is the Jewish states planned use of Iraqi territory from their Kurdistan region which borders Iran, and which this past week furthered its goal to become an independent Nation with the adopting of a new constitution, and with its Israeli trained army can expect an “immediate” invasion from both its sworn enemies Turkey and Iran.

Even worse, Syria’s leader has reportedly warned the US that upon Turkey and Iran declaring war upon Kurdistan and Israel it would “no choice” but to honor its defense agreements with the Iranians calling for their Nations to protect each other in times of peril.

Further complicating this mess is Turkey’s membership in NATO, and which under that alliances agreement calls for the United States and Europe to join with the Turkish military in fighting against what in essence would be their own allies of Israel and Kurdistan.

Not being known to the American people is that while their Military Forces have been fighting in Iraq, the United States and Iran have longstanding agreements allowing the Iranians to shell Iraqi Kurd territory without fear of reprisal, an agreement that also includes Turkey who have battled against the Iraqi Kurds for decades.

Most ominously in these reports though, both Russia and China state that they will have “no choice” but to place an “immediate embargo” against any oil and gas coming from the Middle East and weapons to the region the United States may try to supply. China further states in this warning that upon an Israeli attack upon Iran they will “immediately cease” to purchase any more US debt, and with the American deficit hitting $1 Trillion for the first time in their history, and with it expecting to exceed $2 Trillion by the end of the fiscal year on September 30th, a particually grave threat being that China’s $2 Trillion in reserves are the only thing keeping the US economy afloat.

Russian Intelligence Analysts further report that the long-serving head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Gholam Reza Aghazadeh, resigned today over fears for his and his family’s safety upon an attack by Israel upon the Persian Nation.

What is not known at this time, these reports summarize, is if Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, which the Israelis report has been “successfully tested”, would be able to withstand the estimated 6,000 plus missiles expected to be fired at it by the combined powers of Iran, Syria and Hezbollah.

But, to Israeli war leaders believing that upon the conventional destruction of Iran’s nuclear facilities, the Persian Nation will “sue for peace” rather than be hit by nuclear weapons, these reports state, unequivocally, that Iranian leaders are “fully prepared” to engulf the entire World in “brutal fire” rather than to ever “kneel down” before the “Zionists” they have long stated have no right being in the Middle East in the first place.
 
Moderator's Warning:
Stay on topic (creativedreams - that means you)! If I see you posting this in another thread, there will be consequences for spamming.
 
The question was if we are getting dumber, and not if we increase our knowledge.
Knowledge cannot decrease unless you erase it from the many existing databases, so obviously it'll only increase.
Excellent point, basically I think man is neither getting smarter or dumber. I think our capacity is the same.
 
Skepticism is increasing, which I view as a positive development. Folks are slowly but surely learning how to challenge their own programming, and they are much less likely to accept a mental virus without question just because it brings emotional comfort. However, progress is uneven, and there are still powerful forces in society promoting mental rigidity.

On the negative side, we are awash in extraordinarily low quality content (by some measures), and separating the wheat from the chaff becomes ever more time consuming.

You might be interested in the Flynn effect:

[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flynn_effect]Flynn effect - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

:2wave:
 
Hell yes. Not ALL humans, of course. The small percentage of people with a working brain are doing wonders for society. But the average human is getting dumber.
 
I think common sense is circling the drain pretty quickly these days.

And too many people bend over backwards to accomodate those that nature would snuff out naturally, because they lack common sense to preserve their lives / well being.
 
Unfortunately, yes.

Why? It's largely due to government-run education. In so called "public" schools, children are being taught to accept unconstitutional government actions and be good little serfs for the state.

They are being taught that slavery is wrong (of course), BUT at the same time, they are being taught that government is the master and not the servant of the people.

Want proof? Just look at the multitudes of abusive laws and regulations we have now, and more are on the way.

And yes, higher taxes to pay for them.
 
From a evolutionary standpoint, generational differences in size and life span are a fact. All species evolve over time. Combined with better nutrition and health care, we are now beginning to tap into the deepest realms of human potential. Human nature revolves around "pushing" the boundaries, the unknown, essentially seeking to diverge the deepest meanings of life. The greater amount of people attempting to breakthrough perceived barriers, the greater the frequency of these occurrences. And we are living longer:shock:

The Flynn Effect is a wonderful read for those who are interested in IQ scores.
 
From a evolutionary standpoint, generational differences in size and life span are a fact. All species evolve over time. Combined with better nutrition and health care, we are now beginning to tap into the deepest realms of human potential. Human nature revolves around "pushing" the boundaries, the unknown, essentially seeking to diverge the deepest meanings of life. The greater amount of people attempting to breakthrough perceived barriers, the greater the frequency of these occurrences. And we are living longer:shock:

The Flynn Effect is a wonderful read for those who are interested in IQ scores.


No, we are getting smarter all the time.

I agree we only evolve over time,
Every generation learns and improves from the generation before them.
 
I picked no even though my views are a little different.

I believe that if by humans you mean the scientists hard at work finding cures, exploring miniature cells, researching the human mind, or studying the stars, we are getting much smarter.

However, if by humans you mean the average man, we are staying relatively as informed if not getting dumber. Half of the population is getting extremely cynical while the other half is becoming gullible.
 
Yes they are -- for two reasons:

1. The lower and less intelligent people are outbreeding the more civilized and more intelligent people.

2. Government-run education.
 
I would imagine intelligence was the ability to think for ourselves. Generally speaking intelligence also involves getting an education as it is very hard to be able to have ideas on things we know nothing about!!

I would have thought that on the level of education we are now at the least dumb in societies history.

We also no longer live by such strict social codes that the ability to think is curtailed by social sanctions.

We ought on this to be the most advanced and least dumb we have ever been.

However, we do as people have said and through the wide access to media give a lot more time to opinions which once might have been thought of as somewhat dumb.

Further with the amound of spin that surrounds everything it probably is more difficult than every before to find out the 'truth' on things political. Without the knowledge we remain dumb.

I have a suspicion that with all of this people nowadays are more prone to unconsciously being deluded and going along with things they should question than at any time in history.

If that makes us dumber then we are dumber but we do have at the moment the possibility to be the most intelligent ever - it depends on how lazy we are.
 
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