Norwegian scientists claim that humanity is rapidly becoming stupid. Brief excerpts from the findings of the researchers were published by MedicalXpress. The full results of the research by Norwegian specialists are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. However, many disagree with the conclusions of the Norwegians, pointing out the limited sample size and therefore the impossibility of applying the results obtained to all inhabitants of the Earth.
The thesis of a gradual decline in the level of human intelligence is far from new. Despite the constant accumulation of new knowledge by civilization, individual people do not become more intellectually developed. Some scientists even believe that modern man is inferior to the Cro-Magnon in a number of mental indicators. This is associated with the fact that the inhabitants of the Earth of the XXI century no longer have to fight for their survival every day, which largely negates the evolutionary role of natural selection.
Interestingly, however, something else. Increasingly, there are statements that humanity is "rapidly becoming stupid." And this was once again confirmed by Norwegian scientists from the Ragnar Frisch Center for Economic Research. The material for their research was the IQ test results of Norwegians who entered the military in 1970-2009. In total, scientists used the results of 730,000 tests. According to these results, in one generation, the level of intelligence fell by an average of seven points, which is certainly a very serious indicator. Scientists consider environmental problems as well as lifestyle changes as possible causes. We are talking, in particular, about computerization.
The findings of the Norwegian scientists have already been criticized, pointing out the limited sample and, therefore, the impossibility of their application to all of humanity. Nevertheless, another group of scientists came to similar conclusions earlier. Then the researchers compared the level of education of modern people and residents of the Victorian era from 1837 to 1901. The results showed that then the person was more developed and inventive.
A program analyzing psychophysical data showed that the reaction rate of a man in 1889 was 183 milliseconds, while today this figure is 253 milliseconds. In the case of women, the rates were 188 and 261 milliseconds, respectively. Experts also found that every decade IQ dropped by 1.23 points, and over a century and a half the decline was 14 points. According to experts, with such dynamics, a person can eventually descend to the level of a developed monkey.
Nikolay Khizhnyak