Study: People are getting dumber
The reason? Life on the veldt was tough, and prehistoric humans’ genes were constantly subjected to selective pressure in an environment where the species’ survival depended on it. For humans, that meant getting smarter. ”The development of our intellectual abilities and the optimization of thousands of intelligence genes probably occurred in relatively non-verbal, dispersed groups of peoples before our ancestors emerged from Africa,” Crabtree said in a news release.
The urbanization that followed the development of agriculture simplified survival by removing some of its challenges, which likely weakened natural selection’s ability to eliminate mutations associated with deficiencies in intelligence. Crabtree estimates that over the last 3,000 years (about 120 generations), humans have sustained at least two mutations that have eroded our intellectual and emotional intelligence.
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A prime example of a study that recursively proves itself.
MelonCollie on November 16, 2012 at 10:43 PM
Devo was right.
The devolution continues…
Difficultas_Est_Imperium on November 16, 2012 at 10:44 PM
Less than a month ago i read an article about a study saying people are getting smarter.
I have to say, it does appeal to my sensibilities to believe that people are dumber as it would explain how a moron like Obama gets elected, but I doubt it’s true.
WashingtonsWake on November 16, 2012 at 10:44 PM
Especially those people that still read the dead-tree media.
Marxism is for dummies on November 16, 2012 at 10:44 PM
Plus, it`s far simpler to blame DNA than the NEA.
Difficultas_Est_Imperium on November 16, 2012 at 10:45 PM
The last two Presidential elections have pretty much proven that… did we need another study?
malclave on November 16, 2012 at 10:46 PM
Tis true. We don’t hand out Darwin awards like we use to. Think about it. If you are stupid today, and therefore fall down and break your face, a motorized vehicle with lights and sirens comes for you which then takes you to a big building where highly paid people, who haven’t fallen down and broken their face, work to save you at great financial cost – of which you will pay little or nothing yourself.
In the good old days of the Savannah, you just died. So not only are we getting dumber, by circumventing natural selection, but we are bankrupting ourselves to do it.
Oh SMOD, where art thou?
keep the change on November 16, 2012 at 10:49 PM
D’Oh! We just witnessed two presidential elections that proved the point. Put the parasites on the veldt and see how long they’d last.
Stupid people vote for demagogues.
‘Toon of the Day: I’m With Stupid
Resist We Much on November 16, 2012 at 10:50 PM
Great. Another article about the election.
Bobbertsan on November 16, 2012 at 10:51 PM
Let’s strike a company declaring bankruptcy!
tom daschle concerned on November 16, 2012 at 10:56 PM
Anyone who still reads Time, is certainly getting dumber.
Rebar on November 16, 2012 at 10:56 PM
‘xactly!
Schadenfreude on November 16, 2012 at 10:57 PM
This is racist and sexist.
Banshee Leader on November 16, 2012 at 11:02 PM
This?
sublibertate on November 16, 2012 at 11:19 PM
Your Mama’s so dumb I told her that Christmas was around the corner, and she went lookin’!
Ladysmith CulchaVulcha on November 16, 2012 at 11:23 PM
Devolution is the way of the universe, the genetic ‘clock’ is running down (not up). It’s never ran up.
Axion on November 16, 2012 at 11:34 PM
Very true. Urban areas are breeding grounds for stupidity, i.e. Democrat voters.
Norwegian on November 16, 2012 at 11:34 PM
There is no question.
When you have the most inept idiots able to have as many children as they please, all to be taken care of by the state, it is inevitable.
WisCon on November 17, 2012 at 12:03 AM
I have a feeling this study was inspired by that YouTube clip of the woman trying to ride the escalator in her wheelchair.
Sharke on November 17, 2012 at 12:09 AM
Actually, I disagree, I think overall people are getting smarter. However, becoming well educated in terms of what constitutes good government is becoming more difficult. There is a reason the left routinely targets educational systems world wide.
It is not difficult to find top notch educational programs for engineering, chemistry, mechanics, or even physics, almost regardless of where you live. However, if you want to learn about things like the abysmal failure rate of socialist governments, you usually have to look it up yourself.
Even this is not without its caveat however. Once you graduate from college and spend a decade in the real world, you tend to develop a much better sense of what constitutes good government, from simple experience. This is why most conservatives sound experienced and worldly, while most liberals come across as purely academic.
There are a few really academic conservatives out there, but they’re a rare breed.
WolvenOne on November 17, 2012 at 12:19 AM
How could anyone tell the difference in the Arab world?
VorDaj on November 17, 2012 at 12:23 AM
I don’t think it’s about getting smarter or dumber, it’s about how much effort people are willing to put into staying free. If the government takes care of you, why rock the boat (they think)? Freedom takes work. Hard work.
Othniel on November 17, 2012 at 12:23 AM
Didn’t they make a movie about this?
The Mega Independent on November 17, 2012 at 1:05 AM
Dr. Sanity says using drugs negatively impacts brain function.
Legalize marijuana!
vityas on November 17, 2012 at 4:04 AM
Yup, Idiocracy is looking more and more like a documentary every day. You gotta love the President in it!
NavyMustang on November 17, 2012 at 6:37 AM
It’s not that people are getting dumber. We as a species has always been dumb but, we have left biological evolution in the dust and brought social evolution to the forefront. Now our organized institutions are no longer invested in training a person to be a skilled laborer but rather training them to be the proper kind of citizen. A job that was once regulated to family and church. As a society we have chosen that it is more important that are children learn that all the politically correct nonsense and equality for most but not the leaders is far more important than learning math or how to use a hammer.
Frank Enstine on November 17, 2012 at 8:35 AM
Ever look at the tests elementary kids took 200 years ago?
Modern college grads would have difficulty passing them.
itsnotaboutme on November 17, 2012 at 9:08 AM
As if to prove the point, the article assumes Darwinism to be true.
itsnotaboutme on November 17, 2012 at 9:10 AM
Welfare is accelerating the problem.
astonerii on November 17, 2012 at 9:29 AM
Genetics are absolutely real. Mutations happen. Many genes lie dormant, with occasional reawakening to see if they have value. If they have value, or at least are not detrimental to survival, they may remain active and increase in the population. It has absolutely nothing to do with Darwinism. Whether we evolved from goo or we were designed by God, we would have all these genes regardless. Evolution leaves some genes in the code by just turning them off, God would have put the genes in the code in order to ensure survivability of his creation over time and different environments.
astonerii on November 17, 2012 at 9:33 AM
Of course mutations happen, astonerii. But life did not arise spontaneously from non-living matter.
itsnotaboutme on November 17, 2012 at 9:47 AM
Idiots like you are why we keep losing elections.
WisCon on November 17, 2012 at 12:21 PM