Are We Getting Less Intelligent?
This story in the Daily Mail and other newspapers suggests we are. Here’s the first few sentences.
It was an era of glorious scientific discovery.
And the reason for the Victorians unprecedented success is simple – they were ‘substantially cleverer’ than us.
Researchers compared reaction times – a reliable indicator of general intelligence – since the late 1800s to the present day and found our fleetness of mind is diminishing.
They claim our slowing reflexes suggest we are less smart than our ancestors, with a loss of 1.23 IQ points per decade or 14 IQ points since Victorian times.
As the study was done, by three universities, I won’t argue with their findings.
But it does make you think!
There are now so many factors in our modern life and the way we bring up and educate children, that without decent research we won’t know why. and we can’t go back and do experiments on our Victorian ancestors.
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The Anonymous Widower 
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