Oh, I know all the right people will get upset, but you see, when you've got nothing left to lose, you find great entertainment value in truth.
For example children correlate strongly with lower IQ's, lower standards of living and higher corruption.
Now get very angry and indignant about these facts and blame me or George Bush for it.
I'm not convinced on the correlation between IQ levels and children. If that were the case then why does China have an average IQ 10 points higher on average than the US? And even if it is true it really doesn't mean all that much.
ReplyDeleteMoreover, I am firmly convinced that IQs are malleable to a point, based off of my own personal experience with taken actual IQ tests during my youth. An IQ of 90 versus 100 is statistically the same for all intents an prupose. Outside of an IQ test you will not be able to determine a person with a 90 IQ versus the 100. And given the right education and upbringing it isn't unreasonable to see a child, who would have an IQ of 90 have an IQ of 100 or even 110, though you will never see that child reach mensa status.
I am convinced that enviromental factors matter, if only to maximize what intelligence each person natively posseses, and perhapes most importantly, foster a society that values intellgince. Because a society that highly values intelligence will more than likely see mates par off with the those who are mentally gifted and slowly over time raise the national IQ average via births.
And that is why IQs have been dropping over the years. Children don't have anything to do with it, or else you would see a rising IQ rate in the US not a declining one. It's society as a whole that midwifes this. Modern society has become one that values parasitic consumption over production, selfishness over community, moral nihilism over moral certainty, and occupational fuedlaism over mentorship. In short, popular culture and educational system have actively worked towards idiocracy.
Its not the children causing the decline. It's the parents.
ReplyDeleteGarbage in-garbage out.
I think your causation's off. Look at Utah: asston of kids, young marriage, etc. and it's still one of the more successful states out there. The kids don't make you stupid - the problem is stupid people having kids because Western food aid enables it.
ReplyDeleteI'm with CI on the environmental factors. Consider the diet of the average American, and how affordable poor-quality food made with cheap vegetable oils, sugars, refined starches and grain products, soy, and lower-quality meats are.
ReplyDeleteAll fats are not created equal, and mom's nutrition during gestation as well as the baby's nutrition after birth all contribute to brain development and cognitive function. In part it's that we've been feeding ourselves and our kids poor quality food and stunting their brain development rather than simply not being smart enough to not have kids. It is all a self-induced cycle, though - poor nutrition -> smaller brains, less cognitive function -> impaired decision making abilities.
Also consider that we have become so dependent upon others in society to do for us what we cannot or will not do, and there is no need to exercise the brain and invest in developing skills.
religiosity is a better indicator of fertility, though I am not sure how we define that in case of China.
ReplyDelete"If that were the case then why does China have an average IQ 10 points higher on average than the US? "
China has a lower birthrate. Maybe that contributes to the effect most.
Correlation is not causation. I find the hypothesis interesting and the evidence suggestive, but there are many other reasons that would be consistent with that evidence.
ReplyDeleteWe need more smart productive people solving problems that produce more goods cheaply so I can buy those goods, go golfing, and stalk fish. They is all smugly swimming around down there in the dark thinking they are safe, but they are not!
It is still useful information, regardless of the reason. As the bitch so the pup, as the saying goes.
The future belongs to those who most effectively reproduce. Effective reproduction strategies are quite likely different for different climates. As we become independant of our climate due to technology effective reproduction strategies also change.
Perhaps it is like that old high school example of the foxes and rabbits? Humans under stress get smart and develop technology to make reproduction more effective. Populations rise without regard to intelligence and over-whelm the ability to solve the new problems. Then they crash until the stress evolves smarter humans.
The better correlate for that is Islam. Islam strongly encourages consanguineous couplings, with its associated genetic diseases and intelligence deficits. Something like half of marriages in Islamic countries are such. It also encourages having LOTS of children, and strongly tolerates corruption and violence (especially against non-Muslims).
ReplyDeleteThe problem of high birthrates in low IQ areas like Africa may eventually solve itself. Think of the concept of biological carrying capacity. For example, take an island with deer on it. The deer will continue to multiply until all the edible vegetation is gone. The deer population doesn't stabilize at that point. Instead there is a population crash as all the deer starve to death simultaneously. I see this happening in Africa and, when it does, there will be a big population drop. With all the problems Europe and America are having supporting their own parasitical underclass, I don't think they'll be able to provide much help in the form of food aid to Africa or allow any starving emigrants from their when it happens. You'll eventually return to an equilibrium point with a lower population there with a higher IQ who can support themselves.
ReplyDelete