Modern life making humans dumber?

[jmurray01]

Yep, sounds about right.

[Larry Caldwell]

So is it the kids getting dumber or are they just not being taught these things? Most folks use credit cards these days so counting out change isnt done much and if the schools, employers, or a patient employee doesnt show them it might take years to figure out for yourself if you hardly ever had to worry about it.

For math, calculators have done the deed. Those of us who grew up before calculators are used to doing simple math in our heads. Adding 5 bucks to $16.23 or subtracting 3/16 from 5/8 is so automatic it's almost thoughtless. We always play math games with kids in my family so they develop the ability. An 8 year old should be able to do, "What's 19 times 3 plus 30 plus 17 divided by six?" We try to make it come out like that, and kids think it's fun.

[Larry Caldwell]

Research has shown that pot use during the teen years leads to the permanent loss of several IQ points. The effect disappears if the person is over 21 when they start smoking it. Any teen dopers are damning themselves to a lifetime of subnormal intelligence. Slacker is not a lifestyle choice, it's an effect.

If you don't want your kids to end up morons, keep them away from pot.

Teen Marijuana Use Linked To IQ Loss : Drugs : Medical Daily

[tungularafishcamp]

Larry when my kids hit their teenage years I did some antidrug volunteer work at their high school. There was huge evidence that smoking marijuana prior to the full development of the frontal lobe of the brain @25 was permanently damaging and the severity went up as the smokers age went down.

For those of you/us that think ya well I did it and I am fine, dont forget that todays pot is not the same thing as the mexican dirtweed I smoked like a chimney as a teen. btw, I know it damaged me(now you know When guys like bird can remember what they were gonna have to pay for sod in 1972 and I have a hard time remembering what I had for breakfast, dang havent had breakfast yet, or have I? It made me do my best to keep my kids from making the same mistake!

btw if I overstepped the family friendly boundary here please feel free to delete/report this post,

[Redbug]

I do not agree with the intelligence assessment...present thinking vs a past era of intelligence. I believe there are different kinds of intelligence and aptitude. You are also comparing people of different environments but measuring both with one kind of test. A good example of that now-days are the IQ tests with the different races of people. Some races of people score lower. That is incorrect since environment plays a big factor.

About different kinds of intelligence...I have had dogs and also a couple pet raccoons. Both are extremely intelligent...but in different ways. Some people can solve physics equations and not know how to tie their shoes...

Opinions?...

[boggen]

IQ overall should be going up, but trying to scratch head, i would say it is more about technology out there and getting information easily and readily available. paper books in schools is old school. i remember teachers having us students mark out and re-change wordings in books, do to someone made a mistake and never caught before mass production. and then books a few years old. computers and more so internet, and yes even cell phones and rapid change to PDA's and like. are allowing so much more "correct" information to be tossed out. granted a person still needs to sift through the information and take what they think is correct. vs being hands and knees begging for just the extreme basics.

everyone is no longer "re-inventing the wheel" do i really need to know how to put a wooden wheel together for a cart being pulled behind some horses? nope.

folks becoming dumber? yep, folks no longer have to know every single basic idea out there, they are allowed to specialize in get in more depth. i could care less if i a person could not quickly figure out cash / change to give back.

[cqaigy2]

I think im getting dumber or maybe i should say more stupid. I'm able to talk so im not dumb but i swear im not as smart as i was when i was in my teens and twentys.

[droptop]

In many respects technology does make you dumber. I used to remember at least 20 phone numbers, now if I don't have my cell phone with me, I'm lucky if I can call anyone other than the pizza shop.

[RandyBell]

"I would wager that if an average citizen from Athens of 1000 BC were to appear suddenly among us, he or she would be among the brightest and most intellectually alive of our colleagues," claims Crabtree, who estimates that human beings reached their intellectual peak 2,000 to 6,000 years ago. In theory, that Athenian would have "a good memory, a broad range of ideas, and a clear-sighted view of important issues."

And yet, Ancient Greece is no more. I guess they weren't so smart after all.

It seems like a hokey article to me. Humans have just as good a chance of mutating towards intelligence as away from it.

But if we are not carefull that is exactly what WILL happens us, you can not have all of the diverse cultures living indpendently. They have to assimilate into one society, that is how it worked when everyone came to this country years ago. They came to this country to become Americans! We didn't go there why do we have to go out of our way to change our society to be like where they came from, if they liked it so much GO BACK. I know I sound racist, maybe I am! I believe that this is America, We are Americans and Why are we having to support people that have no intention of becoming Americans, only to live off us.

Sorry just how I feel about this

Randy

[dave1949]

In many respects technology does make you dumber. I used to remember at least 20 phone numbers, now if I don't have my cell phone with me, I'm lucky if I can call anyone other than the pizza shop.

Well, there is nothing wrong with your priorities, at least.

Making change is an example of a skill there is no motivation to practice and learn, which is how skills are developed. Most cash registers have an amount tendered key and the people who own them generally like to see a record of the transactions. There is no reward for doing it in your head, and it may even result in punishment for the chain-type places which are not known for rewarding independent thought in any case.