105 replies to this topic

[harleyblueswoman]

all people everywhere are better educated that in the past....but common sense is going out the window...

[Mr Right Wing]

Still Waters, on 12 November 2012 - 11:18 PM, said:

Our intelligence and behaviour requires optimal functioning of a large number of genes, which requires enormous evolutionary pressures to maintain.

Now, in a provocative theory, a team from Stanford University claim we are losing our intellectual and emotional capabilities because the intricate web of genes which endows us with our brain power is particularly vulnerable to mutations - and these mutations are not being selected against our modern society because we no longer need intelligence to survive.

http://www.dailymail...ce-survive.html

Our society is run all backwards.

We should live in a nation where the intellectuals, the beautiful, the atheltic and the generally gifted all have 10 kids each. But our society is setup to take away their wages and give them to the down and outs who have the 10 kids each instead. Therefore as the generations pass peoples eyes gradually get closer and closer together.

[WoIverine]

Key intelligence indicator: common sense or the lack thereof.

[Neognosis]

Quote

This is relative to the less educated members of society, who tend to have more kids and to start having them earlier--i.e.-increasing evolutionary success.

I'll throw something else into the mix... Marriage is BAD for the species, as it keeps from a more rapid combination of genetics. It is far more to one's benefit biologically speaking, to have children by more than one father/mother.

Quote

But our society is setup to take away their wages and give them to the down and outs who have the 10 kids each instead

No it's not.

[King Fluffs]

I think so.

The other day some little ****s ran out infront of my friends car screaming "Yolo".
I told him that if he had hit them I'd have helped hide the bodies. :lol:

[CRIPTIC CHAMELEON]

King Fluffs, on 13 November 2012 - 07:36 PM, said:

I think so.

The other day some little ****s ran out infront of my friends car screaming "Yolo".
I told him that if he had hit them I'd have helped hide the bodies.

Good one but out of curiosity whats a "Yolo" ?  

[Unusual]

CRIPTIC CHAMELEON, on 13 November 2012 - 08:41 PM, said:

Good one but out of curiosity whats a "Yolo" ?  

Yolo means "you only live once"

[notoverrated]

meh who cares we are eventually just going to rely on computers, and after that physical abilities will have greater value and the leader of the people will be the strongest, fastest ,or just the one that can kick the most ass.

[spud the mackem]

sam12six, on 13 November 2012 - 01:37 AM, said:

I don't see why you think that. Our modern world allows people who would have died as children to live to a ripe old age because our medical technology overcomes the inherent weakness in their genetic code. By the same token, "think fast or die" situations are pretty rare for a modern human.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying these guys are right (especially since there's no real definitive way to measure intelligence among modern people, much less a way to apply it to previous generations), just that from a logical perspective our amassed knowledge base as a species may allow individuals to get by with learning less or more slowly than generations where individual knowledge was all that determined whether one would eat dinner or BE dinner...

  You have the good fortune to live in a modern Country,and have the right to the best medical treatment,and are miles ahead of most Countries in Tech know how,but most people of todays world live in abject horrendous poverty. Have you stepped over dead bodies lying in the streets of Calcutta,or seen African children drinking muddy street water,and seen Indian children fighting over a scrap of bread on a city refuse dump.Just asking because I dont think you know what real poverty is..no offence meant.A lot of these poor people wont live into their teens never mind a ripe old age.

[moonshadow60]

Children are no longer taught cursive writing in school.  They are not taught to do even basic math without using a calculator.  If the grid ever did go down, they would soon be rather helpless without their electronic crutches.  So would a lot of adults. Yes; I believe people are getting dumber.

[Cybele]

Neognosis, on 13 November 2012 - 07:14 PM, said:

I'll throw something else into the mix... Marriage is BAD for the species, as it keeps from a more rapid combination of genetics. It is far more to one's benefit biologically speaking, to have children by more than one father/mother.

But then who would help raise said children?

Marriage may be adaptive in a species with complex social structures, as it might ensure that greater resources and focus can be devoted to raising children successfully. It makes sense to have long-term partnerships, considering the relatively long childhood, and greater helplessness during childhood, humans display compared to other species.

Edited by Cybele, 13 November 2012 - 11:17 PM.

[Billpacer]

I'd say so. All I have to do is compare my current calculus book to the one at the library published in 1950.

[Xanthurion2]

all you have to do to answer this question is watch tv. go to any site on the internet (besides this one, of course) and take a trip to your local modern music store.

[Alexanderthefake]

If I dont havd gps on my own, how can I fund my phone?

[highdesert50]

Since we as a species have purposely evolved technology as a method of self preservation, our abilities have become more focused and perhaps less generalized. Indeed, there is more emphasis on attaining higher levels of education in order to assure vocational capabilities in a world where Moore's Law argues the doubling of digital density occurs every two years. The masses who live in urban jungles have perhaps lost the ability to survive in the rural jungles and have certainly lost the joy of commuting with nature. Yet we continue to adapt very successfully. And, perhaps that is our greatest challenge. How do we deal with our success and the consequential spiraling population growth and dwindling resources.