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The Victorians were smarter than us....

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Comments

  • neverdespairgirl
    neverdespairgirl Posts: 16,501 Forumite
    chewmylegoff wrote: »

    Re the theory about "intelligent" people not breeding quickly enough - hasn't this always been so. Working class families always had a bucket load of kids (I saw this on Monty Python). I suppose more of them make it to sexual maturity than in Victorian times though...

    At some times in history, the higher social classes had more children than lower.

    Breastfeeding is a natural (although not 100%, obviously) contraceptive. So working class women who fed their own children for 2-3 years didn't have as many children as the upper classes, who had wet nurses, and a child every year or so.
    ...much enquiry having been made concerning a gentleman, who had quitted a company where Johnson was, and no information being obtained; at last Johnson observed, that 'he did not care to speak ill of any man behind his back, but he believed the gentleman was an attorney'.
  • TruckerT
    TruckerT Posts: 1,714 Forumite
    vivatifosi wrote: »
    Last week I was listening to Women's Hour while in the car. Can't remember who the guests were, but they were discussing the fact that women with degrees, who tend to marry men with degrees, were reproducing at less than their replacement rate; plus the impact that this has on the population. I don't know what the conclusion was as I parked my car before I had the chance to find out.
    Joeskeppi wrote: »
    Whereas stupid people breed so fast they can't be stopped.

    The theory of evolution is about the ability to reproduce. If superior intelligence leads to an inferior rate of reproduction, then the intelligentsia is/are doomed.

    It is the intelligentsia who invented man-made climate change, and it is the intelligentsia who argue about it.

    We dullards are the best hope for the human race...

    TruckerT
    According to Clapton, I am a totally ignorant idiot.
  • DaddyBear
    DaddyBear Posts: 1,208 Forumite
    Humans evolved into the dominant species on the planet by natural selection, which selected out the most desirable traits. This still applies in the third world, but not the developed world.
  • CLAPTON
    CLAPTON Posts: 41,865 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    DaddyBear wrote: »
    Humans evolved into the dominant species on the planet by natural selection, which selected out the most desirable traits. This still applies in the third world, but not the developed world.


    Natural selection has nothing to do with 'desirable' traits; it has everything to do with reproduction.
  • CLAPTON
    CLAPTON Posts: 41,865 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    TruckerT wrote: »
    The theory of evolution is about the ability to reproduce. If superior intelligence leads to an inferior rate of reproduction, then the intelligentsia is/are doomed.

    It is the intelligentsia who invented man-made climate change, and it is the intelligentsia who argue about it.

    We dullards are the best hope for the human race...

    TruckerT


    There were probably some dullards that helped clear and burnt the forests and they were probably part of the coal mining industry too.

    Hopefully some smart people will develop low carbon emission energy sources.
  • System
    System Posts: 178,432 Community Admin
    10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    TruckerT wrote: »
    Were the IQ tests of 1880 identical to the IQ tests of the 21st century? If not, then how can the results of each be compared to the other?

    TruckerT


    They aren't and he covers that point by using reaction times, not IQ tests.
    He says that reaction times are a good measure of IQ.

    That begs the questions:

    1) How do we know we can trust the Victorians' measurements of reaction times?
    2) Why do we use IQ tests at all if reaction times are a more consistent measure of IQ?
    This is a system account and does not represent a real person. To contact the Forum Team email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com
  • Out,_Vile_Jelly
    Out,_Vile_Jelly Posts: 4,842 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    Perelandra wrote: »
    I realise this may not be fair, since the article makes no statement about adjusting for age, but...

    When I used to watch "Catchphrase" with my mum 20 or 25 years ago (doesn't time fly!), I would nearly always beat the contestants to getting the Catchphrase right. These days, if I watch a repeat of the show, I might get the answer at the same time as the contestants. Clearly I've slowed down.

    I imagine the same thing would be true of reaction time...


    (P.S. I've stopped watching Catchphrase. I find it depressing!).

    There should definitely be more scientific studies based on quiz shows.
    They are an EYESORES!!!!
  • Kennyboy66
    Kennyboy66 Posts: 939 Forumite
    Out,_Vile_Jelly wrote: »
    There should definitely be more scientific studies based on quiz shows.

    Not least so Michael Gove can add it to part of his

    "our survey said ................." repetoire.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/05/13/michael-gove-surveys-history-poll-education-foi-_n_3264981.html
    US housing: it's not a bubble - Moneyweek Dec 12, 2005
  • StevieJ
    StevieJ Posts: 20,174 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Reaction times – a reliable marker of general intelligence – have declined steadily since the Victorian era from about 183 milliseconds to 250ms in men, and from 187ms to 277ms in women.

    We must be much thicker than Mr Neanderthal then, I bet he was pretty sharp on his toes when Sabretooth came a calling :)
    'Just think for a moment what a prospect that is. A single market without barriers visible or invisible giving you direct and unhindered access to the purchasing power of over 300 million of the worlds wealthiest and most prosperous people' Margaret Thatcher
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