Please God, let me be the first

 

It was wee hours of the morning
I was the first one awake
but stayed in bed
listening to
the sounds of the world
that included you
curled up next to me.

The silence was almost eerie,
I could not even hear
the quiet murmurs
of your breath.

Panicked, my mind took
a fantastical flight.

What if I extended my hand,
it wondered,
and touched your weathered skin
only to find it deathly cold.

Then what would I do
with the rest of my day?

Would I wander aimlessly
from one room to another
a sense of disorientation
clouding my eyes?

And who would make the breakfast of
hash browns, bacon, and eggs
(with the yolk gazing up at the sky)
to jump start my day?

But then you stirred
and broke my reverie
of indulging in a fantastical daydream.

I closed my eyes and prayed
please God, let me be the first.

Should we be surprised that average IQ is declining?

 

A possible hypothesis for why average IQ will decline.

Arun Kumar

Survival and reproduction are fundamental goals of natural selection. The better an individual is at surviving and reproducing, the greater the likelihood that their lineage will endure and thrive.

Traits enhancing survival and reproduction tend to be passed down through generations, ultimately dominating a population. Intelligence is one such trait.

A higher Intelligence Quotient (IQ), a measure of intelligence, provides an obvious advantage in evolution. Individuals with higher IQs can be hypothesized to have an edge in survival (and hence, reproduction), leading to the inheritance of this trait.

Evidence supports the heritability of IQ. Twin studies, comparing IQ similarities between identical and fraternal twins, consistently reveal higher correlations in identical twins, suggesting a genetic influence.

It is logical to hypothesize that, coupled with natural selection, the advantages of IQ contribute to a gradual increase in the average IQ of a population — a phenomenon known as the Flynn effect.

However, this upward trend in the average IQ may be hindered by factors that disrupt and override the natural selection process.

One factor is the choice of individuals with high IQ to prioritize career advancement over reproduction. As a consequence of this, decreases in reproduction rates are evident, especially in developed countries.

Another factor is technology interfering with natural selection.

Technology, by providing tools that augment our intellectual and physical abilities, can diminish the advantages of intelligence and physical fitness for survival. Access to technology, therefore, may neutralize the advantage of higher IQ in terms of survival and reproduction.

The two factors — higher IQ to favor a decrease in reproduction and technology to diminish the requirements for intellectual and physical fitness — might lead to a decline in average IQ, as suggested by evidence indicating recent decades’ potential decrease in population IQ.

Come to think of it, similar arguments can be made for how average fitness may first rise and then decline with the evolution of civilization.

High IQ, by consciously limiting reproduction and by making technological advances possible, may be a self-limiting trait.

The prevalence of individuals engrossed in social media while commuting or waiting at airports might indicate a shift away from the significance of intelligence in evolution.

If this trend continues, our civilization may have reached the pinnacle of its IQ.

If so, best wishes to our future selves.

Ciao.

In its warm cocoon, you will always be mine

In the world where endings constantly unfold,
A touch of sorrow they often hold,
And in their embrace live nostalgias untold,
Ineffable promises of eternity, fragile but bold.

For although,

Today you are a presence that is so dear,
That I touch, I kiss, and see so clear,
breathing in scents when you draw near,
And float in your words that I wait to hear.

But one day

when the full moon happens to rise,
Your void will not be a surprise,
In those moments where your absence lies,
I will remember our last goodbyes.

And so,

Let the echoes of our together time,
Construct a song with undulating rhyme,
Let us build a world, sweet and sublime,
In its warm cocoon, you will always be mine. 

Swim with a sense of grace

 

Life is like swimming in a river,
for its flow
cannot be predicted or understood
and it is best to keep
a shore in the sight for a guide
usually the one that feels right,
and navigate through the currents, light,

and while doing so,
it is good to remember

that it is not the river that controls the arc,
it is the strokes that we utilize,

and so,

swim with a sense of grace
through life’s enigmatic pace.