Is average IQ self-limiting?

 “The years passed, mankind became stupider at a frightening rate. Some had high hopes the genetic engineering would correct this trend in evolution, but sadly the greatest minds and resources where focused on conquering hair loss and prolonging erections.” — from the movie Idiocracy

Arun Kumar

Average IQ hits a glass ceiling

Once upon a time, Hollywood produced a movie titled Idiocracy, centered around the notion that as societies progress, they may ultimately be dominated by individuals with mediocre intelligence.

The fundamental premise of this concept was elucidated within the initial five minutes of the movie. The scene depicted a high IQ couple engrossed in their careers and aspirations, consistently postponing the idea of starting a family to an indefinite future (which never happens).

This portrayal was contrasted with a lower IQ family where children seemed to multiply without restraint.

The protagonist of the movie, waking up five hundred years into the future after a flawed government hibernation experiment, discovers himself in a society overwhelmingly governed by individuals with diminished intellectual capacities. Adding to the tendency for high IQ individuals to have less children, the devolution toward lower IQ was further expedited by corporations providing technologies that render intelligence and physical prowess obsolete for survival.

In this dystopian realm, technological exoskeletons empower everyone with artificial strength and principles of nature are overridden.

Is such a scenario of a decrease in IQ plausible?

There already exists evidence suggesting a decline in average IQ, particularly in developed countries. Two factors can be hypothesized to contribute to this decline. Firstly, individuals with higher IQ do tend to have lower birth rates. Secondly, technological tools can nullify the evolutionary advantages associated with heightened intellect and physical fitness.

Thus, it is conceivable that in the centuries to come, a growing fraction of the global population may be dominated by individuals with lower IQ. While the average IQ of societies might initially rise at the beginning of civilization, it could subsequently decline as already indicated by current trends.

This downward trajectory may even culminate in the self-destruction of civilizations implying that IQ and progress of civilizations could be a self-limiting process. Speculating on the possibility that extraterrestrial visitors are absent due to a similar decline in their intelligence adds an intriguing layer for the plausibility for this hypothesis.

If this conjecture holds true, envisioning the future of humanity becomes a fascinating exercise.

The future world may resemble the one in the movie Matrix, with the majority of the population tethered to virtual reality sets and sustenance provided through feeding tubes, each person existing in their individually constructed, alternate realities. In this disconnected existence, the remnants of humanity continue to navigate a world that has surrendered to the seductive allure of simulated experiences.

Yet, in the shadows of this virtual dystopia, a select few control over the intricate workings of the Matrix. These few manipulate the narratives of billions, dictating their perceptions and experiences in the fabricated realms. As the masses unknowingly follow the whims of the puppet masters, the line between reality and illusion is blurred, leaving humanity caught in a web of simulated consciousness, controlled by those who hold the keys to the virtual kingdom.

Who knows, that is what we are.

Ciao.

Also see:
Western IQs drop by 14 points in last century
An intelligence crisis could undermine our problem-solving capacities and dim the prospects of the global economy

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.