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Average IQ scores seem to have been falling and population ageing may be why

newscientist.com

61–70 of 171 posts

Re: Average IQ scores seem to have been falling and population ageing may be why

#61

I can’t access the original study (sci-hub too slow), which countries are affected by the effect and which aren’t? It would be interesting if China, Japan, Korea aren’t affected while Western countries are.

Maybe I'm being really naive here but (other than all being Asian countries) what attributes do China, Japan, and Korea all share that Western countries don't?

Re: Average IQ scores seem to have been falling and population ageing may be why

#62
post #10

I like to play a little game I call "HN matter anti-matter" where I notice contradicting articles posted on HN and imagine them colliding and erasing each other... In this case: Yes, We Get Wiser with Age (nautil.us) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15346635

I think being wise and being intelligent are different qualities. You might solve a puzzle in shorter time if you're intelligent, or remember more things. But if you're wise you will spend your energy to solve the right puzzle and remember the right things.

Intelligence beyond a certain level tends to cause hubris, which decreases wisdom.

Re: Average IQ scores seem to have been falling and population ageing may be why

#63
Some of the decrease may be due to increased obesity and reduced cardiovascular fitness. Those factors are known to reduce cognitive ability. They're also correlated with age, although lately even young people have been getting worse on average.

Re: Average IQ scores seem to have been falling and population ageing may be why

#64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

this seems to contradict what you're saying: http://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/older-men-have-geek...

The older men who have the opportunity to have children are not representative of all older men. The average 50 year old man is not having children, just the small percentage partnered to much young women. Have a guess what attributes they might have?

[deleted]

Re: Average IQ scores seem to have been falling and population ageing may be why

#65
post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At least Japan and South Korea are going to be hit by more severe problem: They'll have much fewer people to even take those IQ tests.

Not a problem at all. Historically fluctuations in populations are the norm. Japan and South Korea has more than enough productivity to support everybody including the elderly. It is just a matter of distribution.

I agree with you mostly, but they still have to steer through.

Historically we had neither massive population aging nor Ponzi pension systems to worry about. Now we do.

Re: Average IQ scores seem to have been falling and population ageing may be why

#66

It seems like with just a bit more effort the authors could have made a stronger case for their theory that aging is significantly impacting IQ scores by comparing IQ scores among people of the same age (e.g. 20-30 year olds) from decade to decade. They could also look at how IQ changes over a lifespan; there must be some within-subject data available where the same people took an IQ test when they were 60.

> They could also look at how IQ changes over a lifespan It doesn’t because it’s a bell curve. You literally can’t figure out your score until you already know the distribution.

Nonsense. If I administer an IQ test to 1000 people in their 20s, and then retested them in their 60s, I'd be performing a classic within-subject test, where I could easily assess whether test performance increases, decreases, or doesn't significantly change.

Re: Average IQ scores seem to have been falling and population ageing may be why

#67
post #12

I don't get it. Why is population ageing affecting Flynn effect? Don't they test each new generation at same time? Or is this longitudinal study of a single generation (which is weird, since we can't measure IQ correctly at later ages). Alternative hypothesis. Presence of computers/phones reduces need for working memory, so it doesn't get exercised and leads to decline of it.

Perhaps as well there is a ceiling? We have instant access to almost all information at this point. At some point we have to hit the limits of human intelligence, right?

Re: Average IQ scores seem to have been falling and population ageing may be why

#68
post #12

I don't get it. Why is population ageing affecting Flynn effect? Don't they test each new generation at same time? Or is this longitudinal study of a single generation (which is weird, since we can't measure IQ correctly at later ages). Alternative hypothesis. Presence of computers/phones reduces need for working memory, so it doesn't get exercised and leads to decline of it.

> Don't they test each new generation at same time? IQ scores are relative to people the same age, so it wouldn’t matter.

The article implies that this might be possible. Maybe what you are describing is only true for children and all adults are in the same category?

Re: Average IQ scores seem to have been falling and population ageing may be why

#69

I can’t access the original study (sci-hub too slow), which countries are affected by the effect and which aren’t? It would be interesting if China, Japan, Korea aren’t affected while Western countries are.

Maybe I'm being really naive here but (other than all being Asian countries) what attributes do China, Japan, and Korea all share that Western countries don't?

Let me take a guess. Comparatively low immigration rate. Hardly accept any refugees (28 individuals accepted by Japan in 2016). Be able to support yourself or be (quite literally) kicked out. High barriers to citizenship.

Re: Average IQ scores seem to have been falling and population ageing may be why

#70

It seems like with just a bit more effort the authors could have made a stronger case for their theory that aging is significantly impacting IQ scores by comparing IQ scores among people of the same age (e.g. 20-30 year olds) from decade to decade. They could also look at how IQ changes over a lifespan; there must be some within-subject data available where the same people took an IQ test when they were 60.

> They could also look at how IQ changes over a lifespan It doesn’t because it’s a bell curve. You literally can’t figure out your score until you already know the distribution.

Absolutely, they IQ test and the relative results are constantly changing according to the population's performance, but if you take a snapshot of the test by using the original test and scoring rubric, you can determine if your IQ changed from your 30's to your 60's in relation to the original distribution.
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