I have always been somewhat optimistic that, through evolution, mankind would progress to the point that intelligence would once and for all make religion a quaint relic of the past. Reading this article in Newsweek gave me pause to reconsider. The gist of the article is that since intelligent people are likely to have few or no children, and less intelligent will continue to procreate (birth control and abortion being wrong), the numbers of the unintelligent will overwhelm the intelligent. The result will be a rise, rather than a fall, in religion. An age of superstition rather than reason.
Link: ATHEISTS MORE INTELLIGENT BECAUSE THEY CAN OVERRIDE “INSTINCTIVE" RELIGIOUS BELIEFS—BUT IT WILL BE THEIR DOWNFALL]
I have always been somewhat optimistic that, through evolution, mankind would progress to the point that intelligence would once and for all make religion a quaint relic of the past. Reading this article in Newsweek gave me pause to reconsider. The gist of the article is that since intelligent people are likely to have few or no children, and less intelligent will continue to procreate (birth control and abortion being wrong), the numbers of the unintelligent will overwhelm the intelligent. The result will be a rise, rather than a fall, in religion. An age of superstition rather than reason. Link: ATHEISTS MORE INTELLIGENT BECAUSE THEY CAN OVERRIDE “INSTINCTIVE" RELIGIOUS BELIEFS—BUT IT WILL BE THEIR DOWNFALL]Hmm, so intelligence will be our downfall. Interesting idea. Does that mean that ignorance would save us? Theists have been peddling that for millennia. God wants us stupid and gullible. I get it.
Yes, oddly enough, high IQ is a disease that contains it’s own remedy. 8-/
I wouldn’t call it another dark age, but the future will be “darker” than what we have enjoyed for the last 100yrs or so. While its correct that high IQ is maladaptive, average IQ will stick around for a long time in the developed world (not counting some massive catastrophe occurring) which will prevent us from turning into troglodytes.
Hmm, so intelligence will be our downfallI feel like, perhaps, your response is somewhat facetious. And perhaps you are right that this is “stuff and nonsense". Unfortunately, there are signs that this could well be our future.
average IQ will stick around for a long time in the developed world (not counting some massive catastrophe occurring) which will prevent us from turning into troglodytesI’m not so sure (but I certainly hope you are right). The first most obvious example is that not only were there sufficient numbers of Trump supporters (aka troglodytes) to get him elected, but several months into his administration in spite of his demonstrated inability to handle the office of POTUS, they continue to believe in him and everything he says (aka “You can fool some of the people all of the time"). A second example is in our public schools in Indiana. When I was in Grade School and High School during the 60’s and 70’s, we had summer vacation from basically Memorial Day until Labor Day. I don’t recall anyone having problems picking up in September where we left off in June and moving forward with our education (and I am no genius). In Indiana there are continuous moves to shorten the length of the summer break. The reason given is that students can no longer retain information they way we did which has resulted in teachers spending the first 3-4 weeks back in class getting the students back to where they were in May. With a shorter break, they will lose less knowledge. The problem is not whether intelligence can survive, but rather the number of intelligent people being overwhelmed by the ever increasing masses of ignorant people (driving down the average IQ). And I agree with the article that ignorance is fertile ground for superstition and religion rather than knowledge and science. The “Barbarians" are at the gates.
The “Barbarians" are at the gates.Well what else is new, amirite?
Yes, oddly enough, high IQ is a disease that contains it's own remedy. 8-/ I wouldn't call it another dark age, but the future will be "darker" than what we have enjoyed for the last 100yrs or so. While its correct that high IQ is maladaptive, average IQ will stick around for a long time in the developed world (not counting some massive catastrophe occurring) which will prevent us from turning into troglodytes.As it did in the dark ages? Yessiree! No troglodytes then! Especially not Christian-inspired troglodytes. Not so bad if you lived toward the beginning of the enlightenment. If you lived from about 500 to say 975 AD, too bad. "average IQ" wouldn't have helped. I doubt it will help much in the coming dark age, either Lois
They're already inside the gates, spreading their destruction.Hmm, so intelligence will be our downfallI feel like, perhaps, your response is somewhat facetious. And perhaps you are right that this is “stuff and nonsense". Unfortunately, there are signs that this could well be our future.average IQ will stick around for a long time in the developed world (not counting some massive catastrophe occurring) which will prevent us from turning into troglodytesI’m not so sure (but I certainly hope you are right). The first most obvious example is that not only were there sufficient numbers of Trump supporters (aka troglodytes) to get him elected, but several months into his administration in spite of his demonstrated inability to handle the office of POTUS, they continue to believe in him and everything he says (aka “You can fool some of the people all of the time"). A second example is in our public schools in Indiana. When I was in Grade School and High School during the 60’s and 70’s, we had summer vacation from basically Memorial Day until Labor Day. I don’t recall anyone having problems picking up in September where we left off in June and moving forward with our education (and I am no genius). In Indiana there are continuous moves to shorten the length of the summer break. The reason given is that students can no longer retain information they way we did which has resulted in teachers spending the first 3-4 weeks back in class getting the students back to where they were in May. With a shorter break, they will lose less knowledge. The problem is not whether intelligence can survive, but rather the number of intelligent people being overwhelmed by the ever increasing masses of ignorant people (driving down the average IQ). And I agree with the article that ignorance is fertile ground for superstition and religion rather than knowledge and science. The “Barbarians" are at the gates.
It has always been true that the intelligent are in danger of being swamped by the stupid, who seem to reproduce like rabbits. These days there seems to be less and less stigma attached to stupid behavior. Class clowns are encouraged by their peers rather than being made to sit in the corner. There was a news item recently about a promising college student who was killed in a hazing incident, being forced to drink far too much alcohol and then hit repeatedly over the head. Some times it looks like of all the dystopian predictions, the movie “Idiocracy” was the one who nailed it.
Some perspective: The cold hard fact is the more primitive have what it takes to survive, and the smart don’t. As rationalists who know science is the best way to understand how life works, we shouldn’t be surprised that evolution would work that way. It’s the only way it could work!
It must be said the secular humanist (and by extension, liberal) view of the world is just as escapist as any religious view. It’s a weak stand-in for something (religion) that functions 100 times better for the masses, and it reveals a different type of stupidity that’s rampant in the highly intelligent.
That said, science works too well for it to die out anytime soon. It’ll be with us for at least the next couple of centuries, though on a smaller scale. There’s still a lot we can learn, so we got that going for us.
It has always been true that the intelligent are in danger of being swamped by the stupid, who seem to reproduce like rabbits. These days there seems to be less and less stigma attached to stupid behavior. Class clowns are encouraged by their peers rather than being made to sit in the corner. There was a news item recently about a promising college student who was killed in a hazing incident, being forced to drink far too much alcohol and then hit repeatedly over the head. Some times it looks like of all the dystopian predictions, the movie "Idiocracy" was the one who nailed it.Yep, if anyone else hasn't seen it, check out Idiocracy. It hits the nail on the head so perfectly you'll be crying as you laugh your arse off! And literally nowadays, when the CEO of of the WWF became part of Trump's administration (or was nominated). have to watch the movie to get the significance of that.
But intelligence is not hereditary.you’re assuming public education is useless
Some perspective: The cold hard fact is the more primitive have what it takes to survive, and the smart don't. As rationalists who know science is the best way to understand how life works, we shouldn't be surprised that evolution would work that way. It's the only way it could work! It must be said the secular humanist (and by extension, liberal) view of the world is just as escapist as any religious view. It's a weak stand-in for something (religion) that functions 100 times better for the masses, and it reveals a different type of stupidity that's rampant in the highlyEvidence please
Some perspective: The cold hard fact is the more primitive have what it takes to survive, and the smart don't. As rationalists who know science is the best way to understand how life works, we shouldn't be surprised that evolution would work that way. It's the only way it could work! It must be said the secular humanist (and by extension, liberal) view of the world is just as escapist as any religious view. It's a weak stand-in for something (religion) that functions 100 times better for the masses, and it reveals a different type of stupidity that's rampant in the highlyEvidence please https://www.amazon.com/Why-Religion-Natural-Science-Not/dp/0199341540 https://www.amazon.com/Gods-Trust-Evolutionary-Landscape-Evolution/dp/0195178033
But intelligence is not hereditary.you're assuming public education is uselessActually intelligence is quite hereditary, Lausten. https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/traits/intelligence Public school isn't useless, it is good for making kids literate and teaching some basic math. However a child will not become that smart unless they inherit the genes for it.
Forgot to add this basic rule:
Dumb people have dumb kids
Average people have average kids
High IQ people don’t have kids
But intelligence is not hereditary.you're assuming public education is uselessActually intelligence is quite hereditary, Lausten. https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/traits/intelligence Public school isn't useless, it is good for making kids literate and teaching some basic math. However a child will not become that smart unless they inherit the genes for it. Did you read that link, or were you just hoping that I would not?
Some perspective: The cold hard fact is the more primitive have what it takes to survive, and the smart don't. As rationalists who know science is the best way to understand how life works, we shouldn't be surprised that evolution would work that way. It's the only way it could work! It must be said the secular humanist (and by extension, liberal) view of the world is just as escapist as any religious view. It's a weak stand-in for something (religion) that functions 100 times better for the masses, and it reveals a different type of stupidity that's rampant in the highlyEvidence please https://www.amazon.com/Why-Religion-Natural-Science-Not/dp/0199341540 https://www.amazon.com/Gods-Trust-Evolutionary-Landscape-Evolution/dp/0195178033 Neither of those books are intended to address what you said. You are reading your bias into whatever you want and claiming you're validated.
Some perspective: The cold hard fact is the more primitive have what it takes to survive, and the smart don't. As rationalists who know science is the best way to understand how life works, we shouldn't be surprised that evolution would work that way. It's the only way it could work! It must be said the secular humanist (and by extension, liberal) view of the world is just as escapist as any religious view. It's a weak stand-in for something (religion) that functions 100 times better for the masses, and it reveals a different type of stupidity that's rampant in the highlyEvidence please https://www.amazon.com/Why-Religion-Natural-Science-Not/dp/0199341540 https://www.amazon.com/Gods-Trust-Evolutionary-Landscape-Evolution/dp/0195178033 Neither of those books are intended to address what you said. You are reading your bias into whatever you want and claiming you're validated. Have you read these books?
But intelligence is not hereditary.you're assuming public education is uselessActually intelligence is quite hereditary, Lausten. https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/traits/intelligence Public school isn't useless, it is good for making kids literate and teaching some basic math. However a child will not become that smart unless they inherit the genes for it. Did you read that link, or were you just hoping that I would not?Can you say more about this? Is there something in this link that counters my claim that intelligence has a large hereditary component? I don't understand.
You’re not worth my time Beltane. If you can’t find support for your argument and summarize it, that’s your problem.