r/skeptic 3d ago

The Data that Says We're Getting Stupider

https://youtu.be/clz48AOBQQM
168 Upvotes

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u/jredful 3d ago

The suggestion that the bell curve of human capability moving in any direction other than positive is just nonsense and completely ignores the context of any other time in history.

K-12 education wasn’t founded until the 1800s and wasn’t mandatory across all states until the 1920s.

NCLB arguably was the first attempt at universal standardized testing to evaluate students over time.

SATs and nationwide k-12 standardized testing is largely flat over the last 50 years.

The proportion of educated people on the planet is magnitudes higher than any time in human history.

The burden of proof to state we are getting stupider is beyond the pale of provable. The real problem is we are in the midst of a societal crisis in handling social media algorithms, modern media and exposure.

You see every fucking but of stupid the planet is capable of. In years past you were largely insulated to only the brand of stupid around you. And if you didn’t associate with stupid as a rule of thumb you never saw it.

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u/Petrichordates 2d ago

I'm not seeing anywhere in your comment that addresses the fact that several studies have demonstrated a reverse Flynn effect as well as significant reductions in attention.

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u/mirh 1d ago

Reverse flynn is not a thing (except perhaps post-covid), it's mainly just statistical noise around the plateau.

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u/Petrichordates 1d ago

You say that but there are multiple studies that suggest it is. Your belief that it isn't doesn't appear to based on the science.

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u/mirh 22h ago

There are multiple studies suggesting a minor improvement, a neutral result, and yes also what you say.

Since the effect is very little (if there is even a direction to begin with) I feel like you can pretty much discount this from the greater scheme of things.