SI
SI
discoversearch

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor.  We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community.  If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.
Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum
GLD 413.19+1.1%4:00 PM EST
 Public ReplyPrvt ReplyMark as Last ReadFilePrevious 10Next 10PreviousNext  
To: Crabbe who wrote (3233)1/11/2006 4:22:31 PM
From: Maurice Winn  Read Replies (2) of 219050
 
Keep in mind that the Flynn Effect is in relation to averages, not the smartest current human example. So going backwards doesn't get to a chimp being the smartest in Newton's time.

And the Flynn Effect is a 20th century phenomenon, which doesn't mean that it can be extrapolated backwards at the same rate. Though if one goes from 100,000 years ago until now, there has been a very rapid increase in mental horsepower. So the Flynn Effect, at least to some extent, can be projected backwards.

While intelligence isn't as simple to measure as the length of a piece of wood, it's definitely a thing which exists and is measurable, as we all know from our own experience. We know there are smarter and less smart beings. That's measurement, even without cunning tests.

<Also why would female selection of intelligence in a mate be a greater selective agent in increasing human intelligence today than in the past. >

With 6 billion people, the rate of evolution is faster than ever. Mutations are happening vastly more frequently than when there were only 1 million people. More people are dying than ever. Car accidents alone kill more young guys than wars did 1000 years ago [I just made that up]. Selection can ditch 10% of the population and leave a LOT of people to go on with, and that can happen even with the population dropping to 1 billion. Evolution is a numbers game and the more the merrier and the faster things change. Per capita, the sexual selection process wouldn't be faster now than back in the day. But women can clean out the bottom decile and still have vast numbers of males to contend with without humans fizzling out. The last man on Earth might not be attractive, but he would probably do.

Mqurice
Report TOU ViolationShare This Post
 Public ReplyPrvt ReplyMark as Last ReadFilePrevious 10Next 10PreviousNext  

HomeMailHotSubjectMarksPeopleMarksKeepersSettings
Terms Of UseContact UsCopyright/IP PolicyPrivacy PolicyAbout UsFAQAdvertise on SI
© 2026 Knight Sac Media.  Data provided by Twelve Data, Alpha Vantage, and CityFALCON News