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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: Maurice Winn who wrote (3242)1/11/2006 11:02:45 PM
From: Crabbe  Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 219166
 
There are of course a few twentieth century phenomena to explain the Flynn Effect.

Increasingly better nutrition would top the list.
Note the change in average height of soldiers from world war II to the present. World War II was fought by youth who grew up in the depression.

Perhaps an even greater explanation would go with greater stimulation of the brain over the century. I however would doubt this effect as I learned more math in my sand box at age 4 than most learn in a lifetime. I.e. taught myself multiplication and math shortcuts.

I think though that it is an illusion. As I earlier compared psychologists and nutritionists, both being non sciences but only setting out to prove their beliefs and ignoring conflicting evidence. Eggs contain Cholesterol therefore they are bad for you??? Actually eggs contain a better ratio of high and low density cholesterol than our bodies do so consuming them actually improves our cholesterol balance but for 25 years we obeyed nutritionists and avoided eggs.

Of course once again there is conflicting evidence. SAT and ACT scores peaked about 1962 and declined for about 30 years and are just now approaching the levels achieved then.

While you say the Flynn Effect effects the averages, the effect is far to great to be real. Approximately 6 points of IQ equal a halving of learning time. An IQ of 80 may require 16 repetitions. an IQ of 86 would require 8 repetitions, an IQ of 94 would require 4 repetitions, an IQ of 100 would require 2 repetitions, an IQ of 106 would require 1. So The Flynn Effect would indicate over the 20th Century the average learning speed increased by a factor of 32. 30 IQ points. even if the change in learning speed were halved by 12 IQ points the increase over the century would still be a factor of 6

That is of course BS.

It is impossible to raise the mean with out raising the extremes. The general population is no closer today to Stephen Hawkings than the general population in 1900 were to Albert Einstein. Yet Hawkings and Einstein are probably similar in IQ.

Another piece of evidence. College graduates today would have great difficulty passing a 1915 high school sophmore English final.

The Flynn Effect is best understood as declining test standards.

r



To: Maurice Winn who wrote (3242)1/11/2006 11:30:23 PM
From: Crabbe  Read Replies (3) | Respond to of 219166
 
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.

The evidence only exists for the 20th century. IQ tests of any value were non existent in the 19th century. Perhaps they are non existent in the 20th century too.

In one Century the general populations IQ increased 30 points therefor as you state that the Flynn Effect only affects the average or mean not the extremes todays population has approsximately halved the distance from themselves to Hawkings, as opposed to what existed in 1900. Interesting assuming that the Flynn effect continues in 200 years everyone will be smarter than the smartest man in the world. an absurd concept.

Where is your evidence that we are particularly smarter than prehistoric man was 100,000 years ago. Could you survive in his world with his tools? Could you have invented control of fire, the spear, perhaps the bow and arrow? We may be more knowledgeable today but not necessarily smarter. I would argue that you with all of your present day knowledge being placed in his world would die in a week, if a saber toothed tiger didn't eat you the first day.

Your racial pride is showing. So is your prejudice.

r