We are discussing this at work at the moment:
My colleague is convinced the drop since the mid 70s is the result of increased use of technology. I think it’s more down to education as it coincides with the movement away from teaching facts.
A similar trend is being observed in most developed countries. Any theories?
Depending on the country, the drop might not be all that dramatic…
True. Supposedly the USA isn’t witnessing a similar decline, but was starting from a lower base. One of the problems is the data isn’t there as it is with Norwegian males.
My guess is that it’s “both.”
Would be interesting to know of any correlation with rising wealth worldwide, too.
My theory is diet. We have moved away from the diet that gave rise to periods of huge human brain development. Those periods seem to coincide with when animal fat as food was widely available for us.
We have moved to carbs and sugar for energy more and more. The brain needs cholesterols, it’s good for the brain.
We have been so damn wrong about our diet. The cholesterol nonsense is wrong. Cholesterol is important for brain function. And it’s also making us fat. This whole heart healthy options is wrong at the food store. I go to the store, all I can find is lean meat. Lean cuts. Because we think this is healthy and go eat a bunch of carbs and sugar with it. It’s wrong.
Scrolling through facebook and instagram feeds, spending time on forumosa…
I feel my IQ dropping as I type these words! : P
Guy
I’ll throw one out there…higher IQ people aren’t procreating as much.
Interesting.
IQs are falling within families, which suggests this isn’t a factor.
How does that work?
They looked at IQs of fathers and sons when they were the same age doing military service. IQs dropped an average of 6 points. Previously an average 9 point increase was observed from one generation to the next.
Here’s some more research from other European countries:
I blame 5G. 
I blame the boring black and white IQ tests made by LSD eating psychologists back in the 60s.
I also think it’s related to changes in diet. If the shitty food we’re eating is fucking up our hearts, then it’s gotta be fucking up our brains, too.
Pollution also has us incidentally consuming a lot more things we shouldn’t be, like little particles of plastic and heavy metals and so forth.
I don’t actually know what my IQ is…I remember taking a test online for the hell of it a long time ago but I didn’t really get it. I don’t think I even bothered to finish it.
It seems like it tests for a pretty specific set of skills that don’t necessarily provide a full picture of one’s intelligence. I’m sure we’ve all met some assholes who boast about being in Mensa but are still somehow functionally dumber than hell.
Edit: All right, I just took some random test on the first page of Google and according to it I could be a Mensa asshole, too. My point still stands.
Is there a standardized way to test for EQ?
If you Bogart all the drummies from a shared order of wings, your EQ is Type Asshole
Let’s not conflate bad manners with being an Evolutionary Badass…
This has been one theory: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/fluoride-childrens-health-grandjean-choi/
Toothpaste would be more likely than fluoridated water, as it started to be fluoridated in the early 70s.