The importance of increasing human general intelligence

Discussion in 'Political Opinions & Beliefs' started by Ricky, Jul 12, 2017.

  1. yiostheoy

    yiostheoy Well-Known Member

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    You're funny !!

    You have ducked defining your terms.

    That's ludicrous.
     
  2. yiostheoy

    yiostheoy Well-Known Member

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    in·tel·li·gence
    inˈteləjəns/
    noun
    noun: intelligence
    1. 1.
      the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills.
      "an eminent man of great intelligence"
      synonyms: intellectual capacity, mental capacity, intellect, mind, brain(s), IQ, brainpower, judgment, reasoning, understanding, comprehension; More
      acumen, wit, sense, insight, perception, penetration, discernment, smartness, canniness, astuteness, intuition, acuity, cleverness, brilliance, ability;
      informalbraininess
      "a man of great intelligence"
      • a person or being with the ability to acquire and apply knowledge.
        plural noun: intelligences
        "extraterrestrial intelligences"
    2. 2.
      the collection of information of military or political value.
      "the chief of military intelligence"
      synonyms: information gathering, surveillance, observation, reconnaissance, spying, espionage, infiltration, ELINT, humint; More
      black operations;
      informalrecon, black ops
      "an intelligence operation"
      • people employed in the collection of military or political information.
        "French intelligence has been able to secure numerous local informers"
      • military or political information.
        "the gathering of intelligence"
        synonyms: information, facts, details, particulars, data, knowledge, reports, inside story, hot tip; More
        informalinfo, dope, skinny, lowdown
        "we're awaiting the latest intelligence from our operatives"
      • archaic
        information in general; news.
    Origin
    upload_2017-7-15_12-9-26.png
    late Middle English: via Old French from Latin intelligentia, from intelligere ‘understand’ (see intelligent).
     
  3. yiostheoy

    yiostheoy Well-Known Member

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    ... the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills.

    This definition makes sense to me.
     
    Last edited: Jul 15, 2017
  4. yiostheoy

    yiostheoy Well-Known Member

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    So you are asking, "can human intelligence increase?"
     
  5. yiostheoy

    yiostheoy Well-Known Member

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    I suppose with evolution "within" a species that ANYTHING can change.

    However we have examples throughout history of some extremely bright people in the distant past.

    Therefore there is no evidence that human intelligence is any different now than thousands of years ago.

    And it is complete speculation whether human intelligence has changed over longer periods such as hundreds of thousands of years since we have little data to work from before 10,000 BC.

    Around 10,000 BC we have a few very ancient archeological ruins like Mohenjo Daro and Jericho.
     
    Last edited: Jul 15, 2017
  6. logical1

    logical1 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    To continue this. First of all a farmer must be a land judge, and have the smarts of a a real estate broker. He has to be an engineer to chose all the machinery he will need, and be a maintenance engineer to keep it running. He has to be an agronomist to pick out the seed he will plant. He needs to be a chemical engineer to know what herbicides and pesticides to use..He needs to be a hydrologist to know how much water he needs to irrigate with. He also needs to know all about fertilizer, what kind and how much to use. When he harvests his crops he needs to be a market specialist to know how long to store his crops to get the highest price for them He needs book keeping skills, and knowledge of a tax consultant.

    As you can see he needs to have the ag knowledge of a PHD in agriculture, and secondary degrees in about a dozen more areas to run his farm right.

    Dumb farmer,-------------------not hardly. Dumb city people, far more likely.
     
    Last edited: Jul 15, 2017
  7. Ricky

    Ricky Active Member

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    Again, IQ scores and education are highly correlated. The relevance of other countries is that you can see how IQ scores and educations systems interact with one another. Unless you can find a country where the education system managed to produce a better, smarter populace than a country with high IQ and a mediocre education system then your point isn't grounded on any evidence.

    Don't delude yourself into imagining you're unreadable when you share so much. When you say, "There are high IQ people today who have little faith in science, who can place their future in religion, who can vote for the dumbest president in the history of the USA, who can steal and lie and murder", it's fairly obvious you are discontent with the results of the election.
     
  8. Ricky

    Ricky Active Member

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    No, I simply ducked the ridiculous arguments that crop up around whether or not "intelligence" is something measurable.

    No, not at all, I am arguing that we should do everything within our power to make it so.

    This isn't relevant since the question isn't about whether or not human intelligence will change naturally, it's about changing through intervention.
    Also the existence of smart people in the past has nothing to do with the amount of geniuses per capita, which is nearly impossible to measure.
     
  9. Ricky

    Ricky Active Member

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    I have a grandfather who is a farmer, and he is smart. But farmers also make up only a fraction of the people where he lives in rural Arkansas. Mechanization and land consolidation has made farming a specialized profession instead of a lifestyle shared by the whole public.
     
    Last edited: Jul 15, 2017
  10. logical1

    logical1 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    With a new tractor costing at least a quarter million dollars, you cant farm just 80 acres.
     
  11. yiostheoy

    yiostheoy Well-Known Member

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    So you are speculating about the future without considering the past.

    Whether Philosophically, Scientifically, or Religiously -- this is foolishness.
     
  12. Ricky

    Ricky Active Member

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    All the more reason we are seeing larger farms with fewer farm owners.
     
    Last edited: Aug 3, 2017

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