“Genetic bottlenecks do tend to weed out the stupid, so populations that have been subjected to harsh situations would tend to gain intelligence as a group over a long period of time whereas populations that have not been subjected to harsh situations would not, there’s nothing external to weed out the stupid.”
Maybe we got smarter as we settled America and
kids today don’t have “harsh situations” so they are not as smart. mmmmmmmmm
This explains “Florida Man”
Early settlers self-selected for risk-taking and resourcefulness merely by being willing to say goodbye to all they knew and get on a boat for a dangerous months long journey to a wild and unsettled place. Then there’s hybrid vigor once they were established here and began intermarrying with other settlers from other places.
Is this what eventually leads to the fall of empires?
Very interesting point.