Posted on 02/06/2026 5:25:46 AM PST by yesthatjallen
For the first time in recorded human history, scientists have discovered a generation they claim is actually less intelligent than the one that came before it.
Neuroscientist Dr Jared Cooney Horvath, who previously worked as an educator, argues that people in Gen Z have become cognitively stunted as a result of their over-reliance on new technology, like smartphones.
With records being kept on academic achievement for the past 200 years, this sudden decline from Millennials to Gen Zers was attributed to this rapid digital development, with Dr Horvath explaining before a Senate committee last month that this drop happened despite young people spending longer than ever in school.
Gen Z are the first age group to grow up with easy access to the internet both at home and in school, which Dr Horvath explained has caused a provable loss in skills related to problem solving, reading, memory, math, and paying attention in class.
SNIP
(Excerpt) Read more at unilad.com ...
One of the biggest things I’ve noticed is nobody reads. A young guy i workout with smart (I think!), articulate but bereft of factual information. Just wasn’t taught it in the K12 system and doesn’t read to make up for it. He gets all his information from movies, TV, online but never books. My daughter’s friends are like that too.
It’s an easy win politically . The first guy to run on ending the program will get a huge boost.
Another thing I’ve noticed about Jeopardy is that the questions (OK, the “answers”) used to require straight knowledge rather than being able to pick up on the hints that are written in.
The politician that runs on ending both H-1b and H2 visas will go all the way to President. Maybe then the L visa will be used like it should.
Yup.
Additionally, as with the manufacture of celebrities, media is deeply complicit in "creating" which seems to be accelerating.
The truth of true exceptionalism is that a Michelangelo, a J. S. Bach, a Thomas Edison, a Kurt Gödel, and so on come along without fancy-boy academia and online courses and podcasts and such. With the politicization and monetization of so much these days, sorting out true genius becomes difficult.
Some great contributors to our world remain poorly known. John Ambrose Fleming and Oleg Losev and William Shockley are almost unknown names, and yet we are staring at the "future" which they made, in part, for us. As we type comments.
The publicity of this particular "scientist" is full-blown media hype, with his criticism of "digital tech" all the while peddling with his other hand digital tech. Ditto with competing LLMs, each maneuvering to get into a consumer's wallet over time.
One exchange with another Freeper gave "60 percent" true as some AI response. What in the hell is "60 percent" true, if not logically 40 percent BS?
As to BS, this article could have been titled "Self-promoter reveals first generation ever to be less intelligent than their parents." As Gates the rich idiot said once of the Codex, he could buy it but he couldn't make it. Genius in individual, and productive genius is all around us unobserved, because many medie types seem "less intelligent than their parents."
Best wishes.
This. ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑
What's more it's happening, though not they way some wish it were.
“Bell Curve” focuses on genetics. Which is just fine.
But, at issue here is how demonstrable IQ can be crippled if during your growth you do not exercise problem solving and critical thinking. That is like exercising a muscle. If you rely on techCrappola instead of your own thinking, you will be mentally weak. Then, when an IQ test is put before you, you will fail.
You have the capacity, but like with not knowing how to speak a language in a foreign country you are helpless. Unlike genetics, this is fixable, but humiliating.
Sexy.
I would say it’s the third generation including mine. I’m a baby boomer.
“Are we not men”? “We are Devo”!
Hmm....no paragraphs?
“Mate selection in the modern age contributes to smarter couples having smarter children, and dumber couples having dumber children.”
Yes, an absolutely underreported fact. For almost the entirety of human history, mating options for most folks were limited to the local village or town. What were the chances that two highly intelligent folks were available to each other? Fairly low. But over the last 150 years, the system of higher education has allowed the brainier people to easily find each other... and breed.
Brought to you in large part by kids living on their “Smartphones”. Oh, the irony.
Mate selection in the modern age contributes to smarter couples having smarter children, and dumber couples having dumber children.
We're witnessing a shift where adults, who might be reasonably positioned on the Bell Curve but have deficient intellectual development due to misdirection and intentional suppression, are more likely to mate with Low IQ individuals, increasing the chances of of having Low IQ children.
Repeat that for generations over a century and it only gets worse. It's a downward spiraling Dunning-Kruger Effect in mate selection.
Related AI states:
Gen Z spends significantly more time on screens compared to previous generations, averaging around 9 hours per day, which is higher than the 7 hours and 4 minutes spent by the average American.
[And]
Generation Average Daily Screen Time Gen Z (16-27) 9 hours Millennials (25-40) 6 hours 42 minutes Gen X (41-56) 6 hours Baby Boomers (57-75) 3 hours 31 minutes
Jan 13, 2025The percentage of US children living in single-parent households nearly tripled between 1960 and 2023, increasing from 9% to 25% (US Census Bureau 2023). - https://www.niussp.org/family-and-households/americas-single-parent-households-and-missing-fathers/
Compared to previous generations, Gen Zers are far more likely to have been raised in single-parent households. A recent report from the Pew Research Center found that nearly one-quarter of US children live in single-parent -parent homes, a rate higher than any other country. A lot of blame is being placed on social media, or more recently the pandemic.Delayed family formation is another likely factor—young adults are marrying later than they once did. But what if Gen Z is lonelier today not simply because of how much time they spend on social media, or because they’re single. What if young adults today are lonelier because of how they were raised?....
Finally, shrinking family size may play a part. Young adults today are significantly less likely to have been raised in large families. Even before the pandemic completely upended the conversation around child cost and family size, Americans were increasingly drawn to smaller families. A recent report shows that only children are also more likely to have been lonely growing up than those with siblings were.
A 2021 survey found that more than half (52 percent) of Americans raised by divorced parents felt lonely at least once or twice a month growing up. In contrast, only a third (33 percent) of Americans raised by married parents say the same.
Americans who belong to Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012) are far more likely to say they were lonely growing up. A majority (56 percent) of Gen Zers report they felt lonely at least once or twice a month during their childhood. In contrast, only about one in four (24 percent) Baby Boomers say they felt lonely this often as children.https://www.americansurveycenter.org/the-lonely-childhood-of-generation-z/
Related:
children now spending an average of just 47 minutes per day in unstructured, independent, and outdoor play, often replaced by high levels of sedentary screen time.
[And] Frequency Decline: The Atlantic reports that of the 10.9 million children riding in 2023, less than 5 percent were frequent riders.
School Travel: Bike Fort Collins notes the percentage of children walking or biking to school dropped from 48% in 1969 to 11% in 2021.
In addition to higher education allowing brainier people to more easily find each other, the mixed workforce also enabled it. It's not just finding "the right one", it's avoiding the "wrong ones".
Both higher education and a mixed workforce would contribute to the smart getting smarter. For the dumb to get dumber, a mixed workforce, not higher education, brought together the dumber of both sexes.
Indians are in tech because they will work for peanuts not because they are intelligent. Ever interact with Indian techies? For every one that is of average intelligence there are ten lazy retards.
I have had a lot of interaction with indians in technical and business situations. Those who I’ve met have been above the average of people i’ve dealt with from other backgrounds.
There’s a reason they:
1. Win all the spelling bees.
2. Own 40% of all hotel properties
3. Have family incomes double the average American family income.
4. Heavily populate all medical and dental occupations.
They are indeed smart and work hard.
Check how many Patels are providers in your local hospital.
AS A NORMAL CITIZEN, I SEE THE SAME THING
To Stupid To Live!
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