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Sources first:
I stumbled upon it here (emphasis mine):
https://science.howstuffworks.com/l...rch-confirms-it-really-are-getting-dumber.htm
and an interesting point is
I remember a dialogue I had about the layout of a modern IDE. The youngster had set it to a vast collection of icons and I said I couldn't handle this: "I want roll down menus, I can read! Do you expect me to learn three dozens of icons for each software I use?" I found that symptomatic.
Another observation of mine is, and I include myself, that since we get used to short video clips, or even shorter cuts within them like in music videos, our attention span has continuously decreased. This would have been somewhere since the early 80's which coincides with the time the authors above measured the reversal of the Flynn effect.
So my provocative question is: Do we make us dumber with each new technology we use?
https://www.pnas.org/content/115/26/6674Bernt Bratsberg and Ole Rogeberg said:Population intelligence quotients increased throughout the 20th century—a phenomenon known as the Flynn effect—although recent years have seen a slowdown or reversal of this trend in several countries. To distinguish between the large set of proposed explanations, we categorize hypothesized causal factors by whether they accommodate the existence of within-family Flynn effects. Using administrative register data and cognitive ability scores from military conscription data covering three decades of Norwegian birth cohorts (1962–1991), we show that the observed Flynn effect, its turning point, and subsequent decline can all be fully recovered from within-family variation. The analysis controls for all factors shared by siblings and finds no evidence for prominent causal hypotheses of the decline implicating genes and environmental factors that vary between, but not within, families.
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/691462Adrian F. Ward said:Our smartphones enable—and encourage—constant connection to information, entertainment, and each other. They put the world at our fingertips, and rarely leave our sides. Although these devices have immense potential to improve welfare, their persistent presence may come at a cognitive cost. In this research, we test the “brain drain” hypothesis that the mere presence of one’s own smartphone may occupy limited-capacity cognitive resources, thereby leaving fewer resources available for other tasks and undercutting cognitive performance. Results from two experiments indicate that even when people are successful at maintaining sustained attention—as when avoiding the temptation to check their phones—the mere presence of these devices reduces available cognitive capacity. Moreover, these cognitive costs are highest for those highest in smartphone dependence. We conclude by discussing the practical implications of this smartphone-induced brain drain for consumer decision-making and consumer welfare.
I stumbled upon it here (emphasis mine):
https://science.howstuffworks.com/l...rch-confirms-it-really-are-getting-dumber.htm
and an interesting point is
so I do not want to discuss such test at all. Whatever one may think about them, I think they will definitely reflect a tendency, which is far more interesting as to what extend an IQ test measures what. I find it too easy to blame the measurement. In my opinion, this would merely distract from the observation. And this is what I think should be discussed.... What's behind the loss of smarts? Scientists hypothesize changes in our education systems, nutrition, the current media environment, a decline in reading and an increase in online activity as possible culprits. Some blame the IQ test itself ...
I remember a dialogue I had about the layout of a modern IDE. The youngster had set it to a vast collection of icons and I said I couldn't handle this: "I want roll down menus, I can read! Do you expect me to learn three dozens of icons for each software I use?" I found that symptomatic.
Another observation of mine is, and I include myself, that since we get used to short video clips, or even shorter cuts within them like in music videos, our attention span has continuously decreased. This would have been somewhere since the early 80's which coincides with the time the authors above measured the reversal of the Flynn effect.
So my provocative question is: Do we make us dumber with each new technology we use?