Are sadentary people stupider?
I asked the AI, "Are sedentary people stupider?" It accused me of being "harsh."
That's nice. Getting schooled by a robot (eye roll). Then, I asked, "Is people's cognitive ability diminishing?" It answered succinctly:
Cognitive Abilities Over Time: The Flynn Effect
Rising IQ Scores: Over the 20th century, IQ scores steadily increased globally, a phenomenon called the Flynn Effect. It's largely attributed to:
Better nutrition.
Improved education.
Greater access to information.
Societal changes promoting abstract thinking.
Recent Reversal?: In some developed countries, there's evidence that IQ scores have plateaued or even declined in recent decades. This trend, dubbed the "reverse Flynn Effect," might be due to:
Environmental factors: Screen overuse, less focus on critical thinking, and declining attention spans.
Changes in education systems: Emphasis on test performance over deep learning.
Lifestyle factors: Less physical activity, poor diets, and reduced sleep.
So, I guess most of the declining IQ individuals work at AT&T's Customer Service Department. I don't think I am alone in complaining about the decline in customer service everywhere and the obvious decline in people's ability to make sense, regardless of demographics and net worth.
I wrote about conspiratorial thinking last week, and now I want to see a study showing IQ curves overlapped with conspiratorial thinking tendencies. Perhaps this makes me a stuck-up, judgmental intellectual. But I am compassionate. I promise. This is why this article is about how to help yourself get smarter…. In 6 weeks!
Why 6 weeks? Because that's the time it takes for your brain to rewire a few circuits and for brain plasticity to register on a fMRI. If you don't believe me, check out this BBC documentary on YouTube.
Full disclosure: I've been wondering about my own mental acuity lately. I don't have as many problems to solve as I used to in survival mode working full-time in California. Of course, I was the queen of forced scarcity, which explained the survival mode AND the ability to quit the rat race at 52. Still, a problem solver needs problems to solve. Now I play with my dog, go out dancing, judge my neighbors' poor health habits, and complain about the frigid weather stopping me from booking 8 miles on my fitness tracker.