Ignorant Sheeple.

[sniper 55]

I think more people are taking the idea of being prepared more seriously, whether it's for a terror related or natural disaster. How many actually do anything and start stocking up is another question.

[MissAnpassad]

One wonders at the future of mankind.

I would not worryJansman , It is called Natural Selection or Darwinism.

Actually you should. Studies have shown that the higher the IQ a woman has, the less likely she is to procreate, I think that the numbers were something like for every 15 points higher the IQ, the instinct to have children lessened by 25 %. So the stupid people will rule the world in the future, as we have contraceptives today and can choose not to have children. We didn't have that choice in the past.

[Deeps]

One wonders at the future of mankind.

I would not worryJansman , It is called Natural Selection or Darwinism.

Actually you should. Studies have shown that the higher the IQ a woman has, the less likely she is to procreate, I think that the numbers were something like for every 15 points higher the IQ, the instinct to have children lessened by 25 %. So the stupid people will rule the world in the future, as we have contraceptives today and can choose not to have children. We didn't have that choice in the past.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

'Based on a true story' maybe ???

[MissAnpassad]

Yes probably.

I have studied this amongst the people I know, and people really are more prone to have several children if they have an IQ of about 100 or less. Perhaps they feel the need to accomplish something with their lives by having children? And the people with a higher score often has a higher level of education, so their needs of accomplishment is already fulfilled?

[dangerman]

Interesting observation MissAnpassad - but surely a higher IQ is also often related to mental illness such as personality disorder and depression, and learning disabilities such as autism.

If someone has problems like that then they're less likely to procreate just because they are socially inept or have been institutionalised due to treatment. Not that everyone who doesn't have children have these issues, but these things are bound to skew data.

[Arzosah]

That kind of genetic drift would take thousands (and thousands) of years. And in that timespan, something else would interrupt/end/change the process. And anyway, intelligence isn't *wholly* genetically-based.

[MissAnpassad]

Interesting observation MissAnpassad - but surely a higher IQ is also often related to mental illness such as personality disorder and depression, and learning disabilities such as autism.

If someone has problems like that then they're less likely to procreate just because they are socially inept or have been institutionalised due to treatment. Not that everyone who doesn't have children have these issues, but these things are bound to skew data.

The time of the forced sterilizations has passed. My uncle has schizophrenia and children, mental problems do not stop you from having kids. But yes, we probably do have more mental problems than the average population, but far from the 100% decrease that a woman of an IQ of 160 or more have. Because then all women with that high of a IQ would be nuts.

That kind of genetic drift would take thousands (and thousands) of years. And in that timespan, something else would interrupt/end/change the process. And anyway, intelligence isn't *wholly* genetically-based.

No, it wouldn't. We have taken away the evolutionary mechanisms when we started to eat contraceptives and antibiotics. And a lot of your IQ is genetic, if we take that out of the evolutionary equation, then the IQ levels would drop rapidly.

[Arzosah]

That kind of genetic drift would take thousands (and thousands) of years. And in that timespan, something else would interrupt/end/change the process. And anyway, intelligence isn't *wholly* genetically-based.

No, it wouldn't. We have taken away the evolutionary mechanisms when we started to eat contraceptives and antibiotics. And a lot of your IQ is genetic, if we take that out of the evolutionary equation, then the IQ levels would drop rapidly.

I'll agree to disagree on that one ...

[ForgeCorvus]

And a lot of your IQ is genetic, if we take that out of the evolutionary equation, then the IQ levels would drop rapidly.

No, they wouldn't.
IQ 'scores' are set with 100 being the level of the average person taking that test, in fact that Median score is actually rising.

Since the early 20th century, raw scores on IQ tests have increased in most parts of the world.[47][48][49] When a new version of an IQ test is normed, the standard scoring is set so performance at the population median results in a score of IQ 100. The phenomenon of rising raw score performance means if test-takers are scored by a constant standard scoring rule, IQ test scores have been rising at an average rate of around three IQ points per decade.

That said, the only female member of Mensa that I know doesn't have kids..... But that is far too small a sample to get any kind of meaningful result


Do smart/thick people have smart/thick kids?... Maybe so, but then you're getting into the nature versus nurture debate and thats getting waaay Off Topic


"There are none so blind as those who will not see. The most deluded people are those who choose to ignore what they already know. "
This is what we, as a community, are up against

[MissAnpassad]

No, they wouldn't.
IQ 'scores' are set with 100 being the level of the average person taking that test, in fact that Median score is actually rising.

Since the early 20th century, raw scores on IQ tests have increased in most parts of the world.[47][48][49] When a new version of an IQ test is normed, the standard scoring is set so performance at the population median results in a score of IQ 100. The phenomenon of rising raw score performance means if test-takers are scored by a constant standard scoring rule, IQ test scores have been rising at an average rate of around three IQ points per decade.

That said, the only female member of Mensa that I know doesn't have kids..... But that is far too small a sample to get any kind of meaningful result


Do smart/thick people have smart/thick kids?... Maybe so, but then you're getting into the nature versus nurture debate and thats getting waaay Off Topic


"There are none so blind as those who will not see. The most deluded people are those who choose to ignore what they already know. "
This is what we, as a community, are up against

The number of humans getting schooling has also increased over the years, and we know that schooling do increase your IQ to a point, so it is more than possible that that is the explanation to the increase that you have seen. And in many parts of the world, a childless woman is considered "faulty", society actually demand women to have children. I've been a subject to it myself, people have tried to talk me into having children, and I have never wanted to. It's not my thing, I like kids, I just don't want any of my own.

No, it wouldn't. We have taken away the evolutionary mechanisms when we started to eat contraceptives and antibiotics. And a lot of your IQ is genetic, if we take that out of the evolutionary equation, then the IQ levels would drop rapidly.

It takes 7 generation to make a new stabil dog breed. Why would humans be any different? I'm not saying that we should force humans into have kids, I just want people to be aware of the problem. And if you are smart and healthy, perhaps you should donate eggs or sperm to the infertility clinics?