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submitted 19 hours ago by cannedtuna@lemmy.world to c/memes@lemmy.world
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[-] Wildmimic@anarchist.nexus 3 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago)

He is, i saw the study too. Last generational study that came out showed a small, but statistically relevant drop in intelligence in Gen Z relative to their predecessors, which is the first drop ever since we can measure these things.

And why wouldn't we see that? General education institutions have been under attack for decades now, and tinkering with your stuff is becoming more and more illegal and discouraged by the hollowing out of the concept of ownership. Software has been reduced to smartphone apps for most people, and critical thinking is seen as dangerous by many states including the US and is therefore discouraged. And let's not forget that most people are living paycheck to paycheck and do not have the headroom to engage critically with their surroundings.

[-] db2@lemmy.world 0 points 8 hours ago

That isn't what I'm talking about though. 🤦‍♂️

[-] Wildmimic@anarchist.nexus 1 points 6 hours ago

Even with you mentioning that i still don't know what you are talking about, so some clarification would be nice :-)

[-] db2@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago

The very end where a conclusion is drawn:

ergo we're smartest generation

Gen z being dumber doesn't automatically mean the preceding generation was the pinnacle of intelligence. They could also be dumber than the one before them but not as starkly and not studied the same way, or there could have been a plateau for a few generations that gen z fell off from.

[-] Wildmimic@anarchist.nexus 2 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

The Flynn Effect (IQ is rising ca. 3pts/decade) encompasses at least the silent generation, so if we accept the proposition that generations before that probably did not have a higher IQ - because there was less intense education and less knowledge available and needed for normal functioning in society - then (at least in developed countries - in less developed countries which haven't plateaued yet the Flynn Effect seems to be still in effect) the generation with the highest IQ were the millenials.

The numbers are not 100%, because these things develop slowly, and there seems to be divergence between Internally and Externally Scaffolded Tasks (externally are those where you get all needed information and have to come to a conclusion, things like series of symbols or numbers; internally are the tasks where you need to generate the relationship yourself, drawing on language, memory, and abstract reasoning, e.g. "In what way are Justice and Fairness alike").

In developed countries, with internally scaffolded tasks the growth has been continuing (although a bit slower), but with their external counterparts there is a significant decline to be seen since the turn of the century.

This was deposited in front of the US Senate. The blog entry of the responsible researcher is available here: https://thedigitaldelusion.substack.com/p/i-told-the-senate-gen-z-is-less-cognately

[-] the_q@piefed.social 1 points 5 hours ago

You really think a bunch of lead poisoned boomers and apathetic, mildly lead poisoned Xers are more intelligent than the most educated generation to have ever existed? Hmm OK...

[-] db2@lemmy.world 0 points 3 hours ago

we're smartest generation. unga bunga. shiny rock shaped like participation trophy good.

Also you're tagged as "egomaniac" so I know to ignore you elsewhere.

[-] the_q@piefed.social 1 points 23 minutes ago

I'm not the one getting overly invested in a one off comment, but do what you need to do, lesser one...

this post was submitted on 17 Sep 2026
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