The Flynn Effect
It's called the "Flynn effect" — the fact that each generation scores higher on an IQ test than the generation before it. Are we actually getting smarter, or just thinking differently? In this fast-paced spin through the cognitive history of the 20th century, moral philosopher James Flynn suggests that changes in the way we think have had surprising (and not always positive) consequences.- Ted Talk by James Flynn
James Flynn |
In a nutshell, he claims that we have more powerful intellectual tools. Every member of this culture is trained in these tools from birth. The tools are shared.
This has profound implications for one of he central ideas of this blog: that consciousness itself is shared.
Specifically, we are demonstrably getting better at classification and abstract reasoning. Flynn helps us imagine how that could be by providing some insight into how typical well-educated people reasoned not so long ago.
I would say that the ability to make useful classifications and perform abstract reasoning are both key aspects of the way we experience the world - consciousness itself.
It is the culture, most notably the language, that is getting "smarter".
This is perhaps the strongest proof that we are programmed by language and culture.
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