Flynn Effect, We’re Getting Smarter
The Flynn effect reveals that our minds are changing: we are getting smarter and our abstract reasoning is getting more and more skilled. While it is true that we are increasingly good at solving certain questions, the emotional aspect is still a great question mark. In fact, the increase in our IQ does not go hand in hand with personal satisfaction or happiness.
This theory has been widely discussed since 1994, the year in which James R. Flynn, a researcher at the University of Otago (New Zealand) revealed an impactful news: the IQ of the human population shows a constant increase. The Flynn effect has been the subject of study since the early 20th century.
What’s more, other scientists and human intelligence experts, such as University of Oklahoma psychologist Joe Rodgers, point to another interesting aspect. Looking at the intelligence tests of the past 30 years, including the Wechsler scale for childhood intelligence, the increase in intelligence can be seen on an annual scale.
Does this mean that our grandchildren will be gifted when compared to us? Before reaching hasty conclusions, it is good to delve into all the nuances of the Flynn effect in detail.
The Flynn effect and technological advances
The Flynn effect tells us that in an IQ test a child today would score 10 points more on average than his parents. According to this rule, the future of humanity would seem destined to welcome ever more skilled, sophisticated and high-potential minds. However, human intelligence experts are keen to clarify some key aspects.
The increase in reflex IQ in IQ tests does not mean that our “brute” brain potential increases in the same way. The improvement in our intellectual performance has taken a major leap since the industrial revolution. Aspects such as education, better nutrition and technological advances have laid the groundwork for increasing our intelligence.
In other words, intelligence goes hand in hand with the development of our society. This happens to allow us to better adapt . We need to be in tune with a world where information flows faster and faster, to be part of every technical progress, every change, every innovation. At the same time, one factor that has been observed in intelligence tests is the increased responsiveness and ability of today’s children to establish relationships.
Children’s abstract reasoning, as well as the speed of their perception, is a phenomenon that improves year by year. Neurologists indicate that this may also be due to new technologies. Interactive screens, games and the virtual world filled with stimuli that require a quick response change the way the human mind processes information.
We are getting smarter… but also happier?
More than happiness, we should talk about personal satisfaction. If from year to year our minds reveal greater skill in solving problems, to innovate and facilitate the progress of our world, does it mean that we experience higher levels of satisfaction and / or greater personal well-being?
Jean Twenge, professor of psychology at San Diego State University, has published an article on the American Psychological Association inviting us for a deep reflection. The new generations, what some authors define with the term iGen, are made up of clearly unhappy teenagers. They are described as hyper-connected, tolerant, dissatisfied, and not at all ready for maturity.
Technological dependence gives shape to a new complex scenario, which is instantly updated, generating another even more complex one. The methods of interaction have changed, just as the way they see themselves and understand the world has changed for many. Perhaps this is our main problem. If the Flynn effect makes us more and more intellectually skilled, we should learn to survive better in an increasingly technological and sophisticated context.
On the other hand, the curious theory of transhumanism is worth mentioning. According to this philosophical movement first spoken of by David Pearce and Nick Bostro, both professors at Oxford University, the future of humanity will be even more tempting.
According to these authors, humanity will make an evolutionary leap in the next century. Not only will we be smarter, but we will become a society exclusively oriented towards hedonism and happiness. For what reason? Basically because the advances in genetic engineering, pharmacology, intracranial stimulation and molecular nanotechnology will eradicate certain diseases by greatly slowing aging.
While waiting to know if this will happen or not, if we will become a pleasure-oriented humanity or, on the contrary, if we will be melancholy individuals who inhabit a technological and aseptic society, there is only one thing to do. Focus on the present. Orient our mind and our intelligence not only towards progress, but also towards personal well-being. After all, a few more points on the IQ will be useless if we are not able to create a more satisfying reality for everyone.
