Is man smarter now compared to 2000 years ago

[gaara]

can some one please explain to me how we are or arent smarter than 2000 years ago. just say if 2 IQ tests could be created that were equal but suited to a man from the past and a man from now's context, would they score the same or different.

[Cadmus]

can some one please explain to me how we are or arent smarter than 2000 years ago.

Yes, we are smarter. Our species is evolving, slowly, and this evolution improves smarts. 2,000 years is pproximately 50 generations. That is not a lot of evolution in the context of the totality of our species, but it is not zero either. However, for a valid response, it wouldn't hurt to explain what you mean by smarter.

[coquina]

can some one please explain to me how we are or arent smarter than 2000 years ago. just say if 2 IQ tests could be created that were equal but suited to a man from the past and a man from now's context, would they score the same or different.

 

I can't explain, but it is my opinion that people 2,000 years ago were as smart as we are now. When I look at the artwork and the buildings and what they were able to achieve without the benefit of electricity or computers, I find it amazing.

 

I think the difference between now and then is that we slowly, over the years learned to archive knowledge and build on what others have learned before.

[rakuenso]

Genetically speaking, our brain's really couldn't have evolved much,

 

however, the nurturing environment that we now live in greatly affects how intelligent we are. WE now have schools, computers, internet and technology that allows us to learn faster

[Flareon]

Genetically speaking' date=' our brain's really couldn't have evolved much,

 

however, the nurturing environment that we now live in greatly affects how intelligent we are. WE now have schools, computers, internet and technology that allows us to learn faster[/quote']

 

I agree...our potential has not changed, but how much of it we fullfill has increased.

[Vladimir]

I believe taht the overall level of intelligence has greatly improved since 05a.d, however the great minds of the time, far surpass what our schools can teach.

I do not believ our potential has icreased or how much we fill of it, we dont really do a lot individually do we? We talk of progress, but what achievemetns have we made in the twenty first century? i know its early days yet, but one and a half thousand of those days has passed and not much has been done.

[ecoli]

I disagree... I think that intellegance and science builds on itself.

 

People of the past are just as intellegent as we are today... We just know more things. Imagine if Einstein came before Newton...could Einstien have developed...say...special relativity without Newton discovering his laws first?

 

Sure I know how to lite a match...but I'm I intelligent enough to know that the rock flint can create a spark, if someone didn't tell me first. Could I have discovered that rubbing wood together created enough friction to light a spark? I don't think so.

 

In Intelligence is relative. What we know today other people had to discover first. That makes them just as intellegnet then us, after all we are learning new things everyday...

[Vladimir]

But surely that intial discovery is worth far more than our ability to light a match.

Where science is concerned vast improvemetns have been made, and undoubtedly our scientists could easily overwhelm those that proceeded us, but there are still teh individuals that crop up, De vinchi or instance,

[ecoli]

But surely that intial discovery is worth far more than our ability to light a match.

 

That's exactly my point.

[Vladimir]

Sorry i hadnt read your last paragraph properly.

The main difference now is that almost all science is done comercially, or funded by an election seeking politician, so the progress is awarded not really to teh individual team or person, but either to teh comapny, teh political party, or just science as a whole.

[Flareon]

I do not believ our potential has icreased or how much we fill of it, we dont really do a lot individually do we? We talk of progress, but what achievemetns have we made in the twenty first century? i know its early days yet, but one and a half thousand of those days has passed and not much has been done.

 

What you say is matter of opinion (I myself believe we accomplished plenty even within the last century), but even so, when I said fullfilling of potential, I didn't mean strictly achievement-wise.

 

We are living longer aren't we? That by default means that we have a longer opportunity to learn. We have much more information to take in, as well as new technologies to which we need to adapt. More people are getting educated (at least as far see in the western world) with a longer time spent in school. The only thing I can think of as a counter-argument to mine would be that people and their knowledge and ability has been steadily toward increased specialization, which incidentally would decrease adaptability.

[Vladimir]

What have we achieved?! Mankind has lost its motivation, more and more people spend more and more time doing recreational activitys.

The general populace simply fritters their time away, literally doing nothing. Time has been wasted, nothing more. That is not fulfilling potential

[ecoli]

We are living longer aren't we? That by default means that we have a longer opportunity to learn. We have much more information to take in' date=' as well as new technologies to which we need to adapt. More people are getting educated (at least as far see in the western world) with a longer time spent in school. The only thing I can think of as a counter-argument to mine would be that people and their knowledge and ability has been steadily toward increased specialization, which incidentally would decrease adaptability.[/quote']

 

Good Point

 

What have we achieved?! Mankind has lost its motivation' date=' more and more people spend more and more time doing recreational activitys.

The general populace simply fritters their time away, literally doing nothing. Time has been wasted, nothing more. That is not fulfilling potential[/quote']

 

Good Point

 

Both excellent argument guys. You could easily argue both points.

 

 

I would almost say that the two arguments cancell each other out. We have more time on earth, therefore we allocate more time to recreational activities, leaving the exactly the same amount of time on education and research.

[Vladimir]

However, this is simply not the case

[Flareon]

Vlad, it seems to me that you have an idealistic bent. This is not meant to be offensive.

 

Perhaps it seems that we haven't achieved much, because a larger proportion of our recent accomplishments have been not in a tangible form such as buildings or monuments, but in the form of social revolutions. I would think that the advent of rational thought and scientific reasoning to be one of the few greatest, if not the most important human achievement in recent history.

[ecoli]

However, this is simply not the case

 

Obviously not...but purely judging on both those arguments, it could almost seem so.

[Flareon]

Ecoli, pick a side, you fence-straddler!

[Vladimir]

Well Flare, statues are for pidgeons, this is not progress even an accomplishment.

Despite the free and open way scientists now present their research, world leaders are still refusing to do anything about them, the same topics and problems ocur again and again. What social revolutions?

[ecoli]

Ecoli, pick a side, you fence-straddler!

 

I know...and I'm enjoying it!

 

It's hard to pick a side when both sides make good and logical arguments.

 

Anyway...What I said before, I'm holding too. Intelligence is relative. I beleive people back in the day reached their potential of intelligence, and we today are reaching the potential of our intellgence. (I am talking on general terms, of course and not on an individual basis.)

[Vladimir]

In genral we can do more things, but do we understand them.

Come on you coward and fight like a man!

[ecoli]

Perhaps it seems that we haven't achieved much' date=' because a larger proportion of our recent accomplishments have been not in a tangible form such as buildings or monuments, but in the form of social revolutions. I would think that the advent of rational thought and scientific reasoning to be one of the few greatest, if not the most important human achievement in recent history.[/quote']

 

I think intellegence is represented in scientific, technological, artistic, cultural, political and economic achievements.

[Flareon]

I do not disagree nor have I disagreed. I said, "larger proportion," never did I use the word "only."

[Vladimir]

So whats this big social achievement?

[Phi for All]

I don't mean to interrupt the smart-is-what-you-achieve argument here, but I think we are probably not smarter in the sense gaara seems to mean. We are certainly more educated as a species, but our seemingly improved intelligence is mostly specialized and a person from 2000 years ago would probably laugh at our inability to live in his world.

 

As Cadmus points out, we have evolved by 50+ generations, so we are most likely slightly smarter, but I think our superiority is mostly education and knowledge, not capacity for intelligence.

[Flareon]

I already expressed that our intelligence has not changed by stating that our potential is still the same.

 

I wasn't arguing the original point; I was arguing Vlad's point that we have not achieved as much recently as we did before.

 

To answer Vlad: Our big social achievement? Scientific Reasoning. The system of acquiring knowledge which holds that all hypotheses must be able to be disproven. I don't wish to stray from the main topic any longer than I already have. Please find this information, or better yet begin a new topic elsewhere.