By doing things like passing laws stopping people from doing stupid shiat that kills them or their crotchfruit, we are interfering with Darwin

"But, at the same time, Ashkenazi Jews have been plagued by inherited diseases like Tay-Sachs disease that affect the nervous system. It may be that the increase in brain power has caused an increase in disease."

Stats 101. Correlation does not imply causation. The onus is on the researcher to proof causation.

Gyrfalcon: The only reason human evolution has slowed as much as it has is because we've been artificially manipulating our environment for the last 10,000 years. If we stopped caring for our sick, feeble and stupid, we'd get smarter and lose all these weird genetic problems in a jiffy.

Ok, fire up the ovens while I round up some box-cars.

After seeing Rick Perry's campaign video earlier, I'm convinced we're getting dumber as a species.

As soon as implantable cybernetic AIs are available, we'll just sidestep this biological evolution limitation.

\All hail our new AI overlords ....

Wait for transhumanism.

Our brains won't get smarter because we'll be attached to supersmart AI.

We need to institute some sort of breeding programme, perhaps in line with the most logical race in the galaxy, the Vulcans.

/For many of you, this will be much less breeding; for me, much much more.

Maybe we'll get smarter in the next evolution of mankind, and that doesn't mean 50 years into the future. It could take thousands or millions of years before we become smarter than we are now. All we can do for now is try to use drugs to enhance us, but it wouldn't be the same as natural evolution.

Sorry Charly.

NJR_ZA: "But, at the same time, Ashkenazi Jews have been plagued by inherited diseases like Tay-Sachs disease that affect the nervous system. It may be that the increase in brain power has caused an increase in disease."

Stats 101. Correlation does not imply causation. The onus is on the researcher to proof causation.

Originally read that as "The anus is on the researcher."
Then again with the same results. Then again. Then I was about to reply to you how that made no sense but then my sleep deprived brain made out the "o".

/...I thought it was funny at first.

K

First of all, it makes the brain-size = intelligence error, and suggests we can't get smarter as a species because our brains would have to grow in the womb.

However, it's right about the difficulties of having above-average intelligence and memory. There's an anecdote about some guy who "couldn't forget" anything, he killed himself. I have a good memory, but sometimes it's a "bad" memory, like something hits me from the past and I physically cringe, like my memory beat me with a newspaper.

i use Fark to rot my brain; is that still a legitimate choice?

heinekenftw: Wait for transhumanism.

Our brains won't get smarter because we'll be attached to supersmart AI.

Pretty much. And I don't need a better memory, I have the internets.

Hmm. I've always been told I'm smart. Personally I think it's garbage as I can do virtually zero science and math (subjects I personally regard as more difficult than the things I'm 'good' at).

Nevertheless, almost every single time I feel like I understand something better it just is something that makes me sadder. So I don't think it's worth it, in the final analysis. It's driven me to drinking far more than I'm proud to admit.

jaylectricity: Sorry to get so serious, but being smart was not doing me any good and was rather depressing.

So artificially depressing myself with booze and forgetting about all that namby-pamby intelligent stuff has really worked out well.

What you decide to do with your brain day-to-day is not going to improve your offspring's intelligence.

fisker: jaylectricity: Sorry to get so serious, but being smart was not doing me any good and was rather depressing.

So artificially depressing myself with booze and forgetting about all that namby-pamby intelligent stuff has really worked out well.

What you decide to do with your brain day-to-day is not going to improve your offspring's intelligence.

Sure it is. I get hammered, inseminate the local meth-head, and she bears my crotch fruit after 9 months of hard drug use.

jaylectricity: Sorry to get so serious, but being smart was not doing me any good and was rather depressing.

So artificially depressing myself with booze and forgetting about all that namby-pamby intelligent stuff has really worked out well.

It's better than trying to toe-to-toe with the rest of them. They might drag you down to their level. Swim in drugs and forget about the rest, we're all doomed anyway, you just get to watch and understand as it happens.

So as I was saying, more drugs~

so you can feel ok about continuing to kill off your brain cells with booze

Only the weak ones.

This is all my fault for not breeding.
Apologies, never-to-be master race.

Basically, that article said Jews are Gods chosen people...if you need an accountant.

nonzero: We need to institute some sort of breeding programme, perhaps in line with the most logical race in the galaxy, the Vulcans.

/For many of you, this will be much less breeding; for me, much much more.

All aboard! (T'Pol)

(lights up b¤ng) wait, what now...?

MrEricSir: After seeing Rick Perry's campaign video earlier, I'm convinced we're getting dumber as a species.

After half this nation voted for Fartbongo I'm convinced we're already dumber

Sgygus: How smart was Einstein?

We (our children's children) could all be that smart.

"Smart" is a vague, immeasurable non-attribute.
Even going by the "common sense" definition, yes Einstein was smart, but notably at 1 thing - theoretical physics.
He devoted most of his life, time, and brain to that.
But could he knit a sweater, design a building, or pwn on Call of Duty? I don't know, but I think there were many things he was probably NOT smart at.
Understanding physics and math is like understanding a big RPG rulebook, or most anything else.
It's not that hard if you devote the time to it.
And you must be interested in something to have the motivation to be "smart" at it.
Most people who aren't "smart" simply aren't interested enough, don't have good teachers, or are distracted by other things.

Beer Snob Thread?

There are things Man was not meant to know...until now.
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.

The whole Jews thing is hilarious.

A population with a culture that values academic performance doesn't breed super smart people. It breeds people who are born into a culture that values academic performance.

The Jews ain't the only ones who behave this way.

Values are important. Culture is important. Even for people who aren't Eastern European Jews.

Gyrfalcon: The only reason human evolution has slowed as much as it has is because we've been artificially manipulating our environment for the last 10,000 years. If we stopped caring for our sick, feeble and stupid, we'd get smarter and lose all these weird genetic problems in a jiffy.

Not really true. Hardship lead to evolution of physical tools like opposable thumbs and upright carriages. But it was not until humanity civilized itself that intelligence was driven further than solving base needs, like how to kill animals and obtain warmth. Ug and Krug may have done some rudimentary math, but it is the safety of civilization that has brought us literature, calculus, cars, and space ships. Interestingly, the human brain has changed very little from our early ancestors. The point there is that it is circumstance, not hardship, responsible for the last 10,000 years of humanity. And that 10,000 years includes everything notable that we have accomplished as a species, including everything we think of as "intelligent".

As to this article, "smarts" don't come from more neurons. They come from rewiring basic brain structure, like the development of the frontal cortex. It is possible that such changes can happen, given time. However none of us will see such a thing. Such changes happen over the course of hundreds of generations, not hundreds of years. That is, of course, assuming humanity keeps its hands out of genetically engineering the brain. That is highly unlikely, seeing as we are already doing so.

So throwing humanity back to the wolves is not going to make us smarter. It would only cause us to have shorter lives, with less to do other than scrape around in the dirt for sustenance.

I really don't think it's fair to base human intelligence potential on the fans of American Idol and America's Got Talent.

bearded clamorer: so you can feel ok about continuing to kill off your brain cells with booze

Only the weak ones.

"Well, you see, Norm, it's like this. A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it's the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members.

In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Now, as we know, excessive intake of alcohol kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine.

And that, Norm, is why you always feel smarter after a few beers."

Beluga Heights: Hmm. I've always been told I'm smart. Personally I think it's garbage as I can do virtually zero science and math (subjects I personally regard as more difficult than the things I'm 'good' at).

Nevertheless, almost every single time I feel like I understand something better it just is something that makes me sadder. So I don't think it's worth it, in the final analysis. It's driven me to drinking far more than I'm proud to admit.



There is a sweet spot for being intelligent., unless you just like smashing stuff...

Is it racist that I saw TFA as mexicanpress.com and then instantly discredited anything the article would have to say?

Gyrfalcon: The only reason human evolution has slowed as much as it has is because we've been artificially manipulating our environment for the last 10,000 years. If we stopped caring for our sick, feeble and stupid, we'd get smarter and lose all these weird genetic problems in a jiffy.

You sure about that, champ?

Well, it just doesn't kill off brain cells as we found out when we found my old drinking buddy Hippy dead on the couch.
I've been sober since the early 90s, wish Hippy had done the same.
/r.i.p

FTA:

Hills and Hertwig cite a study of Ashkenazi Jews, who have an average IQ much higher than the general European population. This is apparently because of evolutionary selection for intelligence in the last 2,000 years.

Are they actually arguing that a eugenics program from 60 years ago worked?

/hate Nazis and their neo inbreeds.

BeerGraduate: Is it racist that I saw TFA as mexicanpress.com and then instantly discredited anything the article would have to say?

I don't know if it's racist, but it saved you a hell of a lot of time.

Gyrfalcon: The only reason human evolution has slowed as much as it has is because we've been artificially manipulating our environment for the last 10,000 years. If we stopped caring for our sick, feeble and stupid, we'd get smarter and lose all these weird genetic problems in a jiffy.

You know, as much of an affront this course of action would be to our ingrained values of sympathy and mercy, it is very difficult to suggest ways in which it would NOT be the solution to many human problems, both genetic and panpopulous. We do indeed, when compared with the streamlined genetics of many other species, have a glut of deleterious mutations to work out. We also have a huge population surplus. Allowing our "sick, feeble, and stupid" (Oxford comma mine, because I refuse to give it up) to meet their fates without interference would likely iron out a vast majority of these difficulties.

It would also require us to somehow suspend those aforementioned ingrained values of sympathy and mercy, and those are much more deeply rooted in humanity than the errors are.

So... like a game of Tetris where we've dropped one or two pieces wrong and blocked half the screen, I believe our best bet is to just keep playing and see if we can't clear our mistakes another way. :3

/doesn't believe in max intelligence
//anyone who has ever said "X will never be any better than it is now" has always been proven wrong... just takes time

I'm not sure we need to be any smarter at this point in time. Sure we could improve our memory and processing speed but we have computers that can handle those areas pretty well. The next major step is not biological. If we make it past a billlion years humans will not be humans.

Beyond that everything will have been done and all our questions will have been answered, except one. what now? The stars will fade and there will be nothing left to do nor will there be any point in surviving.

chaos.

Came for Cliff Clavin's buffalo theory, leaving satisfied.

be an improvement