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American IQ scores have rapidly dropped, proving the 'Reverse Flynn effect'

(www.popularmechanics.com)
256 points hirundo | 1 comments | 10 Apr 23 13:00 UTC | HN request time: 0.325s | source
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rahimnathwani ◴[10 Apr 23 16:58 UTC] No.35514446[source]▶
This blog post asserts that IQ scores didn't drop for the population as a whole, and that the drop for each individual group is due to changing composition of that group:

https://emilkirkegaard.dk/en/2023/03/new-study-didnt-really-...

For example, if the % of people who do a postgraduate degree goes doubles, it's no longer such a select group, so you'd expect the average IQ of postgraduate degree holders to go down. This doesn't mean IQ scores are going down for the population as a whole.

One more thing: why do so many papers that present charts that show how a mean or median changes over time, without also presenting charts that show how the distribution has changed over time?

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tptacek ◴[10 Apr 23 21:42 UTC] No.35517739[source]▶
It's worth looking up whose blog this is before trusting any of its analysis.
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1. graycat ◴[10 Apr 23 22:39 UTC] No.35518249[source]▶
Naw!!! "trust ... analysis"??? How does it go, "trust none of what you hear and only half of what you read and still will trust twice too much??? Not entirely a joke!

Lately been trying to get some summary, intuitive understanding of a lot of Internet content and have begun to conclude that there is something can trust (also not entirely a joke): The authors of the content want readers, and their content is something the authors want those readers to believe!!!

When I wanted something I could trust, ended up as a math major. But: Can't answer enough questions with just math. So, one resulting lesson from being a math major is, need to learn to work with content can't completely trust. E.g., in part, might keep in mind the advice "(1) Always look for the hidden agenda. (2) Follow the money."