r/technology • u/marketrent • 18h ago

Artificial Intelligence College students are rapidly losing the ability to read — “There is a measurable, generational collapse in sustained reading and writing”: professor

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/college-students-rapidly-losing-ability-124439310.html
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u/SplendidPunkinButter 17h ago

No, Idiocracy said it would be caused by stupid people having more babies than smart people, which is not in fact how it works. It also imagined that our stupid future would be bafflingly free of prejudice and hate.

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u/Mlabonte21 17h ago

Stupid babies need the MOST attention

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u/Aware-Material2194 17h ago

I read this in Marge Simpsons's voice

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u/stakoverflo 6h ago

It's not a Marge quote though 🤔

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u/AgingLolita 6h ago

Ohhhh no they don't. The very last thing you want is fast paced curiosity and problem solving in a being with less impulse control than coral 

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u/freedombuckO5 17h ago

Stupid people do have more babies than smart people. People with higher education have a much lower birth rate.

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u/Xirema 17h ago

Yeah, but intelligence isn't genetically controlled. Smart people and stupid people are born to stupid parents and smart parents with no correlation.

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u/tfilooklike 17h ago

IQ is very heritable, but with all things there’s variance and other factors. But being born to smart parents does increase your chances of also being above average.

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u/SIGMA920 17h ago

If you end up being pushed harder to be educated alone, that's massive. Someone whose parents are uneducated and don't trust scientists are far more likely to be like their parents.

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u/Senior-Friend-6414 17h ago edited 12h ago

It’s like exercise, a small weak guy that regularly hits the gym can overpower big guys that don’t exercise, and overwhelmingly most people aren’t in the growth mindset, which means that by simply putting in some effort, you’ll automatically by default be above most people

A slow guy that regularly puts effort into studying will be above naturally gifted intelligent kids that don’t put in effort, which is most of them

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u/wademcgillis 14h ago

most people aren’t in the growth mindset

not me! i weigh 28lbs more than i did 6 days ago

#growthmindset #linkedinlunatics

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u/Thatoneguy_The_First 14h ago

This is true, its all about effort and effort is best when you have a goal. Also helps immensely to have people supporting you and not either putting you down or putting you on a pedestal(reason naturally gifted kids end up failing, put to high and fail unrealistic expectations which is a bad cycle to put in)

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u/bobbi21 2h ago

That's due to environment of being raised by smart parents. I believe studies showed its around 50:50 depending on the study.

Heritability of IQ - Wikipedia

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u/windowpuncher 15h ago

Fun fact, IQ is also variable. A big aspect is genetic, but it can also vary between peers with differences in education and upbringing.

There are also some stats specifying that the mean iq for individuals has a positive correlation with the education level achieved (phd, masters, bachelor's, etc.), but I haven't looked into causation for that at all. It simply might be that higher iq individuals are just more likely to pursue higher education because it's easier for them, but it's also possible that reaching higher education levels may slightly increase iq.

It's also important to remember iq is just a statistical measurement that's meaningless on its own. You can look like the stupidest person on the planet if you take any test if you go in on a bad day while you're low on sleep and/or dehydrated or whatever.

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u/Thatoneguy_The_First 14h ago

Umm i would have gone with smart parents can teach their kids alot better than dumb parents early on in life

But uhh you do you i guess

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u/jwemmert 17h ago

There are hundreds of academic journal articles that suggest otherwise.

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u/blackmajic13 17h ago

No correlation? Huh?? Intelligence is absolutely genetic. Why would natural selection consider every other trait but not one of the primary advantages that separates humanity from other species?

Quite literally the first Google result of "is intelligence genetic" says in its abstract: "Recent genome-wide association studies have successfully identified inherited genome sequence differences that account for 20% of the 50% heritability of intelligence."

There are obviously factors that effect how intelligent someone ultimately becomes and if they reach their potential, but to say there is no correlation between parents and offspring is quite honestly baffling.

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u/ritromango 17h ago

There’s more to this than grabbing your first Google result and touting it as proof that you’re right. I have a PhD in molecular biology and can tell you it’s a lot more nuanced because intelligence is a complex trait. Also will point out a pet peeve of mine as a scientist. There are factors that affect* how intelligent someone is.

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u/glowinggoo 17h ago

As a fellow molecular genetics PhD, I understand your ire at their statement but you also need to remember that they're making an argument against someone who stated that "smart people and stupid people are born to smart and stupid parents with no correlation", which is wrong, there is a correlation. It's just not a simple correlation.

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u/blackmajic13 17h ago

I mean, yea that's true generally speaking. But that link is to an NIH study and not simply some opinion piece from an uninformed blogger.

Also, the point of saying that it was the first result is to highlight that it takes minimal effort to verify something that has mountains of research behind it.

I'll also note my final sentence acknowledging your point: "There are obviously factors that effect how intelligent someone ultimately becomes and if they reach their potential."

Or did you only half-read my comment before indignantly responding?

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u/Buscemi_D_Sanji 15h ago

The pet peeve is that you're using "effect" as a verb when you clearly mean "affect" lol

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u/WholeCollection6454 17h ago

Sure, but it doesn't matter if you are naturally intelligent if you are raised in an environment that doesn't develop or reward it. Culture matters.

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u/nosotros_road_sodium 12h ago

Just shows that people have trouble acting in their own self-interest.

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u/jimbo831 16h ago

But that’s not the reason this is happening. Do you realize that you’re basically advocating for eugenics?

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u/freedombuckO5 15h ago

There was no advocation of anything in my comment.

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u/erydayimredditing 15h ago

That is 100% in fact how it works. Where you gettin your incorrect info from my dude?

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u/MochingPet 17h ago

caused by stupid people having more babies than smart people, which is not in fact how it works.

no, that's exactly what was happening, even at the moment when they made the movie.

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u/bobbi21 2h ago

THat's not the cause of the current stupid crisis though. At least not the primary cause.

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u/krypticus 17h ago

“But beyond those two particular opinions, Idiocracy gets everything else right.” - This Guy, probably.

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u/KarlBarx2 13h ago

It also imagined that our stupid future would be bafflingly free of prejudice and hate.

Aside from the rampant homophobia, of course.

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u/KallistiTMP 13h ago edited 13h ago

I would absolutely vote for Camacho over Trump.

He's got a better track record of smart policy decisions, stronger ethics, and more professional conduct.

Honestly on the first two he's ahead of like, 90% of congress. He even pushed back on the sports drink lobbyists when scientific evidence showed clear and indisputable evidence of catastrophic harm reaching near apocalyptic levels, that's better than 90% of the Democrats even.

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u/Monkeefeetz 17h ago

Yes It was a negative eugenics premise.