Why Is Your Granddaughter SMARTER than YOU Ever Were? (Or…Was James Flynn FULL OF IT?)

[GammaGlobulin]

My Dearest Grandpapas,

 

Has your granddaughter ever told you she is smarter than you? And, did you secretly admit to yourself that she was probably correct?

 

And then, did you ask yourself WHY?

Why is my granddaughter, just six years old, smarter than I ever was?

 

The reasons are varied, but the name for this overall phenomenon is simply called: THE FLYNN EFFECT.

 

I guess, by now, one would have had to have been hiding under a rock someplace not to have heard of the Flynn Effect.

 

But don’t feel bad if you don’t know much about the Flynn Effect, an effect that is most interesting for those of us who care about such things.

 

And, you are in luck, because here are two videos that do an excellent job explaining the Flynn Effect.

 

This first UTUBE video, a TED Talk, is presented Straight from The Horse’s Mouth, none other than James Flynn, himself!

 

He will tell you exactly why your granddaughter is, indeed, likely to be quite a bit smarter than you…maybe by as much as 15 IQ points if both you and your granddaughter could take the same IQ test (of course, your granddaughter would not be taking the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), but rather she would be taking the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)).

 

So then, if you have an interest in this Topic, please enjoy this TED Talk:

 

 

This next video, an interview done by Lex Fridman, and I am not a fan of his, provides a discussion between him and Richard Haier. Haier seems to believe that the Flynn Effect may be slowing down, and possibly reversing. And, he also repeats our general understanding concerning the fact that the Flynn Effect, which is an observation based on IQ data, is probably due to improved healthcare and nutrition (an intergenerational improvement).

 

 

Obviously, the Flynn Effect is a fascinating topic to most all of us.

Fortunately, both of these attached videos are for the lay audience, so rest easy grandpapas!

 

Therefore, next time you interact with your granddaughter, and next time you admit to yourself that she is smarter than you ever were, now you know why.

 

Helpfully yours,

As always,

 

Gamma G.

 

Please Note:  I have no granddaughters. But this has not stopped me from realizing that children are smarter these days. I have taught a few super-smart Chinese kids via the internet….For FUN. 

 

And, they always try to show me up, being as academically precocious as they often are. They love to point out my typos and spelling errors on WeChat, for example, and this makes their day!

 

Note2:  Still, I can honestly say, I have yet to meet a 12-year-old student smarter than me, even a Chinese one. But yet I know, one day soon, I surely shall.

 

 

 

[GammaGlobulin]

Several detailed discussions of The Flynn Effect can be found: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/flynn-effect

 

For example, just one short excerpt of just one discussion:

 

"An Empirical Curiosity: The Flynn Effect

We know that the environment has powerful effects on cognitive abilities. Perhaps the simplest and most potent demonstration of this effect is the Flynn effect, named after its discoverer, James Flynn. The basic phenomenon is that IQ has increased over successive generations throughout the world during most of the past century—at least since 1930. The effect must be environmental because, obviously, a successive stream of genetic mutations could not have taken hold and exerted such an effect over such a short period of time. The effect is powerful—about 15 points of IQ per generation for tests of fluid intelligence. Also, it occurs throughout the world. The effect has been greater for tests of fluid intelligence than for tests of crystallized intelligence. The difference, if linearly extrapolated (a hazardous procedure, obviously), suggests that a person who in 1892 was at the 90th percentile on the Raven Progressive Matrices, a test of fluid intelligence, would in 1992 score at the 5th percentile."

 

 

[flyingtlger]

I dun don't git it........

[GammaGlobulin]

12 minutes ago, flyingtlger said:

I dun don't git it........

Maybe, then, you should ask your granddaughter...? 

 

 

 

[NorthernRyland]

Modern man has more experience with abstract thinking due to technology. This is the primary reason?

 

Mutational load has been increasing in the genome due technology which is keeping alive people that would have died in the past and failed to produce offspring (Dysgenic breeding.).

 

In many countries there are welfare states which are subsiding dysfunctional people and allowing them to have more children then they could afford otherwise. More dysgenic breeding.

 

Moreover, population level IQ in America and other nations in Europe is falling due to 3rd world immigration. 

 

It doesn't seem like anything is getting better or people are getting smarter to me. Everything seems to be going backwards with the exception of a narrow range of technologies.

[1FinickyOne]

I have a niece/daughter who is 18 and I surely consider more a granddaughter that I have provided parent roles since she was 1 yr old.

 

Yes, if I ask her to do something on my phone, even if she has never done it, she can figure it out in seconds... However, she does not have the 'life experience knowledge' that I do... 

 

And so it goes - interesting topic. 

[KhunLA]

Smarter ... NO

More progressive in current tech usage, since using more than myself, YES ... well, maybe.

 

I can do math in my head and read a paper map, still know & remember history.  Doubt most under 30 or 40 yo have a clue if not referring to their phone first.

Edited July 29, 2023 by KhunLA

[GammaGlobulin]

5 hours ago, 1FinickyOne said:

'life experience knowledge'

Wisdom = "life experience knowledge"

 

And, still not for sale.

 

 

[GammaGlobulin]

6 hours ago, NorthernRyland said:

Modern man has more experience with abstract thinking due to technology. This is the primary reason?

Haha...Yes....I, too, believe that his hypothesis is suspect.

Flynn was the first one to notice and publish about this increasing trend in IQ (the intergenerational trend).

 

However, I agree with you that the primary reasons for increasing IQ are other than experience with abstract thinking.

This is NONSENSE, because we know the intelligence of the guys on PNG, documented by that Harvard researcher and professor Diamond who wrote that the guys on PNG are far smarter than Diamond's Harvard undergrad students, also show increasing IQ scores.

 

We need to look at the data and evidence to find a cause for the annual increasing IQ scores.  There are many places where we can look. However, I mentioned this link in my previous comment, and I think this link is a good place to find several plausible hypotheses to explain increasing IQ scores:

 

 https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/flynn-effect

 

 

[GammaGlobulin]

2 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Smarter ... NO

More progressive in current tech usage, since using more than myself, YES ... well, maybe.

 

I can do math in my head and read a paper map, still know & remember history.  Doubt most under 30 or 40 yo have a clue if not referring to their phone first.

Please note that we are really talking about intelligence and "smartness" as measured by the Wechsler IQ test, and other IQ tests, because this is the data that FLYNN used to postulate that there is an observable FLYNN Effect.

 

 

[KhunLA]

1 minute ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Please note that we are really talking about intelligence and "smartness" as measured by the Wechsler IQ test, and other IQ tests, because this is the data that FLYNN used to postulate that there is an observable FLYNN Effect.

Oh krap, now I have to actually read the OP

... along with crawling out from under that rock.

 

Didn't watch the vid, as too smart to.

 

Remember, IQ simply measures your potential ability to learn, and with all things, if you don't apply yourself, you'll remain as dumb as the rock I'm going back under.

[StayinThailand2much]

9 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Has your granddaughter ever told you she is smarter than you? And, did you secretly admit to yourself that she was probably correct?

Well, that may be true for individuals, but I read that the opposite is more likely, i.e. younger/future generations having a lower IQ due to different, less challenging and demanding lifestyles. Yes, they may be more acquainted with anything IT, and the latest gadgets. But how many of them will have read as many books in their youth as some of the older folks did, and how many were as active as kids, rather than just being glued to their smartphones all day?

Edited July 29, 2023 by StayinThailand2much

[BritManToo]

9 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Why is my granddaughter, just six years old, smarter than I ever was?

Don't think that would be hard for anyone's granddaughter.

As you appear to be a few sandwiches short of a picnic.

[BarraMarra]

Go buy a new Phone after a few hours trying to set ip up give it your Grand child within half n hour you be using facebook and chatting to your mates dues to him/her transferring all your data from your old phone.

[GammaGlobulin]

39 minutes ago, StayinThailand2much said:

Well, that may be true for individuals, but I read that the opposite is more likely, i.e. younger/future generations having a lower IQ due to different, less challenging and demanding lifestyles. Yes, they may be more acquainted with anything IT, and the latest gadgets. But how many of them will have read as many books in their youth as some of the older folks did, and how many were as active as kids, rather than just being glued to their smartphones all day?

In THIS OP, we are concerning ourselves with FLUID Intelligence as measured on an IQ test, and Not CYSTALLIZED Intelligence. Increasing Fluid intelligence is what the FLYNN EFFECT actually refers to.

 

Above image taken from:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluid_and_crystallized_intelligence

 

 

 

 

[Surasak]

I didn't understand a single thing in this thread, so I'll put it on the back burner for now and come back to it later possibly. Anyway, If there is something I need to know, I ask my great grand son. He's 14 and knows just about everything. Saves me a lot of hassle.????