Rapid changes have been discovered in our population’s intelligence over the past 46 years. Known as the Flynn Effect, IQ scores have been rising by around three IQ points per decade. 

Intelligence researcher James Flynn was the first person to propose the idea of IQ scores rising. Flynn and other researchers have found broad support for this phenomenon. They have proposed many theories and possible explanations as to why this appears to happen as well as going on Ted Talks to discuss findings and ideas as to why modern society might lead to higher scores on IQ tests.

“I think the cause of our IQ scores rising would be from our access to technology and how it is greater than previous generations,” sophomore Ava Martinell said.

Human civilization has seen an increase in IQ over time, as every generation grows in knowledge and advancements. Flynn explains that “if you score the people a century ago against modern norms, they would have an average IQ of 70.  If you score us against their norms, we would have an average IQ of 130”. 

“This could affect society by allowing more advanced technology and business models and even social interactions,” senior James Merritt said. “I feel like that would all change as we grow out of certain habits that we may consider outdated.”

In an age of information, people can research almost any topic through the internet. Access to that kind of technology enables quicker and easier ways to digest information than it would have been in past decades. With extensive access to information, it makes sense to believe our intelligence can increase.

“I think our scores rising is definitely more realistic; our advancement hasn’t slowed since we entered the 19th and 20th centuries,” Merritt said. “Our advancements have been steadily rising, and they have shown no signs of stopping; I would assume that IQs are going up.” 

Martinelli has a different perspective. “To me, our scores declining would be more realistic due to the pandemic and students having harder access to learning.”

New inventions and developments occurr everyday all around us. These new aspects of the world are often much more advanced and require a developed mind to engage with and understand them. For example, the relatively new uprisings of video games have led to humans developing skills in these cognitively demanding tasks such as visual processing or divided attention. Exposure to new, more advanced tasks may be another explanation for the Flynn Effect.

“The fact that we are still adapting and learning new things shows that humans will and can continue to improve,” sophomore Ella Hopgood said.

Over the past century, there has been a better awareness of health, such as there being a decrease in the number of people who smoke and the discontinuation of the use of harmful lead paint. There have also been improvements in the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases and improvements in nutrition. Having healthier people can mean that more individuals can reach their full potential and become more intelligent. Some people may believe that generation Z is not as smart as other generations.

“The aspects of mental health and social media, and how our generation handles all of it may be why Gen Z is considered the dumb generation,” Hopgood said. “Even though we definitely have made the most improvement to our society and technological advancements.”