I’ve just read a particularly interesting article by a Stanford Geneticist (RT.com, 19/2/2013). It states that our human intelligence is genetically declining and humans were more intelligent 3000 years ago, I wondered how many of us would agree?After all, don’t we enjoy computers, technology, cars, a higher standard of living and health than 3000 years ago? Well perhaps…
But given what our predecessors had to deal with, between 4000 and 1000BC, it’s not so surprising that their intelligence had to be so much higher than ours today.
The weapons may be more sophisticated, but were prehistoric warriors more intelligent than today?
I wonder, are we crediting ourselves (individually) for too much intelligence today? We can use a computer – but that’s simply a set of instructions. However could we track and hunt down a deer, stay safe in a wilderness, know what plants to eat, communicate with a hostile tribe in a different language? Perhaps it’s high time we stopped patting ourselves on the back for getting to grips with that new smartphone so quickly, and look to what “real intelligence” is instead.
Our first initiative, perhaps, is to really consider exactly what “intelligence” is. IS it, as so often promoted – a set of qualifications showing an academic aptitude? Does that ability to learn and recall truly deserve the accolade of “intelligence”?
Or is “intelligence” a less definable entity? More recently IQ has been joined by EQ, the Emotional Quotient. A way to measure our ability to empathise.
But what about our other abilities? Our Creative Quotient? Our Intuitive Quotient? Our Physical Quotient? Is it simply that our academic system chooses not to measure these areas, or that our political systems finds them too difficult to tax.
In the past, our ancestors undoubtedly enjoyed numerous outlets for their creativity to solve problems and pass the time, their intuition: where the herds were grazing today. And their physical abilities, simply staying alive. A close look at the arts and lifestyles of these people shows a high level of play, creativity and collaboration. Something else that is seriously missing today.
According to the article, the doctor from Stanford claims, “humans were at their most intelligent when every individual was exposed to nature’s raw selective mechanisms on a daily basis.” Under those conditions, adaption, he argued, was much more of a matter than fight or flight. Rather, says the scientists, it was a sink or swim situation for generations upon generations.
It seems impossible to imagine a return to the harsh living conditions of our predecessors, but I suggest that there’s at least one area that we can achieve. Perhaps now is the time to consider the low-tech lifestyle benefits of our predecessors – and reconnect with each other. Perhaps we could start by putting our smartphones down for a minute or two and adding more active play and laughter into our lives.
Laughter, fun and technology – truly the best of all worlds. Let’s start now! Because if we can’t understand the benefits today – it sounds like our own ancestors certainly won’t be intelligent enough to see it in the future.
