Did Trump Turn Our Brains Into Mush? Scary Reason IQ Scores Are Plummeting w/ Sabrina Haake

American IQ scores are going down faster than the economy under a second Trump administration… Worse… Donald Trump might be to blame.
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[@cmodzins]

George Carlin said it best back in 2005. "The Owners of this Country don't want it."

[@SurprisedBuffalo-ug3rf]

Him and Frank Zapa!!!

[@valmach1]

The Natives absolutely do want it back

[@johnrider4649]

Spent 17 years as a successful tutor in Special Education in a public high school. Worked with a number of MAGA teenagers. Most would not need to be in SpEd if they would care about learning. Students inability to focus, addiction to cell phones and calculators, the loss of physically working on paper, not knowing how to use a book, some don't know their arithmetic tables, not learning critical thinking skills, not holding them accountable for their work and their behavior, passing them through the grades ... scares the living shit out of me. It is perfectly obvious to me why Donald Trump was president.

[@dennisyoung4631]

“… and, *why* they desired him..?”

[@dominicfucinari1942]

I've also heard that whole southeastern and Appalachian states have altered their social culture to devalue every semblance of a formal education. They use a lot of tactics, but their most obvious one is preying on fears of people in ivory towers.

[@hefeydd_]

I couldn't agree more with what you just said. When I was in school I was good at math and I worked out a complex calculation in my head the tutor said that I cheated on my test because I didn't write it down and I said I didn't cheat I did it in my head and he said that's impossible, I said why is it impossible because even I couldn't do that in my head and if I can't do it in my head you must have cheated my stepfather is a wiz at math and he came down to the rhetoric school and spoke to the headmaster by cause the tutor accused me of cheating on a test my stepfather said let me take a look at the question and he said I can itk this out in my head as well so what's the problem? The only reason why my Stepson can work it out is because I taught him how to work out calculations in his head.

[@donaldtemchack7751]

My daughter-inLaw said the exact same thing to us over the weekend. She is an elementary school teacher and as she described students and the way teachers are not allowed to teach them critical thinking skills and their lack of respect to anybody and just pushing them through when they should be held back because the miss so much school and that causes them to be so far behind in reading, math and thinking skills and they are not allowed to hold them accountable for misbehaving. Then as adults these people become the ones that turn into MAGA adults. The republicans want the educational system to fail and instead of supporting the teachers and helping them they set them up to fail so no student becomes the best that they can or are capable of becoming. They want private schools to take over public schools so less people are educated and they just become mindless slaves to the rich and powerful. You have the right to be scared shitless. This is why we have to vote blue from top to bottom on the ballots. No republican deserves to be in a position where they continue to control the outcome of our lives in this manner. Now we can see where it will lead and it has to stop now. You should try to run for a political position where you stop what is happening to the educational system.

[@yvonneplant9434]

Learning is obviously hard. Takes time and dedication. And, often, a home environment free of turnoil.

[@richardbernard6845]

Yes, Donald John Trump as our national leader, made the least of us feel really smart.

[@donaldtemchack7751]

Just look at MTG. She is the perfect example of an idiot being voted into the House of Representatives by other people that recieved substandard educations and not having the critical thinking skills to realize what they have done.

[@tmcsweeney3104]

Great example of the Dunning-Kruger Effect in action!

[@nunyabiznazz2210]

I noticed when I was young that the smart kids were often picked on or even beaten up. They also tended to be socially awkward. Maybe, only the stupid are breeding. Since we have machines that can think for us now is intelligence really necessary, as it is very expensive from an evolutionary standpoint. I have a friend who is very intelligent, but he works in a job that a high school dropout could do. He also has no children. I have a brother in law who is not that bright, and is a MAGA, but he has three kids. Maybe we are seeing the movie "Idiocracy" being played out in real time.

[@Sarah-said]

I wouldn't say "the least of us" but those that have less education and less exposure to different people, experiences and ideas. As I am someone who came from a rural and Republican area, I know that I would have continued to support the Republican party like my friends and family. I was fortunate enough to attend college for a few years and learned critical thinking skills and that enabled me to see that the Republican party was only harming 95% of Americans.

[@johnrider4649]

@@nunyabiznazz2210 I often asked myself, "Should these people be raising children?"

[@amyjones2490]

Bush two and his no child left behind seems to have left lot’s behind.

[@jarichards99utube]

Yes...As Intended...??? : (

[@nsbd90now]

Do a search for "The Powell Memo" written in 1971 by future Supreme Court Judge Lewis Powell. It is an attack on an educated citizenry capable of critical thinking as not being in the best interests of business.

[@JesseJoyce-cj2xg]

Yes, the incorrect use of apostrophes being one striking example.

[@johnrider4649]

Worked in a high school as a tutor. The teachers hated that law. Absolutely HATED that law.

[@dominicfucinari1942]

@@johnrider4649 I wasn't surprised how loathed it was when NCLB turned out to be a ploy to strike back at the idea of a public education system. Family sovereignty extremists and sects like the Institute in Basic Life Principles and Fundamentalist LDS have long had axes to grind with public schools.

[@vaunniethayer1484]

Worked in elementary schools for many years. My observations; the basics: sleep, good nutrition and parents value of education are paramount. In addition, Headstart programs should be in every school. Mental health services in every school, especially elementary schools. Reading to your children at any and every age is the one thing a parent can do that makes a huge difference. Finally put less emphasis on extracurricular especially in elementary. None of these things cost money, libraries are free. I think parent involvement is by far the biggest factor.

[@SurprisedBuffalo-ug3rf]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@bertnijhof5413]

That is why Trump is popular.

[@fullchicken4492]

But but but he went to the Wharton School of Finance and he is a billionaire!

[@arguescreamholler]

Trump's only popular with 30% of VOTERS. The others vote for him due to being in the party. 80 million voted against him. That's voters only. Only the stupid people voted for Trump.

[@dianecrofoot7955]

This is really a fact!!

[@ChrisF_1982]

@@fullchicken4492 He likely cheated, as he does with everything else. Besides he probably wouldn't even be close to being a billionaire in the first place if it weren't for Daddy's money.

[@paulbrower]

But it also expiains why he is so odious to so many people who value learning, toil, skill, integrity, modesty, and honest entrepreneurialism.

[@bradb4740]

Idiocracy was a documentary

[@AuntieMamies]

This doesn't shock me. I can see it happening. I feel like social media has been more harmful than good. It has it's perks but in some very meaningful ways it's been quite destructive

[@Doggieworld3Show]

It’s only a perk when you popular, doing anime or games, art, etc.

[@sharonrinkiewicz3940]

If it were up to me, courses in critical thinking, media literacy, and empathy would be required courses in middle school, high school, and college. Of course, they'd all be age appropriate.

[@AuntieMamies]

@@sharonrinkiewicz3940 I was watching a video, can't remember what channel, but it was about media literacy and various forms of propaganda. There was a teacher in the comments that said they were going to show the video to their students to give them an easily digestible lesson in media literacy. I thought it was a great idea and I hope more teachers have had the same idea. Because especially with social media there's just so much misinformation kids are getting inundated with. Especially when there's a war. "Truth is the first casualty of war". True every single time

[@milycome]

Trump : " I like the poorly educated. "

[@DSAK55]

GOP: We create the poorly educated.

[@bobbafett1849]

​@@DSAK55This

[@ace9840]

@@DSAK55 DNC ..We are the poorly economically educated.

[@jarichards99utube]

Yes, One of those few times when "The Donald" was being Honest... : (

[@mikemetague7973]

The poorly educated are most gullible; just give them chaos and they'll believe whatever makes them feel better. Anything makes more sense than chaos to them.

[@colorbugoriginals4457]

In the world of the poorly educated, the loudest is king.

[@baxtar1963]

Idiocracy here we come

[@qjtvaddict]

Already here

[@dennisyoung4631]

Idiocracy - or “der Untergang?” (Downfall)

[@user-jd1kc9xw1x]

My thoughts exactly…

[@wendwllhickey6426]

Blame the parents for not helping there kids with homework and doing everything for them at all😂

[@wendwllhickey6426]

No they believe the same things he does ,hate, racism, white majority.

[@sharonrinkiewicz3940]

When I was growing up, grandpa used to call the TV the idiot box. He felt it caused loss of imagination.

[@MrBlaq]

Versus what? Listening to the Lone Ranger on radio?

[@johnrider4649]

@@MrBlaq Well then, how did you lose your imagination?

[@dominicfucinari1942]

The decay of networks like TLC, The History Channel, and SyFy *eventually* proved him right, but then again, that resulted from network television's lack of competitive advantages against streaming and other entertainment media.

[@Lula2979]

Now we hold a tv in our hand

[@SurprisedBuffalo-ug3rf]

My dad did too!!

[@bobmorey5022]

To quote Calvin (Calvin and Hobbes comic), addressing his TV: "O great altar of passive entertainment, bestow upon me thy discordant images at speeds that render linear thought impossible."

[@cynthiasloan3867]

I understand her reasoning and I think she's right but I think the rise of unregulated homeschooling shares in the blame.

[@dewiz9596]

It certainly has created people who lack social interaction skills

[@hefeydd_]

What did Donald Trump once quote? I love the poorly educated and those are the people who support him and would follow him to the edge of the earth and back.

[@stoneneils]

He'd walk back, they'd fall off the edge.

[@SurprisedBuffalo-ug3rf]

So sad, that those folks just didn't, and still do not get it😢😢😢😢

[@tedthoman6580]

Off the edge of a flat earth....

[@gregwinslow1267]

Trump should never have entered the political arena. Several politicians are lawyers. Trump is a bumbling bozo !!!!

[@menmykrazycat8129]

Great video - It’s good to see someone talking about the impact of social media on not only intellect but society as a whole. I’m older so in the early 2000’s, I was in my late 20’s. I lived a good part of my life without the internet & then with it. I remember being really excited to be able to find answers to any questions online as opposed to a trip to the library. I also thought it would bring people of the world closer together, seeing what we all have in common despite living on opposite ends of the planet. It didn’t pan out that way. Instead it brought to the surface humanity’s lack of empathy, hatred for anything different, and our lack of critical thinking when it comes to falling for the loudest, craziest explanation rather than the actual one. Some good has come from it from it as far as researching a topic. But as far as social media goes, I think it’s destroyed us.

[@dominicfucinari1942]

Did anyone you heard from make any distinctions between people who only use social media to keep in touch with friends and family vs influencers and those who use it as a pastime?

[@anyone9689]

great video ??? iq's increasing by 3 to 5 percent for 70 years is idiotic and incorrect , if so avg iq would have been close to genius . this video is ludicrous .

[@sharonrinkiewicz3940]

Agreed, but I'm even older. The Internet didn't really become a thing for me till my late twenties. I was in college when AOL first came out. We still used the old card catalog at the library. I didn't start using Facebook till after I graduated college. It's only useful in the sense that it helps me keep in touch with long lost friends and family that I haven't seen in decades. The Internet I found incredibly useful for writing college research papers. Today's kids grew up with screens, everything at their fingertips. But because they are using computers in preschool these days, and they hardly ever write by hand, the kids never develop the hand-eye coordination, the spelling skills, the writing skills, reading comprehension skills, ect. So many of today's kids don't even know enough to put a space between each word. While it is understandable for kindergartners and first graders to not get this, but when I have to remind middle schoolers to do that, there is a problem. Some never learn how to hold a pencil correctly, try to write with their pencil held in a fist. I've seen high schoolers do that!!

[@playlist5455]

You are completely forgetting the stress people are under with the insane increase in the cost of living. Stressed people are not able to focus.

[@drd4059]

Other factors to consider are the education system, family structure and nutrition. IQ potential is set at birth, but the fraction of IQ potential realized depends on environment. Falling IQ is an economic threat as the global knowledge economy becomes more competitive.

[@ericlipps9459]

It's not actually proven that IQ potential is set at birth. That has been _assumed_ by a lot of people, but the evidence isn't there.

[@rangerider4288]

High School Grads have a whole hell of a lot to learn for sure. Though some can't find America on a Globe or their own State on a map! _....yeeesh?_

[@owlcowl]

Hell, many Americans couldnt locate the _equator_ on a globe.

[@lysmykyta1199]

And a large portion of these high school grads are going to college!

[@aliceputt3133]

I loved History in HS. When I got to College and the University I went into shock as I found that HS American History was mostly propaganda to rally young men into fighting and dying for our Country. There was no mention of what we actually were doing politically during any crisis. For example after years of the War of 1812 and the British burning the White House, I found out that we invaded Canada and burned down the town that would become Toronto prior to this. That really reframes what happened. Or how about George Washington starting the French and Indian War? This is why students tend to protest as they just found out what's really been happening and want things to be fair.

[@rangerider4288]

@@aliceputt3133 ~ In my time The Civil War was taboo, and Vietnam was only on TV. Though we were drown in the U.S. Revolution and other American Southern State excellence!

[@SurprisedBuffalo-ug3rf]

The rich woman who was head of education for Rump, her name escapes me, was all for dismantling all public schools.

[@bazpearce9993]

The problem you describe goes back to well before Trump came along. The USA has been dumbing down ever since the Apollo program was cancelled.

[@melissaturffs9612]

Oops! Forgot to educate our citizenry!

[@kgs2280]

Unfortunately, it wasn’t forgetfulness; it was a plan put into action by the Koch brothers who whispered it into Ronald Reagan’s ear. It has been called “the dumbing down of America”, and it was done in purpose because, as touched on in the video, the less educated people are, the easier easier they are to manipulate, not only for advertising purposes but also for political purposes, as evidenced by the Republican Party, especially in the Red states.

[@cockatooinsunglasses7492]

"Oops?"

[@thebigpicture2032]

No, that was a concerted effort to breed Republican voters.

[@jl8942]

I feel like I haven't been able to have an intellectual conversation with almost anyone, but my partner, since 9/11.

[@ericjensen9091]

This discussion deserves way more than a few minutes.

[@dianerios880]

We let it happen. Shameful lack of foresight or action by dems.

[@austingregg2144]

I think the elephant in the room is how society has been infantilized. Read Barber's "Consumed."

[@lillianbarker4292]

The decline in economic stability affects children greatly. They have to change schools when parents can’t afford the rent. They are neglected when parents each have to work two jobs. The corporate world sees people as disposable. Think of all the businesses that only hire part time workers so that they don’t have to include insurance.

[@JGLy22086]

This is depressing as hell! But I believe her. There has to be a correlation between this and MAGA. We know from things😅 we hear people say that the MAGA overall population is not very intelligent. Their reasons for their political leaning stems from their upbringing. (Grandpa was a republican/democrat so that’s what I am). That is the same with religion. Whatever your background, you will probably be the same. And it also correlates with critical thinking abilities. Stupid is as stupid does. As I said, this is as depressing as hell.

[@AndrewUnruh]

There have been studies that show that increased atmospheric CO2 levels decrease cognitive abilities. To my knowledge, these have only studied levels about twice as high as our current levels, but at those levels, there was a dramatic effect. If we *assume* a linear relationship, current CO2 levels would reduce our cognitive abilities in a measurable way relative to their earlier levels. If this is true, it is very concerning in that our own pollution is degrading our ability to logically deal with our pollution.

[@stewartmillen7708]

Hmm, as I don't believe in "intelligence" as a real thing, I think think what she's talking about contains some truth but doesn't represent a decline in intelligence. What I think we're seeing is the fact our education system now doesn't teach civics, doesn't really educate or teach problem-solving and critical evaluation but instead "teaches the standardized test" and stresses vocational education instead general education. Its goal is for the student to exit with that certificate of employment for a career, not to produce a thinking, well educated citizen.

[@MichaelSpanhake]

Originally I. Q. referred to Intelligent Quota. Today it stands for IDIOT QUOTA which appears to be increasing alarmingly.

[@kcobley]

Nobody is asking the real questions, Why does almost half the American want Fascism?, What do they think Fascism offers them?

[@Devo491]

I'm a bleeding-heart liberal, and I've been beating myself up over thinking anyone who supports Trump must be very stupid indeed. Now you've added fuel to the idea, and this just made me more conflicted.

[@DaisyIdes]

It is laziness and impatience…brought about by social media.

[@martyshea8956]

How about lead water mains No level is safe

[@nedludd7622]

Take someone born about 1984. They were 10 when Internet was getting started. They were 22 when Google bought KZbin. They have replaced education by social media. The process is accelerating with younger ones.

[@yvonneplant9434]

News to you: the internet existed in 1984. It just wasn't available to fools like Trump supporters. It was available to academics, the military, scientists. It was all text in those days.

[@user-zo9fp6os5c]

Brawndo; It’s like a monster truck you can pour into your face!

[@daveharpe]

Could Facebook's love of reactions and disdain for the thoughtful essays we used to write as "Notes" have anything to do with this?

[@sailingspark9748]

Miss Haake's comment about loud noise also rings true. If you cannot hear yourself think, you can't.

[@glenagarrett4704]

It's a combination of poor education policy and dependence on electronics.

[@kirstenspencer3630]

No wonder why I've felt smarter lately !

[@amandasurratt4439]

This plays into what I see happening with regard to schools being underfunded (with trump now saying he won't allow funding to any school with vaccine mandate which is probably all of them) and repubs trying to roll back child labor laws, we will look something like a 3rd world country where kids aren't in school but rather scavenging to help mom and dad out.

[@johnalley1640]

The Internet and social Media takes away our ability to imagine, it does it for you.

[@4whirledpeas]

I appreciate that you and your guest are discussing this important topic!! As an educator in the field for over 30 years, there are a few small details that I would like add. An analogy of the brain as a muscle is helpful up to a point. WHAT MOST PEOPLE MISS is that during childhood, the neurons in the brain develop in response to their environment. So, without needed stimuli during critical windows of formation, neurons do not get "switched on" and connections do not get made. In 1999, Dr. Jane M Healy wrote the book, Endangered Minds: Why Children Don't Think And What We Can Do About It. She said, “I am not implying here that [today's] children …are brain damaged in the same sense as adult frontal lobe patients. I AM suggesting that they may have never fully developed their abilities in the first place and thus may behave similarly to people who once had the functions - but lost them through injury to the brain areas involved.” So, the "muscle" of the brain doesn't just need to be exercised - it must be physically created first. This happens experientially in a dynamic system. Each child's brain will form itself to thrive and survive in whatever time and place it finds itself - whether functional or dysfunctional. *The problem is simply this. Modern life no longer provides the environments that children need to develop properly* The space a child is allowed to explore on their own has decreased by over 90% A screen does not provide the sensorial feedback to create sufficient cues for memory retrieval (in other words, without texture, weight, depth, etc, there aren't enough neurons and connections being formed necessary for recall and critical thinking). Many children no longer have siblings so are not developing socially as they did in the past. There are no longer natural drivers for the development of executive functions (impulse control, cognitive flexibility, etc.) as few children spend time working/apprenticing/engaged in meaningful activity alongside multi-generational extended family on farms or businesses. *What has always been true for the impoverished is now true for all of us* Social media falls into this category - but it isn't the category itself. We will not be able to properly identify solutions until we correctly understand the problem. Adults have been smart enough to create GYMS as a response to modern sedentary lifestyles. Likewise, we need to intentionally create learning communities (re-imagined schools) and other venues to meet the biologically driven developmental needs of children. Adding: "No man exists who was not made by the child he once was.” - Maria Montessori

[@ianpatrick3589]

Time to reassess the right to vote. Make it an earned privilege, based on being able to pass the same test a person applying for citizenship has to pass.

[@TheresaReichley]

I think a lot of this is less about what we’re doing and more about what we aren’t doing. What I’m seeing at least in your own family and friends is a pretty big decline in free unstructured play that requires kids to solve problems and negotiate (and thus convince others to their viewpoint). Kids are dragged around to all kinds of enrichment activities, but they generally are things where they do mostly what some adults tell them to do. I was almost feral by comparison because I left at 8 am and didn’t return until dark. Kids need free time to explore and learn.

[@tmcsweeney3104]

GREAT interview!

[@sinebar]

I binge watched all 12 seasons of Shameless and I could swear I lost 10 points on my IQ.

[@nansealove9000]

Thank you so much for this interview with Sabrina. She confirmed what I have suspected since 2016.

[@arguescreamholler]

That's the only way they can force their children to believe their Fanatical Religious Ideologies.

[@erichimes3062]

Welcome to the Idiocracy! 🤷‍♂️ “It’s got electrolytes!™️”

[@adrianred236]

There seems to be a confusion between IQ and educational standard here. They are not the same thing.

[@daveg695]

It needed to be said.

[@janea4777]

Giving birth is dangerous business in this country. Women should have the right to choose whether or not they take the risk. Without question.

[@sunalp2]

It’s one thing listening to a radio play as opposed to being fed dis information

[@edreusser4741]

Correlation is NOT Causation. This truism needs to be constantly hammered home.

[@DSAK55]

where there is smoke, there's usually fire

[@bobbafett1849]

If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck...

[@darkhorseman8263]

Scientists have been warning us for 30 years that social and financial stress combined with exposure to developmental neurotoxins due to deregulation are causing this. It's funny how much people lie and project instead of following a growing body of evidence the scientific community had been laying out before us for generations, with actual proof. Fix the education system, pay people decent wages, and regulate the chemical industry. Namely flame resistant chemicals, carpet glues, forever chemicals, fluoride during pregnancy (now unequivocally proven), residual lead from anti knock additives in fuel era, and irreversible cholinesteraze inhibitors ubiquitous in our environments. This is why conservative governments defund education and artificially suppress wages while deregulating everything. Conservative voting is linked to poor cognitive processing; the inability to grasp complex ideas, due to cognitive decline. We already know what causes it. Stop trying to project and shift blame. Harvard Department of Environmental Health sent advisorsies to every state and federal government in the western world. We saw this coming.

[@johnrider4649]

Agree that too many people don't understand this and need to. They did state reputable data and references throughout. That elevates the hypothesis towards the correlation causing.

[@grumpy9478]

it's not coincidence either. what's your hammering point?

[@davidroberts9037]

Excellent video 🎉 my 80+ year parents and I were discussing this the other day. So many changes in society since I was a kid in the 60's and 70's. So many changes in schooling.

[@boristheamerican2938]

Its not Trump its the internet. I think Trump is just the manifestation of all of this honestly.

[@scottprather5645]

This makes perfect sense. They should ban cell phones in school I cringe when I see parents with a 3-year-old thats looking at a smartphone and I see it a lot.

[@diannabryzicki7111]

The Dunning-Kruger effect has increased significantly.

[@johnhodgson4216]

I think the Smart Phone 'short circuits' the brain, reading and writing create long chains of neuron pathways, the smartphone creates shorter neuron pathways.

[@terriem3922]

Interesting!

[@musicalmelodian]

BBC IS EDUCATIONAL

[@jamessherburn]

Progress left too many behind. America was negligent. Whilst the unfairly advantaged broke into a run for the land of plenty no-one thought to make sure that everyone could keep up. Now the price is being paid!

[@carlosduran6474]

Great guest and subject thank you.

[@neemz9361]

I was watching this happen in real time growing up in Mississippi in the 90s/2000s. Two years older and two years younger might as well have been different species.

[@Spock_Rogers]

Also, it seems that the least intelligent people have the most children.

[@terriem3922]

Yes, they do. More intelligent people put off having kids until they finish college , grad school, etc. So they have less than half as many kids.

[@elizabethsloan3192]

I blame “no child left behind”

[@djack915]

❤🩵Love u Thom. Thank you for informing us !!

[@maxben565]

Technology made people dumber

[@Iskelderon]

Foundation for this dates back to at least the era of Reagan and Dubya's "No Republican Left Behind" then managed to take it to a whole new level.

[@Mrgoofyoops]

My perception is that at least half of the population smoked pot snce the 70’s, so I doubt it’s pot. Alcohol is much more deleterious. I would suspect bad nutrition, I.e. fast food, and processed food.

[@Saturday8pm]

If you read the book “1984”, you are innoculated from all things CHUMP. 🇺🇸

[@johnrider4649]

Yup. Up is down, white is black, truth is false ... Orwell 1984

[@richardsullivan2862]

Sugar, carbohydrates,and ultra processed foods are the problem

[@aliceputt3133]

The problem is the decline in reading books. Instead the internet reading is ephemeral and ads flash , while you can’t focus and loose your place, while you forget your train of thinking. Constant interruptions and intentional PR tactics.

[@larswillsen]

It's pretty obvious watching it from the outside.

[@Doggieworld3Show]

This is why I’m reading books more and spending less time on the SM and TVs. Also, play games and do puzzles.

[@TerryBackner]

I am the child of the overdoes, Mama was too busy with her highs and lows, didn't have time to hold me so, I was left all alone in the TV's glow, my young mind grew like a young mind grows, on the washed up dreams that the tides expose as the wreck of the child of the overdose. I over dosed on violent explosions, they filled my head with the deadliest notions, I sat and watched in rapt devotion as the forces of destruction shaped my emotions.

[@randykrus9562]

We don't think good anymore:(

[@alaskabarb8089]

What a fascinating interview. Thanks, Thom.

[@alaskabarb8089]

My assumption: The intersection of pablum entertainment and a nutrient deficient, sugar-laden, processed diet = a Trump voter.🧐

[@wjack4728]

we'll all be cavemen and cave women soon enough, uuh, uuh, fire ouch! Seriously though, this lady knows what she's talking about.

[@stoneneils]

I'm in my ffites and youtube made me need adhd meds! I can't focus because of this stupid website. I'd block it from myself if possible.

[@tommycollier9172]

I've been around since the 50s and I have to say I have been seeing the same things For the last 60 years

[@JMAM006]

I believe it all started with the 'dumbing down.' The societal/cultural movement that fostered rap and broken slang English. It became cool and acceptable to butcher the verb tenses and dress down. This pervaded education and values and morals.

[@ronagoodwell2709]

With the advent of artificial intelligence and the rapid increase in its abilities, humans are becoming less intelligent as machines become more intelligent. This was predicted. 2006 is about right. People thought it was a glib observation, but obviously not so. The areas in decline in human intelligence mentioned by Sabrina Haake, logic, vocabulary and mathematical problem solving, are precisely the sort of thing machines are getting better at--plenty of other things too, accompanied, no doubt, by a commensurate decline in human abilities. I see verbal and writing skills falling away quickly. People rely on their smart phones to solve a lot of problems already, and the average attention span is shrinking rapidly. Xwitter and Tik-to--compact idiocy, & instant videos, respectively, are making people stupid in a big hurry. Plus, "No child left behind" was a disaster, and along with charter schools and home schooling (featuring the Bible) we should expect an overall crippling devolution in human mental abilities. When George W. Bush was elected president it should have been a warning of what was to come. When he was RE-ELECTED there should have been no doubt. Now with Trump ... all bets are off whether we even make it into the next decade. The ravages of industrial super-culture are making themselves felt, and there seems to be no mechanism for slowing this down.

[@paulbrower]

I recall a critique of dictatorial regimes, and as a general rule they debase education so that people become incapable of 'reading betwen the lines'. Language is reduced to polarizing words devoid of gradation. Higher education becomes 'hire' education, with the desire to train a nation of uncritical laborers, soldiers, and housewives. Basic reading, numeracy, and mechanical skills are adequate. Although a system like Stalin's Russta, Mao's China, or Hussein's Iraq might promote basic literacy, such is as far as it goes. Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, Castro's Cuba reduced the quality of education. German POW's caught by the US Army often needed remedial education. As a substitute teacher I have seen the effect of No Child Left Behind, which seems to be preparation for dead-end jobs in retailing, food service, warehousing, and call centers. There is little room for theaddition of enriching or even career-advancing skills becase schools are teaching kids to meet standardized tests There's little else to do, so what do kids do? You guessed it. Dumb games, dumb media, and dumb news.

[@raylidell3613]

This is so informative ... and so TRUE!! So many of us have lost the ability to reason and think well. I too think "How can you believe that stuff?" You explain it very well. I was raised in the 50's and radio was interesting. I agree, and have said it myself that radio is now "crap" (my exact words). I do fear for my country and its future intellect. Thanks for a great upload. "

[@mentallyillfinger]

Well if there's anything I have learned from Trump is that we need less testing 😅😅😅😅😅

[@user-yv4vd4rs1e]

None of this is surprising -I have noticed people in general getting stupider the more advanced technology becomes and screen time has increased

[@Kevin-mz1ni]

Mass pychosis. Also our dumed down educational sysem.

[@michaelmackey754]

Great video! Thanks!

[@timtambornino5297]

2006 was when the lamestream media started flashing everyone's brains out. They saw what happen to Noriyaga when he was trapped. Count the number of flashes during any News cast on any station.

[@Ddax-td7qy]

All the IQ in the world is no substitute for character/values. Maybe parents are abandoning their kids to the distraction rather than teaching about being decent humans. Then there are parents who teach their kids to be obedient followers of whatever the leadership is: pastor, or radio host or TV channel or football star. Believe me, I know a high IQ, highly educated person can be proto-fascist by nature.

[@debrasmith4675]

As long as we insist on valuing people based on what they can’t do, we all lose. Are you really saying that an ego driven nob of a CEO who insists on forcing a company into a merger or acquisition that will predictably crash and burn is more valuable than the dedicated janitor who ensures the environment is clean and healthy for very low pay even though he struggled to get through high school? I disagree. Just like plants, human beings do best when they are planted in the right place at the right time. I would far rather have a person with a sense of responsibility to truth and humanity who was five points lower in math related IQ than a self absorbed and blinkered self promoter. Give me domaine specific general competence with decency every time! People can get knowledge and support from colleagues and friends but they cannot buy a conscience or a heart.

[@motaparatu]

Ir you are rich enough stupidity has little or no consequences. Trump is living proof of this.

[@Globovoyeur]

As I recall the late Senator James Exon (circa 1980) blamed Star Wars for the decline in test scores of US students. He was the author of the Communications Decency Act of 1996.

[@ohkay7418]

I had hoped TV would have helped peoples IQ but for the last 20 years it's gone down with shows like Jack azz fear factor all the reality show showing torture and social media. Also the music that rap crap loud bang bang. U can't concentrate learn. It affect everyone those that pay it and those that have to

[@jerryjones7293]

Body and mind are connected, use them or lose them.

[@jazzrat2000]

He depends on the politics of ignorance

[@loriraaymakers5427]

MyIQ is just fine, thank you.

[@jaapcilia392]

2007 was the year the iPhone was launched. Just saying.

[@alandfaraway552]

The downfall of humanity right there.