IS EACH GENERATION OF CHILDREN SMARTER THAN THE GENERATION BEFORE IT?

IS EACH GENERATION OF CHILDREN SMARTER THAN THE GENERATION BEFORE IT?

Over the past decades, evidence has arisen which supports the claim that each generation of children are smarter than the previous generation. This is based on what has been dubbed the “Flynn Effect”, named after James Flynn who in 1984 officially reported a steady rise in the average scores on intelligence over the last half century in developed countries. Many explanations have been suggested to account for this rise but there is no generally accepted explanation for these results. Despite this evidence, studies on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) have shown a fall in average scores. This has led some scientists to question the validity of Flynn’s findings. However, this argument for an increase in intelligence is focused on standardised tests, it does not distinguish other forms of cognitive abilities, such as creative, practical and social intelligence.
Since the development of the first success...