Did we breed out intelligence?

[Erik Mesoy]

As I suggested here, telepathy might have been bred out of the population at the same time as intelligence was being weeded out.

Basis: The intelligent segment of the population joined the clergy. These were supposedly celibate.

Evidence: Prior and around that time, 12 was considered adulthood. Today kids are in school until they are 18.

I know it's wierd, but surely it can't be ruled out?

 

[Longasc]

Basically this poll only shows a complete lack of knowledge about the Middle Ages, Erik, but nothing else.

 

[nonconformist]

Intelligence is not heriditary.

 

[SeleucusNicator]

By this argument, telepaths and geniuses should currently be running around freely in Asia reading people's minds and, um, solving math problems or something.

 

[The Last Conformist]

There might have been some tiny effect. Certainly dwarfed many times over by the the increased intelligence due to improved nutrition since then.

Tangentially, Europeans today achieve sexual maturity earlier than our medieval ancestors did, since the process is sped up by light, and thanks to artificial lighting we get alot more of it today. In northern Scandinavia, where natural light is sparce, the difference amounts to almost a year for girls; it the effect gets progressively weaker as one goes south and is down to about six months in Denmark.

 

[nonconformist]

By this argument, telepaths and geniuses should currently be running around freely in Asia reading people's minds and, um, solving math problems or something.

Soviet Union? Russia is renown for its mathematical and chess geniuses.
Though it seems I contradict my previous argument, I am just elaborating on SN's point.

 

[Erik Mesoy]

Basically this poll only shows a complete lack of knowledge about the Middle Ages, Erik, but nothing else.

Oh well. So sue me for picking up my knowledge from reading about twelve different books set in the middle ages, all of which were apparently wrong in the same way: The clergy was celibate, and the intelligent young boys were those who mostly entered the clergy.

 

[Erik Mesoy]

Intelligence is not heriditary.

Not purely hereditary.

 

[nonconformist]

Not purely hereditary.

I doubt that intelligence (for which we have no real measurable quotient) is more than marginally heriditary.

 

[Erik Mesoy]

You're thinking of intelligence as equating to "large amounts of learned knowledge", I'd guess. I'd agree that that's not hereditary. (GET THE SPELLING RIGHT DARN YOU!!)

 

[The Last Conformist]

Oh well. So sue me for picking up my knowledge from reading about twelve different books set in the middle ages, all of which were apparently wrong in the same way: The clergy was celibate, and the intelligent young boys were those who mostly entered the clergy.

Well, sort-of. Clerical celibate was never absolute, and in the early middle ages priests with offspring may very well have outnumbered those without. Clerical recruition usually had more to do with inherited socioeconomic status than with intelligence or even intellectual interests. Most young boys with the genes for high intelligence will have been farmers, who either had their potential intellectual powers dimmed by starvation in childhood, or had little opportunity to put them to use in rural society dominated by social inertia.

 

[JohnRM]

We have seen more progress in the past 104 years than in all of recorded history before it. I don't think intelligence has been bred out.

 

[Xen]

in th emiddle ages, even the popes were known to get thier junk in some girls trunk on somthing more then just an occasional basis- i see no reason why it wasnt the same fo rth emajority of clergy in europe

 

[emzie]

By this argument, telepaths and geniuses should currently be running around freely in Asia reading people's minds and, um, solving math problems or something.

This question is so Euro-centric it boggles my mind

 

[emzie]

in th emiddle ages, even the popes were known to get thier junk in some girls trunk on somthing more then just an occasional basis- i see no reason why it wasnt the same fo rth emajority of clergy in europe

Some girl's trunk? Try family.

 

[M37]

Yah breeding for intlegience... i think youve read to many books form the late 19th Century wich are full of bunk.

 

[betazed]

Inteliigence is a very amorphous concept. We all have a vague understanding what it means but when asked to define it we are completely at a loss. You have as many definitions as you have experts on it. Unless you define at least somewhat what you mean by "intelligence" the question does not make sense.

As it stands the question is akin to "did we breed out goodness?"