11-01-2016, 01:18 PM
(11-01-2016, 09:50 AM)Warren Dew Wrote: The Flynn effect appears to have reversed starting with birth cohorts around 1980 or a little before. I know of papers showing reversal in at least Denmark, Germany, Finland, and the UK, and no papers showing it continuing. The fact that it can reverse convinces me that it's real. I suspect the timing matching that of the end of the 20th century height increases is not coincidental, either.
In my opinion, the Flynn effect reversal is most likely due to changes in nutrition - first improved nutrition, but since 1980, poorer nutrition. More junk food may be a reason for the recent decline, as pbrower2a suggests, and perhaps government recommendations that emphasize carbohydrates over the fats needed for brain development also contributed.
It is true that the welfare system promotes carbohydrates over fats. I'm guessing that chips, cookies, and sugary drinks are toward the low end in the demographics of consumption.
You might notice that poor whites are losing ground to minorities in economic achievement. In Kentucky, much of the purchases of food stamps go to 24-packs of sodas that eventually get exchanged for stuff not eligible for food stamps (like alcohol and tobacco). Someone obviously has been drinking those sodas. But let us also remember that poor white people have been losing respect for formal education, which cannot be good for fostering gains in educational achievement.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.