03-15-2017, 03:53 PM
There is an argument to be made that the average African's IQ suffers from parasite load and malnutrition (the absence of the Flynn effect, basically), stunting it beyond their genetic capacity. People in rural areas, even in the developed world, tend to have lower IQs than people in cities, and have for a while. There are likely a variety of confounding factors there. There is also evidence to suggest that there are major cognitive differences between illiterate and literate peoples, which impinge on the sort of abstract reasoning skills tested in an IQ test.
On the other hand, East Asian IQ scores were consistently higher going back several decades, even when they were poorer than places in West Africa, and they as of yet are the only non-European peoples to clear the middle-income trap and become fully developed. So, it is an interesting question, albeit one that can be subject to abuse.
On the other hand, East Asian IQ scores were consistently higher going back several decades, even when they were poorer than places in West Africa, and they as of yet are the only non-European peoples to clear the middle-income trap and become fully developed. So, it is an interesting question, albeit one that can be subject to abuse.