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December 14, 2012
Q. Are our smartphones making us all smarter?
A. No one knows for sure but we do know that the modern world with all its gadgets has raised IQ levels at least 30 points over the last 100 years, says New Zealand political scientist James Flynn, author of “Are We Getting Smarter? Rising IQ in the Twenty-First Century.” Today's world requires us to do “abstract” things like classify, take unreal hypothetical situations seriously, and use logic to manipulate symbols. These not only help us make our way in life but also provide the mind-set for doing well on IQ tests. We know this to be true because only in the last generation have women matched men after having achieved more equal access to education and employment opportunities. Indeed, women now have an average IQ of 100.7 compared to men at 100. Many developing nations are also showing huge gains as they move toward modernity. “Your smartphone, by putting you in touch with the Internet, may be a small cog in a powerful machine we call the communications revolution,” Flynn concludes.
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