are we getting dumber ?

[sky otter]

 


they say certain things catch our attention for a reason...
hummmmmmmmmmmm not sure what these mean...if anything

  ?

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/05/23/boltzmann-brain-theory-space_n_3324003.html?utm_hp_ref=uk

Hyper-Intelligent Superbrains Floating In Deep Space Probably Don't Outnumber Humanity, Say Physicists
Huffington Post UK  |  By Michael Rundle Posted: 23/05/2013 09:08 BST  |  Updated: 23/05/2013 13:27 BST

Physicists say there is now good evidence that a legion of floating space brains are not spontaneously bursting into existence throughout the universe.

For about a decade there has been a theory (really a thought experiment) that so-called Boltzmann brains - self-aware conscious entities with no external physical presence - might exist in space.                   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boltzmann_brain

The idea roughly goes - and we'd suggest further reading -
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2012/10/31/the-higgs-boltzmann-brains-and-monkeys-typing-hamlet/
that given a suitably dramatic timescale, energy and matter, it's possible that a consciousness could form into a working mind, of its own accord, in space.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21829184.400-string-theory-may-limit-space-brain-threat.html


Consciousness
http://psychology.about.com/od/biopsychology/f/neuron01.htm
is commonly thought by scientists to be essentially an illusion, created by the interaction of a vast number of simple 'actors'. In the human brain these are neurons, of which we each have about 86 billion.

Just as a computer is able to use simple calculations to build up complex systems, so too our brains build memories and actions by the interaction of neurons. And so the fanciful idea of a Boltzmann brain is that the same thing might be possible by chance. The idea is really more of a thought experiment, designed to question our assumptions about the organisation of the universe. And like most experiments that involve the vast infinity of space, if such a thing were possible then it's almost certainly happening all the time, everywhere.

For if the universe is as massive as we think it is, and Boltzmann brains are real, then they're forming at such a rate they will eventually - depending on the fate of the universe - outnumber every human being who has ever lived.

A similar, arguably testable hypothesis suggests that the universe is probably a computer simulation
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/12/12/physicists-universe-simulation-test-university-of-washington-matrix_n_2282745.html
- since if such a simulation is possible then every civilisation formed within one will eventually end up creating its own simulation. (It's turtles all the way down, for computer models.)

If the maths pointed to Boltzmann brains outnumbering humans, our theories of space and time could be compromised. That's because we would no longer be 'typical' observers, and might not have the ability to see reality from the 'correct' perspective. But according to a new report by New Scientist,
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21829184.400-string-theory-may-limit-space-brain-threat.html
new understandings of string theory and the theory of multiple universes might just give us an escape clause.

Physicists Claire Zukowski and Raphael Buosso at Berkely say that the key to this balance (of us, versus the superbrains) is whether or not universes expand forever and linger - full of Boltzmann brains - for much longer than creatures like humans would be able to survive.

But according to New Scientist,
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21829184.400-string-theory-may-limit-space-brain-threat.html
their work suggests this won't be the case after all. A new mathematical analysis says that by comparing two models of the universe - an older one proposed by Stephen Hawking and James Hartle, and one based on new models of string theory - it now seems less likely that reality as we know it is dominated by space superbrains.
It's worth reading the full report at New Scientist - or tackling the real report itself,
http://prd.aps.org/abstract/PRD/v87/i10/e103504
if you fancy a challenge.

But don't get too cocky even if you understand it all. Chances are a space brain has got there first.

  ?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/22/people-getting-dumber-human-intelligence-victoria-era_n_3293846.html

People Getting Dumber? Human Intelligence Has Declined Since Victorian Era, Research Suggests
The Huffington Post  |  By Macrina Cooper-White Posted: 05/22/2013 7:58 am EDT  |  Updated: 05/22/2013 10:59 pm EDT

Our technology may be getting smarter, but a provocative new study suggests human intelligence is on the decline. In fact, it indicates that Westerners have lost 14 I.Q. points on average since the Victorian Era.

What exactly explains this decline? Study co-author Dr. Jan te Nijenhuis, professor of work and organizational psychology at the University of Amsterdam, points to the fact that women of high intelligence tend to have fewer children than do women of lower intelligence. This negative association between I.Q. and fertility has been demonstrated time and again in research over the last century.

But this isn't the first evidence of a possible decline in human intelligence.

"The reduction in human intelligence (if there is any reduction) would have begun at the time that genetic selection became more relaxed," Dr. Gerald Crabtree, professor of pathology and developmental biology at Stanford University, told The Huffington Post in an email. "I projected this occurred as our ancestors began to live in more supportive high density societies (cities) and had access to a steady supply of food. Both of these might have resulted from the invention of agriculture, which occurred about 5,000 to 12,000 years ago."

As for Dr. te Nijenhuis and colleagues, they analyzed the results of 14 intelligence studies conducted between 1884 to 2004, including one by Sir Francis Galton, an English anthropologist and a cousin of Charles Darwin. Each study gauged participants' so-called visual reaction times -- how long it took them to press a button in response to seeing a stimulus. Reaction time reflects a person's mental processing speed, and so is considered an indication of general intelligence.


Hipp chronoscope, a device used to measure short intervals of time with an accuracy of 1/1,000th of a second. Hipp chronoscopes were used to measure reaction time in experimental psychology labs in the late 19th Century.

In the late 19th Century, visual reaction times averaged around 194 milliseconds, the analysis showed. In 2004 that time had grown to 275 milliseconds. Even though the machine gauging reaction time in the late 19th Century was less sophisticated than that used in recent years, Dr. te Nijenhuis told The Huffington Post that the old data is directly comparable to modern data.


Other research has suggested an apparent rise in I.Q. scores since the 1940s, a phenomenon known as the Flynn Effect. But Dr. te Nijenhuis suggested the Flynn Effect reflects the influence of environmental factors -- such as better education, hygiene and nutrition -- and may mask the true decline in genetically inherited intelligence in the Western world.

This new research was published in the April 13 issue of Intelligence.

  ?

or maybe we can blame the gadgets ..the old use it or lose it scenario



http://redtape.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/17/18322435-students-cant-resist-distraction-for-two-minutes-and-neither-can-you?lite

By Bob Sullivan, Columnist, NBC News
Are gadgets making us dumber? Two new studies suggest they might be. One found that people who are interrupted by technology score 20 percent lower on a standard cognition test. A second demonstrated that some students, even when on their best behavior, can't concentrate on homework for more than two minutes without distracting themselves by using social media or writing an email.

[The Matrix Traveller]

Very Interesting Thread Sky...


Along the lines, similar to my own work...   

The only difference, I am referring to what is Outside this little Universe and where All has come from.

In other words the "Self Awareness", (Collectively) All (Dimensional expression) has come from.   

But perhaps this involves a Generational Phenomena. One Inside another.

Thanks Sky for the "Links" bringing my attention to others exploring this area.

[sky otter]

you are much welcome matrix

i find that there is so much overlay in everything anymore
that sometimes talking  about any of it seems some how silly or redundant..sigh
the connections just go on and on

[deuem]

So instead of the big bang with stars we have the big brain bang! I have to think on that one. And if you ask my wife, she will agree with you that I am getting dumber.   Mabe she is right. lol

[zorgon]

Super Brains



Biomind Superpowers - Ingo's Website  (RIP Ingo)

[Gigas]

Why become smarter when we have machines do that for us.