THE BIG STUPID - Why We're Getting Dumber When We Need to Be Smarter

SHOW-NOTES

For the first time in recorded history, human intelligence is declining. IQ scores that rose steadily for a century have reversed course across the developed world. Pattern recognition, abstract reasoning, and problem-solving abilities are dropping fastest among young adults. This isn't about genetics - it's about environment. We've built a world that no longer demands we think hard, and our brains are responding accordingly.

The timing couldn't be worse. Climate change requires exactly the cognitive abilities we're losing - understanding complex systems, thinking abstractly, planning long-term, and making difficult trade-offs. Meanwhile, rising temperatures, air pollution, and elevated CO2 levels are themselves damaging our brains, creating a vicious cycle. We need to be smarter to solve the climate crisis, but the crisis is making us dumber. This episode exposes the stakes and asks: do we still have enough mental capacity left to choose a different path?

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