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Talk:Counterexamples to an Old Earth (view source)
Revision as of 16:33, June 19, 2011
, 16:33, June 19, 2011no edit summary
::::Mike, the counterexample does not require precise mathematical analysis. Intelligence is significantly declining in a way that could not have lasted for tens of thousands of years with the level of intelligence and historical evidence seen today.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 12:28, 18 June 2011 (EDT)
::::Mike, the counterexample does not require precise mathematical analysis. Intelligence is significantly declining in a way that could not have lasted for tens of thousands of years with the level of intelligence and historical evidence seen today.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 12:28, 18 June 2011 (EDT)
:::::Andy, the reason why a mathematical analysis is needed is because you've insisted that the slope of the decline in intelligence is steep enough that intelligence could not have been declining this fast for all that long (not hundreds of thousands of years, but instead only thousands). However, if the slope is as steep as you say (e.g. comparing the federalist papers to today's news) then it would seem that the decline of intelligence would have been so rapid that it couldn't have been declining for even thousands of years, but perhaps only hundreds. The examples you give of SAT scores, civil war letters, the federalist papers, etc. as you have interpreted them would all seem to suggest that if we extrapolate backwards even a thousand years the human race would have been many fold more intelligent than it is today, but that is untrue - the middle ages were a time of great trials for humans, lack of education, lack of freedoms, etc. What I have proposed to you or anyone one else in favor of this argument is that the slope of this decline be determined (meaning quantifiable scores of intelligence be used, e.g. IQ scores - SAT would be problematic due to biases in the design of this test). This is why the math is important, to discern whether the human race is 6000 years old, older or younger. All I ask for is a graph, and I believe it would help future readers of the article understand your point better.
===I'm confused===
===I'm confused===
Maybe I'm proof of a young earth, but please can you reconcile your two theories to me, as they don't make sense:
Maybe I'm proof of a young earth, but please can you reconcile your two theories to me, as they don't make sense: