THIS is possibly the silliest REPLY yet on ET!
Yeah LOL I really believe that! You obviously haven't got the slightest idea what you're talking about. "Pessimistic outlook" - What a bunch of crap.
"Intelligence" has got nothing to with with how smart you are, buddy. Anybody halfway smart knows that knowledge and intelligence are 2 completely different things, not to mention wouldn't even consider making disrespectful comments such as "this is possibly the silliest post yet on elite" - And you really think you're more intelligent than us? Certainly not smarter, and that at age 40! LMAO! You're probably 15 or something with that attitude!
By the way, here is definition of "Intelligence" from Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary;
<i>intelligence - n 1: the ability to comprehend; to understand and profit from experience</i>
The fact that intelligence decreases over age is such common knowledge that it's ridiculous anybody who graduated from highschool wouldn't know! Now I make this a little clearer for you, how intelligence, as in IQ is measured: It's measured as your ability to comprehend in comparison to others of the same age as yours. If i.e. I scored IQ184 at age 22, that means I have the mental comprehensive capabilities of a 40.5-year-old! So then I would already be "on your level" - Right? But where would I be in another 10 years? Ahead of you?
Reality is that IQ unfortunately decreases, and this is due to lack of mental training, but also due to the fact that the kids "catch up", and the gap becomes smaller and smaller. While you may indeed become wiser, more knowledgeable and more experienced, it will also become harder and harder for you to learn. But every age group has symptomatic behaviour patterns of their own; let's summarize some:
<i>15-20 - A need to change the world
30-40 - Hell bent on success
45-50 - Trying to keep up with the 25-year-olds
60-75 - A gentle decline into senility
75-85 - Youth regained
From the bestseller: "It's not how good you are, it's how good you want to be" - by Paul Arden</i>
By the way - Yes, the ability of programming a new video faster as you said is by definition one of the definitions of intelligence in this sense. You're really getting it all wrong.
And regarding your notion that "most of the great inventions and developments etc coming from the brains of adults over the age of consent" is completely statistically misleading.
I have seen statistics that show how, over an unfitted distribution curve, most of those "great developments" were made by people at a younger age in a mean distribution. You saying that "most were over 25" is statistically exploiting the fact that an average is taken of these innovative people, and in average, most of the world's population today is older than 20 or 25. In fact, the average is somewhere around 40 and much more than that in rich industrial nations. Nevertheless, if you look at mean distribution, rather than average, you will find at your surprise that the older people get, the less they're likely to innovate.
This also has to do with the fact that the older people get, the more they tend to be preoccupied with old knowledge and inhibiting experiences, reducing the possibility of true innovation.
The minds of young achievers have enormous capabilities, since they're not so "loaded with trash" yet as they will become in the near future. With "trash" i don't mean trash as such, but rather the boundaries set by commonly accepted rules and knowledge, the higher need for security, and developing social conformity. Once we get trapped by conformity or "the rat race", it gets harder and harder to get out, ditto harder and harder to "innovate".
My dad, who to me, is a rolemodel of success, recently said to me: "You know - You should use your age to conquer the world. You've got atomic rollerskates, you can do anything you like. Don't let it slip and let your brain go stale. Sometimes, when I breed over all this work, I wish I still had the brain I had when I was your age..." He's going for his 50's now! He knows so much more than me, and he's seen so much more, too. He's a famous designer, TV & theater actor and musician, all of high standing. I always admire his achievements - And how often does he tell me how much harder it becomes to think and create new things?
Let me just think about your statment "most of the great achievements..." - What is "great"?
How about:
-"Wolfy" Mozart, who did at 9 what most people wouldn't achieve at age 90?
- Bill Gates, who basically changed the world at 17?
-Jesse Livermore, who drained the "bucket shops" scalping his tits off at age 15?
-Thomas Edison, who invented the "Universal Stock Ticker" at age 21?
-Justin Frankel, who wrote WinAmp/mp3 format at age 16/17 and sold it for US$100m, becoming the richest self-made kid ever?
There are many many more, but these are people that changed a lot in our recent history - At a very young age - All younger than me, in fact. They "outsmarted" the stale and old, ditto conservative and slow-moving people, as clearly seen on Gates' move on IBM.
But yeah - To be continued...
~The Scientist
