On Drudge Report, I found a link to an interesting article from Natural Society – Leading Geneticist: Human Intelligence is Slowly Declining.

Naturally, the Natural Society blames our use of inappropriate chemicals. Fluoride in water, pesticides, high-fructose corn syrup, and other things contribute to our declining intelligence. The article cites research which demonstrates that children who were fed nutritious meals had increased IQ over a three year period, while children who were fed junk had lost some IQ points over the same time period.

This is true; one should eat healthy food. However, I think other factors are at work. I don’t know if the researchers controlled for the intelligence and behavior of the parents. I think that intelligent parents are more likely to feed their children nutritious food, and more likely to keep their children occupied with intellectual activities. Stupider parents are more likely to feed their children junk food and keep their children occupied with the television. In three years, children who were raised by smart people would see an improvement in cognitive ability, especially relative to those who brains were allowed to rot.

The other reason for the decline in average intelligence is simply demographic. “Stupider” people are outbreeding the intelligent ones. In a Darwinian sense, the “stupider” people are winning.