# Does the Flynn effect go back to the 19th century or earlier **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 16, 2015, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-flynn-effect-go-back-to-the-19th-century-or-earlier/720205 "2015-05-16T23:54:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-flynn-effect-go-back-to-the-19th-century-or-earlier/720205/21 "2015-05-17T19:52:18Z")
One contributor could be that, because we now measure IQ and understand its importance, we push students to learn that kind of intelligence at the expense of other skills. For example, 100 years ago girls were taught how to cook and clean, which are great life skills but may not help much with IQ scores. Today my teenage nieces do quite well in school (and one does very well on IQ-type tests) but don’t know how to cook Ramen noodles. Seriously. Another possible contributor is that to truly excel one has to do better than the previous generation. This is most obvious in sports. Bill Russell is one of the greatest NBA players of all time but if you could magically transport him from the 1960’s into an NBA game today he would be lost and overwhelmed. Today’s ball players have been pushed more than Russell’s generation. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2015, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-flynn-effect-go-back-to-the-19th-century-or-earlier/720205/22 "2015-05-17T19:56:22Z")
Again, listen to this TED talk before you comment further: Flynn has some things to say about the difference between tests back in the early twentieth century and the tests given today. The ones back then were mostly about very concrete information. Mostly they were about memorization. The tests today are about abstractions. Very early in elementary school, students today learn about abstractions, whereas a hundred years ago they were not expected to understand abstractions very well. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2015, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-flynn-effect-go-back-to-the-19th-century-or-earlier/720205/23 "2015-05-18T14:07:20Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Is the Flynn effect just that generations are becoming smarter over time, or just that people are getting better at doing standardized tests due to exposure? > > Is this really saying that most people in the past would be considered mentally retarded by modern standards? This just seems hard to believe. This is a good summary of what Flynn Effect controversy is about. Join the debate! > [@Derleth](#): > > … > Getting at what the Flynn Effect really _is_ inevitably takes us into a fairly deep discussion of what it is an IQ test is actually measuring. Given all the things an IQ score correlates with, both on the high and on the low side, the tests are obviously measuring _something_ interesting and important, but precisely how much of this something is due to this or that factor is certainly an area of active debate… This > [@Kenm](#): > > The results would be interesting if today’s students could write the 1900 or 1920 IQ tests meant for their age groups back then… This is an interesting idea and I’ve fantasized about something similar in the past. If I could go back in time to 1900, or 1800, etc., would I have been able to corner the job market as some genius? E.g. take some now-ridiculously simple literacy test and end up on an 1890’s fast-track corporate management program or be the only candidate for County Schoolteacher that can actually do long-division without fainting and end up with a stable career from which I can’t easily be deposed (“Ok, so go out and find someone _else_ with such mad leet long division skillz! You won’t find them anywhere this side of Roger’s Pass!”). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-flynn-effect-go-back-to-the-19th-century-or-earlier/720205.md?page=1)