Originally, I got to know this, when was watching one of the lectures of Drobishevskiy (Дробышевский).
Russian anthropologist and a popularizer of science. Highly reccommend his lectures, it’s a mixture of detailed knowledge and stand-up-like humor, a very funny view on the daily life of our ancestors.
I can’t now point out the lecture when I picked up this thing about the brain, but I just easily got googled another article:
Interesting, thank you. However, let me point out that the conclusion doesn’t seem to be so certain. The main original research paper quoted in the article, and which is also the one I’ve found in a (admittedly brief) google scholar search, states:
Still interesting but way less dramatic than the article states. Also, no data about current brain size reduction. All quoted research compares changes along the holocene era.
Besides, the paper states:
So, I wonder what happens to brain:body ratio, which is often considered to be a more predictive measure of cognitive ability.
Again, it’s an interesting piece of data but I don’t think it allows us to make any clear conclusions about a possible decline in intelligence. The original article itself seems to state as much.
[Edit] To answer my own question, at least one paper shows that brain reduction is larger than expected from body mass reduction:
This other article gives reason to doubt the relationship between brain size and even encephalization index and intelligence, by comparing humand and equine changes in brain size. It concludes that it has more to do with
This conclusion is in line with that of the article I mentioned above.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1440-1681.1998.tb02289.x
I don’t have my own opinion for that matter, actually. But mr. Drobishevskiy keeps claiming that comparing to the average brain mass of first sapiens, there was a reduction. He has said this on several occasions while he’s definitely aware of things like encephalization index, ratio, etc. Maybe It’s just a cool punchline to say on occasion and the conclusion isn’t certain 
But in the same time, it’s safe to say, that selection isn’t going under the same conditions, that have led to growth of the brain. I don’t know, what selection is present today? By cars? By followers on Instagram?
Yeah, that’s the million dollar question. Is the human being evolving now? How? What evolutionary pressures are there?
Спасибо еще раз за информацию. Будет интересным смотреть лекции С. Дробышевского и, конечно же, это отличная практика русского языка.
@ S.I.
@ Señor Francisco “I do univeristy research” Granadez
I’ll look at the Drobishevskiy stuff later, but I really think this discussion about braincase volume decreasing over that much more ancient time-depth doesn’t have anything to do with the more recent phenomenon I hinted at. Looks like Drobishevsky is about neotenization ~= gracilization, brain/body volume ratios changing, without a necessary relationship to the internal complexity of the grey matter.
It’s really quite simple. Please refer to this bombastically great and goofy comedy movie, that they wouldn’t get away with making today, with the sad, troubling understanding that real idiocracy is coming to our grandchildren, and will be less jolly than this movie, and unfortunately much more violent and dangerous. I’ll leave it to you to think of certain countries in the world today.
IDIOCRACY 2005
Example of a real one …maybe:
AFRIKAANS ACTIVIST WILLEM PETZER DISCUSSES SOUTH AFRICA’S COLLAPSE INTO ANARCHY
Once you understand this fugly truth, a lot will become clear on The Path of enlightenment.
And then many nihilistic, individualistic, narcissistic people, will have to face an existentialist crash in the fact that they have never thought or acted enough in any of the two main planes of life:
Imagine the type of person, who doesn’t understand that Idiocracy is real, by simply once walking out of their traffic-sign research in Universidad de Paella in Al-Andalus, having lived 50+ years and read some history and literature from A.D. 1850 to 2020.
To answer the question “Is the human being evolving now?”: contraceptive methods, viruses, famines, wars, inoculation with religion vs nihilist individualism, etc. etc. etc.
JF GARIÉPY - NO, NATURAL SELECTION HASN’T STOPPED IN HUMANS, THOUGHTY2
Also: Prof. Eric Kaufmann
http://www.sneps.net/publications/publications
For more understanding about credentialist academic windbags, who need a “source” on everything, that most working class IQ 90 people with two eyes to see know by instinct, please refer to this enlightening video and also search “mid-wit memes”, not forgetting to take some of them with a big pinch of salt 
The Psychology and Rise of the Mid-Wit
You know.
The general type of person, one of whose big concerns in life is raising the question if old-fashioned terms and inaccurate thoughts on some ethnic groups in old literature should be censored, and thinking that this makes them look awfully profound and moral:
Never mind real problems in the world, and real helping based on reality, while humbly shutting your piehole about it, as most moral sages in history have suggested.
To understand the virtue-signalling, hypocrite, coward, racist, conformist liar type of person, and why they need to be stopped, please refer to these transmissions from our succinct “nutsi” friend Eddy McDutt:
Why Virtue-Signallers Are psychopaths and “Ethics” is Just Emotional Manipulation
Leftists Are Motivated by Self-Interest and Envy, NOT Compassion: The Evidence
Why All Left Wing People Are Raging Liars
Never forget, what Master Sun said in the Art of War:
知彼知己，百战不殆
Know enemy
Know self
hundred battles
no danger
But like the Noble Quran incessantly says:
And as for the disbelievers, theirs will be a severe chastizement on a day about which there is no doubt.
Johnny Cash - God’s Gonna Cut You Down (Official Music Video)
Hope this makes interesting food for thought my lingqing friends!
Cheerio!
I’ll stay on the side of those who check the data by reading and criticizing actual research.
You can stay on the side of those who think in terms of your political bias and use insults, parrot internet expressions and quote videos by alt-right youtubers as a replacement for thinking
That’s not my boy anymore! That’s Joseph Stalin’s boy
You’re desperately caught in a political discourse and getting triggered by anything. As if still there is Tom the human somwhere, but for now it’s some fungus taking control of the Tom’s body and mind (and the LingQ account) and pushing him aggressively to the crowd, when it can spread its spores. Meanwhile somwhere another human is getting pushed in the opposite direction by alt-left fungus.
If you’re still alive, blink two times.
@ S.I. my boi
You seem like a good guy.
Joe Stalin is not at all my boi, since I have indicated that I am not inclined towards artificial and brutal interference in things by state force. Maybe you want to watch thoroughly my boi and cult-leader Ed, Professor of heresy, before being fast with inacurrate assumptions.
I wouldn’t agree that I “getting triggered by anything”.
If by “triggered” you mean worried and frustrated on a rational and empirical basis, then I would agree that I am getting ever so slightly triggered by my Vienna being changed into Beirut (that I was lucky to visit for 3 weeks in 2019) by hypocritical lying narcissists like Professor Traffic Sign.
If you don’t understand what the problems with this are, I respectfully call your attention to the links provided and encourage long and deep meditation on these matters.
What you maybe don’t know, is that I have seen the ugly face of Francisco on this forum before. And I just happen to have the evidence saved!
He will hear from the Inquisition of the Imperator, when the time comes. :PP
@ Francisco El Racista
“”“I’ll stay on the side of those who check the data by reading and criticizing actual research.”“”
Would be great if you started doing that. Better late than never.
I’ll leave it to intelligent observers to judge who lives in biased fantasyland parroting sophistry and empty phrases, and who thinks critically.
We know what you people are, Frankyboi. And if you think your empty phrase sophistry intimidates us, you’ve got another think coming.
I suggest you consume some of the information I have linked to, before you embarrass yourself further.
Whatever
He’s not blinking!
I don’t want to derail Mischa’s thread about talent too much. The poor guy.
But for people who like “”“those who check the data by reading and criticizing actual research”“”,
I can recommend this 2010 German book by “my boi” Thilo. The en Wiki article is a stump, please translate and research further.
The main thesis is that the excessive social welfare system (which as you know is an artificial, state-force program, of questionable morality) is having a significant dysgenic effect on the society, similar to what is suggested in the great comedy movie Idiocracy. In short, while the “educated” shrink their share for complex reasons, the underclasses are growing strongly. This is agravated by a political religion that wants to import foreign underclasses in bulk, which is an unfortunate aside for these foreign victims of very evil and/or stupid political forces.
The book is heavily data-driven, therefore a bit of a thick read. I read it a good while back. Maybe it is available to people in translation.
Please be aware, that most representations in regime-media or by very “concerned” commentators, overly focus on how the man is a royzyzt, because he thinks making Germany into an ethno-religiously splintered Bosnia/Lebanon may not be the best idea we ever had, because: corruption, crime, civil strife, unreliable systems, etc. as suggested in the Willem Petzer South Africa interview.
Steve read the book a long time ago as well and stated: “This is not a bad man. This is a man, who is worried about his country.”
Politische Korrektheit
And Franky Traffic, before you dare suggest I am a royzyzt again, look up the psychological bias of projection, which you should know:
For people who have a weakness in logical thinking or are under the spell of the current religion, I should stress, that the ethno-religious dimension, (which racists would call the race dimension), is an unfortunate aside in this larger problem, and that we don’t endorse violent, abrupt, artificial state-force as a solution to anything.
But hey. I should accept that you can’t fix stupid and there is no point in talking to disgusting, cowardly traitors, who have no relationship with the truth.
Thank you and good lingqing!
Please don’t bring politics to this forum. I respect that you believe what you believe but I don’t want to see it here. -1.
What’s wrong with you, why are you bringing that in here? We ain’t talking with you about politics, we didn’t ask you for all of this ship you’re throwing up constantly. You’re intentionally falling out of context of LingQ and learning languages. You’re presenting yourself as inadequate so what attitude do you want towards your person and your beliefs after that? Actually, this behavior is the worst ads for any beliefs and views, I’m getting gayer after each of your comments.
Or probably you’re getting paid by the Prigozhin’s farms and actually you are just a Russian troll? These guys don’t give a damn about context and don’t have their own beliefs, they’re just getting paid for copy/pasting everywhere to promote polarization into society and, of cource, commercial interests of the current government. $ 0.25 a comment, by the way.
I personally don’t mind to get know someone’s views about anything now and then, but one should have a healthy sense of proportion and relevancy.
Behave yourself! >:(
Oh boy.
I’d say the conversation evolved naturally into other areas, as conversations tend to do. So unless there is a pedantic conversation police that determines what is acceptable or not, then I think we are good.
But since you have been unfortunatly triggered I will stop now I promise. I can use my time better than this.
“”“You’re presenting yourself as inadequate”“”
Inadequate in English doesn’t mean exactly, what it means in Russian. It’s a false friend.
Inadequate means “not up to the task” “unworthy” “not good enough”.
In English you want to say “indecent” for what you wanted to call me.
Hope this helps.
“”“I’m getting gayer after each of your comments. “””
That’s ok. I love you as you are.
Gay guys tend to be lovely and very interesting, but some of them have trouble understanding that they can’t have a piece of this seksy Tommyboi. :PP
“”“Or probably you’re getting paid by the Prigozhin’s farms “””
Wow. Being called a Russian troll by a Russian)))
I’m not a fan of Tsar Vladimir either, and I know that there are Russian troll armies that want to aggravate the polarization in the West, as a part of mutual PsyOps infowars.
Maybe the time will come, when you realize that Russian trolls didn’t create any polarization out of nowhere, but start to think about why things are happening as they are.
I’m a heavy listener of Echo Moskvy, and I largely like the old Berliner patient Aleksey N.
So the accusation is quite sad and absurd. But I am accepting now that another Dark Age around 2200 is inevitable, and there is no talking to certain people.
No hard feelings S.I.! I didn’t mean to trigger you. I meant to encourage other normal and intelligent people to engage with certain truths about our world and future, while triggering the Francisco types.
Путин должен уйти!
TomOfVienna out.
TomOfVienna out
That’s my boy.
By the way, what’s wrong with the English meaning of inadequacy? It’s precisely the same as it in Russian. To teach Russian what’s the meaning of a word in Russian is inadequacy too.
You are not being good enough at getting fit into context.
@ S.I.
You are absolutely correct about the basic meaning. But you have to know by experience what the actual usage is and what the finer shades of meaning are. Dictionaries should be understood as descriptive, rather than prescriptive, since languages change and words are subject to semantic shift.
Maybe I’m wrong about the Russian one though, please help me out.
“”“the fact of not being good enough in quality, ability, size etc for a particular purpose.”“”
Exactly right.
In English, this is the meaning and it stays around this more basic meaning. In the vast majority of cases, or any I’ve ever seen, “inadequate” shows up when someone is not good enough in some concrete physical or mental way.
For example:
A man with erectile dysfunction may be inadequate at satisfying his wife.
Francisco is inadequate at being an academic psychologist.
Now, in Russian the meaning of адекватный seems to have shifted more into the abstract, in fact meaning “worthy”, “morally good”, “decent”, “orderly” and this seems to me exactly what you were trying to call me. неадекватный
~= “indecent”, or possibly “inappropriate” though that usage wouldn’t have been entirely grammatical.
East Slavic beauties trying to buy a husband from a higher rent country always talk about how he must be адекватный (decent, orderly, morally good). They are not talking about the potency of his gentleman-sausage as would be more like the English context of this word.
Reversely неадекватный would be an unemployed, unwashed, alcoholic gopnik-slob.
“”" You’re presenting yourself as inadequate so what attitude do you want towards your person and your beliefs after that? “”"
The usage here, in English, of “inadequate” is unusual and slightly unnatural, unless the English natives will argue otherwise.
Please inform me if and how I am off target in my understanding of the Russian. I shall see your answer and then really keep my word about not triggering you adequate people anyome.
Btw, while wallowing in my narcissism, admiring how adequate and seksy af I am in the mirror, I realized that the reason all these gay guys seemed so lovely and very interesting to me was because I was so open and nice to them, that they thought they had chances of eating my gentleman-sausage! Oh the pains of being a hot girl!
Bee Gees - Stayin’ Alive (Official Music Video)
Ok, ok, I promise this was the last post.
Have fun, girls.
It’s hilarious He’s not only stepped in ship, he’s wiped his feet with his hand and then smeared his own face with the same hand, then he called others ‘girls’ as if being a girl is something bad or, probably, the situation somehow reminds him of girls that rejected him. And then he proudly tossed his soiled head and went out, but just around the corner so that he could see my reply and get the opportunity to plunge in ship completely at some point.
Ftornay I see our old “friend” here has spammed this thread to death, oh well, oh well…