Consider This

I found the following quote at The Thoughts of Hondonius Aurelius:

"The amount of intelligence on the planet is a constant. The population is growing."

Now, just for a little thought exercise, let us consider two postulates we might draw from this statement:

Postulate A: The total combined intelligence of the entire population of Earth, I, is a constant.

Postulate B: The population of the planet follows the usual exponential growth model P = P₀ × e^kt , where P is the current population, t is time, P₀ is the initial population at some arbitrary time t = 0, and k is a proportionality constant.


We can define the average intelligence of an individual, I_a, as the total amount of intelligence divided by the total population:

» I_a = I / P ; or

» I_a = I / ( P₀ × e^kt )

Implicit in Postulate B is the idea that the total population grows, rather than decreases, with time. So as time goes on, the total population changes, and the average intelligence changes with it:

» I_a = lim _{[t -> infinity]} I / ( P₀ × e^kt )

Since t is an exponent, P₀ × e^kt increases exponentially with an increase in t. Since this expression is in the denominator, an increase in t leads to a large decrease in the value of the resultant expression. Specifically, as t becomes very large, I_a becomes very small:

» lim _{[t -> infinity]} I / ( P₀ × e^kt ) = 0

In conclusion, as time goes to infinity, the average intelligence of any new member of the popluation approaches zero. Quod erat demonstrandum.

Go on. Take a look at the people around you and tell me I'm wrong.