Numerous studies in the past two years show that CRISPR-based interventions can correct mutations and restore cellular and behavioral function in mouse models of brain diseases. Diseases caused by mutations in genes associated with brain functions – like alternating hemiplegia of childhood (AHC), Huntington’s disease, and Friedreich’s ataxia- have seen major improvements in mice that have had their brains gene edited.
This raises a fascinating possibility – what if this gene editing could go beyond correcting diseases? What if you could get an IQ boost of 20-30 points? For obvious reasons, this would be huge for people on a personal level, but it would also have political effects. What would society be like if everyone were 30 IQ points smarter?
What would society be like if everyone could be 30 IQ points smarter? In the future, we may be able to use gene editing to edit our brains throughout our lives, successful tests in mice suggest.
byu/lughnasadh inFuturology
45 Comments
I don’t think anything would change, at least not radically, regrettably. Intelligence does not preclude idiocy.
I wonder how this would change the upper top 0.1%.
I imagine the world would become more dangerous.
Edit: I meant the upper top 0,1% of *IQ*, not the rich.
Casinos and the lottery would suffer, mass layoffs from the gambling industry.
honestly? Probably more depression and even less children.
What the world needs is genetically eliminating psychopats
*Could* be. In the real world, it’ll just be for those who can afford it, so it would likely make things worse. But let’s assume we’re just doing it for everyone (yippee!)
Well, a whole lot of people would probably be more prone to mental illnesses, so you’d see some of those rise (depression, anxiety, OCD.) The applicability of IQ varies- your IQ doesn’t really matter when you’re on meth, for instance, and IQ doesn’t magically create skills we didn’t cultivate in people (like “understanding science.”)
But we could rotate shapes and complete patterns like crazy. That might be nice. Architecture might get a little cooler, and test scores would rise for kids. I would guess with all the confounds we’d see a mild rise in well-being in 10-15 years.
Making people smarter won’t make them less selfish.
What we actually get is generative LLM’s, which make everyone equally smart. Which is something altogether different.
Intelligence isn’t as important as people like to pretend. Rich people pretend it’s important so they can justify saying “we have generational wealth because we’re so smart”. In reality, moderately more intelligence would probably just increase depression and anxiety with little benefit.
I considered this in terms of, “If aliens kidnapped you and gave a choice… push this button, and…” etc.
Ultimately I decided I’d rather increase everyone’s *propensity to think,* rather than our ability to do so. I think you’d get more bang for your buck that way.
On one hand intelligence makes the bigger picture possible to see. On the other hand intelligence makes the big picture possible to manipulate.
IQ scores are normalised so if literally everybody increased their scores by 20 then we’d adjust the scale so that what would have been 120 is now 100 again.
But as for the material/political impacts? I’m not sure. It’s all relative isn’t it? The whole tone of political discourse might elevate somewhat, but I’m sure people will call their political opponents stupid anyway.
Besides, the [Flynn effect](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flynn_effect) has shown that IQ as a whole has risen over the decades and tests have been adjusted to account for this. Would a 20 point increase in IQ equate to the same difference between society now and society 100 years ago? Could be cool to see…
Then again, we dont know if there might be an organic limit to IQ as well. And higher IQ is not an unqualified good. People with higher IQs arent necessarily more successful, happier, etc. Some people might want to adjust the other way! Ignorance could be bliss…
This tech would absolutely be priced out of the range of regular people and reserved only for the elite. We could have a population with significantly higher intelligence RIGHT NOW if our educational system was used to promote critical thinking skills.
The top 1% will never allow their taxpaying consumer base to “become smarter”
I wouldn’t mind having the rats of NIMH moving boulders around in the yard.
Frankly, I’d rather everyone be 30 EQ points higher. Plenty of “brilliant” sociopaths out there. Check out the entire Lex Luthor-looking broligarchy for instance.
It’s an interesting question. It implies, what intelligence really does for society? The more complex a society gets, the more complex are the issues it produces and therefore the harder to solve them it will get. So, if we assume society will get more complex, because we as humans will get more connected with each other on a global basis, we also will face thougher problems.
However, intelligence is only potential. It often isn’t a skill issue or therefore an intelligence issue, to solve a specific probleme. Most of the time it’s to get a compromise or even a consense to really change something. So, if we all get smarter, there isn’t much of a change at all. Intelligence doesn’t change world views, political preference etc. and to be able to boost the potential to solve more technical or mathematical problemes doesen’t lead to a better society for all.
I would take it that way, the possibility to make people smarter will at least make us all better in adapting. Therefore, it will boost the potential of change things faster – to the better or worse, that’s not an IQ issue, but an inherrently human one.
Everyone is missing the point. If you can edit genetics for improved intelligence then you can edit for improved empathy as well. The point is that gene editing is definitely a net positive no matter how you use it
People with higher iq’s can think faster than the average person. Unfortunately this only means they come to the wrong conclusion quicker.
An increase in IQ would be fine, but what is really needed is an increase in critical thinking.
IQ has gone up about 3 pts every decade. They have to adjust the test often. Someone scoring 100 in 1925 would score 70 on today’s test.
Studies show people with higher IQs are more depressed, more anxious.
I know quite a lot of people who are smarter than Average and a few who are 30 IQ points smarter than average and above.
They have advantages in some areas. They have disadvantages in many other aspects of life.
It will never happen because people would overthrow the oligarchs ,get rid of money and the insanely evil leaders that rule our world.
A lot more anxious people.
The problem with being even a little smart is sometimes your brain just keeps rolling when you’d rather it calm tf down.
How would we keep poor morons voting in favor of tax cuts for me and my wealthy friends if they don’t fall for the culture war nonsense?
That would be awesome! My IQ would finally hit triple digits!
That won’t in any way, shape or form be abused and gatekept for the elites to excel and the muggles to remain worker bees, no sir.
More intelligence without empathy would really make the war machine that much more efficient.
Iq is just the tool for the fulfillment of one’s desires.
well everyone in this thread would be tucked away in institutions
Ironically that could make it worse, the problem with having an iq around 130 is without proper discipline, structure and outlets it’s self destructive, your smarter then the people around you and most school stuff comes easy so you know your smart but your also smart enough to see problems others don’t but don’t always see the best solution so you “experiment” without fully thinking through.
Maybe it can cancel out the effect of microplastics, heavy metals and the increasing CO2 levels making everyone stupider
At first I was thinking there would be a lot more depressed and anxious people who only interact with others when they have to. But that’s really only true for 120+ and since a 20-30 point increase wouldn’t get most of the population to that level it probably would be fine.
I’d rather we’d have more empathy. People don’t care enough about strangers and what happens elsewhere.
If everybody’s IQ was 30 points higher, the republican party would not exist and this world would be a much better place.
A goddamned genius taking an IQ test in their second language might score extremely low on the analogies portion of an IQ test, as just an example — LMAO imagine a dyslexic Leonardo Da Vinci being excluded from MENSA.
Empathy, not taken into account. Dogma, not even touched. Personalities; also not based on IQ.
Point is, all it would do is make people better at rationalizing what they already believed in the first place, slightly more bored when doing word searches, and become [banned from being a police officer in the US](https://abcnews.go.com/US/court-oks-barring-high-iqs-cops/story?id=95836).
IQ means nothing if there is no environment to promote learning and brain development.
At least here in the US, this regime is insistent on totally destroying public education and objective reality that runs contrary to their own goals. Some extra IQ ain’t gonna mean shit when we’re all slobbering, AI-addled morons who can’t think for themselves anymore.
An extra 30 IQ points would just give the average person new and even more annoying ideas on how and where to do/make TikTok videos.
There would still be smart and dumb people 🙂 And we would still judge
We’ll end up with a smarter, healthier, genetically better off class of rich people while the poor masses continue to trudge with less and less power and relevance, and we’ll see a very real return to the kind of genetic nobility from the past, except this time the new blue bloods will literally have better genes than the average Joe, so “nobility” will get better and better genes instead of getting genetic abnormalities.
No, we really don’t need designer eugenics programs
If we can use gene editing to begin literally editing our bodies in real time. We know exactly what most people will use it for.
We would be extinct. I mean with AI we will find out.
Literally nothing would happen.You realize iq is just statistical right?Is like in League of legends if the devs give everyone a raise in their ranking levels,nothing would happen,Your actual game skill won’t improve
We are already 30 points, or close, smarter than 100 years back.
And yet – Einstein was around then.
Look up the Flynn effect.
Leaded gasoline caused a decline in IQ and violence spiked during that period.
There are also studies that link lower IQ with higher levels of violence, which is a point I know people are going to misunderstand.
So overall, everyone being smarter by 30 points would probably mean a more peaceful world.