Wolfgang Korsus Dipl.-Ing. NT, Astrophysiker
People are „becoming“ increasingly less intelligent, according to science.
– [ ] Since I am a scientist myself, as you all surely know, the statement is true, but I am bothered by the word „becoming.“
– [ ] I say: „With a few exceptions, humans have been stupid since their evolutionary appearance on this planet.“
This statement no longer worries me, because according to my previous articles, which have been widely read around the world, the above statement is a result of the truth.
Are humans really becoming less intelligent? Science and I say yes. The cause of this statement is immediately apparent… and it is particularly frightening in industrialized countries. Despite better education there?
The next question begs itself:
Are intelligence and wealth related?
My answer is:
These two factors automatically contributed to the „rise“ in people’s IQs after World War II, which leads us to conclude that we became smarter for a time. This is because a high IQ is traditionally associated with „genius.“
Here is a well-known example:
Albert Einstein was only „average“ in many subjects at school, but he had a very high IQ and became one of the greatest scientists in the world.
Please read on… including the following:
In the 10 richest cities of 2022, for example, there is more wealth than you can count – and all this is possible thanks to a relatively small group of „billionaires,“ as they call themselves.
Let’s start with something easy, and that starts with work, yes, a nasty word… isn’t it?
Working from home and the ever-rising prices may have prompted many people to move to cheaper areas. The „pink“ list of the richest cities of the year, e.g., 2022, does not seem to be too badly affected by this, at least in terms of loss of wealth and money. However, this certainly does not apply to these few exceptions.
There is the well-known „Forbes list,“ and according to it, the richest cities of 2022 have not only remained so, but the wealth of their richest residents has grown significantly over the past year. These are often the favorite „retreats“ of the super-rich. An additional „place of bliss“ are retreats, which I will comment on separately….
Top 20: These cities are preferred by the wealthy as second homes
These are the 20 cities with the largest number of super-rich people who have their primary and/or secondary residence there, according to an official study provided to me.
official study
1. New York, USA (24,660)
2. Los Angeles, USA (16,295) London, United Kingdom (14,485)
3. Hong Kong, China (14,235) Paris, France (7,035)
4. San Francisco, USA (6,740)
5. Chicago, USA (6,085)
6. Miami, USA (5,615)
7. Singapore, Singapore (5,250)
8. Washington, D.C., USA (4,905)
9. Dallas, USA (4,890)
10. Beijing, China (4,480)
11. Houston, USA (4,435)
12. Geneva, Switzerland (3,705)
13. Zurich, Switzerland (3,295)
14. Toronto, Canada (3,080)
15. Naples, USA (3,035)
16. Greenwich, USA (2,910)
17. Shenzhen, China (2,830)
18. San Jose, USA (2,790)
19. Shenzhen, China (2,830)
20. San Jose, USA (2,790)
US cities clearly dominate this list. Many US millionaires choose to have their second home within their own country rather than abroad. Eleven US cities are in the top 20, while Asia and Europe are represented by four cities each (and none of them are in Germany).
So, first of all, here are the 10 richest cities on the planet, or rather „playgrounds for billionaires.“
Oops, I’d rather call it the „ranking“ of the
richest cities in the world – measured by the number of billionaires living there. By the way… a quarter of the approximately 2,688 billionaires worldwide live in just ten cities.
First, a few minor points that I think are worth mentioning:
However, last year saw a sharp decline in the number of billionaires residing in the „Chinese metropolises.“ I assume this has something to do with the severe restrictions and hard lockdowns imposed by the People’s Republic.
A list I have been given says that there are a total of 29 fewer billionaires here than last year, but still enough to fight for a top ranking. Moscow, on the other hand, has suffered the biggest loss, or rather, the city has fallen from third place to seventh. The reason for this is the devastating war of aggression against Ukraine and the associated sanctions against Russia. The total wealth of billionaires living in Moscow fell from $420.6 billion to $214.9 billion.
Furthermore, in recent years, many people have decided to leave cities such as San Francisco to live in a more affordable city. And although the exodus from Silicon Valley has been considerable, the Californian city remains in the top 10 richest cities.
New York remains a favorite among the wealthy. According to the list, 108 billionaires reside in New York. This means that the city is home to a combined fortune of $640 billion.
Beijing replaces Hong Kong as the second richest city, and London also improves its position in the ranking. Otherwise, the outlook is bleak for other European cities: Paris, Zurich, and Amsterdam may have been the favorite cities of the wealthy a few years ago, but not enough to amass billions. Geneva and Zurich are at least in the top 20.
The list of cities with the most billionaires in 2022:
1. New York – 108 multi-billionaires / estimated total wealth of $640.4 billion
2. Beijing – 83 / $310 billion
3. Hong Kong 68 / $304 billion
4. London – 66 / $324 billion
5. Shanghai – 61 / $187 billion
6. Shenzhen – 59 / $286 billion
7. Moscow – 53 / 214 billion
8. Mumbai – 51 / 301 billion
9. San Francisco – 44 / 160 billion
10. Seoul – 38 / 108 billion
The intelligence quotient will probably always be used to determine a person’s intellectual abilities. What’s more, it can be used to make interesting statements about entire societies: between the 1950s and the 1980s, the IQ in the economically strongest countries of the post-war period (the US, Sweden, and Japan) rose by 7.9 points. This trend has continued – until now.
Study proves: People’s IQ is falling
According to a new study, tests conducted in recent years to determine IQ have shown that the numbers are slowly declining – although there is no clear cause for this. However, some believe that IQ has declined due to „poor nutrition,“ or that social media and the constant flood of information have negatively affected our ability to concentrate and pay attention (or even our creativity), and also that we have stopped reading books in their traditional form. (Also interesting: Bill Gates even recommended reading these 5 books in the summer of 2021, so check them out.
This phenomenon has been studied for several years. In 2016, a group of experts from the Ulster Institute of Social Research in London began investigating whether this could be related to fertility or migration factors and found that the trend is stronger in richer, industrialized countries. I believe that this is not the case in less developed countries. But does that really mean there are more stupid people?
So, once again, the question: Are people getting dumber?
What is certain, and I note this, is that intelligence, or rather IQ, cannot increase forever, but will stagnate at a certain point where there is no longer much room for improvement. For this reason, I say that perhaps this is exactly what is happening at the moment. But just because our abilities and the way we understand and process information are changing in some ways does not necessarily mean that we are becoming stupider. After all, we must not forget that IQ is a „general measure.“ Sure, there are people who can achieve great things and are highly intelligent. But there are just as many developers, entrepreneurs, and pioneers whose IQ is not that of a genius (and let’s not forget that there are many highly intelligent people who don’t achieve anything great in life because they don’t know how to use their abilities properly). So don’t let my private study discourage you from continuing to work on yourself and learn new things.
I wish you the success you expect, or at least a positive result.