Astral Codex Ten

IQ

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IQ

Article

IQ is a recurring concept in the Astral Codex Ten archive, appearing 10 times across 10 issues between October 14, 2021 and December 03, 2025. The archive places it in contexts such as “Nazis hated IQ research”; “small changes in average IQ”; “consider that IQ is mostly genetic and could be improved with eugenics”. It most often appears alongside Sasha Gusev, Substack, US.

Metadata

  • Category: Concepts
  • Mention count: 10
  • Issue count: 10
  • First seen: October 14, 2021
  • Last seen: December 03, 2025

Appears In

Source Context

Recovered passages from the original issue text. When the raw archive preserved outbound links inside the source passage, they are listed directly under the quote.

Links For October
October 14, 2021 · Original source
6: It’s hard to talk about IQ research without getting accused of something something Nazis. But here’s a claim that actually, Nazis hated IQ research, worrying that it would “be an instrument of Jewry to fortify its hegemony” and outshine more properly Aryan values like “practical intelligence” and “character”. Whenever someone tells you that they don’t believe in IQ, consider calling them out on perpetuating discredited Nazi ideology.
Inline links: Nazis hated IQ research
Slightly Against Underpopulation Worries
August 04, 2022 · Original source
There is some debate in the scientific community about whether this is happening, but as far as I can tell the people who claim it isn’t have no good refutation for the common sense argument that it has to be. The people who claim that it is make more sense, and have measured the effect in Iceland, an isolated population that it’s easy to measure genetic effects in. It seems to be a decline of about 0.3 IQ points per decade. If the American rate is close to the Icelandic one, this implies that the average US IQ in 2100 will be 97.5 by current standards, unless we get more mileage out of the Flynn Effect, in which case it might be higher (although the environmental Flynn Effect and genetic dysgenic effects seem to hit slightly different skills). I think societies are probably hyper-sensitive to small changes in average IQ, so I’m not excited about this, but I don’t expect it to directly be apocalyptic.
Inline links: the people who claim it isn’t, have measured the effect in Iceland, probably hyper-sensitive to small changes in average IQ
Galton, Ehrlich, Buck
May 15, 2023 · Original source
Beroe: You can’t assess idea how many benefits it does or doesn’t have, because your principle commits you to putting your fingers in your ears and saying “la la la I can’t hear you” whenever someone discusses the issue. Consider Garrett Jones’ hypothesis that most international differences - eg between developed and underdeveloped countries - are due to IQ. And consider that IQ is mostly genetic and could be improved with eugenics. Bringing all underdeveloped countries up to First World living standards would be the most valuable thing humanity has ever done. Or consider Greg Cochran’s hypothesis that Ashkenazi Jews have a 15-point genetic IQ advantage - there aren’t a lot of Jews starving or in prison. If you could lift everyone up fifteen points, you could come close to ending poverty even within developed countries. Obviously these hypotheses are controversial, but they’re controversial not because there’s a lot of evidence against them but because everything about genetics and society is controversial because of your policy of cutting off all lines of speculation that might lead to eugenics. I maintain that if we discussed these ideas openly, we might find that they held the key to ending global poverty, crime, and disease. Meanwhile, what has Islam given us? Pretty buildings, calligraphy, and hummus.
Inline links: Garrett Jones’ hypothesis, Greg Cochran’s hypothesis
Book Review: Deep Utopia
October 17, 2024 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
How To Stop Worrying And Learn To Love Lynn's National IQ Estimates
January 15, 2025 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Highlights From The Comments On Lynn And IQ
January 16, 2025 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Missing Heritability: Much More Than You Wanted To Know
June 26, 2025 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Highlights From The Comments On Missing Heritability
July 03, 2025 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
Suddenly, Trait-Based Embryo Selection
July 31, 2025 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.
The Good News Is That One Side Has Definitively Won The Missing Heritability Debate
December 03, 2025 · Original source
No direct inline source block was recovered for this mention.