> The problem we should be focused on is how dumb people are getting (or have been for all of eternity)

Over the arc of time, I’m not sure that an accurate characterization is that humans have been getting dumber and dumber. If that were true, we must have been super geniuses 3000 years ago!

I think what is true is that the human condition and age old questions are still with us and we’re still on the path to trying to figure out ourselves and the cosmos.

Totally anecdotal but I think phones have made us less present, or said another way, less capable of using our brains effectively. It isn't exactly dumb but it feels very close.

I definitely think we are smarter if you are using IQ, but are we less reactive and less tribal? I'm not so sure.

Modern dumb people have more ability to affect things. Modern technology, equal rights, voting rights give them access to more control than they've ever had.

That's my theory, anyway.