Your Grandparents' 8th Grade Education

[Capitalist Lawyer]

Remember when our grandparents, great-grandparents, and such stated that they only had an 8th grade education?

Well, check this out. - - -
This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina, KS, USA. It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, KS, and reprinted by the Salina Journal.


8th GRADE FINAL EXAM
Grammar (Time, one hour)
1. Give nine rules for the use of Capital Letters.
2. Name the Parts of Speech and define those that have no Modifications.
3. Define Verse, Stanza and Paragraph.
4. What are the Principal Parts of a verb? Give Principal Parts of lie, lay and run
5. Define Case, Illustrate each Case.
6. What is Punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of Punctuation.
7. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

Arithmetic (Time, 1.25 hours)
1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3942 lbs., what is it worth at
50cts/bushel, deducting 1050lbs. for tare?
4. District No. 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incide ntals?
5. Find cost of 6720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. long at $20 per meter?
8 Find bank discount on $300 for! 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance
around which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.

U. S. History (Time, 45 minutes)
1. Give the epochs into which U. S. History is divided.
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus.
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States.
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas.
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, and Howe?
8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.

Orthography (Time, one hour)
1. What is meant by the following: Alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication?
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: Trigraph, sub vocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals?
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u'.
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two
exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis, mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.
9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane,
fain, feign, vane, vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

Geography (Time, one hour)
1. What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of North America.
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver,
Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall &Orinoco.
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.
7. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.

Also notice that the exam took five hours to complete.
Gives the saying "she/he only had an 8th grade education" a whole new meaning, doesn't it?
What happened to us? It is kind of humbling, isn't it ?

Now, in the intersest of full disclosure, this e-mail is listed as "false" on Snopes.com:

Source (http://www.snopes.com/language/d...95exam.htm)

I disagree with their conclusions that it is false. They don't show that the document of the test is actually false or came from nowhere, but rather they disagree that it is a valid comparison to today's tests for various reasons. I'd tend to say that there are some valid comparisons to make. For instance, Snopes complains that only basic arithmetic is tested and no algebra or trig is present. While that observation is in fact true, the way the questions are presented as quick story problems is quite different. Based on my education and what I've seen of my nephew's story problems are kind of a side show... an extra.

In fact story problems are usually given as extra credit. Story problems don't simply give the numbers out for a student to crunch. Problems solving techniques and data gleaning must take place to solve story problems. I don't see that skill being taught much today at all.

I don't see that skill being taught much today at all.

No... I don't expect modern education to care about volume conversions to bushels. But methodology and depth of thinking skills are comparable, and I'd say the old test is much more challenging.

[LSD]

What exactly is that intended to prove?

That 19th century classes were far more uselessly specialized than they are today?

Why on earth would I want to know the "epochs into which U. S. History is divided" or the "nine rules for the use of capital letters"?

And what does "describe the mountains of North America" mean? All of them? :o

Modern education is not so focussed on meaningless memorization. There is at least an attempt to expose children to conceptual ideas, not to mention to science beyond geography!

And let's not even go into how woefully lacking the "history" portion of that exam is. " The territorial growth of the United States"? How about a question about the rennaissance?!

How about science!?

If we take this "email" at it's word, this exam was written only 10 yars before Einstein published his seminal works, so it's not like science "wasn't there". But this exam contains nothing on the subject ...probably because it couldn't be taught with rote memorization, pretty much the only thing this test tests for.

And while we're on the subject, what use are "story problems", if the underlying math is elementary school level. No triganometry, no algebra, no calculus, these are problems that a modern 5th grader could solve.

The reason that you see less "story problems" at a higher level is because today high school students are above that. They already did basic problem solving and story solving in elementary school, and now are largely dealing with problems that are best described in mathematical terms.

Expressing these problems "as story" doesn't add anything to a contemporary high schooler, but apparently in 1895, eighth graders will still back at that "learning to read" stage of math.

Besides, far more usefull than a random "eigth grade exam" of uncertain origin, is the consistantly demonstrated fact that people are better educated today than they were 100 years ago.

Trust me, if you had a couple of weeks in the prepatory class for this exam, you could ace it no problem, as could any reasonably intelligent eigth grader.

The same is not true in the reverse, however, because the concepts that contemporary high school students study are far more difficult to grasp than mere rote memorization.

Science, trigonometry, litterature, arts, history, etc...

This "dumbing down of America" is yet another conservative myth; old impotent white men pining back for the "good old days" when blacks had no rights and women stayed at home where they belonged.

How nice. :angry:

p.s., your Snopes link doesn't work.

[Severian]

Originally posted by Capitalist [email protected] 5 2006, 12:35 PM
Now, in the intersest of full disclosure, this e-mail is listed as "false" on Snopes.com:

Source (http://www.snopes.com/language/d...95exam.htm)

Your link doesn't work. Here's the one you were probably trying to give. (http://www.snopes.com/language/document/1895exam.htm) Refutes it pretty well. So why are you posting it?


I disagree with their conclusions that it is false. They don't show that the document of the test is actually false or came from nowhere,

It's up to you to show it came from somewhere.

[Publius]

Most of these things are modifications in terms of things everyone knows.

1. Give nine rules for the use of Capital Letters.
2. Name the Parts of Speech and define those that have no Modifications.
3. Define Verse, Stanza and Paragraph.
4. What are the Principal Parts of a verb? Give Principal Parts of lie, lay and run
5. Define Case, Illustrate each Case.
6. What is Punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of Punctuation.
7. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.


Everyone knows what these things are, we just didn't learn them in the exact way these people did.

Let me rephrase:

1. In what cases do you use a capital letter?
2. What are the main parts of speach?
3. What is a paragraph and what is it used for?
4. What is a verb? What does it do?
5. Dumbass question.
6. What are the puntuation marks?
7. Write a paragraph. Don't fuck it up.


See? Basic shit that just sounds arcane.

It's all like this.

If you buy this shit than I've got a phrenology test for you take.

[Loknar]

You’d be surprised how dumb we are compared to the people back then. The fact is there are many highschoolers who couldn’t pass a final written examine.

I am willing to bet that the education back then was way more valuable than it is today. I know they didn’t teach advanced math but it doesnt matter because they didn’t need it back then. Also, I am willing to bet that the average person knew more about math than the average person today (can the average person reduce a fraction or find out that 46 is X percent of 74?). The vocabulary and average writing skills of the average grammar school grad in 1900 is probably much better than even the average college grad of today. People back then read and studied. No they weren’t educated in science and math like we are but the things they learned they actually remembered where as we forget.

The average person who went through high school had some algebra yet I bet most people walking around don’t remember how to use it.

They also knew history allot better than we do. Most people are completely in the dark when it comes to that subject. I believe history and reading are the most important subjects you can teach (though not at first).

If we knew how to do advanced algebra in 4th grade like most people in Poland can do then I’d value our math classes more but now I don’t see the big deal. Our education standards are low and when somebody tries to raise them liberals go in an uproar for some reason.

If we compare the education systems of 1900 and 2000 by a ratio (meaning, who benefited more in their time from their schooling) I’d say the 1900 education system kicks our systems ass.

If you read letters from back then you will see they wrote with elegance and knew the laws of grammar. As good as some of us can write we can never match those people

[Elect Marx]

Originally posted by [email protected] 5 2006, 09:03 PM
You’d be surprised how dumb we are compared to the people back then. The fact is there are many highschoolers who couldn’t pass a final written examine.
Speak for yourself or at least provide some proof. All of those words and you only provide a good ol' day warm fuzzy. Perhaps you need an education in writing content.

[Loknar]

Originally posted by 313C7 iVi4RX+Jan 6 2006, 08:02 AM--> (313C7 iVi4RX @ Jan 6 2006, 08:02 AM)
[email protected] 5 2006, 09:03 PM
You’d be surprised how dumb we are compared to the people back then. The fact is there are many highschoolers who couldn’t pass a final written examine.
Speak for yourself or at least provide some proof. All of those words and you only provide a good ol' day warm fuzzy. Perhaps you need an education in writing content. [/b]
Does it wound you in some way to acknowledge that people back were better writers?

Are you aware that passing GED students are automatically on the top %25 of the average high school class?

You go to a white suburban school where property taxes are high so your school gets a good cut. Inner city schools aren’t as fortunate.

I read a good book called "BlackFlag". Some of the letters in the book were very well written while some others weren’t so well written. But the well written letters came from common folk, southern guerillas or union soldiers. IN other words, nothing compared to what the average person today is capable of.

Hell, my grandfather has also pointed out to the family that every kid in his class knew their times tables. Can we claim that today?

Education in some areas such as science and advanced math we have progressed in, however, at a cost. We don’t drill important things into our children’s minds, instead we let them play video games all day when they aren’t doing their homework.

It is a fact that civilizations at times become bored of learning. I think we are just beginning to enter that phase slowly. And I believe the only way to save our selves is by deprivation.

[Elect Marx]

Originally posted by [email protected] 6 2006, 05:04 AM
Are you aware that passing GED students are automatically on the top %25 of the average high school class?
No; sourse?


You go to a white suburban school where property taxes are high so your school gets a good cut. Inner city schools aren’t as fortunate.

A given.


I read a good book called "BlackFlag". Some of the letters in the book were very well written while some others weren’t so well written. But the well written letters came from common folk, southern guerillas or union soldiers. IN other words, nothing compared to what the average person today is capable of.

Could you explain WHY it is so superior? Though your assertions never get old...


Hell, my grandfather has also pointed out to the family that every kid in his class knew their times tables. Can we claim that today?

I doubt it but I would like to see some statistics and I am not really familiar with his class.


Education in some areas such as science and advanced math we have progressed in, however, at a cost. We don’t drill important things into our children’s minds, instead we let them play video games all day when they aren’t doing their homework.

That is capitalist socialization for you. Productivity and social responsibility aren't priority; not surprisingly, capital is.


It is a fact that civilizations at times become bored of learning. I think we are just beginning to enter that phase slowly. And I believe the only way to save our selves is by deprivation.

:lol: Ah yes, the decadence of ignorance. Or there could be social influences and commercial trends at play... naw, that's stupid. Must just be that people are tired of learning, sociology is stupid too.

[Publius]

You’d be surprised how dumb we are compared to the people back then. The fact is there are many highschoolers who couldn’t pass a final written examine.

I am willing to bet that the education back then was way more valuable than it is today. I know they didn’t teach advanced math but it doesnt matter because they didn’t need it back then.

And 'we' (As in most people) don't need to have perfect grammar.



Also, I am willing to bet that the average person knew more about math than the average person today (can the average person reduce a fraction or find out that 46 is X percent of 74?).

I would say so.

With a calculator.



The vocabulary and average writing skills of the average grammar school grad in 1900 is probably much better than even the average college grad of today.

Because they had a different focus.

Their entire curriculum was designed around this.

If you spend years learning only a few simple rules and their exceptions, you'll quickly master anything.

People today are hyper-educated in most other areas compared to people 100 years ago.



People back then read and studied. No they weren’t educated in science and math like we are but the things they learned they actually remembered where as we forget.

Bullshit judgement call.

Anyone can learn rules through rote memorization; it means nothing.



The average person who went through high school had some algebra yet I bet most people walking around don’t remember how to use it.

Because it's nearly useless to them.



They also knew history allot better than we do. Most people are completely in the dark when it comes to that subject. I believe history and reading are the most important subjects you can teach (though not at first).

I doubt it.

Their history was horribly biased.

They didn't learn anything of the world.



If we knew how to do advanced algebra in 4th grade like most people in Poland can do then I’d value our math classes more but now I don’t see the big deal. Our education standards are low and when somebody tries to raise them liberals go in an uproar for some reason.

I agree, ours (Americas) sucks.



If we compare the education systems of 1900 and 2000 by a ratio (meaning, who benefited more in their time from their schooling) I’d say the 1900 education system kicks our systems ass.

THe rich go to good schools and learn this stuff, the poor drop out to work?

Sounds great!



If you read letters from back then you will see they wrote with elegance and knew the laws of grammar. As good as some of us can write we can never match those people

Yes, the people that KNEW HOW TO WRITE wrote very well.

Look at the literacy rates though.

[Xvall]

This shit is easy. Especially since back then I could probably just answer "Because god says so" for every one of these questions and get it write. (I actually did that a couple of times in elementary school and got away with it.)

1. Give nine rules for the use of Capital Letters.

1) You do not talk about Capital Letters.
2) You do not talk about Capital Letters.
3) If a capital letter says "stop" or goes limp, lay off the LSD.
4) Only two capital letters to a word.
5) One word at a time.
6) No verbs, no pronouns.
7) Words will go on as long as they have to.
8) If this is your first essay, you HAVE to write!

Oh...

9) Capital letters must be used when identifying a peron's name.

2. Name the Parts of Speech and define those that have no Modifications.

Billy and Bob. (I named them.)

3. Define Verse, Stanza and Paragraph.

They're all words.

4. What are the Principal Parts of a verb? Give Principal Parts of lie, lay and run

I before E except after C.

5. Define Case, Illustrate each Case.

Case: A container or recepticle used to hold items. Here's an illustration.
http://www.ronsdale.com/image/case.jpg

6. What is Punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of Punctuation.

"Punctuation" is a word. The same rules that apply to capital letters apply to punctuation. (See Above)

7. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

LOL OMG WTF IM SO 1337 I *****SLAP MY TEACHER IN THE FACE AND LOLOLED AT HER WHEN I KNOCK HER COFFIE ON TEH TABLE AND I SAID LOL! XD XD

[Skipping this section: Fuck math.]

1. Give the epochs into which U. S. History is divided.

The United States is a conglomerate of annexed nations and isn't considered a "real" country, so it has no history.

2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus.

Day 1 - Colombus gets drunk and hijacks a boat. He sets off for "India" in the completely wrong direction.

Day 2 - Colombus wakes up in an inebriated stupor in a new and strange land. He continues to drink and lashes out violently against some trees.

Day 3 - Lief Erikson arrives and kills Colombus, stating "Who is the cripple now, *****?"

3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.

Violence.

4. Show the territorial growth of the United States.

Should I draw it?

5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas.

Lots of tornados. Portal to "OZ".

6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.

Assault on the Death Star
Battle of Hoth
Battle at Endor/Assault on the Death Star II

7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, and Howe?

d00dz.

8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.

World did not end on these years.

[This section sux too.]

1. What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?

Air. Clouds and shit.

2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas?

Wizard of Oz.

3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?

Pissing in. House of Moby Dick.

4. Describe the mountains of North America.

They're big.

5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall &Orinoco.

Monrovia - Moon Rover.
Odessa - Lame assed play.
Denver - South Park.
Manitoba - Some place.
Hecela - Some place that isn't Manitoba.
Yukon - Some place that is neither Manitoba or Hecela.
St. Helena - Not a real saint.
Juan Fernandez - My Uncle.
Aspinwall - A wall composed of snakes.
Orinoco - A wall composed of snakes.

6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.

Flea Market.

7. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.

France (Capital F), Britain (Capital B), Germany (Capital G), Poland (Capital P), Spain (Capital S), etc.

8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?

Because there is ice in it.

9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.

Magic.

10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.

It spins.

I WIN.

[VonClausewitz]

Xvall, very funny, sarcasm works wonders sometimes :D

I must be a pedant and point out two things though;



1. Give the epochs into which U. S. History is divided.

The United States is a conglomerate of annexed nations and isn't considered a "real" country, so it has no history.

It asked for United States history, ie; the history of this apparent conglomeration :)


7. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.

France (Capital F), Britain (Capital B), Germany (Capital G), Poland (Capital P), Spain (Capital S)

Only one of those was a republic in 1895 ;)

[Publius]

I found this interesting: http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Miscellaneou...ing_smarter.htm (http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Miscellaneous/why_getting_smarter.htm)

[Guerrilla22]

Originally posted by Capitalist [email protected] 5 2006, 06:35 PM

Remember when our grandparents, great-grandparents, and such stated that they only had an 8th grade education?

Well, check this out. - - -
This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina, KS, USA. It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, KS, and reprinted by the Salina Journal.


8th GRADE FINAL EXAM
Grammar (Time, one hour)
1. Give nine rules for the use of Capital Letters.
2. Name the Parts of Speech and define those that have no Modifications.
3. Define Verse, Stanza and Paragraph.
4. What are the Principal Parts of a verb? Give Principal Parts of lie, lay and run
5. Define Case, Illustrate each Case.
6. What is Punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of Punctuation.
7. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

Arithmetic (Time, 1.25 hours)
1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3942 lbs., what is it worth at
50cts/bushel, deducting 1050lbs. for tare?
4. District No. 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incide ntals?
5. Find cost of 6720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. long at $20 per meter?
8 Find bank discount on $300 for! 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance
around which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.

U. S. History (Time, 45 minutes)
1. Give the epochs into which U. S. History is divided.
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus.
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States.
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas.
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, and Howe?
8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.

Orthography (Time, one hour)
1. What is meant by the following: Alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication?
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: Trigraph, sub vocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals?
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u'.
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two
exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis, mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.
9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane,
fain, feign, vane, vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

Geography (Time, one hour)
1. What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of North America.
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver,
Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall &Orinoco.
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.
7. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.

Also notice that the exam took five hours to complete.
Gives the saying "she/he only had an 8th grade education" a whole new meaning, doesn't it?
What happened to us? It is kind of humbling, isn't it ?

Now, in the intersest of full disclosure, this e-mail is listed as "false" on Snopes.com:

Source (http://www.snopes.com/language/d...95exam.htm)

I disagree with their conclusions that it is false. They don't show that the document of the test is actually false or came from nowhere, but rather they disagree that it is a valid comparison to today's tests for various reasons. I'd tend to say that there are some valid comparisons to make. For instance, Snopes complains that only basic arithmetic is tested and no algebra or trig is present. While that observation is in fact true, the way the questions are presented as quick story problems is quite different. Based on my education and what I've seen of my nephew's story problems are kind of a side show... an extra.

In fact story problems are usually given as extra credit. Story problems don't simply give the numbers out for a student to crunch. Problems solving techniques and data gleaning must take place to solve story problems. I don't see that skill being taught much today at all.

I don't see that skill being taught much today at all.

No... I don't expect modern education to care about volume conversions to bushels. But methodology and depth of thinking skills are comparable, and I'd say the old test is much more challenging.
the US was still a British colony when my grandparents were in the eigth grade.

[VonClausewitz]

the US was still a British colony when my grandparents were in the eigth grade.

You're making some kind of ironic point here correct ?

[Guerrilla22]

yes, and I'm completely serious too, my grandparents are over 200 years old, I'm like a 150.

[redstar2000]

Originally posted by David Friedman
One obvious objection to this conjecture is that it assumes that larger brains result in greater intelligence, and greater intelligence in greater reproductive success. Is that assumption plausible?

Some evolutionists have conjectured that male primate intelligence is sexually appealing to primate females. An intelligent male primate is more likely to secure resources for child-raising and more likely to share with a female and his offspring.

All very speculative of course, but not without interest.

As to the "8th grade test" of 1895, we don't know how many people actually passed it, do we?

Chances are, anyone who could read and count could probably pass themselves off as a high school graduate in those days...since records were few and "background checks" almost nonexistent.

Indeed, "academic" knowledge was widely held in contempt in the America of that era. Our old saying -- if you're so smart, why ain't you rich? -- probably has its origins in the era of the "robber barons".

The real question in my opinion is do people know more than they did in 1895?

And I think the answer is affirmative.

If you have read any of the literature on "I.Q." tests, then you're undoubtedly aware of the fact that these tests have to be periodically "upgraded" (made harder) in order to keep the scores within the range of prior decades.

I don't see how this could be caused by a genetic mutation causing intelligence to increase at a rate unprecedented in evolutionary history.

The only explanation that seems plausible to me is that all of us know more about all kinds of things than any generation of humans in history.

Our "data base" is simply more massive.

And more and more of it comes from sources outside of academia. Even our recreation is increasingly "information intensive".

None of us might get a very good score on that 1895 test...but stacked up against the average person who lived in that era, we would all look almost like "geniuses".

Not because we "are" geniuses, but just because we know so much more.

Indeed, the amount of self-evident nonsense that people in all sincerity believed was "true" in 1895 makes nearly all books published in that era almost unreadable for someone in this century.

The same is true for most books written in the first half of the 20th century as well.

Ignorance is not only distracting; it's irritating.

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