经济学人 | 如何提高人类的智商？

How to raise the world’s IQ

如何提高人类的智商

Simple ways to make the next generation more intelligent

让下一代更聪明的简单方法

People today are much cleverer than they were in previous generations. A study of 72 countries found that average IQs rose by 2.2 points a decade between 1948 and 2020. 

现代人相较于前几代人，其智力水平展现出了显著的飞跃。一项跨越72个国家的深入研究表明，自1948年至2020年间，人类的平均智商以每十年2.2个百分点的速度稳步增长。

This stunning change is known as the “Flynn effect” after James Flynn, the scientist who first noticed it. Flynn was initially baffled by his discovery. It took millions of years for the brain to evolve. How could it improve so rapidly over just a few decades?

这一非凡的现象被冠以“弗林效应”之名，以纪念首位洞悉此趋势的科学家詹姆斯·弗林。弗林教授初时亦感困惑不已，毕竟大脑进化的历程动辄以百万年计，何以在如此短暂的几十年间实现如此迅猛的跃升？

The answer is largely that people were becoming better nourished and mentally stimulated. Just as muscles need food and exercise to grow strong, so the brain needs the right nutrients and activity to develop. Kids today are much less likely to be malnourished than they were in past decades, and more likely to go to school. Yet there is no room for complacency.

究其根源，这一变革很大程度上归功于人类饮食结构的优化与精神世界的日益丰富。正如强健的肌肉离不开均衡的饮食与锻炼，大脑的发育同样需要恰当的营养与刺激作为基石。当下，儿童遭遇营养不良的风险远低于过往数十年，且教育普及率显著提升，为他们的大脑发育铺设了更为坚实的道路。然而，这一成就并非终点，而是持续进步的新起点。

This week we look at two ways in which young minds are being squandered. In rich countries, the Flynn effect has largely run its course. Our special report and leader examine why educational attainment there has levelled off, and what can be done about it. 

本周，我们聚焦于年轻人大脑潜能被忽视的两大领域。弗林效应虽在多数发达国家显现其积极影响，但我们的特别报告与社论专栏深刻剖析了为何这些国家的教育水平开始趋于平稳，并探讨了潜在的改进策略。

In a separate briefing, we examine an even graver problem. In poor and middle-income countries, many children are still too ill-fed to reach their cognitive potential.

同时，另一份简报则触及了一个更为严峻的问题：在贫困与中等收入国家，众多儿童仍因营养不良而难以释放其认知潜能。

Globally, 22% of under-fives—roughly 150m children—are malnourished to the point of stunting. That means their brains are likely to be stunted, too. Half the world’s children suffer micronutrient deficiency, which can also impede brain development. 

全球范围内，约有22%的五岁以下儿童（即1.5亿名幼童）正遭受营养不良之苦，他们的成长因此受阻，其中不乏大脑发育不全的案例。更令人忧虑的是，全球半数儿童正遭受微量营养素缺乏的困扰，这一状况同样构成了大脑发育的障碍。

Poor nutrition and a lack of stimulation can translate into a loss of as many as 15 IQ points. This has woeful consequences: one study found stunting led to incomes being 25% lower. Damage incurred during the “golden window” of the first 1,000 days after conception is likely to be permanent.

营养不良和缺乏刺激可能导致儿童智商损失高达15个百分点，进而引发一系列连锁反应，包括成年后收入减少25%等严重后果。尤为关键的是，这些损害往往发生在生命最初的1000天——“黄金窗口期”，一旦造成，可能伴随终身。

The world grows enough food, but several obstacles stop nutrients getting into young brains. One is war. Families sheltering from shrapnel cannot venture out to plant or harvest, and some governments intentionally starve restive regions into submission. Another is disease. Hungry children fall sick more often, and the energy they spend battling bugs cannot be devoted to growing grey matter.

尽管全球粮食产量足以满足需求，但多重障碍却阻碍了营养物质进入年轻的大脑。战争首当其冲，冲突中的家庭难以安心耕作，部分政权甚至通过饥饿作为政治武器，加剧了这一困境。疾病亦是不可忽视的因素，饥饿中的儿童免疫力低下，易受疾病侵扰，本就有限的能量更被用于抵抗病痛，而非促进大脑成长。

Poverty is a big part of the problem. But global data from UNICEF, an aid agency, show that although half the children with very restricted diets (including no more than two food groups) are indeed from poor families, the other half are not. Other factors, such as poor eating habits, are also to blame.

贫困虽为问题的核心之一，但联合国儿童基金会的全球数据却揭示了一个更为复杂的图景：尽管半数饮食极度单一（仅限于一两种食物类别）的儿童确实来自贫困家庭，另一半则不然。不良饮食习惯、性别歧视等因素同样扮演着重要角色。

Many parents, even in middle-income countries, think it is enough to stuff an infant with stodgy carbohydrates but neglect protein and micronutrients. Sexism plays a role, too. 

在不少中等收入国家，家长错误地认为油腻的碳水化合物足以满足婴儿需求，却忽视了蛋白质与微量营养素的摄入。

In patriarchal societies, husbands often eat first, wolf the tasty protein and leave their pregnant wives with iron deficiency. In some cultures, it is taboo for expectant mothers to eat certain highly nutritious foods, from eggs in parts of Ethiopia to shrimp in parts of Indonesia. Malnourished mothers are more likely to give birth to malnourished babies.

在父权社会中，饮食的优先级往往倾向于男性，导致孕妇与儿童营养不足，加之某些文化中的饮食禁忌，如埃塞俄比亚部分地区禁止孕妇食用鸡蛋，印度尼西亚部分地区则禁止孕妇食用虾，进一步加剧了营养不良的循环。

Some argue that human intelligence will matter less as people outsource their thinking to artificial intelligence. To assume this would be as foolish as betting 100 years ago that the invention of the car would make it unnecessary to walk. In the workplace, human intelligence and AI will probably complement each other. 

面对未来，有人担忧随着人工智能的发展，人类智力的价值或将被边缘化。然而，这种看法无异于百年前预言汽车将终结步行一样短视。在工作场所，人类智能与人工智能更可能形成互补，共同推动社会进步。

And brains are for the joy of thinking, as well as earning money. Steven Pinker of Harvard University calls intelligence “a tailwind in life”, helping people adapt rationally to new challenges or a changing environment. For a modest price, the next generation can have a stronger tailwind. It would not only be wrong to refuse them. It would be stupid.

大脑不仅享受思考的乐趣，更是创造财富与价值的源泉。哈佛学者史蒂文·平克将才智喻为“生活中的顺风”，助力我们理性应对挑战，适应多变的环境。因此，投资于下一代的智力发展，不仅合情合理，更是对未来负责的明智之举。忽视这一点，不仅是错误的，更是对潜力无限的人类智慧的一种愚行。

重难点词汇：

squander [ˈskwɑːndər] v. 浪费；挥霍；滥用

run its course 任其发展；自然发展

restive [ˈrɛstɪv] adj. 不安的；焦躁的；难以控制的

stodgy [ˈstɑdʒi] adj. 乏味的；枯燥的；古板的

tailwind [ˈteɪlˌwɪnd] n. 顺风；有利因素；助推力