Incredibly, one of the study's authors chooses to single out STEM as a possible cause. STEM -- when there are so many other issues that could be contributing. For example:
- Less physical activity, more obesity. Both have known effects on memory and cognition.
- Childhood screen time, which has been linked to poor sleep, worse communication skills, and developmental delays.
- Easy, anonymous access to infinite novel pornography, which may affect the development of gray matter and the functioning of the prefrontal cortex.
- The decline of community and communal spaces and the detrimental mental effects of
isolation.
Getting people suspicious that more science education will decrease IQ is about the last thing we need. (And I wasn't a STEM major, for the record.)
- Less physical activity, more obesity. Both have known effects on memory and cognition.
- Childhood screen time, which has been linked to poor sleep, worse communication skills, and developmental delays.
- Easy, anonymous access to infinite novel pornography, which may affect the development of gray matter and the functioning of the prefrontal cortex.
- The decline of community and communal spaces and the detrimental mental effects of isolation.
Getting people suspicious that more science education will decrease IQ is about the last thing we need. (And I wasn't a STEM major, for the record.)