Climateer Line of the Day: Mental Entropy Edition

Thanks, I think, to a reader.

"I would be willing to wager that if an average citizen from Athens of 1000 BC were to appear suddenly among us, he or she would be among the brightest and most intellectually alive of our colleagues and companions. We would be surprised by our time-visitor’s memory, broad range of ideas and clear-sighted view of important issues. I would also guess that he or she would be among the most emotionally stable of our friends and colleagues."...

-Our Fragile Intellect
Gerald R. Crabtree
David Korn Professor of Pathology and Developmental Biology
Beckman Center, B211
279 Campus Drive, Stanford University

Or, as the Telegraph put it a few months ago:

Civilisation is making humanity less intelligent, study claims 

The simplicity of modern life is making us more stupid, according to a scientific theory which claims humanity may have reached its intellectual and emotional peak as early as 4,000 BC. 

Intelligence and the capacity for abstract thought evolved in our prehistoric ancestors living in Africa between 50,000 and 500,000 years ago, who relied on their wits to build shelters and hunt prey.

But in more civilised times where we no longer need to fight to survive, the selection process which favoured the smartest of our ancestors and weeded out the dullards is no longer in force....MORE

Here's the Crabtree Laboratory.