Srinagar, Feb. 10 -- For decades, we believed that each new generation was smarter than the one before it. Better education, improved nutrition, and modern living were thought to steadily increase human intelligence. Today, that belief is being challenged. New research suggests that this long upward trend may have slowed, or even started to reverse.

Throughout most of the twentieth century, average IQ scores rose steadily. This pattern, known as the Flynn Effect, showed an increase of about three IQ points per decade. Experts linked this rise to wider access to education, better healthcare, and environments that encouraged problem-solving and abstract thinking. By these measures, each generation appeared smarter than the last.

Recent st...