is Intelligence an evolutionary deadend?

Intelligence has been defined in many different ways including, but not limited to, abstract thought, understanding, self-awareness, communication, reasoning, learning, having emotional knowledge, retaining, planning, and problem solving.
The approach to understanding intelligence with the most supporters and published research over the longest period of time is based on psychometric testing. It is also by far the most widely used in practical settings. Intelligence quotient (IQ) tests include the Stanford-Binet, Raven's Progressive Matrices, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children.
There are many different kinds of IQ tests using a wide variety of test tasks. Some tests consist of a single type of task, others rely on a broad collection of tasks with different contents (visual-spatial, verbal, numerical) and asking for different cognitive processes (e.g., reasoning, memory, rapid decisions, visual comparisons, spatial imagery, reading, and retrieval of general knowledge). The ancestors of modern humans evolved large and complex brains exhibiting an ever-increasing intelligence through a long evolutionary process. Different explanations have been proposed.

 Professor Gerald Crabtree, who heads a genetics laboratory at Stanford University in California, has put forward the iconoclastic idea that rather than getting cleverer, human intelligence peaked several thousand years ago and from then on there has been a slow decline in our intellectual and emotional abilities. Although we are now surrounded by the technological and medical benefits of a scientific revolution, these have masked an underlying decline in brain power which is set to continue into the future leading to the ultimate dumbing-down of the human species, Professor Crabtree said.
His argument is based on the fact that for more than 99 per cent of human evolutionary history, we have lived as hunter-gatherer communities surviving on our wits, leading to big-brained humans. Since the invention of agriculture and cities, however, natural selection on our intellect has effective stopped and mutations have accumulated in the critical “intelligence” genes.

New developments in genetics, anthropology, and neurobiology that make a clear prediction that our intellectual and emotional abilities are genetically surprisingly fragile. A comparison of the genomes of parents and children has revealed that on average there are between 25 and 65 new mutations occurring in the DNA of each generation. Professor Crabtree says that this analysis predicts about 5,000 new mutations in the past 120 generations, which covers a span of about 3,000 years. Some of these mutations, he suggests, will occur within the 2,000 to 5,000 genes that are involved in human intellectual ability, for instance by building and mapping the billions of nerve cells of the brain or producing the dozens of chemical neurotransmitters that control the junctions between these brain cells.

Life as a hunter-gatherer was probably more intellectually demanding than widely supposed, he says. “A hunter-gatherer who did not correctly conceive a solution to providing food or shelter probably died, along with his or her progeny, whereas a modern Wall Street executive that made a similar conceptual mistake would receive a substantial bonus and be a more attractive mate,” Professor Crabtree says.
According to Thomas Teasdale and David Owen who took advantage of the Danish tradition of testing the intelligence of all 18-year-old men being considered for conscription into military service. Young men assessed for military service in Denmark in 1999 performed significantly better, by about 2 IQ points, than the 33,000 tested in 1988. However, the 23,000 men tested in 2003/2004 performed significantly worse than the 1998 group, at a level almost equivalent to the 1988 cohort. This apparent decline in average intelligence matches a similar observation made in Norway among their conscripts.
Despite Professor Crabtrees claim of decline in evolutionary intelligence, there seems to be an increase in intelligence test scores measured in many parts of the world from roughly 1930 to the present day. James Flynn is a political scientist from New Zealand, who put forth an observation that
intelligence is increasing due to the intellectually stimulating environment A.K.A. The Flynn Effect. Its hard to ignore both arguments, as both claims come from either a genetic or environmental view point.
Intelligence appears to be at least partly dependent on brain structure and the genes shaping brain development, it has been proposed that genetic engineering could be used to enhance the intelligence, a process sometimes called biological uplift in science fiction.

Experiments on mice have demonstrated superior ability in learning and memory in various behavioral tasks for the genetic offspring. Mans ability to revolutionize new processes in the field of neurobiology or Artificial intelligence, argues against the devolving theory. Yet the same argument of genes could relate to the average man who spends most of his day in non intellectual pursuits are recorded in his epignome. The epigenome is involved in regulation of gene expression, development, tissue differentiation, and suppression of transposable elements.The idea being that through out ones life you are transferring your physical condition into your genes which may be passed on. At this point in time there are no clear signs that indicate the conclusion of which way the intelligence is going or if man is evolving in general. However environmental issues and technological progress may radically change us. In the end I hope the next evolutionary step is a long way from now as I prefer to stay the same condition as I was intended...

The Mozart effect, or what music does to us

To most people music is a form of art it lifts the soul and replaces the atmosphere with good vibes. According to neurobiologist Norman M. Weinberger, music exists in every culture. Parents all over the world sing to their babies. Music provides us with a natural and rhythmic way to learn. Do you ever wonder why children learn to sing their ABCs before they can say them?

Do you notice that so many of our favorite children’s books have a certain rhyme or rhythmic pattern? Many studies show that there is a very strong connection between literacy and music. Through music, children learn to understand language (we must comprehend language in order to become “true” readers). Experiment with rhythm, words, tempo, and melody (which are important skills in reading aloud). Think creatively and holistically. Make the connection between print and spoken words. Practice motor development and motor coordination while experimenting with various instruments and dancing. Listen (we sometimes forget that listening is an important literacy skill).

The concept of the "Mozart effect" was described by French researcher, Dr. Alfred A. Tomatis in his 1991 book Pourquoi Mozart? (Why Mozart?). He used the music of Mozart in his efforts to "retrain" the ear, and believed that listening to the music presented at differing frequencies helped the ear, and promoted healing and the development of the brain.

The 1997 book by Don Campbell, "The Mozart Effect: Tapping the Power of Music to Heal the Body, Strengthen the Mind, and Unlock the Creative Spirit", discusses the theory that listening to Mozart (especially the piano concertos) may temporarily increase one's IQ and produce many other beneficial effects on mental function. Campbell recommends playing specially selected classical music to infants, in the expectation that it will benefit their mental development.

After The Mozart Effect, Campbell wrote a follow-up book, The Mozart Effect For Children, and created related products. Among these are collections of music that he states harness the Mozart effect to enhance "deep rest and rejuvenation", "intelligence and learning", and "creativity and imagination". Campbell defines the term as "an inclusive term signifying the transformational powers of music in health, education, and well-being. It represents the general use of music to reduce stress, depression, or anxiety; induce relaxation or sleep; activate the body; and improve memory or awareness. Innovative and experimental uses of music and sound can improve listening disorders, dyslexia, attention deficit disorder, autism, and other mental and physical disorders and diseases"

In 1999 a major challenge was raised to the existence of the Mozart effect by two teams of researchers. In a pair of papers published together under the title "Prelude or Requiem for the 'Mozart Effect'?" Chabris reported a meta-analysis demonstrating that "any cognitive enhancement is small and does not reflect any change in IQ or reasoning ability in general, but instead derives entirely from performance on one specific type of cognitive task and has a simple neuropsychological explanation", called "enjoyment arousal". For example, he cites a study that found that "listening either to Mozart or to a passage from a Stephen King story enhanced subjects' performance in paper folding and cutting (one of the tests frequently employed by Rauscher and Shaw) but only for those who enjoyed what they heard".

Kenneth Steele, psychology professor at Appalachian State University, found that "listening to Mozart produced a 3-point increase relative to silence in one experiment and a 4-point decrease in the other experiment". When he played the sonata to youngsters, he said it had no more effect on their intelligence than contemporary music, or even random noise did. Professor Steele is one of a number of scientists debunking the popular theory. John Bruer, head of the McDonnell Foundation in St Louis, is about to publish a book called The Myth of the First Three Years, in which he rubbishes the whole notion that a single piece of music can have an impact on a child's intelligence.

Music despite Professor steele debunking the Mozart effect, music is still important for growth. Daniel Levitin neuroscientist, musician and psychologist has a theory that early man used music to communicate with each other. Alterations in pitch and time,  can be conveyed by emotional or urgency, which later grew into a more complex language. Further investigations into the older parts of the brain the cerebellum responds selectively activated to music and not to language. This suggest that music since the Neolithic age has been around since the dawn of man. Music what ever genre can still make a positive effect on us, if you believe it helps stimulate your brain or not.