Ep. 369: Why Are We Getting Dumber? A Debate.

Ep. 369: Why Are We Getting Dumber? A Debate.

IQ scores had been steadily rising since WWII. But, more recently, this phenomenon has stopped. Since 2010, we’ve actually been getting dumber. In this episode, Cal gets into the common theories for why this is true before offering his own take, which leads to some practical takeaways to help you thrive in an increasingly stupider world. He then answers listener questions and talks about something he read recently.

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvo

Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia

Deep Dive: I Want Work-Life Balance. Am I Doomed to Mediocrity? [0:41]

  • How can a west coast executive schedule deep work despite constant meetings with east coast colleagues? [37:14]
  • Is it bad that I fill all of my quiet moments with media? [41:04]
  • How can I focus on personal projects? [46:24]
  • How should a software engineer transition to consulting? [53:05]
  • How should a former lawyer update her systems now that she’s a professor? [56:43]

CASE STUDY: A songwriter works deep and slow [1:06:43]

CALL: Getting out of the weeds [1:14:04]

WHAT I’M READING: Who is still against school cell phone bans? [1:23:28]

Links:

Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at calnewport.com/slow
Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/
Cal’s monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289623000156
youtube.com/watch?v=u4jW8MOxIKY
rebeccaschiffman.com/beachvacation
rebeccaschiffman.bandcamp.com
nytimes.com/2025/03/21/nyregion/school-cell-phone-ban-nyc.html

Thanks to our Sponsors:

expressvpn.com/deep
oracle.com/deepquestions
indeed.com/deep
vanta.com/deepquestions

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.


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Ep. Ep 381: Life Advice from Legendary Writers

Ep. Ep 381: Life Advice from Legendary Writers

In today’s episode, Cal reviews some of his favorite advice from legendary writers (plus a bonus piece of advice from his own craft). Within each suggestion, he finds a general idea that can apply to ...

1 Joulu 20251h 38min

Ep. 380: ChatGPT is Not Alive!

Ep. 380: ChatGPT is Not Alive!

There has been a lot of loose talk online recently about the capabilities of existing AI tools. In this episode, Cal reacts to a specific recent clip from the Joe Rogan podcast in which the guest argu...

24 Marras 20251h 18min

Ep. 379: The Flexibility Myth

Ep. 379: The Flexibility Myth

When companies began instituting return-to-office plans after the pandemic, a disproportionate number of women chose instead to leave the workforce. Why? The obvious answer is that they wanted the fle...

17 Marras 20251h 55min

Ep. 378: The Lost Art of Long Thinking

Ep. 378: The Lost Art of Long Thinking

We often talk on this show about how digital devices undermine our ability to consume more complicated and meaningful ideas. But what about our ability to produce such ideas from scratch? In this epis...

10 Marras 20251h 28min

Ep. 377: The Case Against Superintelligence

Ep. 377: The Case Against Superintelligence

Techno-philosopher Eliezer Yudkowsky recently went on Ezra Klein's podcast to argue that if we continue on our path toward superintelligent AI, these machines will destroy humanity. In this episode, C...

3 Marras 20251h 31min

Ep. 376: The Lincoln Protocol

Ep. 376: The Lincoln Protocol

How do you escape a world where constant digital distractions and darkness threatens to pull you down? Maybe take a page out of Abraham Lincoln’s life. In this episode, Cal argues that Lincoln faced a...

27 Loka 20251h 23min

Ep. 375: Did OpenAI Just Kill Social Media?

Ep. 375: Did OpenAI Just Kill Social Media?

Ep. 375: Did OpenAI Just Kill Social Media?OpenAI has been making waves recently with their release of their Sora 2 video generation model, which they have launched alongside a TikTok-style social med...

20 Loka 20251h 36min

Ep. 374: This is Your Brain on Phones

Ep. 374: This is Your Brain on Phones

It’s hard to cultivate a deep life when you cannot go more than a few minutes without checking your phone. In this episode, Cal looks closer at the precise neural mechanisms at play that make the phys...

13 Loka 20251h 38min

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