No. But your question seems odd. I didn’t interpret the book as an attempt to start with the increase in intelligence and then to assume/explain why pop culture was the cause. Rather, I interpreted the book as an attempt to analyze pop culture, which then found that pop culture did things that seemed like they would have beneficial effects. His analysis of the things that pop culture does in our minds is what I found interesting, not so much the parts which talked about intelligence more generally.
Additionally, I’m not really sure what someone would do to identify pop culture as the cause of this increase as opposed to something else. I’m not sure what other factors could be responsible.
I don’t believe the title implies that his primary concern is explaining an intelligence increase.
There are two ways of looking at the interaction between pop culture and intelligence. You can start by analyzing intelligence and noticing that it seems to increase, and then trying to figure out why, and then figuring out that pop culture caused it. Or, you can start by analyzing pop culture, and then noticing that it seems to do things that would have cognitive benefits, and then attaching this to the increase in intelligence as a factor that helps explain it. The book does the latter, not the former.
I think any link between tv and intelligence is unproven, but at least the book does something to debunk the common idea that television is making people stupider.
No. But your question seems odd. I didn’t interpret the book as an attempt to start with the increase in intelligence and then to assume/explain why pop culture was the cause. Rather, I interpreted the book as an attempt to analyze pop culture, which then found that pop culture did things that seemed like they would have beneficial effects. His analysis of the things that pop culture does in our minds is what I found interesting, not so much the parts which talked about intelligence more generally.
Additionally, I’m not really sure what someone would do to identify pop culture as the cause of this increase as opposed to something else. I’m not sure what other factors could be responsible.
I was reacting to the title of the book.
I don’t believe the title implies that his primary concern is explaining an intelligence increase.
There are two ways of looking at the interaction between pop culture and intelligence. You can start by analyzing intelligence and noticing that it seems to increase, and then trying to figure out why, and then figuring out that pop culture caused it. Or, you can start by analyzing pop culture, and then noticing that it seems to do things that would have cognitive benefits, and then attaching this to the increase in intelligence as a factor that helps explain it. The book does the latter, not the former.
I think any link between tv and intelligence is unproven, but at least the book does something to debunk the common idea that television is making people stupider.