Minds blown: are we getting dumber?

Adult Skill Levels and Global Performance

• A decade-old OECD survey of 160,000 adults across 31 nations reveals that approximately 20% of individuals aged 16–65 perform at or below a 10-year-old's level in numeracy, literacy, and problem-solving.
• Tests measure functional skills required for employment and civic life, such as interpreting medical warnings, calculating material needs, and analyzing charts.
• Finland ranks highest globally with the top average scores across all three measured fields.
• The Netherlands, Norway, and Japan also performed above the international average.
• England's score improved primarily due to significant gains among young adults (aged 16–24).
• Cognitive ability scores have declined in the US, Chile, Italy, Poland, and Portugal.
• In high-scoring nations like Sweden and Finland, high school graduates outperform university graduates.
• Conversely, in low-scoring nations like Spain and Italy, university graduates perform worse than their counterparts in top-ranked countries.
• The gap between the most and least skilled populations is widening in many countries.
• Literacy scores are declining in more countries than are seeing meaningful progress, even as secondary school completion rates rise.
• Contributing factors include demographic shifts (rising foreign-born populations tested in non-native languages) and age-related cognitive decline in those over 30.
• High performers earn a median income 75% higher than low performers.
• Individuals with strong information-processing skills report better health, higher happiness, and lower political alienation; low scorers exhibit higher suspicion of others and feelings of exclusion.

Russia's Economic Trajectory and Monetary Policy

• Russia's central bank governor announced that monetary policy has reached a tipping point as inflation drives interest rates to 21%, a two-decade high.
• The Russian economy defied expectations by growing 3.6% last year and is projected to grow at a similar rate this year despite severe sanctions.
• War-driven activity has boosted output through military production and conscription, which acts as a form of government spending.
• The Russian government plans to increase defense and security spending by 25%, reaching approximately $170 billion (8% of GDP).
• Unlike the US and UK in WWII, which maintained low interest rates (approx. 3%) to keep borrowing costs low, Russia is forced into high rates to protect currency value.
• Russia lacks allies providing free aid or favorable currency status; its primary trade partner, China, receives payment in a currency the Ruble is currently losing value against.
• Over the last few months, the Ruble has lost more than 5% of its value against the Chinese Yuan, forcing the central bank to raise rates to sustain import costs for critical microelectronics.
• Government subsidies allowing businesses and households to borrow below market rates are being unwound, causing investment plans to be curtailed and household bills to rise.
• The IMF forecasts Russia's growth to slow sharply to 1.3% next year, down from over 3.5%.
• State development bank VEB expects minimal growth of approximately 2%.

Execution of Adolf Eichmann

• Shalom Nagar (age 88), a former Israeli prison officer, has died; he was chosen in 1962 to execute Adolf Eichmann, the chief architect of the Holocaust.
• Nagar was selected for the role because he was not an Ashkenazi survivor of the camps, having been born in Yemen, which spared him from direct personal trauma related to the Holocaust.
• Nagar was responsible for guarding Eichmann at Ramla Prison, including tasting food to prevent poisoning and escorting him to the bathroom.
• At midnight on May 31, 1962, Nagar pulled the lever to hang Eichmann, later describing the experience of removing the body as traumatic.
• Nagar reported shock at Eichmann's post-mortem appearance and was haunted by the sound of air escaping the body, which he likened to the "angel of death."
• For a year following the execution, Nagar was traumatized, unable to climb stairs to the second-floor cell block and experiencing hallucinations of Eichmann.
• Nagar eventually found peace by studying Jewish concepts of mitzvot (good deeds), viewing the execution as an act that obliterated the "enemy nation of Israel" (Amalek).

Program Credits and Segments

• This episode featured a segment on the American quiz show "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" highlighting a question regarding the number of faces on a cube (answer: six).
• The upcoming "Weekend Intelligence" episode will cover US Good Samaritan laws and the societal costs of altruism, presented by Stephanie Studer.
• The episode was hosted by Rosie Bloor, with editing by Chris Impey and Jack Gill, and produced by a team including Rory Galloway and Sarah Larniuk.