When I write in my title, the word "intelligence", the connotation is probably the innate sense that humans have of "smarts". That sense has been recognized for a long time. In graduate school, I studied attempts to test intelligence with paper and pencil tests. I also studied attempts by Binet in France and faculty at Stanford University and Wechsler to create formal tests to measure intelligence. But in this post, I am thinking of "intelligence" in the way the word is used in reference to military and national security, the concept of general knowledge about the world and what is happening.
It seems completely accurate to say that humans in general, all over, have better intelligence than ever. The development of speech, writing, the telegraph, daily newspapers, radio, television and, of course, the internet, have all contributed to better communication between all sorts of humans in all locations.
At the same time, information has improved its spread and richness, education has been changing too. In grad school, I read about the slow, steady expansion of education. Of course, Google Search and similar search engine software such as Duckduckgo are providing a wider, deeper amount of information to all sorts of citizens, inquirers and students. But don't forget nursery schools, kindergartens, elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, technical schools, master's programs, doctoral programs, post-docs, distance education, YouTube videos, Kindle books, loaning apps like Libby.
