In the modern world, large and even. Poverty is a perennial problem. Billions of people live “on the edge.” Deteriorating access to drinking water

Global problems of our time are considered from two different sides: human security and planetary security. That is why difficulties are increasingly arising in the harmonious existence of people on Earth without harm to the outside world. In order to realistically assess the criticality and need for urgent changes in life, we suggest reading an article that describes the problems of our time and possible solutions to them.

The main global problems of our time

Increasingly, news releases shock people with terrible statistics about violence, accidents, atmospheric emissions, depletion of the earth's resources and the approach of a global catastrophe. When developed countries are engaged in robots with artificial intelligence, some nationalities disappear from the face of the Earth due to lack of medical care and clean water.

People have destroyed the environment so much that in order to restore balance it is necessary to make a series of complex decisions that will have a massive impact. One person cannot change the whole world, but imagine if 7 billion people simultaneously want to help each other.

For such cases, there are many organizations that look at humanity's global problems and how you can contribute to solving them.

Let's look at the main problems:

• Food security.

The number of hungry people in the world has increased significantly over the past few years. One in nine people in the world typically go hungry and, as a result, suffer from nutritional deficiencies. At first glance it may seem that the problem is a lack of processed food, but this opinion is wrong. People simply don't have enough money to buy healthy food.

• Health care problem.

In addition to malnutrition, there are many other problems affecting human health on a global scale. In the past, the focus of scientists and health organizations has been on infectious diseases: hepatitis, cholera, malaria, tuberculosis and HIV. Increased access to clean water and improved sanitation education have reduced the spread of communicable diseases worldwide. However, this does not mean that efforts to improve sanitation should stop.

Currently, the global medical community is studying non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.

Infectious diseases currently kill 70% of people, and low-income countries are hit hardest. This problem is pronounced in Thailand, South Africa, Mexico and India.

• The need for gender equality.

The next problem arose from historical conditions that placed social barriers to economic and personal freedom for women. Although a lot of efforts have been made to alleviate this problem, it has not been completely eradicated.

In many patriarchal countries, women are deprived of their rights from an early age. They are not allowed to go to school, they are not allocated funds for higher education, and they believe that women should stay at home. As a result, women continue to earn less than men. Such inequality wastes potential and impedes cultural and technological progress. Vulnerable women are increasingly becoming victims of violence and aggression.

• Africa's needs.

A number of alarming UN statistics highlight the urgent need for humanitarian support in Africa. The region has the world's highest child mortality rate and the number of people living with HIV. It has the highest rates of child stunting, the highest number of road traffic deaths and the lowest literacy rates. Fertility rates in Africa are increasing, but more people are suffering from these problems every day.

• Global environmental problems.

There are three main environmental issues listed by the UN. These include threats to organisms on land and under water, climate change and resource depletion. According to UN statistics, forests are being depleted at a rate of 13 million hectares every year.

Most of the planet is covered in water. Oceans absorb carbon dioxide and produce about 30% of oxygen. Despite its importance, the ocean is under threat. Overfishing is putting many species at risk of extinction.

• Global problems of the world requiring political solutions.

These include the safe use of nuclear technology, respect for international law and peace, promoting the decolonization of countries and ensuring the effective functioning of democracies. The main threat to human life is the person himself. The world is constantly shaking from the results of terrorist attacks, wars, testing of new weapons and migrations. In pursuit of new lands, politicians and aggressors are destroying thousands of human lives and depleting natural resources.

Global problems require global action. When it comes to solving major social problems using innovation, new business models or global agreements, many experts agree that the success of the solution is purely political, not technical.

Ways to solve global problems of the world

The UN produced a report called the Millennium Development Goals, which is an important reminder that change is possible when we act. Here are 10 highlights from the report:

• From 1990 to 2015, more than 1 billion people were lifted out of extreme poverty. The poverty rate in developing countries has fallen from 47% to a projected 14%.
• The number of primary school-age children who were not in school has almost halved since 2000, from 100 million in 2000 to 57 million.
• Since 1990, child mortality has more than halved. In 1990, 12.7 million children under the age of 5 died. In 2018 this number dropped to 6 million.
• Maternal deaths have fallen by 45% since 1990.
• From 2000 to 2013, the number of new HIV infections fell by 40%.
• From 2000 to 2015, more than 6.2 million malaria deaths were averted, mostly among children under 5 years of age.
• Since 1990, 2.6 billion people have gained access to an improved source of drinking water.
• The number of hungry people in developing regions has almost halved from 23.3% in 1990–1992 to 12.9% in 2016.
• Let us present possible solutions to current problems of humanity.

The problem of peace and war can be solved in the following ways:

• control over the manufacture of weapons;
• a ban on the use of nuclear weapons and their alternatives;
• careful control over the arms trade and smuggling;
• tough sanctions for aggressor countries.

By adhering to these basic conditions, it is possible to significantly reduce the number of casualties and the consequences of military operations.

To avoid an environmental disaster it is necessary:

• enhanced protection of endangered organisms;
• optimal use of resources from local to global level;
• measures to protect the environment from the impacts of factories, factories and other enterprises;
• prohibition of experiments on animals;
• creation of new reserves.

The demographic problem will be solved by a series of actions aimed at gender equality, protection of women from violence and free access to general education anywhere in the world.

The shortage of fuel and raw materials can be avoided by introducing alternative sources of energy and heat. One of the main obstacles to this is the high cost of energy processing equipment.

We should try to solve the problem of hunger in this way:

• expansion of land for cultivation and farming, rather than for concrete buildings;
• creation of new lakes and pastures;
• automation of small farming businesses and financing of enterprises involved in growing natural food products.

The waters of the World Ocean also need urgent rescue. To do this you need:

• determination of clear zones for fishing and oil production;
• replacement of port equipment that releases emissions into the ocean;
• strict control over the level of water purity and intensive actions to purify it;
• ban on the release of nuclear waste and chemical weapons.

Also, do not forget about the rules for maintaining cleanliness outside the boundaries of the planet when exploring outer space.

One of the main problems is the difference in development of many countries. Technology, automation, the level of education and medicine are so different that they further reduce the possibility of peaceful existence of peoples. The only solution to this problem is to help lagging countries and support them at the international level.

The problems of humanity are increasing in number every day. This happens for a number of reasons, with humans at the center. Wars, waste disposal, industrial enterprises, the creation of new types of chemical and nuclear weapons, deforestation and water pollution - the scale of destruction that humans bring to the planet is becoming terrifying. To avoid disaster and save resources for the lives of descendants, every inhabitant of the Earth must be involved.

QUOTE #1

“We have reached a situation of internal stability, confidence that the country will continue to develop in a stable way. This is probably the most important thing. The economy has changed dramatically,” - Vladimir Putin said on December 19, 2019.

What is the stability that the president talks about?
Our economic growth rates, according to the most optimistic estimates that Rosstat constantly presents to us, are about 1%. All economists know that these are conventions. The structure of production and the structure of exports are steadily deteriorating. Raw material exports are growing, while modern production is shrinking. At the same time, foreign direct investment in the Russian economy is falling. In 2015-2018, they more than halved. And most of them (60%) are directed to the mining sector.

Therefore, something else is unconditional: the lack of economic growth and a noticeable drop in living standards over the past five years. This despite the fact that, according to World Bank calculations, Russians are four times poorer Here's how this metric is calculated. The per capita wealth of the average Russian includes an estimate of:
- human capital (earnings throughout a person’s life);
- natural resources (renewable and non-renewable); produced capital (mainly buildings and structures, equipment);
- foreign assets (foreign property and liabilities of the country).
Human capital occupies the largest share of wealth (in the Russian Federation - 46%, in OECD countries - 70%), natural capital - another 20%, produced capital accounts for 33%, and foreign assets - the remaining 1%. Over the period from 2000 to 2017, the volume of Russia's total wealth in constant 2017 prices increased by 73% - from 753 trillion to 1306 trillion rubles. The per capita figure over the same period increased, according to World Bank estimates, by 76%, to 8.9 million rubles. ($152.5 thousand). However, this amount is only a quarter of the wealth of a typical resident of developed OECD countries (includes 36 developed countries). Stagnation of real incomes and falling oil prices significantly slowed down the growth of this indicator. residents of 36 developed countries (OECD members). To catch up with developed countries in terms of human capital, according to World Bank calculations, Russia will need a hundred years. This is such stability.

In general, the share of the economically vulnerable population, that is, the share of people who live hard and poorly, is not at all the same as official statistics show us. Official statistics tell us that this share is approximately 12-13%. But if you calculate by purchasing power, it turns out that 28% of the Russian population in 2018 lived on about 700 rubles a day. Moreover, both the level and inflation of tariffs in housing and communal services and prices for food products are quite noticeable.

The Minister of Economy said that the first half of 2020 “has already been lost for Russia in an economic sense.” According to the minister, the economy will face very weak consumer demand at the beginning of next year. And weak consumer demand means that poverty is expanding and people's incomes are falling.
The problem of consumer demand in our economy is not new. It has been around for at least twelve years. And we proposed a radical solution to this problem. This is a famous program"Earth-Houses-Roads" . Free transfer of land to citizens for the construction of individual housing, together with state-built infrastructure, would create the very necessary demand that determines the pace of economic development of the entire country. All European countries emerged from the post-war crisis in exactly this way. But in Russia it only ended in an unsuccessful experiment in the Far East.

Now it's unfolding before our eyesanother story , which economists will definitely be talking about for decades. This is the construction of a gas pipeline to China several hundred kilometers from Tomsk, where only 8% of residents have access to natural gas. Everyone else uses wood and coal.
In general, 65% of Russian residents do not have access to gas supply. Even 15% of Gazprom's revenues would be enough to solve this problem in favor of Russian citizens. But instead, with our own money, we are building a gas pipeline to China, which the Chinese only need in case of war in the Sea of ​​Japan. It is no coincidence that the Power of Siberia project is surrounded by secrets, the main one of which remains the price of gas supplied to China. The media claim that the level of secrecy of the Chinese gas contract is comparable to issues of strategic weapons: only a few people in Russia know the true figure and the formula for calculating it under the agreement. And again, the program proposed by Yabloko"Gas to every home" remains a pipe dream.

QUOTE #2

“As for the withdrawal of foreign troops, there are no foreign troops there. There are local police, local self-defense forces, - Putin assured, answering a question about the situation in Donbass. -Where do they get tanks and heavy artillery? Listen, in many “hot spots” of the world, various kinds of conflicts and military operations are taking place, with the use of tanks, artillery, and so on. Where do they get it from? Apparently, from those structures and states that sympathize with them.”

What can I say? Such views and “sympathies” of the president are seriously dangerous for our country.
Russia needs a completely different policy and different sympathies. Russia needs peace, not war. We need a state of public benefit, not private interests. We need a principle of human conservation that would regulate the relationship between freedom and responsibility. And the government, which must stop treating people as nuisances. Internationally recognized borders are vital for Russia, which do not exist now and without which our country cannot exist in the modern world. Russia cannot afford a policy of hybrid and other proxy wars in very dubious interests on completely foreign territories.
Russia needs peaceful, developing neighbors: Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia - who would have every reason to be friends with Russia and not fear it. The successes of our neighbors in the development of their state institutions and in the economy are our successes. We need a belt of stability and prosperity around our country, and not the other way around.
We need - and this is the most important thing - trust in the country: trust within the country, trust of citizens with each other and between citizens and the authorities. This is exactly what it is impossible to build a modern society and a modern economy without. And this is exactly what the existing political regime cannot provide under any circumstances. The modern global economy is based largely on trust and understanding. And where this is not the case, crises and recessions occur. Today's political system does not allow creating an atmosphere of trust in the country, neither from citizens to the police, nor from citizens to the courts, nor from citizens to the state, nor to each other, nor in business - in nothing. This is a dead end of the system.

We need a state of public interest, that is, a state that works for everyone. Just as we need a policy of peace and trust with our neighbors. But instead we are immersed in a political culture of primitive authoritarianism. This political culture must be pushed aside and replaced by a completely different one. Russia vitally needs freedom. Because freedom is life without fear. Because all citizens of Russia have the right to freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want and poverty and freedom from fear. When these four freedoms are realized, then it will be a Russia of people, and not a country of officials, gangs and thieves.

We present to your attention a video lesson on the topic “The essence of global problems. Interconnection and interdependence." As civilization developed, complex problems constantly arose before humanity. In this lesson we will discuss what contributed to the aggravation of problems in the 20th century and consider their essence, affecting a planetary scale. We will learn about the classification of global problems of humanity, their interconnection and interdependence.

Topic: Global problems of humanity

Lesson: The essence of global problems. Interconnection and interdependence

As civilization developed, global problems began to arise for humanity. Nowadays, humanity is closely faced with the most acute global problems that threaten the very existence of civilization and even life itself on our planet.

The term “global” itself originates from the Latin word “globe”, that is, Earth, globe, and since the late 60s of the 20th century it has become widespread to designate the most important and pressing planetary problems of the modern era, affecting humanity as a whole. .

Global problems of our time- this is a set of socio-natural problems, the solution of which determines the social progress of mankind and the preservation of civilization. These problems are characterized by dynamism, arise as an objective factor in the development of society and require the united efforts of all humanity to be solved. Global problems are interconnected, cover all aspects of people's lives and affect all countries of the world.

Global or worldwide (universal) problems, being the result of contradictions in social development, did not arise suddenly and only today. Some of them, such as the problems of war and peace, health, existed before and were relevant at all times. Other global problems, such as environmental ones, appear later due to the intense impact of society on the natural environment. Initially, these problems could only be private (single) issues for a particular country or people, then they became regional and global, i.e. problems of vital importance for all humanity.

Main features of global problems:

1. Problems that affect not only the interests of individual people, but can affect the fate of all humanity

2. They lead to significant economic and social losses, and if they worsen, they can threaten the very existence of human civilization.

3. Global problems cannot be solved on their own or even through the efforts of individual countries. They require focused and organized efforts of the entire global community.

4. Global problems are closely related to one another.

The main problems of humanity:

1. The problem of peace and disarmament, preventing a new world war.

2. Ecological.

3. Demographic.

4. Energy.

5. Raw materials.

6. Food.

7. Use of the World Ocean.

8. Peaceful space exploration.

9. Overcoming the backwardness of developing countries.

Rice. 1. Poverty and misery in Africa ()

The development of a classification of global problems was the result of long-term research and generalization of the experience of several decades of their study.

In modern scientific literature, attempts are being made to comprehensively consider the entire variety of global problems. Since all these problems are of a socio-natural nature, since they simultaneously capture contradictions both between man and society, and contradictions between man and the natural environment, they are usually divided into three main groups. Researchers have proposed many classification options.

Classification of global problems:

1. Problems that are associated with relations between the main social communities of humanity, i.e. between groups of states with similar political, economic and other interests: “East - West”, rich and poor countries, etc. These include the problem of preventing war, international terrorism and ensuring peace, as well as establishing a fair international economic order.

2. Problems associated with relations in the “person - society” system: cultural development, effective use of scientific and technological advances, development of education and healthcare

3. Problems that are generated by the interaction of society and nature. They are associated with the limited ability of the environment to withstand anthropogenic loads. These are problems such as the provision of energy, fuel, raw materials, fresh water, etc. The environmental problem also belongs to this group, i.e. the problem of protecting nature from irreversible negative changes, as well as the task of rational development of the World Ocean and outer space.

Rice. 2. Lack of drinking water in Africa ()

Global problems are interconnected.

Rice. 3. Scheme of relationships between global problems

Currently, humanity and leading countries are actively fighting the proliferation of nuclear weapons and their use. The UN General Assembly adopted the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. In addition, treaties were signed between the main nuclear powers (for example, START-1, START-2, ABM).

Largest countries by number of armed forces:

5. Russia.

The problem of weapons proliferation and disarmament remains relevant. Military bases of the United States and NATO members on the territory of many countries pose a particular potential danger.

Rice. 4. US military base in Turkey ()

Homework

Topic 11, P. 1

1. What global problems of humanity do you know?

Bibliography

Main

1. Geography. A basic level of. 10-11 grades: Textbook for educational institutions / A.P. Kuznetsov, E.V. Kim. - 3rd ed., stereotype. - M.: Bustard, 2012. - 367 p.

2. Economic and social geography of the world: Textbook. for 10th grade educational institutions / V.P. Maksakovsky. - 13th ed. - M.: Education, JSC "Moscow Textbooks", 2005. - 400 p.

3. Atlas with a set of outline maps for grade 10. Economic and social geography of the world. - Omsk: FSUE "Omsk Cartographic Factory", 2012. - 76 p.

Additional

1. Economic and social geography of Russia: Textbook for universities / Ed. prof. A.T. Khrushchev. - M.: Bustard, 2001. - 672 p.: ill., map.: color. on

Encyclopedias, dictionaries, reference books and statistical collections

1. Geography: a reference book for high school students and applicants to universities. - 2nd ed., rev. and revision - M.: AST-PRESS SCHOOL, 2008. - 656 p.

2. Africa // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional ones). - St. Petersburg, 1890-1907.

Literature for preparing for the State Exam and the Unified State Exam

1. Thematic control in geography. Economic and social geography of the world. 10th grade / E.M. Ambartsumova. - M.: Intellect-Center, 2009. - 80 p.

2. The most complete edition of standard versions of real Unified State Examination tasks: 2010. Geography / Comp. Yu.A. Solovyova. - M.: Astrel, 2010. - 221 p.

3. The optimal bank of tasks for preparing students. Unified State Exam 2012. Geography: Textbook / Comp. EM. Ambartsumova, S.E. Dyukova. - M.: Intellect-Center, 2012. - 256 p.

4. The most complete edition of standard versions of real Unified State Examination tasks: 2010. Geography / Comp. Yu.A. Solovyova. - M.: AST: Astrel, 2010. - 223 p.

5. Geography. Diagnostic work in the Unified State Exam format 2011. - M.: MTsNMO, 2011. - 72 p.

6. Unified State Exam 2010. Geography. Collection of tasks / Yu.A. Solovyova. - M.: Eksmo, 2009. - 272 p.

7. Geography tests: 10th grade: to the textbook by V.P. Maksakovsky “Economic and social geography of the world. 10th grade” / E.V. Baranchikov. - 2nd ed., stereotype. - M.: Publishing house "Exam", 2009. - 94 p.

8. Unified State Exam 2009. Geography. Universal materials for preparing students / FIPI - M.: Intellect-Center, 2009. - 240 p.

9. Geography. Answers on questions. Oral examination, theory and practice / V.P. Bondarev. - M.: Publishing house "Exam", 2003. - 160 p.

10. Unified State Exam 2010. Geography: thematic training tasks / O.V. Chicherina, Yu.A. Solovyova. - M.: Eksmo, 2009. - 144 p.

11. Unified State Exam 2012. Geography: Model exam options: 31 options / Ed. V.V. Barabanova. - M.: National Education, 2011. - 288 p.

12. Unified State Exam 2011. Geography: Standard exam options: 31 options / Ed. V.V. Barabanova. - M.: National Education, 2010. - 280 p.

Materials on the Internet

1. Federal Institute of Pedagogical Measurements ( ).

2. Federal portal Russian Education ().

Problems that concern not any particular continent or state, but the entire planet, are called global. As civilization develops, it accumulates more and more of them. Today there are eight main problems. Let's consider the global problems of humanity and ways to solve them.

Ecological problem

Today it is considered the main one. For a long time, people have used the resources given to them by nature irrationally, polluted the environment around them, and poisoned the Earth with a variety of waste - from solid to radioactive. The result was not long in coming - according to the majority of competent researchers, environmental problems in the next hundred years will lead to irreversible consequences for the planet, and therefore for humanity.

There are already countries where this issue has reached a very high level, giving rise to the concept of an ecological crisis area. But a threat looms over the whole world: the ozone layer, which protects the planet from radiation, is being destroyed, the earth’s climate is changing - and humans are unable to control these changes.

Even the most developed country cannot solve the problem alone, so states unite to jointly solve important environmental problems. The main solution is considered to be reasonable use of natural resources and reorganization of everyday life and industrial production so that the ecosystem develops naturally.

Rice. 1. The threatening scale of the environmental problem.

Demographic problem

In the 20th century, when the world's population exceeded six billion, everyone had heard of it. However, in the 21st century the vector has shifted. In short, the essence of the problem now is this: there are fewer and fewer people. A competent policy of family planning and improving the living conditions of each individual will help solve this issue.

TOP 4 articleswho are reading along with this

Food problem

This problem is closely related to the demographic one and consists in the fact that more than half of humanity is experiencing acute food shortages. To solve it, we need to more rationally use available resources for food production. Experts see two development paths: intensive, when the biological productivity of existing fields and other lands increases, and extensive, when their number increases.

All global problems of humanity must be solved together, and this is no exception. The food problem arose due to the fact that most people live in unsuitable areas. Combining the efforts of scientists from different countries will significantly speed up the solution process.

Energy and raw materials problem

The uncontrolled use of raw materials has led to the depletion of mineral reserves that have been accumulating for hundreds of millions of years. Very soon, fuel and other resources may disappear altogether, so scientific and technological progress is being introduced at all stages of production.

The problem of peace and disarmament

Some scientists believe that in the very near future it may happen that there will be no need to look for possible ways to solve humanity’s global problems: people are producing such an amount of offensive weapons (including nuclear weapons) that at some point they can destroy themselves. To prevent this from happening, world treaties on arms reduction and demilitarization of economies are being developed.

Human health problem

Humanity continues to suffer from deadly diseases. The progress of science is great, but diseases that cannot be cured still exist. The only solution is to continue scientific research in search of cures.

The problem of using the World Ocean

The depletion of land resources has led to increased interest in the World Ocean - all countries that have access to it use it not only as a biological resource. Both the mining and chemical sectors are actively developing. Which gives rise to two problems at once: pollution and uneven development. But how are these issues resolved? Currently, they are being studied by scientists from all over the world, who are developing principles of rational ocean environmental management.

Rice. 2. Industrial station in the ocean.

The problem of space exploration

To explore outer space, it is important to join forces on a global scale. The latest research is the result of consolidation of work from many countries. This is precisely the basis for solving the problem.

Scientists have already developed a model of the first station for settlers on the Moon, and Elon Musk says that the day is not far off when people will go to explore Mars.

Rice. 3. Layout of the lunar base.

What have we learned?

Humanity has many global problems that can ultimately lead to its death. These problems can only be solved if efforts are consolidated; otherwise, the efforts of one or more countries will be reduced to zero. Thus, civilizational development and the solution of problems of a universal scale are possible only if the survival of man as a species becomes higher than economic and state interests.

Test on the topic

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The word “creative” used to be synonymous with “disorganized.” Today we want to see a person creative and free-thinking; we admire when a non-standard approach is found to a task.

There are two methods for solving problems:

• Analytical- you select solutions and then determine which one is correct.
• Intuitive (insight method)- the solution comes to your mind ready-made.

It is difficult to go beyond the boundaries when trying to solve a problem analytically, but the insight method is perfect for this.

Scientists have checked Insight solutions are correct more often than analytical solutions both methods and found that the insight method gave more correct answers than analysis. Brain scan showed The Origins of Insight in Resting-State Brain Activity: People who solve problems in this way activate the anterior cingulate cortex. This area monitors conflicts between brain regions and identifies opposing strategies. With its help, a person can see non-obvious ways to solve a problem and direct attention to them.

In addition, during epiphanies, people noted more distracted attention. It allows you to see the whole without focusing on the specific.

Distracted attention is typical for a person in a relaxed state and in high spirits. You're not completely focused on the task, but you're not with your head in the clouds either. Perhaps this is why most epiphanies come to people in, for example, in the bathroom. If you have such an insight, along with it will come the confidence that the decision is the right one. And, judging by scientific data, he should be trusted.

No matter what method you use to solve problems, you do it better than your not-so-distant ancestors.

We are smarter than people who lived 100 years ago

IQ test scores have been increasing since 1930 The Flynn Effect: A Meta-analysis by three points every decade. This trend is called the Flynn effect, named after the professor who discovered it, James Flynn.

There are several reasons for this pattern:

• The quality of life has increased. The nutrition of pregnant women and infants has improved, and the number of children in the family has decreased. Now people invest in the development and education of their children until they graduate from university.
• Education has improved.
• The characteristics of work have changed. Mental work, as a rule, is valued and paid higher than physical work.
• The cultural environment has changed. In the modern world, people receive much more incentives for brain development: books, the Internet, varied communication, not limited by place of residence.
• People are used to questions from IQ tests. Since childhood, we have been able to solve such problems and use abstract thinking, so we do it better.

We are much luckier than our grandparents, but our children will not necessarily be smarter. An anti-effect has already been discovered in developed European countries The negative Flynn Effect: A systematic literature review Flynn: after the 2000s, the growth of intelligence stopped and even began to decline.

Scientists suggest that the impact of the environment has not reached its peak: it simply cannot be better. People already eat well, have one or two children and study until they are 16–23 years old. They cannot have fewer children or study longer, so it is not surprising that intelligence has stopped growing.

We have become better at solving problems on paper, but does this affect real life? After all, a person is not a machine, and mistakes often occur from an incorrect assessment of information and the characteristics of our perception.

We lack critical thinking

People tend to make mistakes and see only one side of a problem. One example of this type of thinking is the availability heuristic, where a person judges the frequency and possibility of an event by the ease with which examples come to mind.

Using this method, we rely on our memory and do not take into account real statistics. For example, a person is afraid of dying from a terrorist attack or a tornado, but does not even think about a heart attack or. Simply because high-profile cases are shown more often on TV.

Such errors include the anchor effect Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases, when people's decisions are influenced by arbitrary data obtained from the environment. This effect is well demonstrated by an experiment by psychologist Daniel Kahneman. Subjects were asked to spin a wheel of fortune, on which the number 10 or 65 randomly fell out. After this, participants had to estimate the percentage of African countries in the UN. People who saw 10 on the wheel always named a lower number than those who saw 65, although they knew that this was completely unrelated.

People like this follow us everywhere. Learning to notice them is very important, especially in the modern world, where fake news and myths pour in from all sides.

To avoid becoming a victim of illusions, learn to question all information, choose reliable sources and evaluate your beliefs from time to time, even if they seem to be the only true ones.

It is also useful to communicate with a wide range of people to develop critical thinking. We are usually drawn to those who share our views. But to develop the habit of critical thinking, we need people we know who disagree with us. They will give us a lot to think about and perhaps force us to reconsider our beliefs.