Has the internet made humans smarter?

People are getting more intelligent one meme at a time.


Asked by: Richard Fennell, Bristol

Individually it has made us more knowledgeable because we can so easily find the information we need, though we may now be less smart if the internet is taken away.

As a species we are certainly smarter because more interconnections mean more abilities, and the internet has wired us all together into what some might call a super-brain or planetary intelligence. That is smarter than any individual alone.

Subscribe to BBC Focus magazine for fascinating new Q&As every month and follow @sciencefocusQA on Twitter for your daily dose of fun science facts.