There's been this flint effect that people have been getting smarter on average for up until maybe recently. Can IQ actually go up and down? And I think to some extent it can. There's an open question, isn't there, about to what extent intelligence all aligns on the same axis of like, if you're better at math, you're also better at understanding other people. The standard intelligence test is in some way a test of multiple intelligences.
In his expansive new book, "Psych: The Story of the Human Mind," Paul Bloom, a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, lays out, in his words, "basically everything I know about the mind." And when he says everything, he means it. Where does consciousness come from? Does IQ matter? What makes us happy? Was Sigmund Freud a madman? The answers to these questions (and more) are all in Paul's book — and in this episode.
• To listen to an extended version of Rufus and Paul's conversation, download The Next Big Idea app.
• Our newsletter comes out every Thursday and offers a behind-the-scenes look at how we make the show. Sign up today!