According to Lynn, Serbia's national IQ is 90. Basically, all of the Balkans countries seem to have low, as in 85 to 90ish, IQs. But I'm struck at how low the Serbs apparently are in terms of IQ. Have you any experience with Serbs or Serbia? Are you inclined to accept or to doubt Lynn's numbers?
I haven't had many personal interactions with Serbs or South Slavs so I can't say. Actually, even I I did, it still wouldn't be of much validity, like all personal anecdotes. I knew one Kyrgyz woman who was very bright but Kyrgyzstan has an average IQ of ~75 (derived from PISA). So personal anecdotes aren't worth much. I do not see any obvious reasons for why the figures for the South Slavs should be incorrect so I assume they are more or less accurate.
The Balkans in general have been Europe's least-developed region for centuries. Serbia as late as 1913 had an illiteracy rate of more than 90%. This was far lower than the contemporaneous figures even in Russia or Portugal, the two most extreme non-Balkan laggards in Europe at that time. Since development and literacy are both somewhat associated with national average IQs, that would support the finding of low IQs for the Balkans.
JayMan's theory on this is that whereas the northern Slavs had selection for higher IQs in the form of cold winters - village communities that were too feckless at longterm planning would simply starve to death and vanish off the map - there were no such rigorous selection mechanisms for higher IQs in the Balkans.
The Balkans in general have been Europe's least-developed region for centuries. Serbia as late as 1913 had an illiteracy rate of more than 90%. This was far lower than the contemporaneous figures even in Russia or Portugal, the two most extreme non-Balkan laggards in Europe at that time. Since development and literacy are both somewhat associated with national average IQs, that would support the finding of low IQs for the Balkans.
JayMan's theory on this is that whereas the northern Slavs had selection for higher IQs in the form of cold winters - village communities that were too feckless at longterm planning would simply starve to death and vanish off the map - there were no such rigorous selection mechanisms for higher IQs in the Balkans.