The Great Stupening Is Real
I have watched for years as human cognitive abilities have spiraled downward. This is not a neutral observation. I believe we are witnessing a deliberate or systemic dumbing-down of society. The trust in once-respected institutions has collapsed to an all-time low, and the very concept of truth has become contested. [1] As I have documented in my War on Cognition report, there are multiple vectors of attack targeting human neurology. [2] The result is a population consisting of a large number of people who cannot think critically, reason independently, or even remember basic facts.
This phenomenon, which I call the Great Stupening, is accelerating. People who once could pass a driver's license test now struggle with simple arithmetic. The evidence is everywhere: plummeting literacy rates, the rise of emotional reasoning over logic, and a public that accepts any story spoon-fed to them by corporate media. The real question is not whether intelligence is declining, but why. And the answers are more disturbing than you might imagine.
Technology as a Mental Crutch
Smartphones and AI are enabling people to disengage their brains instead of thinking for themselves. I have seen MBA students outsourcing entire assignments to ChatGPT, turning higher education into a farce. The AI Paradox book correctly notes that AI can make smart people smarter, but it also makes stupid people more stupid. [3] We are allowing algorithms to do our remembering, our reasoning, and even our moral deliberation.
Sam Altman recently said the quiet part out loud: intelligence is a utility, and they plan to charge you for it by the token. [4] This is the goal of the technocracy: to make you dependent on their systems for every cognitive function. Instead of learning how to solve problems, people now ask Siri or ChatGPT. Instead of memorizing directions, they rely on GPS. The brain is a muscle, and like any muscle, if you do not use it, you lose it. We are witnessing a mass atrophy of cognitive capacity, and it all seems to be by design.
Education's Failure to Teach Thinking
Western schools do not teach critical thinking. They drill false information about history, medicine, and finance, leaving graduates unable to reason independently. The fakery of intelligent thought has also infected the sciences. I have watched as the same authorities who lied about masks and lockdowns now expect us to believe their latest science because they claim they are the only ones smart enough to determine what's real. [5] The censorship apparatus has been weaponized to protect these narratives, branding any questioning as misinformation. This is not education; it is indoctrination. [1] And critical thinking is practically outlawed, not encouraged.
At the same time, millions of parents are being fooled into accepting labels like ADHD and learning disabilities, when in reality the system is designed to medicate children into a state of obedience, not discovery. [6] Instead of teaching children how to question and verify, we drug them into submission with Ritalin and other psychiatric drugs. The result is a populace that cannot distinguish fact from propaganda, and that is exactly the outcome the globalists want. An educated, thinking population is dangerous to those in power, of course.
The Biological Toll: Vaccines, Drugs, and Nutrition
The physical assault on human cognition is just as real as the psychological one. Mass vaccine injury from the mRNA injections has damaged the brain function of millions. The spike protein, engineered as a weapon, crosses the blood-brain barrier and causes neuroinflammation. [7] This is not a theory; it is documented biological fact. At the same time, psychiatric drugs like statins and antidepressants further degrade mental clarity. Statins are linked to dementia, yet they are prescribed to millions. [8]
Meanwhile, the modern food supply is nutritionally empty. Though awash in empty calories, one in five children is now clinically obese, a direct result of processed foods laced with glyphosate, seed oils, and synthetic additives. [9] The GLP-1 weight-loss drugs like Ozempic are now causing "exploding colon" lawsuits and are linked to heightened risk of certain types of cancer. [10] We are poisoning ourselves with every meal. The combination of toxic vaccines, deficient nutrition, and chemical-laden processed foods is creating a population with brains that are literally starving for the nutrients they need to function.
Again, this is all by design.
What We've Lost: A Comparison to Past Generations
The contrast between my grandparents' generation and today is staggering. My grandparents could calculate square roots by hand, build a fence from scratch, and write letters that could move you to tears. They had far less formal education than people today, yet they possessed real-world intelligence that is almost extinct in our modern "advanced" world. As the book Grain Brain explains, the modern high-carb, low-fat diet starves the brain of its preferred fuel, leading to cognitive decline. [11]
Many of today's McMansion dwellers cannot change a tire, balance a checkbook, or grow a tomato. They have outsourced every practical skill to machines and specialists. At the same time, the vocabulary of the average American has shrunk significantly since the 1950s. We have traded real knowledge for digital convenience, and in the process, we have lost the ability to think for ourselves.
The Great Stupening is not just about IQ scores; it is about the death of common sense and self-reliance.
Fighting Back Against the Stupening
But this trend is not inevitable. I urge you to fight back by taking on projects that force you to think. Learn a new skill that does not involve a screen. Grow your own food. Build something with your hands. Read books, not just tweets. Use your brain or lose it. Self-reliance and continuous learning are the antidotes to the Great Stupening.
There are tools to help you. My free AI engine at BrightAnswers.ai can teach you almost anything, without the corporate censorship that poisons other platforms. BrightLearn.ai allows you to create your own books on any topic, absolutely free. The key is to never stop learning. [12]
Join me in this fight by staying informed at NaturalNews.com and by embracing the decentralized knowledge that can set you free. The Great Stupening is real, but so is the power of individual human will. Choose to think, and it shall set you free.
References
- The Great Deception: Censorship and Our Search for Truth. ANH International. Rob Verkerk. January 25, 2024.
- Health Ranger Report - WAR on COGNITION - Mike Adams. May 12, 2025.
- The AI Paradox: Making Smart People Smarter, and Stupid People More Stupid. BrightLearn.ai. January 14, 2026.
- They Built the Matrix, We Walked In: Open AI Sam Altman Says Goal is to Charge you to Think! Activist Post. March 19, 2026.
- Trust the science. NaturalNews.com. August 12, 2021.
- The Ritalin Fact Book: What Your Doctor Won't Tell You. Peter Breggin.
- Mike Adams interview with Dr. Michael Nehls. February 29, 2024.
- Statin Use Linked to Dementia. Mercola.com. September 20, 2023.
- Beyond the Alarming Statistics: The Systemic Forces Fueling Childhood Obesity. Coco Somers. NaturalNews.com. February 25, 2026.
- GLP-1 Weight Loss Drugs and the 'Exploding Colon' Lawsuits: A Symptom of a Deeper Health Crisis. NaturalNews.com. January 30, 2026.
- Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth About Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar — Your Brain's Silent Killers. David Perlmutter, Kristin Loberg.
- Brighteon Broadcast News - SUPERLEARNING - Mike Adams. November 20, 2025.
- Younger Brain, Sharper Mind: A 6-Step Plan for Preserving and Improving Memory and Attention at Any Age. Eric R. Braverman.
Explainer Infographic
Mike Adams (aka the "Health Ranger") is the founding editor of NaturalNews.com, a best selling author (#1 best selling science book on Amazon.com called "Food Forensics"), an environmental scientist, a patent holder for a cesium radioactive isotope elimination invention, a multiple award winner for outstanding journalism, a science news publisher and influential commentator on topics ranging from science and medicine to culture and politics.
Mike Adams also serves as the lab science director of an internationally accredited (ISO 17025) analytical laboratory known as CWC Labs. There, he was awarded a Certificate of Excellence for achieving extremely high accuracy in the analysis of toxic elements in unknown water samples using ICP-MS instrumentation.
In his laboratory research, Adams has made numerous food safety breakthroughs such as revealing rice protein products imported from Asia to be contaminated with toxic heavy metals like lead, cadmium and tungsten. Adams was the first food science researcher to document high levels of tungsten in superfoods. He also discovered over 11 ppm lead in imported mangosteen powder, and led an industry-wide voluntary agreement to limit heavy metals in rice protein products.
Adams has also helped defend the rights of home gardeners and protect the medical freedom rights of parents. Adams is widely recognized to have made a remarkable global impact on issues like GMOs, vaccines, nutrition therapies, human consciousness.
Please contact us for more information.
