Rising–falling mercury pollution causing the rising–falling IQ of the Lynn–Flynn effect, as predicted by the antiinnatia theory of autism and IQ

•100 years of Flynn effect IQ rise coincided with 100 years mercury pollution rise.•Then mercury fell over the next 15 years along with IQ falls in several countries.•Mercury causing raised IQ was predicted by the antiinnatia theory of autism and IQ.•Mercury pollution is likely to be causing serious unmeasured psychological harms.•Flynn effect data was compared with mercury data from the Fremont glacier.

A fundamental principle of the antiinnatia theory of autism and IQ is that the same factors (genetic and environmental) which in extreme high levels cause autism, in more modal levels cause increased IQ. And the factors which generally cause raised IQ, in extreme levels cause autism. The antiinnatia theory further proposed that molecules randomly part-time binding to DNA and thereby reducing gene-expression would cause autism (and in less high levels cause raised IQ). Studies have found that mercury binds dose-dependently to DNA thereby reducing gene-expression, and thus the theory predicts that mercury pollution would cause raised IQ (such as the Flynn effect). This appears contrary to the standard assumption that mercury pollution causes decrements of IQ. In this study, data from the Upper Fremont glacier finds considerable overall correspondence between changes of mercury pollution and changes of IQ. In respect of both mercury and IQ there was roughly-speaking 100 years of increase followed by 15 years of decrease in at least five countries. But mercury pollution is likely to be causing serious harms other than decrements of population averages of IQ.