Firstly, I would like to give credit to the thread from another forum that has inspired my questionings - if you want to have a read at it, please do so at your own desire and speed:
https://www.mountainproject.com/foru...bers-iq?page=4
To the main points of this thread: has there been any (recent) academic research showing that Mountain Biking preserves
fluid intelligence when you age? Are the benefits amplified when you also engage in another set of complex, active sports (rock climbing, archery, kayaking, etc)? Are there any differences between those who are mostly mountain cyclists and those who are mostly road cyclists (presumably, road cyclists would have to be highly aware of car drivers and potholes)?
Has the experiment controlled for the wealth status-at-birth/at-developmental-age of cyclists?
Extraneous but pertinent information: yes, IQ is a relative scale; however, the Flynn Effect has been reversing for quite a while now, meaning that the correlation between IQ and the high limit of everyday functionings (an 'absolute' scale) has been consistent.
https://www.pnas.org/content/115/26/6674
I'm also aware that there are a few of those with Down's Syndrome (average sufferers' IQ of around 55) who are capable of being professional bodybuilders and mountain bikers; however, please leave the outliers out of this discussion.