I'd like to believe the average college student today is a hell of a lot more intelligent than their 20-something counterparts thousands of years ago.
It's just a different kind of intelligence.
College students today are a lot more understanding about the nuances of identity, gender, technology, and common scientific facts.
I know that might sound silly, but it wasn't that long ago that most people genuinely thought women shouldnt be allowed to vote, etc.
People were a LOT dumber back in Plato's era than you think. Just because Plato had some good one-liners....doesn't mean he wasn't also a total dimwit when it came to many other aspects of society.
Different opinions: Insightful to the strong - Inciteful to the weak