We as a country, we as consumers, we as the most powerful civilization on earth -- all the things we are.

This was touched off as I was reading an online exchange between two obviously tech savvy and accomplished people. One described a mutual acquaintance as "more stupider" than another.

Besides the tasty irony of this, it`s just the latest mote in a thickening cloud of evidence that we may be turning into a nation of illiterates, one where communications skills take back row to passive information gathering, instant processing and a complete lack of interest in, or disregard for, anything that demands more than a few seconds of our time and attention.

So much of what we`re offered, and consume, seems to just scratch the surface of shallowness.

Are it because there ain`t no more nucular fambly, kwality pubic educashun, and no roll modles, exetra?

 

No! It has more to do with becoming "autonomic-drones" as a safeguard mechanism against the influx of excess garbage.  Who has the time/inclination to worry about "Quality over Quantity"?  The internet has turned the World into an "all you can eat buffet" of hyperkinetic nonsense. We are reaping what we sow.

Truly intelligent people are few and far between. I think there is a confusion between  "an esoteric" and  the "pioneering minds" of yesteryear. We are truly riding high on the shoulders the great ones. Those of whom spoke "slowly and deliberately" on any subject. Today, we seem to address/speak of topics that are "episodic" and partially concluded  (looking for a new "twist").

Heck! Remember the days when Popular Science had "different material" every month (pure enchantment). Today!  It`s the same stuff - just another model & serial #.  I am worried about the lack of  excitement over "blank white paper" (so to speak). Today, I think we react more than we create/deliberate.

I always wondered that, if kids these days all write in shorthand, are they ever going to learn prose? Or in 20 years, will we all just talk in AOL chat language?

I think the problem with some of it is the instant posting problem. They think, oh it`s just a blog, so they write and hit submit. A real professional writer would read, review, correct, edit, rewrite, and so on ... and then paste into the blog and hit submit.

I`m just glad I went to a university that hammered the written communication skills over and over. And that I have Firefox 2, which spell checks.


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That PHP Girl
Small Business Essentials
Latest Post on SUN: New Facebook Pages - First Impressions

The trouble with this is that our leaders look at statistics like this and think we are doing aw`aight, our kids have more school years than most.

But if you think about think about the quality of the education they are getting and the output of that quality (or lack thereof) you get results like this (that is a dynamically generated chart and only for math, you can generate your own charts at PISA). If you look at those results you`ll see that the first chart that puts us near the top is dead wrong we move from the 14th spot to the 30th. But hey whom ever said that quality matters?

In most developing countries (now developed). They teach Mathematics 1/8 inch books at a time. They must "MASTER" it before they move on!  It`s the little things in life that make the difference. A strong foundation (fundamentals) in "anything" is what saves the day. Basic morals are also a foundation of yet another "skill-set".  "Nature/Nurture" has it`s hands in everything. And they are too often separate debates.

I don`t believe we are getting dumber. I actually think we are being forced to get smarter. Today, you don`t have time to "learn" about computers. You must know them as you grow up. The knowledge must practically be infused into the mind as you grow from birth.

If you were unlucky enough to be without the knowledge at an older age, and then need it in order to live successfully, you better hope you have taught yourself how to learn quickly. Without it, you will not succeed at life. I don`t mean this just for computers, I mean this for driving an car, using your cell phone, or whatever is required of you during life. After all, if you can`t get it down quickly, someone else will take your opportunity.

Thus the high pressure, spit it out, quickly culture we are creating. Everyone is doing their best to convince everyone else they are of professional quality. If you are not convinced, you will find someone who is. Therefore every person is guilty of creating this high standard... yet most of us don`t really live up to the `professional level` expectations.

I have personally given up on `knowing` everything. I think it`s far more important to know where to find what I don`t know, and implement the knowledge quickly as required. So there is a short list of tools I would be lost without.


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Vincent Wilcox (a.k.a. KRAKR)
Drummer
My band: Letters Make Words

In perfect timing, I think this is also a huge problem of "our times":

Online anonymity lets users gets nasty

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That PHP Girl
Small Business Essentials
Latest Post on SUN: New Facebook Pages - First Impressions

Technically, I believe the heading of this post should be:
"Are I Getting Dumberer."

Their`s gooder English, I thought.

Craig,

I noticed I wud gettin` dumberer (have not written anything in years). I am glad to have you all as "whipping posts" (pun intended). Perhaps I will take a course or two (K-6).

Dumber? No. Lazier yes. Why think for yourself when other people are more than happy to tell you how to think, dress, eat, drink, live? Don`t bother to form your own opinions ... let someone else tell you what to believe. So much easier that way. 

Speaking as someone who has several unconventional viewpoints: [ ... marriage = antique thinking ... antibiotics = doubled human life span = marriage is too long ... marriage = invented in dark ages ... bleeding with leeches = invented in dark ages. do we still bleed people with leeches? why do we still marry? ]

I can tell you that a crowd of people rarely likes anyone with something different to say. This is reflected in the lowest-common-denominator thinking that has become so prevalent. Like the idea that politics is about blue -vs- red. Or rich -vs- poor. [Politics is about power, end of story.]

Most people are too busy servicing their debts to spend much time thinking.