What if....people really are dumber?

Some say that people are getting dumber. I don't think people really are getting dumber, but that there is a conscious shift going on right now due to the Internet. That's right, the Internet has changed how people need to be wired so there is a "re-wiring" of people's mind(s) while this consciousness shift takes place. Think about it. Things used to be more hands-on in the days of yesterday where if you wanted something, you had to go and get it. If you were writing a paper, for example, you had to go to a library and search thru a card catalogue and find your book(s) # and then go find it. Now, you go to the Internet to do research; even if you still go to the Library the card catalogue is computerized anyway. You can learn/ do anything on the Internet and this "change" in the way of doing things will lead to some real genius'es in a generation or two. Ease of access free the mind to follow other pursuits.

I also believe the Internet will usher in the World economy as it has changed the world forever. So, are people dumber? Yes, for now but only as world consciousness slows down to adjust to a new consciousness spawned by the Internet. Once the adjustment is complete-Watch out! this world will get a whole lot smarter.

I don't think people are dumber, but more distracted.

They have the most powerful learning tool ever known to mankind at their disposal for every day use, but all they can do with it was watch funny cat videos and post images of their dinner.

Originally posted by Dominar
I don't think people are dumber, but more distracted.

They have the most powerful learning tool ever known to mankind at their disposal for every day use, but all they can do with it was watch funny cat videos and post images of their dinner.

You forgot to add; ,or post on conspiracy sites

reply to post by lostbook


Dear lostbook,

People are neither smarter or dumber, they just don't have to try as hard so they learn fewer skills. They see less complexity in the world so they are not as tested.

reply to post by hotel1


I'm certainly guilty of that haha!

At least here we can expand our minds a little more and learn about things you would never hear in the mainstream. A place to learn... or to get more confused... sometimes i can't tell which one is happening to me

reply to post by AQuestion


Interesting. Why do you think people see less complexity in the world? I have my own theories but I want to hear your take.

Originally posted by AQuestion
reply to post by lostbook

 

Dear lostbook,

People are neither smarter or dumber, they just don't have to try as hard so they learn fewer skills. They see less complexity in the world so they are not as tested.

Oh they get tested alright...

Tested on the complexity of choosing between McDonald's or Burger King, or which show to watch on television (I was going to try to name a few examples of TV shows, but I have stopped watching it for so long I have no idea what plays on there besides Family Guy and Three's Company reruns).

Originally posted by lostbook
reply to post by AQuestion

 

Interesting. Why do you think people see less complexity in the world? I have my own theories but I want to hear your take.

Dear lostbook,

I have a friend, she has a son who is very special, very sweet, very talented and very rare. He was not supposed to live like past 8, he is in his early 30s. He is incapable of seeing how things fit together. I wish I were making this up; but, I am not. He is not retarded; but, is unable to see how things effect a process. He could never raise crops, he would die in any society that required self-sufficiency; but, he does well in this world. My friend does not let many people meet her son; but, she was kind enough to let me meet him. He was with his girlfriend, she is a little slower than most; but, is also kind and a hard worker at a fast food restaurant. They were the cutest couple I have ever met, cuter than my own kids. They have their own place, they manage and happy with the little they have and everyone who meets them falls in love with them immediately.

People do not have to understand the same complexities that they used to; but, that also allows for a more diverse group of people to survive. God has a sense of humor and loves complexity. Fewer at the extremities; but, the variations are wider. Peace.

reply to post by Dominar


Dear Dominar,

I try and watch at least 12 hours of television a year. I am considering upping it because there is a new show coming on and my old show going off. The new show has 26 hours of show a year. If you can guess what the two shows are, I will give you a cookie. LOL.

Internet making us dumber? In one way yes. We don't have to remember anything anymore. Just Google it. That said there is the knowledge of god on the internet. Use it wisely. Learn something. Don't just reaffirm your own thoughts, challenge them.

reply to post by intrepid


The knowledge of God?

Hmmmm

Heh.

Okay.

reply to post by lostbook


I personally do not agree with this. I believe people have the same capabilities people used to have, although they simply do not realise their potential.

Of course internet and also television play a large part in it, but there are many reasons for it.

One of the key factors is the time spent - not just time, but time with focus - on learning different things. Kids used to be much more disciplined than nowadays. The whole multimedia and internet are extremely distractive and make people used to being constantly entertained. When schools do not provide such entertainment, there are concentration issues and the quality of the education lowers.

I recently watched the movie "King´s Speech" (Very good movie, which I would suggest to anyone interested). There was kid that caught my attention, the son of the speech therapist. He was a smart kid and in every scene when he was at home, he was constantly reading something and that was not some entertainment novel without any real quality, but something academical

Although when talking about overally reading, let us be honest, most authors nowadays do not have very intelligent style, what matters more is the action happening in the book. When looking at older authors, classics - Goethe, Hesse, Tolstoy, Dostojevski, Shakespeare - the writing styles, the syntaxes of the sentences are far more complex with more advanced vocabulary - in one word intelligent . Sorry for going a bit out of the topic. That kid made me think about my lifestyle, the lifestyle of other people I know.

What are we doing in our free time? In one word- insignificant things without any real value mostly. We spend our free time watching tv-series, movies, searching around in youtube, facebook chatting, just googling stuff, some people gaming. It is just entertainment, nothing more. What if we spent such time on learning something? What if we spent all these "thrown-away" hours on something worthy. It is likely it would be thousands of hours, probably even tens of thousands of hours total all through one´s life.

The expectations from the schools have lowered a lot. Things are simplified so kids would have more free time to throw away on mind-numbing things, which did not exist in the past. Sometimes there simply was nothing better to do, even for kids, than to study. There were no TV-s, no computers. Either work or study. Probably studying is more interesting than chores

The nutritional quality has lowered a lot for many. The foods used to be much more natural, in many ways healthier compared to all the junk food nowadays.

Yet, I wouldn´t say people have much lower intelligence, they are just too distracted to seek knowledge.

I think that people are not getting dumber. I think however, that some people are becoming dumber, because they can use tools to do thier thinking for them, thier memory is becoming worse because they can store part of thier memory using the same device, and thier wish to learn and absorb knowledge is not nearly as urgent as before, because again, they can gain information as much as they want, to any level of depth that they fancy.

Others make it thier mission to use the internet and computers to gain knowledge, to seek wisdom and insight, genuine insight into the world around them, the importance of world affairs, the advances in science that are made, and so on. This does not make people dumber. It makes thier access to information on topics which interest them, much greater than at any time in human history.

For example, twenty or thirty years ago, I could not have woken up one day and decided " today, I am going to learn something amazing about regenerative medicine" and simply watched a video, and done half an hour of independant research. I would have had to have phoned around, found out where to take entry level classes in biomedical matters, then moved on to university.to study it further and further.

Today however, I can do those things. I can absorb information on an unlimited range of topics, to a very deep level, according to my own schedule, my own level of understanding, and so on.

People are not getting dumber per se, but they are choosing poorly, when deciding when or if to augment thier understanding by careful examination of the resource at thier fingertips, the way they use that resource, and the level to which they allow thier information communication technology to take over from thier brains.

I have an advantage in this regard, because my skill level with computers is sub par for my age group, so although I use the internet as a learning resource, and as a place to sharpen my wits by sparring with all the members here, I have not the option of using it to store my memory, or indeed the information I would like to have for myself. Once I learn something here, I do my damnedest to retain it on my own, to allow that data to occupy my mind, rather than allowing my mind to occupy a machine in essence.

reply to post by lostbook


Pretty sure you're right people are getting dumber every day.

Just look at who these idiots elected to office over the last few years. Then look at what they have allowed to happen in those few years.

Originally posted by Dominar
I don't think people are dumber, but more distracted.

They have the most powerful learning tool ever known to mankind at their disposal for every day use, but all they can do with it was watch funny cat videos and post images of their dinner.

Took the words out my mouth. The greatest learning tool is also the greatest for entertainment. I agree this is the information age. That said I think the internet has lowered my attention span.

Originally posted by Diisenchanted
reply to post by lostbook

 

Pretty sure you're right people are getting dumber every day.

Just look at who these idiots elected to office over the last few years. Then look at what they have allowed to happen in those few years.

you will always have idiots in office, same s**t, different suit.

I think in some ways people are becoming " dumber". Or at least more child like in how they think and how they emotionally conduct their lives.
I went to Atlantic City for a day trip. In one mall they have a pretty fantastic viewing area with chairs and sand you can sit in and look out over the beach ocean and board walk. Many people were there but their eyes were glued to cell phones and I phones playing games or texting or internet surfing.
Everywhere you go you see people on cell phones yakking or listening to I pods or playing games or web searching. We've become a society of 3 year olds who need constant distraction. And everybody carries sippy cups of water, soda, lattes or drinks with them.
TV was once called an idiot box. The internet and cell phones are worse. Can you imagine if an EMP/ solar flare or malicious act of espionage or if the government shut down the internet? People would freak and be like children without their favorite blanky, stuffed toy or childrens video.
While I'm the subject of the collapse of the culture and society( and the country) I'll add another big sign... abuse of handicapped parking spaces. So many people too lazy to walk and want special privileges they don't need. Some legitimately need those spaces and scooter carts but probably only about 25 to 33% do.

I give you....the future....



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