Anti-Intellectualism and the "Dumbing Down" of America

Kev - Coat and Keys

Anti-intellectualism and generating mistrust of experts is a great tool for people on the wrong side of things. Climate change is obviously a current big one, but it goes with things like the immigration policies, danger of smoking and the ozone layer (Trump being a massive aerosol in enclosed spaces and all that).
You should see Professor Whatever from Big University on the news and go "Probably smarter than me on the topic, I'll have a listen and see what I think", but instead we go "Boo!! Elitist!! Ya wrong. No what channel is that coddled Boo-Boo girl on?".

rgambs

Some kindness happening here, it's nice! This circle jerk has some fine participants!

seanwon

hedonist said:

It's funny...well, not...as I've been looked down upon by some who do have degrees and make assumptions because after high school, I chose to work rather than attend more than one semester of college.

And I'm doing pretty well on both the life and smart fronts.

I'd rather reserve opinions of people and their brains, intellect and common sense based on their words and actions, vs a diploma.

(Street-smarts go a long way too!)

Absolutely! I'll take someone with street smarts over book smarts any day.

PJ_Soul

Kev - Coat and Keys said:

Anti-intellectualism and generating mistrust of experts is a great tool for people on the wrong side of things. Climate change is obviously a current big one, but it goes with things like the immigration policies, danger of smoking and the ozone layer (Trump being a massive aerosol in enclosed spaces and all that).
You should see Professor Whatever from Big University on the news and go "Probably smarter than me on the topic, I'll have a listen and see what I think", but instead we go "Boo!! Elitist!! Ya wrong. No what channel is that coddled Boo-Boo girl on?".

Totally.

InHiding80

seanwon said:

hedonist said:

It's funny...well, not...as I've been looked down upon by some who do have degrees and make assumptions because after high school, I chose to work rather than attend more than one semester of college.

And I'm doing pretty well on both the life and smart fronts.

I'd rather reserve opinions of people and their brains, intellect and common sense based on their words and actions, vs a diploma.

(Street-smarts go a long way too!)

Absolutely! I'll take someone with street smarts over book smarts any day.

Just ask Ben Carson. It's funny how Trump fans discredit what Hawking said about Trump and his followers because he's more science smart but they're okay with Carson because of party

myoung321

Good example.. Giving Climate change deniers equal time on TV when the science is 95% vs 5%..

hedonist

I'm for all voices and views having equal time to make themselves heard. We are all in that, together, and I am thankful for it. The freedom to speak your mind trumps your mind. Or maybe equals it.

Common sense, thinking! Step No. 1.

After that, it's on each of us to inform ourselves best we can. Do-over's aren't often an option.

myoung321

hedonist said:

I'm for all voices and views having equal time to make themselves heard. We are all in that, together, and I am thankful for it. The freedom to speak your mind trumps your mind. Or maybe equals it.

Common sense, thinking! Step No. 1.

After that, it's on each of us to inform ourselves best we can. Do-over's aren't often an option.

Opinion vs Science does not deserve equal time. Should we still have debates that give equal time to the earth being flat, illness is caused by bad evil sprits or the stars are pin holes in the sky so we can see heaven?

How any 1000 year storms do we have to have before it sinks in?

Even freedom of speech has its limits. ie..shouting fire in a theater will get you arrested..etc..

hedonist

myoung321 said:

hedonist said:

I'm for all voices and views having equal time to make themselves heard. We are all in that, together, and I am thankful for it. The freedom to speak your mind trumps your mind. Or maybe equals it.

Common sense, thinking! Step No. 1.

After that, it's on each of us to inform ourselves best we can. Do-over's aren't often an option.

Opinion vs Science does not deserve equal time. Should we still have debates that give equal time to the earth being flat, illness is caused by bad evil sprits or the stars are pin holes in the sky so we can see heaven?

I'd say opinion borne of experience is quite valid...valued? By some, I guess.

Because I give credence to one aspect doesn't mean I don't extend the same to the other.

Wish it were so black and white, but it simply isn't.

myoung321

hedonist said:

myoung321 said:

hedonist said:

I'm for all voices and views having equal time to make themselves heard. We are all in that, together, and I am thankful for it. The freedom to speak your mind trumps your mind. Or maybe equals it.

Common sense, thinking! Step No. 1.

After that, it's on each of us to inform ourselves best we can. Do-over's aren't often an option.

Opinion vs Science does not deserve equal time. Should we still have debates that give equal time to the earth being flat, illness is caused by bad evil sprits or the stars are pin holes in the sky so we can see heaven?

I'd say opinion borne of experience is quite valid...valued? By some, I guess.

Because I give credence to one aspect doesn't mean I don't extend the same to the other.

Wish it were so black and white, but it simply isn't.

Understood.. I guess it depends on the subject and the opinion. I was comparing real measurable science to pseudo science bought by corporations to confuse people.. i.e. fracking isn't bad for ground water because the Koch Bros commissioned a report saying so.. big tobacco companies had plenty of "Science" saying cigs were good for you... we all know better now.. Denying Science is not a new phenomenon used by corporations and religions.

Smellyman

hedonist said:

myoung321 said:

hedonist said:

I'm for all voices and views having equal time to make themselves heard. We are all in that, together, and I am thankful for it. The freedom to speak your mind trumps your mind. Or maybe equals it.

Common sense, thinking! Step No. 1.

After that, it's on each of us to inform ourselves best we can. Do-over's aren't often an option.

Opinion vs Science does not deserve equal time. Should we still have debates that give equal time to the earth being flat, illness is caused by bad evil sprits or the stars are pin holes in the sky so we can see heaven?

I'd say opinion borne of experience is quite valid...valued? By some, I guess.

Because I give credence to one aspect doesn't mean I don't extend the same to the other.

Wish it were so black and white, but it simply isn't.

opinion based on experience means it would be borne from the scientific method with testing. Learned

Opinion based on opinion is opinion.

pjalive21

jeffbr said:

We can see the results of this just by looking at our Republican presidential candidate. The only way Trump has any support is the rise of anti-intellectuals. But is isn't just conservatives, or Republicans. Progressives are protesting any kind of speech on campus that may slightly offend someone, creating safe rooms, talking about microaggression and trigger words, etc... This isolation and coddling of our kids/students will perpetuate and worsen this anti-intellectualism.

completely agree with this assessment nice to see you take on both aspects of it

seanwon said:

Go Beavers said:

I said there's no trend of growing anti-intellectualism.

Yeah, I don't know. I seem to hear a lot of Conservatives attacking education in recent years. Telling people college is a waste of time because the professors are all "commies", and they are teaching all our kids to be "Socialists". I don't recall hearing that talk 10 years ago, it seems to be a somewhat recent thing.

Have you attended a University lately? I went back to college at the age of 34 (im 37 now) and its liberalism brainwashing left and right with it being shoved down your throat 24/7 and any opposing view is mocked and shut down even someone my age who was obviously older than the average attendee. I'm an open minded person and was thrown back how true this actually was because I didn't even believe it.

myoung321

The same thing was said about college students, professors & universities protesting Vietnam War ,Iraq War, Wall Street Bailout..etc etc..

The younger generation are usually the ones that start change and revolutions. They're the ones looking at the future and what opportunities will be available. Where as people 40+ are usually set in their ways or have created a comfortable life or have responsibilities like family, or paying for those kids to go to school and protest .....

PJ_Soul

pjalive21 said:

jeffbr said:

We can see the results of this just by looking at our Republican presidential candidate. The only way Trump has any support is the rise of anti-intellectuals. But is isn't just conservatives, or Republicans. Progressives are protesting any kind of speech on campus that may slightly offend someone, creating safe rooms, talking about microaggression and trigger words, etc... This isolation and coddling of our kids/students will perpetuate and worsen this anti-intellectualism.

completely agree with this assessment nice to see you take on both aspects of it

seanwon said:

Go Beavers said:

I said there's no trend of growing anti-intellectualism.

Yeah, I don't know. I seem to hear a lot of Conservatives attacking education in recent years. Telling people college is a waste of time because the professors are all "commies", and they are teaching all our kids to be "Socialists". I don't recall hearing that talk 10 years ago, it seems to be a somewhat recent thing.

Have you attended a University lately? I went back to college at the age of 34 (im 37 now) and its liberalism brainwashing left and right with it being shoved down your throat 24/7 and any opposing view is mocked and shut down even someone my age who was obviously older than the average attendee. I'm an open minded person and was thrown back how true this actually was because I didn't even believe it.

I work at a university, and this is bullshit as far as I'm concerned. I think the problem lies in what you're calling brainwashing, what "shoving down your throat" entails, and what views you're talking about. And honestly, unless you are at the worst university ever, opposing views are not shut down. All view points are specifically respected in most university settings. What you might be seeing is a lot of people disagreeing with with those opposing views (what views are we talking about here btw??), which is not at all the same thing.

myoung321

Example: Even though actual illegal immigration is at an all time low. You wouldn't know it listening to Trump or anyone in the GOP for that matter.

There's no gentle way to put it: People who give in to racism and prejudice may simply be dumb, according to a study that is bound to stir public controversy.
LiveScience - Article link
The research finds that children with low intelligence are more likely to hold prejudiced attitudes as adults. These findings point to a vicious cycle, according to lead researcher Gordon Hodson, a psychologist at Brock University in Ontario. Low-intelligence adults tend to gravitate toward socially conservative ideologies, the study found. Those ideologies, in turn, stress hierarchy and resistance to change, attitudes that can contribute to prejudice, Hodson wrote in an email to LiveScience.

"Prejudice is extremely complex and multifaceted, making it critical that any factors contributing to bias are uncovered and understood," he said.

Brains and bias

Earlier studies have found links between low levels of education and higher levels of prejudice, Hodson said, so studying intelligence seemed a logical next step. The researchers turned to two studies of citizens in the United Kingdom, one that has followed babies since their births in March 1958, and another that did the same for babies born in April 1970. The children in the studies had their intelligence assessed at age 10 or 11; as adults ages 30 or 33, their levels of social conservatism and racism were measured. [Life's Extremes: Democrat vs. Republican]

In the first study, verbal and nonverbal intelligence was measured using tests that asked people to find similarities and differences between words, shapes and symbols. The second study measured cognitive abilities in four ways, including number recall, shape-drawing tasks, defining words and identifying patterns and similarities among words. Average IQ is set at 100.







.

PJ_Soul

Pardon me actually, I am talking about Canadian Universities (I forgot what country I'm in for a sec, lol). I have no first hand knowledge when it comes to American universities. Sometimes I forget just how different some things might be south of the border, and the university system is especially different, what with the private universities, people being able to buy positions and degrees basically, etc (according to some American academics who now work at my university). That said, I still don't know what this "brainwashing" is supposed to be. I'm still not convinced of that. I work with plenty of American academics, and they certainly aren't brainwashed. I think saying so might be a part of the dumbing down, frankly.

PJfanwillneverleave1

PJ_Soul said:

Pardon me actually, I am talking about Canadian Universities (I forgot what country I'm in for a sec, lol). I have no first hand knowledge when it comes to American universities. Sometimes I forget just how different some things might be south of the border, and the university system is especially different, what with the private universities, people being able to buy positions and degrees basically, etc (according to some American academics who now work at my university). That said, I still don't know what this "brainwashing" is supposed to be. I'm still not convinced of that.

myoung321

PJ_Soul said:

Pardon me actually, I am talking about Canadian Universities (I forgot what country I'm in for a sec, lol).

HAHA

what dreams

Here's some science for you: It's an absolute scientific fact that alligators live in Florida's fresh waters. Yet I got blasted by a bunch of "highly educated intellectuals" for expecting people to know that. Their common inellectual argument refuting my expectation is that Walt Disney is responsible for teaching people that, that without Walt Disney posting a sign, people frim Nebraska can't be expected to know basic science. Perhaps the dumbing down of America really is Disney's fault, if a group of highly educated intellectuals expect Disney to be our primary source of science education.

PJ_Soul

I really don't think that your example applies, lol.