Anti-Intellectualism and the "Dumbing Down" of America

PJPOWER

PJfanwillneverleave1 said:

PJPOWER said:

Shawshank said:

This seems to be on topic...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-Be9f7Ovgg

That's pretty pathetic...wonder who the majority of them are voting for!?!?

Well if your country is that chalk and block full of dumb people that you say it is and they all vote then Trump is your next POTUS.

Fortunately many of the "dumb people" sit around eating french fries and watching The View (or really any television for that matter) to have the spare time to read a history book or get to the voting booth. Most of those in that street interview probably don't even know where or how to vote.

PJfanwillneverleave1

PJPOWER said:

PJfanwillneverleave1 said:

PJPOWER said:

Shawshank said:

This seems to be on topic...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-Be9f7Ovgg

That's pretty pathetic...wonder who the majority of them are voting for!?!?

Well if your country is that chalk and block full of dumb people that you say it is and they all vote then Trump is your next POTUS.

Fortunately many of the "dumb people" sit around eating french fries and watching The View (or really any television for that matter) to have the spare time to read a history book or get to the voting booth. Most of those in that street interview probably don't even know where or how to vote.

That's probably mostly true but Trump will find a way to reach them. Commercials during those shows etc. He might even start selling Trump frozen fries with advertising on the package where to vote.

PJfanwillneverleave1

PJfanwillneverleave1 said:

PJPOWER said:

PJfanwillneverleave1 said:

PJPOWER said:

Shawshank said:

This seems to be on topic...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-Be9f7Ovgg

That's pretty pathetic...wonder who the majority of them are voting for!?!?

Well if your country is that chalk and block full of dumb people that you say it is and they all vote then Trump is your next POTUS.

Fortunately many of the "dumb people" sit around eating french fries and watching The View (or really any television for that matter) to have the spare time to read a history book or get to the voting booth. Most of those in that street interview probably don't even know where or how to vote.

That's probably mostly true but Trump will find a way to reach them. Commercials during those shows etc. He might even start selling Trump frozen fries with advertising on the package where to vote.

See he relates to fry guys

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzJ5od2tepw

gimmesometruth27

since the discussion has turned to voting, i have noticed another irritating trend.

people standing in line to vote are more concerned with taking and posting the perfect selfie of them standing in the voting line than they are concerned about doing their civic duty.

i saw it in american primaries. it happened in the brexit vote.

in one of the pj facebook groups, someone took a picture of their california primary ballot. she had not voted for any of the candidates. rather, she wrote in "eddie vedder". people in that group lampooned her for it.

PJPOWER

PJfanwillneverleave1 said:

PJfanwillneverleave1 said:

PJPOWER said:

PJfanwillneverleave1 said:

PJPOWER said:

Shawshank said:

This seems to be on topic...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-Be9f7Ovgg

That's pretty pathetic...wonder who the majority of them are voting for!?!?

Well if your country is that chalk and block full of dumb people that you say it is and they all vote then Trump is your next POTUS.

Fortunately many of the "dumb people" sit around eating french fries and watching The View (or really any television for that matter) to have the spare time to read a history book or get to the voting booth. Most of those in that street interview probably don't even know where or how to vote.

That's probably mostly true but Trump will find a way to reach them. Commercials during those shows etc. He might even start selling Trump frozen fries with advertising on the package where to vote.

See he relates to fry guys

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzJ5od2tepw

Unfortunate they are a pretty large demographic that both liberals and conservatives have to create strategies to appeal to them (free shit for everyone being a great one from the left, "der takin our jobs" being a great one from the right). I feel that the narrow minded are usually found in the extreme rights or lefts and everyone else is left voting for candidates we deam as the least destructive...yay

seanwon

pjalive21 said:

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.

Bullshit. Yes, and I even took a politics course when I was in college. And to this day I still don't know the Professors political affiliation. All opinions were discussed equally, no ones views were mocked, nothing was shoved down anybody's throats. And in the non-political classes I took, no politics were mentioned whatsoever. The subject matter of the courses I took were discussed.

seanwon

myoung321 said:

To do what? I don't want the street smart only guy giving me open heart surgery...

Then again, why limit yourself to one? Be both..

I agree, I consider myself well rounded in terms of common sense/street smarts and book smarts. I'm just saying that of those people who only seem to possess one or the other, the book smart people seem more inept at everyday life than people who are just street smart. At least in my experiences.

brianlux

seanwon said:

pjalive21 said:

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.

Bullshit. Yes, and I even took a politics course when I was in college. And to this day I still don't know the Professors political affiliation. All opinions were discussed equally, no ones views were mocked, nothing was shoved down anybody's throats. And in the non-political classes I took, no politics were mentioned whatsoever. The subject matter of the courses I took were discussed.

I've taken college courses in five different colleges and rarely if ever had a sense that anything was being shoved down my throat and certainly never experienced any "liberalism brainwashing".

It's certainly true that there are colleges out there less qualified to offer quality education and very true that there are instructors/teachers/professors who are under-qualified in terms of offering quality instruction but a little research into schools goes a long way and once enrolled, in most schools there are opportunities to find classes/professors who offer classes worth your money. And of course it is also wise for a student to think critically while taking courses.

gimmesometruth27

i always preferred my college professors that breathed through their mouths, dragged their knuckles on the ground, carried giant clubs for emphasizing their point, and railed against the dangers of political correctness via a series of grunts.

brianlux

gimmesometruth27 said:

i always preferred my college professors that breathed through their mouths, dragged their knuckles on the ground, carried giant clubs for emphasizing their point, and railed against the dangers of political correctness via a series of grunts.

Homer would make an excellent professor!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sOo3Nji2wU

Jason P

myoung321 said:

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.

HesCalledDyer

I recently saw a short video clip of a girl - looked to be high school upperclass or a college student - talking about how Miss District of Columbia shouldn't be allowed to participate in the Miss America contest because "Columbia is a different country." Her (I assume) brother, who is taping her, then promptly tells her that the District of Columbia is Washington, DC. The look of shock on her face was like telling someone they just won a million dollars.

And as if that wasn't bad enough.. I started reading the comments on the video. I would almost venture to say 90% of the comments were people saying "I didn't know that either." Some even raised the question "Why don't they teach us this in school?"

I knew what DC was before I even started kindergarten. What the fuck is going on in our education system???!!!

bootlegger10

It will only get worse as more and more people won't find jobs due to technology and have nothing to do.

Go Beavers

People not knowing basic things isn't new, but what has changed is our expectation around what they should know.

benjs

bootlegger10 said:

It will only get worse as more and more people won't find jobs due to technology and have nothing to do.

This is an unfortunate reality for those who are uneducated, and lacking the means to become educated. This is why affordable education is paramount to the development of a nation. China and Cuba have recognized it, along with throngs of other countries.

As an aside, there's a myth that only low-level workers and button-pushers can become redundant due to automations: this is absolutely untrue. AI advances are reaching a point where cogent thought (or the approximation of cogent thought) will be a reality in my lifetime, and we would all be wise to learn how to harness the power of thinking robots in our organizations. This will be a technology-catalyzed economic restructuring, and puts extra importance on raising the education level of the developed world's poorest and least educated, so that they can learn how to be strong operators (or programmers) of automatons.

PJ_Soul

Go Beavers said:

People not knowing basic things isn't new, but what has changed is our expectation around what they should know.

Perhaps, although I don't think university students have traditionally been the people who don't know basic shit like that. If we were talking about uneducated people not knowing shit like who the VP is or who won the Civil War, or even who the two sides were in the Civil War... well, I would still wonder if they live under a rock and don't own a TV, and would suggest they consider reading a fucking book once in a while, but at least it would be slightly more understandable. I guess.... Actually, not really, never mind.

brianlux

I don't have the link but saw a video recently in which college students were asked basic questions about US history and many could not answer them (who defeated whom in our civil war, from what country did we gain our independence, etc.) but when asked about TV show personalities the same "students" knew the answers immediately. COLLEGE STUDENTS!

Smellyman

This one, of course it is Texas. so bad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRZZpk_9k8E

brianlux

Smellyman said:

This one, of course it is Texas. so bad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRZZpk_9k8E

No. Just NOOOOOOOOOO!

jeffbr

Apparently 1/4 of Americans don't know that the Earth orbits the Sun!?!?!? Wow.

And the fact that only 74 percent of participants knew that the Earth revolved around the sun is perhaps less alarming than the fact that only 48 percent knew that humans evolved from earlier species of animals.

Here’s the thing, though: Americans actually fared better than Europeans who took similar quizzes — at least when it came to the sun and Earth question. Only 66 percent of European Union residents answered that one correctly.