POLL: are people becoming dumber?

[loup garou]

No, computer nerds are just becoming more cynical (whoever thought that would be possible???).

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: dullard

Originally posted by: DescartesThe "super bright cavemen" had primitive tools (started with homo habilis I believe). The following generation of hominids had more advanced tools; the next more advanced; ad infinitum. One is not necessarily more advanced than the predecessor simply because each creation is an abstraction of the foundation layed by those that preceded us. Who is more genius, the creator of the abacus or the creator of the first digital computer? Were the Babylonians more genius mathematically than the Romans because they acknowledged a place-value system? What about the Hindus who, I believe, acknowledged the idea of a zero quantity? The Hindus would know nothing of zero without the Babylonians.

To continue we now need the definition of the word "dumb".

You appear to be refering to "dumb" as a sign of intelligence. I feel that intelligence is a relative constant throughout time (but with good nutrition we can help a person maximize his/her intelligence). In that definition of "dumb" the person who invented the wheel is just as good as the person who invented any modern day invention.

However I used a different definition of "dumb". I referred to "dumb" as a lack of education or lack of knowledge. I feel that todays people have far more education than the cavemen of the past. As a whole the amount of education we have has increased dramatically over time - making each generation less "dumb". As we get more tools, we learn more about the universe and thus there is much more opportunity to gain knowledge that the cavemen never had the chance to know.

You should've used the word troglodyte instead of cavemen then

Certainly we have more education than those of the past, but that will always be the case. As I said above, to identify anything as superior you have to have that which is inferior. You can't have something advanced without the primitive. An external pacemaker, for example, might be "dumb" by today's standards, but it was sufficiently advanced at the time of creation. The advanced internal pacemakers of today are derived from the technology of the earlier pacemakers.

Anyway, I just think a historical comparison of intellect based on present intellect is unfair. Without the advancements of previous intellectuals we wouldn't have anything to consider advanced today.

 

[MegaloManiaK]

Yes.

Caused by cell phones.

 

[alphatarget1]

Originally posted by: Amused
One thing I've learned in life: For every person you run into that doesn't know something you know, you'll also find someone that knows something you do not know.

In other words, for every person you think is an idiot, there is someone else who thinks YOU are an idiot.

IMO intelligence =/ education. what you said was true though.

as in just because one is uninformed/ignorant on an issue that doesn't necessarily make them stupid.

look at kids today... they sit around computers and video games and they're not learning the stuff they should be learning. for instance, social skills. I don't know much about child development but my impression is that when kids don't learn to think earlier in their age, they're likely to be less intelligent. thus, with a lot of parents not/don't have time to raise their children properly, we'll be surrounded by social problems later on when we have dumb people as a majority.

comments?

 

[Skyclad1uhm1]

No, on average people are not getting more religious.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: PG

Originally posted by: dpm

Originally posted by: waylman
just look at half the stuff posted here...

Yeah, but its not like the level of debate here used to be so much higher...

Forget things like debates, we have people asking what buffalo wings are.

Actually, what you have is a very advanced form of spin doctoring using the media as a conduit. The show producers understand that the niche of that show is her ostensible stupidity, so they push it. This is no different than Jay Leno's Jaywalkers where they know that acting like a complete moron will get them on the show.

Ok, I just admitted that I've watched that damn "reality" show.

 

[Mathcop]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: Amused
One thing I've learned in life: For every person you run into that doesn't know something you know, you'll also find someone that knows something you do not know.

In other words, for every person you think is an idiot, there is someone else who thinks YOU are an idiot.

That means that you're exactly of median intelligence

I was right, I AM the center of the universe! LOL

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: alphatarget1

Originally posted by: Amused
One thing I've learned in life: For every person you run into that doesn't know something you know, you'll also find someone that knows something you do not know.

In other words, for every person you think is an idiot, there is someone else who thinks YOU are an idiot.

IMO intelligence =/ education. what you said was true though.

as in just because one is uninformed/ignorant on an issue that doesn't necessarily make them stupid.

look at kids today... they sit around computers and video games and they're not learning the stuff they should be learning. for instance, social skills. I don't know much about child development but my impression is that when kids don't learn to think earlier in their age, they're likely to be less intelligent. thus, with a lot of parents not/don't have time to raise their children properly, we'll be surrounded by social problems later on when we have dumb people as a majority.

comments?

Absolutely. Intelligence has absolutely nothing to do with education whatsoever. Intelligence would manifest itself in education in an ability to quickly assimilate complex information, the ability to reason abstractly, etc; however, a person without a manifestation is no less intelligent. If I had a disease and remain asymptomatic, I'm no less diseased.

Also consider the genius of Srinivasa Ramanujan, an Indian mathematician with no formal education with an almost innate understanding of mathematics. He required education to further exploit his intellectual capacity, but he was no more or less intelligent without.

 

[sillymofo]

Yes, people are getting "dumber", but most are not because of their mental capacity, but I think it is more of a lackadaisical attitude towards most things. I mean, if you have to do critical thinking (not me) all day, and then take everything else serious, pretty soon, you'll blow a gasket. That I think explain half of the posts here, the other half, they're just dumb.

 

[dullard]

Originally posted by: DescartesYou should've used the word troglodyte instead of cavemen then

Certainly we have more education than those of the past, but that will always be the case. As I said above, to identify anything as superior you have to have that which is inferior. You can't have something advanced without the primitive. An external pacemaker, for example, might be "dumb" by today's standards, but it was sufficiently advanced at the time of creation. The advanced internal pacemakers of today are derived from the technology of the earlier pacemakers.

Anyway, I just think a historical comparison of intellect based on present intellect is unfair. Without the advancements of previous intellectuals we wouldn't have anything to consider advanced today.

To you, what is the difference between a troglodyte and a caveman? Dictionary.com says Troglodyte: A member of a fabulous or prehistoric race of people that lived in caves, dens, or holes.

But as to the rest of the quote above - that is why I feel that intelligence is a constant thoughout time. It would be unfair to say the uneducated troglodytes are less intelligent. But with my definition of "dumb" they are dumber. Anyways this whole thread is a historical comparison: "are people becoming dumber" implies a historical comparison.

 

[mugs]

Just look at the movies we watch. They've been dumbed down over the years, and when one comes out that is actually a quality film, it bombs. I recently watched 12 Angry Men (1957). That's a great movie - it's entirely dialogue driven, and all but three scenes take place in one room - but you feel immersed in the story because it is so well-written. Compare that to... 2 Fast, 2 Furious. Yeah, people are becoming dumber, and our attention spans are getting shorter.

 

[vi edit]

I guess I seperate wisdom and intelligence.

Intelligence under my definition is the capacity to learn.
Wisdom to me, is the ability to apply what you know to help you make the appropriate decision.

They are unrelated, yet still very dependent upon one another.

IMHO, the biggest problem with most people today is not wanting to learn new things and just staying comfortable and not expanding their knowledge.

I'm guilty of it, but I at least try to learn about things I'm not familiar with.

 

[Walleye]

Originally posted by: dpm

Originally posted by: waylman
just look at half the stuff posted here...

Yeah, but its not like the level of debate here used to be so much higher...

go back to 1999, and they'll probably still have the same stupid flamewars

 

[PG]

Originally posted by: Descartes

Originally posted by: PG

Originally posted by: dpm

Originally posted by: waylman
just look at half the stuff posted here...

Yeah, but its not like the level of debate here used to be so much higher...

Forget things like debates, we have people asking what buffalo wings are.

Actually, what you have is a very advanced form of spin doctoring using the media as a conduit. The show producers understand that the niche of that show is her ostensible stupidity, so they push it. This is no different than Jay Leno's Jaywalkers where they know that acting like a complete moron will get them on the show.

Ok, I just admitted that I've watched that damn "reality" show.

No, someone on these forums asked what buffalo wings were. I wasn't talking about TV shows at all but people right here among us who are smart enough to turn on and run a computer but yet they don't know what a buffalo wing is.





http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=38&threadid=1134963

 

[Mathcop]

Buffalos have wings? Can they fly?

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: PG

Originally posted by: Descartes

Originally posted by: PG

Originally posted by: dpm

Originally posted by: waylman
just look at half the stuff posted here...

Yeah, but its not like the level of debate here used to be so much higher...

Forget things like debates, we have people asking what buffalo wings are.

Actually, what you have is a very advanced form of spin doctoring using the media as a conduit. The show producers understand that the niche of that show is her ostensible stupidity, so they push it. This is no different than Jay Leno's Jaywalkers where they know that acting like a complete moron will get them on the show.

Ok, I just admitted that I've watched that damn "reality" show.

No, someone on these forums asked what buffalo wings were. I wasn't talking about TV shows at all but people right here among us who are smart enough to turn on and run a computer but yet they don't know what a buffalo wing is.





http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=38&threadid=1134963

That's what I get for assuming that the ignorance displayed in the show was an isolated incident

 

[skarydrunkguy]

People are not getting dumber, they are getting more gullible and more apathetic. Which, if you ask me, is a much larger problem.