By God we're dumb.

[Hey Joe]

Came across this video today (http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=32094), and the guy makes some pretty damn good points.

So, Escapists and web-savvy netizens, are we really that dumb?

 

[Psychochef]

Well...Hmmm...

You know, I watched that video, and I can't help but think the man has a point. (Even if I am under 30!) I have plenty of friends of all ages. And you know what? The younger my friends are, the more I have to explain the things I'm talking about to them. And we're talking about things that they probably SHOULD know.

Example: I was having a friendly argument (and yes, those DO exist) with a friend of my who's 22 years of age. In the middle of my argument, I take off my shoe and start pounding it on the table (for emphasis). After I finish speaking, I say, "Sorry, dude, I just couldn't resist going all Khrushchev there for a minute." Then he says, "Who?" And my eyes pop right out of their sockets. "You know, Nikita Khrushchev? De-Stalinization? Cuban Missile Crisis?"

And he says, "Cuba has missiles?"

Now, this young man is not unintelligent by any means. But the fact that he doesn't know things he really SHOULD have learned by now...I just don't know. I blame the education system, myself. And our instant-gratification culture.

 

[Yassen]

Yes, we can be that dumb.

He does make a good point that with the easy access of the internet we just stick with our own interests, but that's our adolescent stage. Most people when theyr hit their 20s mature and actually try to get out there and improve. Or maybe I'm being to optimistic.

 

[Castrate the Heathen]

Is this suppose to be a revelation? I am very much aware of my generation's idiocy. What's-his-face isn't making any points I'm not already aware of. In my own school I'm considered 'That Smart Kid' - most likely because I have a vocabulary that consists of more than 7 words.

Me: "Not in particular."
Random Kid: "Why do you always use big words?"

 

[HeartagramMan]

hmmmm.A few good points. Also (im talking about Australia here) you notice that no one goes out and protests as much any more ,particuly young people, as oppossed to about 30 years ago. maybe we just dont care anymore or mabye we are too stupid to notice political things *sigh*

I didnt know who Nikita Khrushchev is either. Or about any missle crisis. oh well. I'm gonna go watch some Zero Punctuation and entertain my stupid internet genereation mind.

 

[Wulf Legend]

He pisses me off.

 

[Psychochef]

hmmmm.A few good points. Also (im talking about Australia here) you notice that no one goes out and protests as much any more ,particuly young people, as oppossed to about 30 years ago. maybe we just dont care anymore or mabye we are too stupid to notice political things *sigh*

I didnt know who Nikita Khrushchev is either. Or about any missle crisis. oh well. I'm gonna go watch some Zero Punctuation and entertain my stupid internet genereation mind.

Yeah, but you're Australian. You can be excused. If you're curious, either wiki or watch the movie Thirteen Days.

 

[irrelevantnugget]

Or maybe I'm being too optimistic.

You are.
At least, in my opinion.

 

[Eiseman]

You know what, I'm gonna say that in a roundabout way, us gamers have an advantage against this problem.

Let me try to explain. Some of the more immersing games are filled to the brim with references to real life culture, from science and history to religion. Right? I mean, personally, I've been compelled to look up something I saw in a video game on more than one occasion. Sometimes I'd learn that a seemingly made up name or term was already established in English vocabulary, sometimes I'd find a reference to a piece of already written literature, or even learn a scientific process I wasn't familiar with before. Hell, Psychochef's example regarding Khrushchev had me thinking of Snake Eater.

Maybe I'm going too far into the "games are art" mentality, but I think there's some merit to it. I'm not so foolish as to say that video games can replace education, obviously, but I think that the really good ones can encourage a youngster to learn a little bit more than he/she'd originally care about.

Anyway, I think the point Mister Bauerlein drove best was that these days, teenagers can hide in their teen "bubble" more easily than ever, thanks to their savvy gadgets and online communities. It just gets harder and harder to "grow up." And that's really the heart of the problem, isn't it?

 

[WlknCntrdiction]

I have my friends to thank for bursting my "teen bubble", it wasn't a very nice place to be at my age(16, but I'm 19 now)and I think too many teens nowadays do hide behind the "wonders" of technology and all it can do for us, but what did those before us do before they had the technology we do now? They had to find a different way to learn, our generation is privileged but we don't use the resources that have been given to us. I'm with Eiseman on this though, whenever I've been playing a game and I come across something I didn't know I will actually pause my game and go and look it up, adding a few facts to your knowledge database need not take forever and I feel all the more informed for then knowing that piece of information.
But likewise I don't just get my info from games, part of being in my "teen bubble" when I was in it was that I was very withdrawn and would read loads because that was the only thing I was good at, I wasn't a very sociable person. Now it's the opposite, I'm very sociable but don't read as much but I need not read so much because I've covered alot of subjects and learned alot when I was in my recluse stage of teenagehood and I'm thankful I learnt so much, partly due to my parents always pushing me too. Now when people don't know things that they should I just shake my head, and I suppose in some way I pity them that they can't take it upon themselves to further themselves as an intelligent and informative person, it makes me sad that this generation will take over when the likes of my parents and others are gone.

 

[curlycrouton]

he's just a paranoid technophobe

 

[Break]

he's just a paranoid technophobe

Sure he is. He still has a point. Kids these days are pretty thick, and his reasoning is valid, even if his usage of the phrase "complete individual" is somewhat arrogant.

And he says, "Cuba has missiles?"

This made me laugh. Really loud. Even now I can't help but giggle. I mean, yeah, it's kind of worrying, but man, that was funny.

 

[the_tramp]

In the 'rant' whatever you call that he says that most students want their teachers to be overpowering and telling teenagers exactly what to do... to which I call bullshit. No teenager wants to be lectured to.

In addition one point that physically made me laugh was that he said that if teenagers don't read certain books then they cannot be considered citizens and truly an individual. So we are each individuals if we read and watch the exact same things?

I've read some of the 'classic' books and watched some of the 'classic' films that have been toted as revolutionary et al but found them irrelevant and to coin a phrase *boring*. Whilst certain books were relevant during the Romanticism period they are not nowadays, perhaps those that understand the period can appreciate them but if you give a Romanticism book to a teenager, or for that matter anyone who doesn't understand the period, then they will not *get it*.

My final point, I find it quite offensive that he stereotypes the US into two categories; Dumb being below 30 and Smart being above 30. I have met many US people under 30 who can be considered smart, whilst they do not know the specifics of the War of the Roses I do not hold that against them and if they're willing I tell them. Likewise I have met many, many over 30's who I've wanted to strangle for making ridiculous statements, not because I feel that they should know it but because they are so set in their ways and because I am younger they refuse to listen.

 

[sammyfreak]

I like this guy, alot. Great literature mature with age, great art becomes more relevant as time goes by. People who dissmiss stuff just become it's old are twats.

 

[Sustenance]

I didn't even watch the video to observe his facial expressions the first time around and just listened to the sound; pompous twat.

That's all I have to say.

 

[Sustenance]

'we'?, this video and its statistics are applicable only to Americans, therefore I am exempt. It annoys me that he thinks that because students (i will not use the term teenagers as it is an idiotic term), do not adhere to the same basic principals and are not introduced to the same things he was, that we are lesser people. To which I disagree, the media, mediums and quantities of information have changed and the new age simply have different ways to the way things used to be. Who is this guy, he wrote a book, so what I can write a book it doesent make me an expert.

I didn't watch the entire video/rant because I have very little time, but the last point I would like to raise is that he said the average study time for all students has gone down and is only 1 hour. To which I say why would year/grades 1-9 spend more than an hour studying? His facts and points are distorted exaggerated. What you/people must remember is he's trying to sell a book and he is therefore a biased and impartial reference.

Yes, because there are no stupid Australians or stupid English people.

Sydney.

 

[Sustenance]

"'we'?, this video and its statistics are boldybold applicable only to Americans, therefore I am exempt.boldybold"

I comprehended what you wrote just fine; "... applicable only to Americans, therefore I am exempt." is kind of hard to dance around that little gem with words.