Encountering anti-intellectualism

[The Salty Vulcan]

my science teacher made us watch The Core for god sakes. And not to poke holes in it, to actually educate us.

Wait...



What?

Oh it gets worse. My 12th grade biology teacher was staunchly in favour of creationism so we got little to no books, or reports or anything like that on the subject aside from the bare basics. She also peed in a petri-dish for an experiment.

 

[Thisbedutch]

That's an interesting idea. You are heavily subsidized, if you aren't completing your education in the normal amount of time, which probably means you aren't the best student and/or aren't actually focussed, then its reaonable you pay a bit more of the share.

That's quite the generalisation. And would it be worth punishing those who need more time due to events beyond their control (illness, for example) just to get more money out of students who couldn't be bothered?

 

[ramboondiea]

well all the time, im currently attending university, the town it situated in is quite small with a very large student population, the result is that the large majority of the town, (the average age being 45 (excluding students from the average calculations) will blame students for any transgressions that occur, its gotten to the point were if you announce your a student these people will attempt to chastise you for it. this isnt to say that every student in town is a mature individual, but someof the bile that they spew out in the local paper is disgusting. the amusing part is the students provide the town with the most money, without the town would be a very different and poorer place

Your not at Lancaster University are you? That kind of shit happens here all the time.

Also I grew up in a family of anti-intellectuals who think the only reason you go to university is so you can get a better job and so do not understand why I have taken History which is apparently a 'pointless' subject.

no Edgehill university which is in Ormskirk, not that big of a town whose population is largly students and the elderly, seems those two just cant mix ha

 

[Sonic Doctor]

Also, he apparently supports our governments new ruling that students who take extended time for their studies are fined ?3000,- (roughly $4069.2 USD) for each consecutive year after the first extra year taken. (Granted, loafing requires some proper consequences, but COME ON.)

That's an interesting idea. You are heavily subsidized, if you aren't completing your education in the normal amount of time, which probably means you aren't the best student and/or aren't actually focussed, then its reaonable you pay a bit more of the share.

I think it is a horrible idea. This normal amount of time stuff is crap because the amount of classes at once that a person has to take to complete a degree in a 'normal' amount of time is ludicrously hard for the average person to juggle and stay sane. Statistically, I was the average American college student: I could easily hand 4 classes(which is the minimum to be a full-time student), but 5 classes was pushing it and I would barely get by during those semesters.

The fact is that many people just can't handle a schedule that gives them no reasonable time each to be themselves and do what they want.

It isn't because these people are lazy and don't want to do the work needed. It is because they aren't mentally capable (nothing to do with intelligence) with dealing with such an excessive schedule that is needed to complete college in the 'normal' amount of time.

This is a disadvantage, but it is no reason to add the extra disadvantage of an unfair burden of extra money that they have to pay back.

It is like the situation where people stupidly say that rich people should pay a higher percentage of taxes, because they succeeded and got rich. The people seem to think that rich people are paying the same amount of taxes as them, when in reality the rich people are already paying more than other people, because 10% of 30,000 isn't the same as 10% of 1,000,000. The people think because rich people have a special situation, they should have to pay gross amounts more.

Well, with the college thing, it would be stupid that people that aren't special and have a disadvantage have to pay more. I and many other average everyday people would be wronged if we had to pay more because we couldn't take the crazy overloaded schedule.

People shouldn't be punished for being above-average/special, average, or below average.

 

[SimuLord]

I'm a business major. My colleagues in business school constantly denigrate humanities majors and art majors and other people who, let's face it, run intellectual circles around us dumbfucks who are only in school to chase money, the single least intellectual thing a person can do. These were people who treated the freshman and sophomore liberal arts core as a chore to be overcome (or finessed) rather than an opportunity to expand the mind beyond dollars and cents.

There's a reason I don't date business-major girls. Because they are profoundly unattractive. Physically hot? Hell yeah. But extremely unattractive for their disdain for anything that isn't about money.

(so who DO I date? Humanities, arts, and elementary education majors. The first two for their intellect, the last for their tendency to be potentially awesome moms because they're clearly good with kids.)

 

[AudienceOfOne1]

Intelligence, logic and comprehensive languages set human beings apart from other animals. However due to a large proportion of the people I have met, I can say that these qualities are very under appreciated.

It seems sex comes first regardless of species.

 

[Mercurio128]

Well. There's certainly an anti-intellectual culture in certain areas of the world. I know that with all the shows that glamourise being a total airhead, I've ended up having about 5 people I can talk to without needing to explain every second word, two of which have English as a second language.

Look at it this way, though. Most of the people who tell you not to bother with an education won't go as far as you will.

I have this too, it's nice to have people who you can talk to without having to self-censor. I found that all the way through school I altered the way I spoke around different groups of people (we all do it). But that was mainly a function of being forced to be around them all day every day for 7 years, it's not like I disliked any of them, I just felt uncomfortable being myself around some people.

It wasn't till uni and work that I found some friends who I could just talk to about anything, from football to science without feeling at all self-conscious.

 

[Fetzenfisch]

Of course i encounter this pretty often. I live in an Area that was a few decades ago known for nothing but coalmining , steelworks and chemistry. After the coalmines are shut down one by one the country tried to build a new basis on research and service, with success so far. Problem is , we got a huge mass of coal black hard working people that are of close to no use (except the few mining engineers that could get trained for other fields) you can smell the friction between the old fashioned part of population and us new generation just by this information.
My university is in the middle of an traditional industrial city, well as most cities are here, in certain areas of town, using the wrong kind of language can get you into trouble. But well, we live here our whole lives, we speak the common dialect as good as them, just with the difference that we can do otherwise (at uni we actually use a mix-up most of the time, which is kinda entertaining for outsiders sometimes).

 

[SimuLord]

I'm a business major. My colleagues in business school constantly denigrate humanities majors and art majors and other people who, let's face it, run intellectual circles around us dumbfucks who are only in school to chase money, the single least intellectual thing a person can do. These were people who treated the freshman and sophomore liberal arts core as a chore to be overcome (or finessed) rather than an opportunity to expand the mind beyond dollars and cents.

There's a reason I don't date business-major girls. Because they are profoundly unattractive. Physically hot? Hell yeah. But extremely unattractive for their disdain for anything that isn't about money.

(so who DO I date? Humanities, arts, and elementary education majors. The first two for their intellect, the last for their tendency to be potentially awesome moms because they're clearly good with kids.)

Its funny that people slack off humanities and art when those 2 have such a massive impact upon our world.

The rationale is even worse: "This class is stupid. If I can't use it on my resumé or to help me with a job interview, then why do I have to take it?"

I have nothing but contempt for those sorts of people. I can't even say they're selling their souls---that would imply they have such a thing to sell.

 

[Dogstile]

Mainly from my brothers who aren't going to university. Both of them did animal care, both of them are jobless

 

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

I think this is backwards.

I've been doing part-time work in a pub for about 4 years now. The clientel is decidedly blue collar, and their views on intellectual pursuits are fairly positive. They might not be enthused by academia, but they respect it.

In juxtaposition with my time as a student...

Honestly, the attitudes of the blue collar workers and the drunks are far more "live and let live". My student-peers spoke about these people with disgust, as though they'd sneezed on their food or killed their parents(not the same, I realise)...rather than simply having different priorities or skills.

We're cockroaches, some niche knowledge doesn't make you a "better" cockroach.

 

[mrhateful]

I'm a business major. My colleagues in business school constantly denigrate humanities majors and art majors and other people who, let's face it, run intellectual circles around us dumbfucks who are only in school to chase money, the single least intellectual thing a person can do. These were people who treated the freshman and sophomore liberal arts core as a chore to be overcome (or finessed) rather than an opportunity to expand the mind beyond dollars and cents.

There's a reason I don't date business-major girls. Because they are profoundly unattractive. Physically hot? Hell yeah. But extremely unattractive for their disdain for anything that isn't about money.

(so who DO I date? Humanities, arts, and elementary education majors. The first two for their intellect, the last for their tendency to be potentially awesome moms because they're clearly good with kids.)

I think i might have vomitted in disgust while reading that.

 

[CODE-D]

Do you mean my mother? The woman is as dense as a ..ill stop there.

 

[Sonic Doctor]

Its funny that people slack off humanities and art when those 2 have such a massive impact upon our world.

Because Math and Science is the wave of the future, who cares if people of the future can't read, write, and make arguments properly. That stuff certainly isn't needed to do well in Math and Science. Wink wink.

That is why I hated it when Math and Science majors criticized me when I complained about having to take too many math and science classes in college. They would blurt out, "well, we have to take your stupid writing and literature classes." The problem with that is that my complaint/argument is valid because I don't need advanced Math and Science to be the writer I want to be. Theirs is invalid, because in order for them to be good mathematicians and scientists, they have to know how to speak and write well, because one that can't speak and write well, won't be taken seriously.

 

[CODE-D]

my science teacher made us watch The Core for god sakes. And not to poke holes in it, to actually educate us.

Wait...



What?

Oh it gets worse. My 12th grade biology teacher was staunchly in favour of creationism so we got little to no books, or reports or anything like that on the subject aside from the bare basics. She also peed in a petri-dish for an experiment.

a lot of high school teachers do suck. My anatomy/phys teach didnt even teach but always told us to learn it ourselves by the reading and insisted its how its done in college(she was in college) now im in college quickly learning that was partly bullshit.

 

[Booze Zombie]

Some people get very offended when what they don't have is paraded as the thing you need to be a functioning member of society.

 

[Booze Zombie]

Your not at Lancaster University are you? That kind of shit happens here all the time.

Also I grew up in a family of anti-intellectuals who think the only reason you go to university is so you can get a better job and so do not understand why I have taken History which is apparently a 'pointless' subject.

That sure sounds like an amazing family.

"Let's forget all of the lessons of the past, that way you can learn to do things better in the future... uh..."

 

[BiscuitTrouser]

Another F'ing symptom of mystical bullshit that's made a come back in the civilized world. Developing countries focus on science: underdeveloped and developed countries tend to believe in herbs, crystals and WHAT THE F.

Alot of actual medicine does come from herbs and so on.

Funny story. Once apon a time, some guys tested all the herbal medicine and random cures for things people claimed. They proved some work. We call it medicine now. People who believe in this stuff irk me. Its good to remember what the quotes poster said. We test things. We move on. Everything is evolution, if you like it or not.

On topic: Likely when, as the only athiest in a group of christian friends i was told id be a better person if i was christian. Backstabbed AND told morals cant exist without religion. Ouch.

 

[Sarah Frazier]

I've actually been talked down to when I go through phases where I just want to use 'complicated' words in place of their more common equivalents, and those times don't even hold a candle to one person I occasionally chat with who constantly uses big words for every day terms. The only difference I sense is that I am capable of 'dumbing down' what I say so the majority of other people I know don't get frustrated and upset.

 

[Verlander]

In South Africa our government is placing strong emphasis on education and having less kids. Watching the vast majority of American shows on TV is absolutely F'ing horrible. Then my encounters on the internet with most Americans is also an "intellectual" train wreck; it feels like most(qualifier, meaning NOT ALL) Americans know nothing about nothing. My experience of UK media and Europeans is different. On the internet and WoW I've had alot of exposure to the Irish, Scottish and British and I find that a 15 year old Irish kid on WoW is alot more knowledgable than the average 35 year old American. This is MY experience and yes, I'm generalizing.

The point is that when a society becomes too comfortable then it becomes lazy and then it can't figure out why immigrants are taking over while also resenting China for filling in the global economic gaps.

Anti-intellectualism is a luxury that, we've seen through history, is a symptom of Empires/Ages/Governments etc that are heading downhill. 50 - 60 years ago, Americans were in general alot more competent in their respective fields than they are today, and I'm basing this statement on Education statistics, general production and societal factors. I'd say it's because the Soviet Union then was a strong threat which every American understood as "If I don't work my F'ing ass off, the Reds are going to take over."
When there's no enemy then there's no real reason to wanting to better yourself. I'm leaving out ALOT of uhh supporting argument and evidence here since I don't want to write an essay.

One last thing that I've observed in the white Afrikaans speaking population that I belong to here is that it is polarized. There are two mindsets: 1.) The blacks have taken over so what's the use of me even trying? And 2.) We're living in a new age and a new country, let's make the best of it and see how far ALL OF US can get.

Group 1 has a tendency to be anti-intellectual since they see no reason in trying to be better and educating themselves; these are the guys who live to go the pub or they simply fuckoff overseas and ironically come back a few years later. They've NO reason not to be lazy.
Group 2 are the people who go to college and don't live in racial stereotypes. Professionals, intellectuals etc.

Empires, countries, whatever who have grown complacent grow stupid. We've seen this many times in history. The fall of almost any great civilization has had these same symptoms: the Greeks, the Romans, the Mongolians etc etc. It's always been social or religious complacence. I think we're seeing America and Europe(specifically Britain) following this trend of anti-Intellectualism foreshadowing a rapid decline.

I hope I'm wrong... I like being a Westerner.

This is very similar to a book I co-wrote a few years ago (still not published-argh!) about empire mindset, and how all nationals of countries that have recently had an Empire or similar (like America, Britain, Germany and Japan), have different, very negative attitudes towards education, globalisation, and politics. The best example is if you go to "holiday hotspots", such as the Spanish islands in Europe (for British and German tourists), major cities in Europe/Asia (for Japanese/American tourists) and central Africa (for American tourists). They are demanding, attempt to convert these places into little clones of their own homes, and create communes of their own people. They rarely attempt language, or fitting in at all. They have an arrogance and overwhelming anti-intellectualism.

The book is far longer than that summary, and explains any flaws in the theory that crop up from this paragraph, (also highlights the difference with Japan and the others, as well as the difference with the communist "Empires" of the USSR and China), but is a great read. There's a collective mentality, and if you compare how recently the "Empire" was lost you see a clear difference in attitudes of society. For example, as you pointed out, British and German societies are closer matched than British and American societies, as the Americans have yet to loose their claim on the world. There is a mathematical formula for it, but buggered if I can reel it off of the top of my head