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You are part of the dumbest generation. If you are reading this and are surprised by it, you are not alone — I was surprised, too.
According to a book by Mark Bauerlein, a professor at Emory University, titled “The Dumbest Generation,” the information age has corrupted our young minds to the point that general knowledge and literacy have plummeted to all-time lows.
I didn’t get this book for Christmas, nor did I stumble upon it at Borders. I was at the Student Recreation and Fitness Center, a place that should be far removed from heinous accusations like the ones made by Bauerlein. I was there to work out, not get an information injection detailing the shortcomings of my generation, but two older gentlemen, probably in their 50s or 60s, began discussing the subject next to me in the locker room.
Guys usually talk about chicks or fast cars in the locker room — you know, manly stuff. These gents, however, were more interested in striking up a rousing diatribe of the dumbest generation in the history of man and how accurately Bauerlein had hit the nail on the head.
According to the book, young people are more self-absorbed, ill-informed and illiterate than ever before. Social networking sites and instant messaging are the culprits since they have caused individuals to focus upon themselves and the “now,” causing disinterest and impatience in learning things that truly matter, like history, science and current affairs.
I was a little offended, to say the least. I like all the perks the digital age has bestowed upon us. I have Facebook and AOL Instant Messaging accounts, but by no means do they make me any less intelligent or aware.
Do you think past governments and news agencies could communicate with other nations as quickly as they can now with technology? Did past generations receive life-saving alerts as quickly as they are administered now? Thanks to Facebook, I can find out what my cousin is up to in Azerbaijan without having to waste precious dollars on an international phone call. Take that, anybody living before 1995.
When asked why he decided to write the book, Bauerlein said, “Because in my limited experience as a teacher, I’ve noticed in the last 10 years that students are no less intelligent, no less ambitious, but there are two big differences: Reading habits have slipped, along with general knowledge. You can quote me on this: You guys don’t know anything.”
As much as you don’t want to agree with him, he does have a point. A lot of young Americans are getting lazy about reading, relying on Wikipedia too much and learning the test instead of learning the material. We spend more time online than visiting with friends. We want things quick and easy — that is what the digital age has taught us. Knowledge, meaningful relationships and interest in community all fall by the wayside.
How do we combat pompous elitists like Mark Bauerlein? Well, for one, don’t stop using technology and the Internet. Just limit its use and spend more time studying, getting out there and getting ahead. Facebook and AIM will always be there and won’t miss you when you’re at the library. Plus, face-to-face conversations make you truly thankful for not having to read “LOL” and “ROFL.” Finally, learn something new every day; otherwise, you’re not appreciating life enough.
Is the digital age bad for our generation? Not at all. Mark Bauerlein should create a Facebook account, and he would see — although I’m sure no one but his mom would add him.
Andrew P. Young is a well-informed, literate and modest individual who loves the digital age.
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A key thing to remember is that the profusion of information is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, we can communicate and access information instantly, but that information is watered down. The result is impersonalization of dialogue between people, and the superficiality of information in order to be more digestible. Too often, people prefer to make things easier, but at the cost of retaining knowledge better gained by a more disciplined approach such as reading a book. Before the digital age, the information transferred was more useful and important, and today that is all lost in a sea of useless drivel.
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M. Seltzer Reply:
February 24th, 2010 at 2:11 pm
I suppose I should go read the book, but I’m pretty sure I’ve heard this rhetoric before, from people above a certain age that are wont to use expressions like “when I was your age” and complain about loud music. It’s a closed-minded and arrogant argument from someone who will chastise someone for not knowing how to use a slide rule, and then dismiss his inability to plot a function on a graphing calculator. No, not all of us pick up the Wall Street Journal every day, but how many of his contemporaries would say “The Huffington what?”
It’s not stupidity. It’s a shift of information. We have access to more information than ever before, and we can accomplish more things in less time, thanks to creative uses of information technology. I have to disagree with the prognosis that we should “limit our use” of the Internet, but rather to push its limits and challenge its potential.
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With all due respect, Mr. Young, your column only supports Prof. Bauerlein’s hypothesis. I’m sure the professor blamed the dumbing down of America on more than technology, yet you “focus upon themselves and the “now,”.
The “dumbest” generation can be attributed to feminism as well. When teaching was one of the only professions open to women, most of the women teaching had been in the upper ranks of their class. With more opportunities, the best and brightest went elsewhere. We still have good, dedicated people teaching but one can’t overlook the fact that they are coming from the middle instead of the top – middle ranking in college, on SATs, IQs. There is nothing wrong with being average, but if we don’t acknowledge the issue then education methods cannot be adapted to achieve and maintain high quality outcomes.
As our society changes, we need to adopt and adapt to the negative changes, the unintended consequences, as much and as quickly as we adopt and adapt to the positive.
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Chris Reply:
February 24th, 2010 at 2:16 pm
I can’t help but wonder if before framing his argument against Prof. Bauerlein’s “heinous accusations” and “pompous elitism,” did Andrew Young actually read “The Dumbest Generation?” I have. I suspect most who have read the book and given it critical examination would agree with R S Openg. This column illustrates clearly the accuracy of Bauerlein’s research.
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It is generally important to consider the possibility that you might be wrong. This is something that the author failed to do in this instance. The thrust of the argument is: technology makes things easier, so it must be good. I am not dumb, because I do not think I am dumb.
Their are numerous areas in which our generation is more ignorant than the last, and some areas in which we are clearly more aware. As far as constructing a cohesive narrative from the information around us, we are all deficient, myself included.
I would suggest the author take a look at some basic texts concerning media ecology and it’s effect on our natural faculties and epistemology, and learn to deal with criticism less defensively.
We can only deal with negative aspects of culture and technology if are introspective and open enough to acknowledge they exist.
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Just remember one thing when you are talking about America’s intellectual landscape. At least forty percent of Americans walking the streets (or almost half), do not “believe” in the biological fact of genetic evolution. They believe in something like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden with the talking snake. Forty percent! These people have deliberately chosen stark raving ignorance over reason and knowledge, as a governing principle of their lives.
If you’re hoping for a reasoned national conversation on health care, global warming, foreign policy, education, anything – you can forget it. Almost half of your neighbors are lunatics.
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Wow Sam, I think you need to see a therapist. I’m not joking.
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Oh, I don’t know. Those people carrying the signs saying “Government Hands Off My Medicare!” are pretty dense. Sitting in a Barcalounger watching Fox News all day will do that to you.
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This article was poorly executed. The writer failed to address the main points the author brought up in his book. The write failed at addressing:
(1) General knowledge
(2) Whether literacy rates have shifted
(3) Whether there are studies linking any decrease in general educatedness to the things of the current generation
This article sounds like all the things people say to themselves in their heads. It’s injected with an uneven and cheesy-like injection of cliches and biased POV words.
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It depends on what KIND of information is valued.
Rhetorical skills, Mathematical Ability, and Civil participation is sorely lacking amongst those of my generation. I believe we are easily distracted by activities with little material value to our lives.
We are not very well read even!!!!
On the political front, it figures. Most politicians could care less. . We seldom vote and we do not have deep pockets. We are not their key demographic!
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Just for some $0.02 maybe the good Mr. Bauerlin would do well to recall how rapidly HIS generation while in office has slashed budgets for schools and trashed our education system to fund bigger, better, and more secure prisons. It was also his contemporaries, and I’d like to see what he’s DONE to fix the problems they’ve made, who decided that making people of my generation fill out scantron bubbles until our eyes bleed and teaching to the test is a good idea. If he wants to heap blame on my generation for being “dumber” he needs to look in the mirror for the culprit of why our education system is worse. I want to see what he’s DONE to fix the problem beyond cast blame at the victims and shirk any possible responsibility on his end.
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Jun Reply:
February 25th, 2010 at 3:36 pm
True, there is a lot of blame to lay at the feet of past generations. The problem is still ours, however. If we do not correct it ourselves then we will remain stupid as well take the blame from generations yet to come.
In the end, the only thing that matters is results. If our generation does not learn to value success over excuses then we will fail ourselves and our children. Far too many in our country are simply looking for an excuse to do as little as possible.
How many people do you know of who say that grammar isn’t important when writing on a webpage?
Those people are lazy and that laziness usually stretches. Grammar soon becomes unimportant in more places.
A relatively unimportant thing, grammar, but take any other situation and apply the same process.
I believe the largest problem we face is that so many of us do not care. Blame your parents, the government, society, the media, immigrants, racism, people in general, lack of family values, the gods… for the majority of people in America their life is theirs for the taking, but they do not take it.
You are responsible for yourself. You are also responsible for the rest of us. You cannot run a democracy with people who do not feel responsibility to their neighbors. It doesn’t make any sense to even try. At this point, to me, it appears that the American public is better suited to a more demanding, rigid system of government than it currently operates under. We do not deserve the freedoms we are currently afforded. We do not work for them. We do not feel any need to work for them for they are granted by God, but we do not believe in God. We appear to not be able to correctly handle the freedom given us. In fact, we often hurt ourselves with these freedoms which are supposed to protect us.
More and more it appears that the pride of our nation, our personal freedom, is the noose around our neck. I myself would be happy with less freedom in exchange for more success.
And how many of you would decry me a communist or fascist, when you’ve never taken one step towards grabbing ahold of the freedoms afforded you in order to challenge yourselves, make yourselves better, and better your fellow man?
You are lazy.
If you think that attending college makes you worth something then you are misinformed for as a great man once said, the start of a journey should never be mistaken for success. The same goes for America as a whole, which has barely started its journey as a world power and already looks to be crumbling under the pressure.
Most of us are aware of the bodies desire to maintain enough strength to only do a hair more than what is required of it. It appears that the same goes for the mind.
Bluntly, very little is required of the American mind or body.
We are the Jell-O nation.
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It can’t possible be that education funding has been declining for decades, it’s because we are self-absorbed. BS
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Voice Reply:
February 24th, 2010 at 7:05 pm
It’s not enough to blame education funding. Education funding has never determined whether you visit a library or start a conversation borne from intellectual curiosity.
No, the internet didn’t make us dumber. But it allows us to feel okay about being dumber by distracting us with flashing lights. The same is often said about television and religion. They are opiates of the masses.
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First, I must reply to “Voice”’s oft-used (though this fact does not take away from it’s power) quotation of Karl Marx. It is important to keep in mind that ‘opiate’ does not necessarily mean something wholly negative (opium was a widely prescribed medicine at the time Marx wrote that).
I mention this because the ‘opiate of the people’ quote is actually a perfect starting point for a discussion of the Internet’s effect on its frequent users.
True, the internet can be a pretty Entertaining but it’s a D.F. Wallace kind of Entertainment, at its core. A place (well, nonexistent place) where one is able to press a button and recieve near-instant gratification, ad infitum (or ad nauseum, perhaps?). And, just like the monkey who can press a button which gives him an instant orgasm, we are not wont to give up our instant gratification. In this way, the Internet is indeed like Opium, the pain-relieving, fantasy-inducing, addictive psychotropic narcotic.
However, the internet has the potential for something much more than just pleasure or pain relief. This is where Mr. Bauerlin forgets the importance of context and perspective when it comes to analyzing (much less passing judgment upon) any large group of people. As has been mentioned earlier in the thread, his concern is a common one among older dogs, that the young pups just ‘ain’t doin’ it like they used to’. Which is normal. In responding to Bauerlin’s criticism it is important for us not to fall into the same trap that he has, and make an over-generalized abstraction about his POV.
Because, as I’m fairly certain you all (Bauerlin and Young included) believe that the Internet has done and will continue to do some good for the intellectual development of our generation. Information access? Bar none. Transparency? Never been better (though it could still get even better). Ability to share, interact with people you otherwise might not have been able to? Forget about it. The internet has done some fairly spectacular things for us in the years since its cultural and economic normification (within the U.S., at least) and shall continue to do so, I predict, for years to come.
Mr. Bauerlin – and, frankly, us all as well – forget that these new technologies take massive amounts of time to develop. If he’s right about anything, the Internet (like all recent entertainment-oriented technologies) has made many of us a bit less patient. Which is OK.
In time, as the Internet evolves into a less anarchic and less daunting virtual reality where Project Gutenberg and Bang Bus sit nearly side-by-side, it is probable that we – as the neologistic ‘Internet Generation’ – will evolve right along with it.
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Technology does not make us dumb, people make other people feed dumb (not suggesting anything of Mr. Bauerlein), regardless of what scientific studies say. It goes back to traditional values that should have been taught to people when they were young, i guess you can say social and personal ethics. Those values can be incorporated to technology. If people want the technology to make people feel dumb, they just import “dumb” information thru the use of technology and voila … “dumb” people. So let’s not blame technology … blame the PEOPLE using the technology. It will go back to whether or not the PEOPLE had learned traditional values from their parents … and their parents’ parents … etc.
Embrace the age of information … judge what is being presented out there whether it will make you feel “dumb” or “smart”. What is “dumb” and what is “smart” … its all a figment of one’s imagination. There is nothing but data.
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Daniel J Schneider Reply:
February 25th, 2010 at 11:35 am
The argument you use reminds me of one the NRA is fond of: “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people”. But I’m reminded of what Eddie Izzard said (correct me if I’m wrong), that “the gun really helps”.
True, people are responsible for how they parse the content which they consume. However, it is not necessarily the fault of the person when the quality of the data is insufficient. Even with the most advanced tools for internet research, can one still be wholly certain the information gathered is truly credible? How many sources must be found, checked for validity and cross-referenced with other publications before ‘truth’ or even just ’sound info.’ can be assuredly established?
Besides, how can we expect a person to break down everything, evaluate everything? A website filled with non sequitor gifs on the borders and that claims to have photographs of MLK doing bong rips with Jack Nicholson can be discredited quite easily…but as we all know, even the most professional -looking, -sounding and straight up credible stores of information are potentially fallible, equivacatory or, at worst, a lie. The creators of FactCheck.org, a very reputable site in my opinion, have written a book called UnSpun, which details a semi-rigorous method of examining information – particularly on the web – which I encourage you (Vietkillerz) to read (only because I sincerely believe you’d enjoy it, if you’ve not already read it).
‘The Internet doesn’t make us dumb, the people using the technology reinforce our stupidity.’
I can only agree with you to a very near point…eventually, one must wonder if it’s the people themselves or the powers granted them through technological advances which promote laziness (intellectual or physical).
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After reading this editorial, subsequent comments included, my conclusion is that Mr. Bauerlein is probably correct.
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Daniel J Schneider Reply:
February 25th, 2010 at 3:59 pm
Elaborate?
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A good discussion overall, and some fair criticisms. But if you think I let my generation off the hook, look more closely. One chapter in in the book is entitled “The Betrayal of the Mentors.” It puts the blame squarely on my generation–the teachers, parents, and other mentors who didn’t pass along to Gen Y the conviction that knowledge matters, that you need to watch what elected leaders are doing, that history didn’t begin on your 13th birthday, that a little exposure to classic literature and art is crucial . . .
Yeah, we blew it, and we hurt you and you don’t even know it.
Mark Bauerlein
[Reply]
Lincoln Reply:
March 4th, 2010 at 3:17 am
What’s great is that each new generation is born with autonomy. We have all but to learn from the past mistakes of our elderly. We’re exposed to classic literature and art, too.
[Reply]
Let me elaborate.
True, there is a lot of blame to lay at the feet of past generations. The problem is still ours, however. If we do not correct it ourselves then we will remain stupid and take the blame from generations yet to come as well as before.
In the end, the only thing that matters is results. If our generation does not learn to value success over excuses then we will fail ourselves and our children. Far too many in our country are simply looking for an excuse to do as little as possible.
How many people do you know of who say that grammar isn’t important when writing on a webpage?
Those people are lazy and that laziness usually stretches. Grammar soon becomes unimportant in more places.
A relatively unimportant thing, grammar, but take any other situation and apply the same process.
I believe the largest problem we face is that so many of us do not care. Blame your parents, the government, society, the media, immigrants, racism, people in general, lack of family values, the gods… for the majority of people in America their life is theirs for the taking, but they do not take it.
You are responsible for yourself. You are also responsible for the rest of us. You cannot run a democracy with people who do not feel responsibility to their neighbors. It doesn’t make any sense to even try. At this point, to me, it appears that the American public is better suited to a more demanding, rigid system of government than it currently operates under. We do not deserve the freedoms we are currently afforded. We do not work for them. We do not feel any need to work for them for they are granted by God, but we do not believe in God. We appear to not be able to correctly handle the freedom given us. In fact, we often hurt ourselves with these freedoms which are supposed to protect us.
More and more it appears that the pride of our nation, our personal freedom, is the noose around our neck. I myself would be happy with less freedom in exchange for more success.
And how many of you would decry me a communist or fascist, when you’ve never taken one step towards grabbing ahold of the freedoms afforded you in order to challenge yourselves, make yourselves better, and better your fellow man?
You are lazy.
If you think that attending college makes you worth something then you are misinformed for as a great man once said, the start of a journey should never be mistaken for success. The same goes for America as a whole, which has barely started its journey as a world power and already looks to be crumbling under the pressure.
Most of us are aware of the bodies desire to maintain enough strength to only do a hair more than what is required of it. It appears that the same goes for the mind.
Bluntly, very little is required of the American mind or body.
We are the Jell-O nation.
[Reply]
Werner Reply:
February 25th, 2010 at 9:38 pm
I would just like to point out that not everyone falls under this generalization. I’ve come across people of ‘my’ generation who don’t fit this description. I don’t think of myself as fitting this description, either, though that’s for others to decide.
However, I do agree: There are far too many people of ‘my’ generation that fit this generalization. It’s a disturbing trend, one with many potentially negative results for the future.
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Jun Reply:
February 25th, 2010 at 9:56 pm
Of course, there are always exceptions unless the author states, “without exception.”
I think this fact goes without saying, but I agree that it has become common these days to preface every statement with some form of obviousness.
Another example are the people who require that “in my opinion” be included in every argument.
Quite redundant, telling people that your opinion is just that.
I’m sorry, but I see the fact that there are always outliers to a trend as being similar. Although, certainly less obnoxious. I think that it speaks to the heart of the argument that people must actually read these words, “in my opinion” and “with some exceptions” in order to accept a statement.
If I’m being overly critical than I apologize. I’m not hostile towards your argument, rather, I feel it is illustrative of the general dumbing down of our society. Many things which are making us dumber can be found in perfectly healthy, intelligent people. The insidiousness of this problem is severe.
[Reply]
I’ve recently returned to business school to supplement the age old BFA on my resume, and I’ve got a tatoo that’s older than most of you. I have to say, the difference in student behaviour and attitudes since my last college experience is remarkable. To be fair, I’ve had the pleasure of sharing the classroom with some brilliant and wonderful people. Having said that, I’ve found many younger students’ standards and expectations to be somewhat contradictory and appalling. To watch 20% of my classmates spend a semester looking at Facebook during class (there’s no way around it, it’s rude and disrespectful) then listening to them whine when they don’t get an A (because they were too busy entertaining themselves to take any notes)is a bit disconcerting. I was shocked to see how many kids taking their third and fourth college level English courses are incapabable of writing a half-way decent critical essay. In a recent history class, people were actually complaining about having to read the material, and maybe seven out of thirty of us had a clue as to how to write a research paper (we crochety oldsters were doing some semblance of that in seventh grade).
Making technology a generational divide misses the point. It’s pretty useful and entertaining – my eighty year old aunt e-mails and reads the papers online everyday (but can’t text – arthritis). But it can also be a huge time waster (be honest), and an awful lot of information, as someone already pointed out is absolute garbage. Texting, while handy, really isn’t a conversation, nobody ever seems to know when to stop, and if you’re doing it 24-7, I don’t see how you’ll ever have a chance to experience your own thoughts, let your minds wander, and have the opportunity to engage and become and know yourselves. Not to mention the honing of critical thinking skills – you’ll be graduating into a tough job market, competing with experienced (and tech savvy) elders with attention spans, that I’ve read, many corporate executives bemoan are lacking in younger workers. Then, I think, there’s the mistake every generation makes, by confusing technological advances with the evolution of humanity. I’m all for indoor plumbing and toaster ovens, but aside from literacy, have any of these innovations that may raise our standard of living really made the species wiser, more compassionate, more intelligent, or too much more sophisticated? Probably not.
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The sad point is that Mr. Young didn’t realize that his arrogance and poor self reflection and analytical skills, proved Professor Bauerlein’s thesis. Mr. Young fails to make connections and makes a superficial argument for his generation, because he is psychologically stuck in his defensiveness.
A good book for anyone interested in this subject, that compliments Professor Bauerlein’s vital critique, and provides additional in-depth understanding of what happened and is happening to the generation of 20-30 yr./o’s is Dr.’s Gabor Mate and Gordon Neufeld “Hold On To Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers.”
It’s impossible to truly understand the current cultural environment without an understanding the role unregulated capitalism contributes to the demise of culture (profits rule-and result in the dumbing down of textbooks, large class sizes with powerpoints and little analytical debate and discussion, newspaper’s closing down along with investigative reporting that internet news relies on), individual debt, (college, credit card, mortgage) that forces citizens to concentrate on salary vs meaningful work, just to mention a few problems that Mr. Young didn’t mention because he was too upset that his escape to the gym confronted him with overhearing a serious vs superficial chit chat.
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The ingratiating attitude killed it for me. I’m pretty sure basal knowledge acquisition of each generation would only get higher, seeing how exchange of information is getting exponentially faster. Their qualm is that they see value only in things they’re accustomed to. We’ll fall under the same trap when we get older.
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Jun Reply:
February 26th, 2010 at 3:02 pm
It won’t necessarily get higher, Lincoln.
It depends on which activities people choose to do.
I would argue that texting, surfing, and tweeting do not lead to knowledge acquisition. Reading a book does.
According to Steve Jobs, people don’t read anymore. You may not like Mr. Jobs or Apple, but he is an intelligent man and his comment cannot be ignored. I do not take his observation at face value, that Americans don’t read anything. However, garbage in still equals garbage out.
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All of those listed internet activities require literacy, by the way. You generalize way too easily about the nature of these activities, and don’t tell me nobody uses blogs like we’re doing right now.
Not everything will challenge your mind, and neither did everything back in the “good ol’ days.” Ironic that social interaction is the key impetus to our evolution of congition yet people will use that same inclination to be the cause of our destruction. None of them honestly have real data on the demographics of this society. It’s just sensationalist raving.
I’d rather we have our students manipulate the exam system. That’s indicative of intelligent autonomous beings creatively controlling their environment. It’s also indicative of how exams are based off of speed and memorization, rather than development and understanding.
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Jun Reply:
February 26th, 2010 at 4:25 pm
lolz, I c.
wut’s wit all the haterz on FB n MS?
1337 4 eva.
I don’t know that social interaction is the impetus of our evolution. It is an interesting thought though.
A google search suggests that there is quite a bit of demographic data about the users of social networking sites, actually.
“http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=demographics+social+networking+sites&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8″
I’d rather we use our energy to fix problems like the exam system than to come up with sarcastic, novel ways of telling each other it is broken.
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It’s obvious that there’s data out there about the internet. Even if they did consult the data, the point is that circumstantial correlative bullcrap should be taken with a grain of salt.
Yes, the primary theory behind exponential encephalization of primates says that in order to make the most of the social environment, we needed intellectual capacity.
I’ll make jabs at the education system all I want. Don’t think you can bluff your way into expecting me to cure cancer. The problem is endemic in human nature. You’re always going to have mediocre teachers. “Garbage in, garbage out” as one would put it.
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I think you’ve lost track of your argument.
I’m not bluffing you into anything. If you are taking jabs at something then you aren’t interested in solutions.
I don’t understand your point when you diverge into curing cancer.
If you’re stating that we ought to blame the educational system then I’ll direct you to previous arguments in the thread. You’ll fit right in between those who blame the government and those who blame the parents.
Try blaming yourself.
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Lincoln Reply:
February 26th, 2010 at 8:00 pm
I guess you can only resort to ad hominem and nonsequitirs at this point. I replied to every detail of yours, yet you can’t understand my metaphors. Too bad, I suppose.
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Jun Reply:
February 26th, 2010 at 9:07 pm
Au contraire, dear friend, I haven’t attacked you. If you feel that way then you are easily slighted.
If by counterpoint you are referring to, “It’s obvious that there’s data out there about the internet. Even if they did consult the data, the point is that circumstantial correlative bullcrap should be taken with a grain of salt.”
Well, that isn’t saying anything. It is equivalent to writing something along the lines of, I see your point and raise it by ten.
I stand by my recommendation. It is much harder to examine thyself than to denounce others.
I stay on point.
For your reference, the term you are using is properly written as non sequitur. I’m not writing this to debase you, simply to inform you since you seem to like big words. In addition, a non sequitur hasn’t been used.
Would you kindly pass the ketchup?
Now it has.
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Lincoln Reply:
March 4th, 2010 at 3:05 am
“It’s obvious that there’s data out there about the internet. Even if they did consult the data, the point is that circumstantial correlative bullcrap should be taken with a grain of salt.” implies that the credibility of these sources is challenged easily.
The nonsequitir you made is obvious. I needed to be actively involved in improving my education system if I dare use it as an example of argument.
I don’t enjoy this panhandling, and you used more ad hominem, damnit.
I’m bored by this, so here is my last reply to you.
It is better to express your thoughts simply if that creates the most clarity in the reader.
In reference to your continued use of the phrase ad hominem, I cannot argue something on its merits if it has none. The only thing to do in that case is either ignore you (soon to follow), or explain your error, but neither is an emotional or personal attack on you.
Your first mistake: “You generalize way too easily about the nature of these activities, and don’t tell me nobody uses blogs like we’re doing right now.” – An actual ad hominem, you make no effort to relate your statement to any piece of my argument. It is the equivalent of calling me fat and telling me I’m wrong because of it.
Your second mistake: “None of them honestly have real data on the demographics of this society. It’s just sensationalist raving.” – A lie.
Your third mistake: “It’s obvious that there’s data out there about the internet. Even if they did consult the data, the point is that circumstantial correlative bullcrap should be taken with a grain of salt.” – You now admit the data exists, but then dismiss it without any reason. Calling the data bullcrap is unfounded.
Your fourth mistake: “Don’t think you can bluff your way into expecting me to cure cancer.” – Another personal attack on me, you are stating that the motives for my argument are not in eliminating smoking, but in generating profit for myself at your expense.
Lincoln, you might learn the definition of uncommon words if you want to try and use them to debunk another’s argument.
Congratulations on moving the thread away from the topic, but it was probably dead anyway.
To reiterate my rebuttal, It is rare that any blog or forum generates a thread that causes someone to use latin, even if they do so incorrectly. A book provides a better education than the internet. I agree with the author that we are the dumbest generation, in recent history at least, and that is supported by statistics on education. In addition to those statistics, the material that many of us learn is not high quality, not useful, junk.
Finally, your assertion that social interaction is the reason for people being relatively big brained is being challenged. There appears to be significant data that the reason our brains grew to human size is due to the structure of our jaw bones and not, as you suggest, out of necessity from our demanding social lives. In other words, we may be big brained simply due to a physical characteristic, a genetic chance happening.
goodbye.
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