Younger Generation - Dumb or Stupid or Both- Yes or No

[JLM]

I had a question for the good participants here....

Is the younger generation well equipped to turn over the operation of the nation as it stands now? Can we
expect continuity with some "added and more updated attractions" or will there be a reversal because the
knowledge was never shared, nor taught, nor learned.

What are the young learning - they seem to have much "processed" for their smooth passage into the good life
but they seem to be missing the bag of knowledge necessary for finding solution and problem solving.

Yup I'm getting old...............grrrrrr

Good question- I'd be very afraid to turn over any fiscal matters to them, although I think there are probably those who could handle them, BUT are they the ones who are going into politics and are discreet in money matters? Gov'ts today are expected to cave into every whim or they are criticized severely on the next news cast. I'm not convinced the young people can withstand the criticism. The key these days is to be popular with everyone. :smile:

the younger generation does know many things that we did not know at that age, but the question is,
should they know those things.

little girls saying they are sexy, dressing way older than their age. looking way past their present
time of their life, trying to be attractive and sexy before they are 11.

I, and my daughters both, thought about nothing more than, sports, fishing, dance classes, playing music, bike riding,
horse back riding, etc., till we were at least 13, then the change began.

I saw a little girl about 11 in the store yesterday, with high heels on, and makeup, she looked silly.

the loose conversation between boys and girls in elementary school is astonishing, and also sad, their
childhood is disappearing way too fast.

i'm concerned that many young people don't know how to 'write', they say they don't need to, what a shame.
I think it's up to the individual teacher, but my grandson is not being taught to write, the teacher
doesn't see it as important at all, everything is printed.

for a long time now, i've noticed that many many young people cannot figure out simple math equations
manually, if their computers are not handy, they take a long time, and become nervous.
i've noticed in stores on many occasions, workers cannot figure out simple adding or subtracting in
their head, they don't know where to begin, their computer figures out all of the change for customers,
and that is OK, but if asked, they should know how to do it without a computer.

It's very sad Talloola that people today don't seem to recognize the value of innocense and childhood.

 

[petros]

Kids don't get brainwashed eh?

YouTube - 3 Year old crying over Justin Bieber

 

[ironsides]

Well, is the younger generation dumber? I don't know. It would certainly seem that they know less of what many think is important, but I would bet that they know by far a lot more than any generation in history. It may not be what we would consider academic, but knowledge nonetheless. Add to this the fact that as we age, our opinions change and so we look at those much younger as being dumb because they think different than those that are older. I would also like to point out that as a 29 year old, I generally find I know more about what is going on in the world than an average person twice my age. I fine people of all generations are dumb. It's just that older people think they know everything, even though they don't. When they notice that there is an area that where they know significantly more that a younger person (like how to spell), they use that as evidence that elders are smarter, all the while forgetting that younger people know a ton of things that elders know nothing about (like computers); thus they are very selective in their gathering of evidence.

No question that they know a ton of things and are more selective than we are, but that is also their problem. They have become incapable of making a decision because of the vast number of choices that they get themselves so confused that they make many wrong ones. Just an a opinion.

Kids don't get brainwashed eh?

But, but it's Justin. :smile:

 

[petros]

But, but it's Justin. :smile:

But it's still brainwashing through sexuality. That's a form of sexual abuse and molestation.

 

[mentalfloss]

They're clearly more non-partisan and less religious than older folk, which already gives them a healthy boost in reasoning capability.

 

[karrie]

At my advanced age I recently started thinking about some of the stuff you've mentioned in a little different way. You can only do one thing at a time (properly that is) whether it's flicking a light switch or building a piano, so while doing that particular thing I concentrate on doing it right. It doesn't take much longer than doing it wrong. :smile:

Bull... I do not need mental attention to do a physical task. I can easily cook a meal while talking on the phone. In fact, 60%, at least, of my housework gets done while on the phone having wonderful conversations with people. My brain does not need to be engaged in the process of scrubbing the bath tub, in order for the tub to get cleaned properly.

 

[JLM]

Bull... I do not need mental attention to do a physical task. I can easily cook a meal while talking on the phone. In fact, 60%, at least, of my housework gets done while on the phone having wonderful conversations with people. My brain does not need to be engaged in the process of scrubbing the bath tub, in order for the tub to get cleaned properly.

Wrong- what you are doing is switching back and forth between tasks, it's impossible to think of two things at once. That is when most accidents happen is when people are busy talking while they are trying to do something else. Sure you can drive a tractor through a level field with no obstacles while talking, but that doesn't prove much. :smile:

 

[ansutherland]

I don't remember who coined this, though I think it was Benjamin Franklin. He said something to the effect of "The cemeteries are full of dead men the world could not live without." I am paraphrasing of course, but I hear this kind of stuff all the time. People always act as though "when I'm gone, everything is going to hell". People have been saying this for thousands of years I’m sure, yet on we go. The older generation may think that we have not a clue how to do anything, yet we will find a way to make it work.

I do think it interesting though that when you look at all the problems south of the border, the religious extremism, the Tea Bagger movement, the Sara Palin’s and Christine O’Donnell’s, they are all part of the older generation. They are a big part of what is driving that country into a bottomless sinkhole. The younger generation may not know how to do long division and they may not vote, but at least they don't think that an election should hinge of stupid notions of morality like gay marriage or teaching science in science class.

Correction. It's "The graveyards are full of indispensable men." Charles De Gaulle

 

[Curiosity]

Well I know the younger generations has a different set of rules and knowledge which differs from their peers say twenty or thirty years ago.

This could be a good thing, perhaps we wasted too much time in obeying "rules of society" and learning topics which could not necessarily benefit when taken into consideration that one has to earn a living or know how to function in the new modern world.

I wonder if television was the turning point - the scene or stage setter - I know television has created mores and styles for youth far beyond what their parents experienced (or dared). It may have created a new
shorter path to knowledge but there seems to be an "edge" to it where nobody takes time to enjoy love, life, laughter, longing, leisure and even learning. Everything seems processed and instant.

Are young people really "feeling" being alive or is their "god" competition with peers?

 

[JLM]

I don't remember who coined this, though I think it was Benjamin Franklin. He said something to the effect of "The cemeteries are full of dead men the world could not live without." I am paraphrasing of course, but I hear this kind of stuff all the time. People always act as though "when I'm gone, everything is going to hell". People have been saying this for thousands of years I’m sure, yet on we go. The older generation may think that we have not a clue how to do anything, yet we will find a way to make it work.

I do think it interesting though that when you look at all the problems south of the border, the religious extremism, the Tea Bagger movement, the Sara Palin’s and Christine O’Donnell’s, they are all part of the older generation. They are a big part of what is driving that country into a bottomless sinkhole. The younger generation may not know how to do long division and they may not vote, but at least they don't think that an election should hinge of stupid notions of morality like gay marriage or teaching science in science class.

Correction. It's "The graveyards are full of indispensable men." Charles De Gaulle

Actually if the truth were known, I think it may be more a problem with mentality than ability. :smile:

Wrong- what you are doing is switching back and forth between tasks, it's impossible to think of two things at once. That is when most accidents happen is when people are busy talking while they are trying to do something else. Sure you can drive a tractor through a level field with no obstacles while talking, but that doesn't prove much. :smile:

One more thought to add, If you are able to go through the motions of two tasks at once, then I would say one of those tasks could be delegated to a robot. (Like when you are cooking the stove is the "robot")

Well I know the younger generations has a different set of rules and knowledge which differs from their peers say twenty or thirty years ago.

This could be a good thing, perhaps we wasted too much time in obeying "rules of society" and learning topics which could not necessarily benefit when taken into consideration that one has to earn a living or know how to function in the new modern world.

I wonder if television was the turning point - the scene or stage setter - I know television has created mores and styles for youth far beyond what their parents experienced (or dared). It may have created a new
shorter path to knowledge but there seems to be an "edge" to it where nobody takes time to enjoy love, life, laughter, longing, leisure and even learning. Everything seems processed and instant.

Are young people really "feeling" being alive or is their "god" competition with peers?

I would say you are definitely right, BUT I would also say that a lot of this extra knowledge they glean (off the media) is more useless. (Like two and three year olds knowing advertiser's theme tunes by rote)

 

[karrie]

Wrong- what you are doing is switching back and forth between tasks, it's impossible to think of two things at once. That is when most accidents happen is when people are busy talking while they are trying to do something else. Sure you can drive a tractor through a level field with no obstacles while talking, but that doesn't prove much. :smile:

You're discussing things you have to think for. I have yet to need to think about cleaning a toilet or bathtub. lol.

 

[JLM]

You're discussing things you have to think for. I have yet to need to think about cleaning a toilet or bathtub. lol.

You're right Karrie, but there are mundane chores, where extenuating circumstances can arise. Were you ever yacking on the phone while something was burning in the oven?

 

[karrie]

You're right Karrie, but there are mundane chores, where extenuating circumstances can arise. Were you ever yacking on the phone while something was burning in the oven?

I'm a mom, so there's no such thing as not multi-tasking. Of course stuff gets forgotten from time to time (oddly enough, more often when I sit down and stop buzzing about). But, the job wouldn't get done period if not for splitting attention. The key is to know which tasks can be multi-tasked and which can't. Physical repetitive tasks and mental tasks go together. mental task and mental task don't. Frankly, how any children survive the split attention of their parents is beyond me. lol.

 

[Goober]

I'm a mom, so there's no such thing as not multi-tasking. Of course stuff gets forgotten from time to time (oddly enough, more often when I sit down and stop buzzing about). But, the job wouldn't get done period if not for splitting attention. The key is to know which tasks can be multi-tasked and which can't. Physical repetitive tasks and mental tasks go together. mental task and mental task don't. Frankly, how any children survive the split attention of their parents is beyond me. lol.

Karrie - You are using the wrong term - Having a number of things on the go - Yes - Multi Tasking is an impossibility.

Are you just being a tad stubborn?

 

[karrie]

no, not stubborn at all, simply clarifying. You can't state broadly that multi-tasking is impossible. Certain tasks mesh just fine.

 

[Goober]

no, not stubborn at all, simply clarifying. You can't state broadly that multi-tasking is impossible. Certain tasks mesh just fine.

Human multitasking - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The New Atlantis » The Myth of Multitasking

Multitasking - Crystalinks

 

[karrie]

From a cursory glance at the Wiki article, you prove my point....

"people show severe interference when even very simple tasks are performed at the same time, if both tasks require selecting and producing action (e.g., (Gladstones, Regan & Lee 1989) (Pashler 1994)). Many researchers believe that action planning represents a "bottleneck", which the human brain can only perform one task at a time[2]."

Your second link is still discussing mental multi-tasking as well.

And, from your last link.... "Being psychic my whole life, the way I multitask is in part focusing on the physical (left) brain while at the same time, paying attention to 'the other side' (right brain) for messages." And that's when I quit reading... lol.



The research is discussing mental multi-tasking.

 

[talloola]

I'm a mom, so there's no such thing as not multi-tasking. Of course stuff gets forgotten from time to time (oddly enough, more often when I sit down and stop buzzing about). But, the job wouldn't get done period if not for splitting attention. The key is to know which tasks can be multi-tasked and which can't. Physical repetitive tasks and mental tasks go together. mental task and mental task don't. Frankly, how any children survive the split attention of their parents is beyond me. lol.

your're right karrie, i've raised four children, and have multi tasked hundreds of times. it's just having
many things on the go at once, women do it all the time. My husband could not do it, he would do one of
the tasks, then do another, then another, each following the other, he is a one thing at a time person,
does each thing very well, I think many men are like that around the house.

I would hope a brain surgeon is not like that, but then he probably listens to music while performing
surgery, guess that doesn't count.

I am typing right now and talking to my husband who is calling me to see something on the news, I
answered him without a gliche in my typing.

 

[Goober]

your're right karrie, i've raised four children, and have multi tasked hundreds of times. it's just having
many things on the go at once, women do it all the time. My husband could not do it, he would do one of
the tasks, then do another, then another, each following the other, he is a one thing at a time person,
does each thing very well, I think many men are like that around the house.

I would hope a brain surgeon is not like that, but then he probably listens to music while performing
surgery, guess that doesn't count.

I am typing right now and talking to my husband who is calling me to see something on the news, I
answered him without a gliche in my typing.

God Help me - Now it is 2 Stubborn women - Send help and perhaps the Arch Angel St Micheal - Yes John Travolta will work.

 

[JLM]

God Help me - Now it is 2 Stubborn women - Send help and perhaps the Arch Angel St Micheal - Yes John Travolta will work.

It's OK Goober, which one of these women can catch fish and drink beer at the same time? :lol::lol::lol: