[Discuss] [OT] Dumbing down of the population

[jprigot at verizon.net (Jonathan M. Prigot)]

For some fun, check out "The Marching Morons" by Cyril M. Kornbluth
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Marching_Morons). I'd buy that for a
quarter!
-- 
Jonathan M. Prigot <jprigot at verizon.net>

On Tue, 2013-01-15 at 13:36 -0500, John Abreau wrote:
> I think a significant percentage of that is really just a case of looking
> at the past through nostalgia-tinted glasses. America has had a widespread
> tradition of anti-intellectualism since long before the Revolutionary War.
> 
> Respect for intellectual achievement blossoms briefly every now and then,
> like it did after the USSR launched Sputnik 1 in 1957, which gave us a good
> run for a couple of decades before it started fading again in the
> mid-1970's.
> 
> We've always been a small minority of intellectually savvy folks amidst a
> large majority of intellectually lazy "marks" who eagerly fall for every
> con artist that they encounter.
> 
> 
> On Tue, Jan 15, 2013 at 8:35 AM, Mark Woodward <markw at mohawksoft.com> wrote:
> 
> > A couple conversations have touched upon this, tangentially perhaps, but I
> > think it is important.
> >
> > When I was a kid, my dad said to me, as I imagine many working class
> > fathers said to their sons of this particular generation, "You have to be
> > rich enough to pay someone or smart enough to do it yourself."
> >
> > This sentiment has been important to me, and maybe has made me a bit of a
> > snob, because I know how everything in my house and car work. That isn't a
> > brag as I believe everyone should. It is the only way to protect yourself
> > against cheats and liars who try to fix or sell you things.
> >
> > I find it astounding that in 2013 people actively avoid learning things.
> > In all of human history we finally have a system where anyone and almost
> > everyone have access to information never possible. It's astounding if you
> > really think about it. Alas, I have heard engineers say to me "Why do I
> > need to know that?" Seriously?!! I think it is a serious problem that mega
> > corporations are getting richer and richer off a population that wants to
> > take less and less responsibility for understanding the world around them.
> > Its NEVER been easier to get information, and yet fewer people seem to
> > care. The are so few renaissance men left.
> >
> > I think as a trend this does not signal great things for civilization.
> > History shows that an ignorant population has never led to positive
> > outcomes. Take, for instance, global warming. The average citizen is not
> > prepared to take on the subject and evaluate the veracity of the various
> > arguments. Worse yet, they have no interest in getting to the point where
> > they can. I mean, geez, whether you agree or not that global warming is
> > real, there is real impact on your life from the subject. The same goes for
> > evolution and so on.
> >
> > Is it true, must it be true, that you can only make money by allowing a
> > person to be ignorant?
> >
> > OK, rant over.
> > ______________________________**_________________
> > Discuss mailing list
> > Discuss at blu.org
> > http://lists.blu.org/mailman/**listinfo/discuss<http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss>
> >
> 
> 
> 



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