The Dumbest Generation

[EL the Famous]

Cocky young whipper-snapper ain't you?

 

ALL YOUNG PEOPLE ARE LIKE THIS

[austrya]

I don't necessarily think that intelligent people have intelligent kids. I think anyone can be intelligent if they put their mind to it. It's all about how much determination a person has. If I have determination, work hard, get a good education, and land a good job, chances are, I'm going to raise my kids with the same ethics.

 

If I'm a slacker, quit school because it's too hard, and go from job to job my whole life, chances are, my kids are going to think that's the way to do it.

[ikol]

My belief, and I think science will eventually find this to be true, is that due to our evolutionary past, we are more a product of our genes, than the environment in which we are raised.

 

Twins separated at birth share very similar thoughts, ideas, and behavior patterns, regardless of their upbringing. Evidence that nature, in many cases, trumps nurturing

[myboyblue]

I think anyone can be intelligent if they put their mind to it.

 

This can't possibly be true but I understand your intent.

[bjorn_skurj]

what about the large % of children who develop autism coming from parents who are engineers and other professions, like folks who are considered uber intelligent?

More intelligent parents might be more likely to detect things in their kids that the less observant may miss or not think worth doing anything about.

[austrya]

This can't possibly be true but I understand your intent.

 

Medical/mental conditions aside, how can this not be true?

[bobbob1313]

I

[Reni]

My parenting? well, my parenting says - you should take care of the things you have. you want a new iPod? save your money and get one. end of story.

 

My daughter does have an inflated sense of entitlement (which is troubling) and I see this rampant not only in her generation, but in American culture period. In my household we have an emphasis on reading, creativity, etc - and when my daughter was younger she engaged in creative endeavors and was a voracious reader. Now? Not so much.......as a parent, you do the best you can and while you never give up on your kids, you only have so much control over them and their behavior once they reach a certain age.

 

When my daughter's dad died a few weeks ago my first reaction was to coddle her emotionally and then I wanted to shower her with gifts. I was clutching for anything to express my love and care for her. I didn't do this, because one, I can't afford it and two, it's not the answer.

 

--

 

Chris, to your point....Emily has a half brother (on her dad's side) that was adopted out at birth....raised by an affluent, well educated family. We recently found out that this young man is struggling with significant emotional/behavioral problems......very similar to Emily's difficulties. While I can't draw any firm conclusions, it certainly is interesting to think about the significance of genetics on our behavior and development.

[bobbob1313]

I still have a problem with people using small samples to judge an entire segment of the population. One person, one group of people, even 500 people in one town could tell you very little about an entire population spread across a couple thousand scare miles. Using that small sample to judge the whole population isn't bigotted, per se, but it is definitely stereotyping, which is frowned upon in all cases except, apparently with age.

 

And I am most certainly not writing genetics off. I agree 100% with Ikol here, it is a very complicated mixture of genetics and upbringing, and I have my doubts that we'll ever even be able to figure out what affects which areas more. And I think TDW is doing a great disservice to himself and to the science he holds so dear by writing off the impact of upbringing.

[myboyblue]

Medical/mental conditions aside, how can this not be true?

 

My original response was going to be...."I don't know. Ask the folks in my office every 3 minutes."

 

However, in seriousness, I think, on varying levels, people can be "intelligent" as you indicated. However, to Ikol's point, there are nature and nurture factors at play that impact to what level people can be intelligent. I am not convinced that everyone has the ability to be intelligent as it pertains to thinking abstractly, etc.

[jenbobblehead]

I am not surprised that children of train engineers are screwed up.

[Reni]

oh, I agree - I think there is a delicate balance of nature vs. nuture.....and I don't think we will ever truly know which has the more influence.

 

I am fascinated with the study of human development - and it seems whenever we get to a point where we "have it all figured out" there are new factors being discovered that throw everything back up in the air.

[bobbob1313]

I tend to not put too much stock into the whole "Mapping of the Human Genome" thing, because I don't really think it will ever be able to do what they want it to. Human genes are so complex, and to further complicate things, I believe most strands of DNA in our body are, as far as we know, junk. They don't say anything, and exist only to reproduce themselves.

 

I think it is absolutely fascinating stuff that I can't even begin to understand (And I half expect the first half of this post is totally incorrect), but I think there are those who put too much emphasis on the genetic side of things. I think there are things that are chemically controlled by our body, and as such are a product of our genetics, but I also think there are a lot of learned and trained actions and thoughts that we can have instilled in us at any age.

[Reni]

agreed.

 

Also, look up something called "epigenetics" it is really interesting. Makes everything so complicated and takes into account how socialization effects genetics.

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/3411/02.html

[Reni]

I am not surprised that children of train engineers are screwed up.

 

or the monkeys of train engineers

 

or something.

[radiokills]

I'm under 30, and:

 

-i read a ton, besides music its probably my biggest (and only) other legitimate hobby.

-i am very confident in my spelling ability.

-i'd like to think my writing has some form of literary merit.

-i am in tune with world affairs

[giraffo]

you know what I hate is how people play down creative things like video games or music as "dumb", but I imagine most people don't have enough experience to really articulate why one is dumb. What's so "dumb" about GTA, or videogames? I mean, no one sits down and says, "here, I'm going to do a series of problem solving" but video games provide a lot of creative opportunities for individuals, whether they're conscious of it or not. Tons of videogames have problem solving aspects that require thinking. Not to mention a lot of videogames are art in a bunch of ways; either narratively they employ a range of different ideas or as FAV art. It just seems like people think that's something that's "fun" it can't be good for you, it also works both ways; if it's fun, then it must be bad for you. It's just stupid that everyone rags on these things because they're not words on a page or some socially accepted norm of creative processing. I can appreciate Nathaniel Hawthorne or Wharton, but don't wonder why your average kid might not want to go through hundreds of pages of pretentious vernacular babble. It's not because they're dumb or lazy, but some of that stuff is just plain boring-- and the people who complain about kids are too busy being out of touch and bitchy about kids to find a way to make dated subject matter interesting to them.

[markosis]

Video games are dumb. Really fucking dumb. Not because of the content, but because the people I know that play them often are generally really fucking dumb.

 

Shit...was that poor grammar? I don't even know. Damn, that article totally distorted my fragile young mind. Time to go post my reaction on Myspace using no capital letters or punctuation. LOLZ

[austrya]

I have nothing against video games.

 

When my son was 4, he could out play us on one of the Tony Hawk games on the x-box. That shows awesome skills for a 4 year old.

[aricandover]

Video games are dumb. Really fucking dumb. Not because of the content, but because the people I know that play them often are generally really fucking dumb.

 

Shit...was that poor grammar? I don't even know. Damn, that article totally distorted my fragile young mind. Time to go post my reaction on Myspace using no capital letters or punctuation. LOLZ

 

that's too bad. most of the people I know that play them, are pretty intelligent, a few of them are geniuses.

[bobbob1313]

I'm actually surprised that video games have remained a form of "low culture" as long as they have. There is very little "serious" criticism of the genre, and it is dismissed still as leisure, as if reading or listening to music or watching movies are somehow less leisurely activities.

 

It is the most active form of entertainment you can partake in, but since it came out of arcades and is generally enjoyed mostly by teenage males (that least of intellectual demographics), it has yet to be taken seriously by intellectuals. Which may be why video games are becoming more and more popular amongst every day people.

[giraffo]

I have nothing against video games.

 

When my son was 4, he could out play us on one of the Tony Hawk games on the x-box. That shows awesome skills for a 4 year old.

 

but see, how fucking cool is that. 4 years old and he can beat an intelligent, competent adult? I think that says something for videogames, the fact that a 4 year old has even slight mastery over something that requires so much processing and coordination. I'm not writing off reading or saying videogames are the answer, but I see alot of people shitting on video games who usually can't explain themselves because they have some lofty notion of what they think videogames are, and for the most part haven't taken an honest shot at playing some.

[Good Old Neon]

Two video games that definitely require one to think - quite a bit actually.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_&_White_2

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization_4

 

I also consider them works of art.

[markosis]

I see alot of people shitting on video games who usually can't explain themselves because they have some lofty notion of what they think videogames are, and for the most part haven't taken an honest shot at playing some.

I hate video games. That's my explanation. Sorry if I'm not writing a thesis to back my opinion up.

 

I think video games were more valid when they left something to the imagination. These days they hand you life-like graphics and storylines so vivid that there's nothing left for the game user to add to the equation.

[bobbob1313]

I hate video games. That's my explanation. Sorry if I'm not writing a thesis to back my opinion up.

 

I think video games were more valid when they left something to the imagination. These days they hand you life-like graphics and storylines so vivid that there's nothing left for the game user to add to the equation.

 

Well, that is sort of like saying "I hate music because if you are listening to it, it has already been made. There's nothing left to do with it."