Is American becoming nation full of morons

[Bacchus88]

A friend set me an email, the youtube clip made my mouth drop open. How did it get like, is the US school just not teaching anything? I am for lost of words... just watch I am southern, and not this thing....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHXbvzlVv14

[Head Wreck]

a teacher is only as good as the student. you'll find the same thing here, and i often get asked why i know random bits of physics, chemistry and history. my reply is often "i listened in school"

[VoldtaEngler]

Couldnt Win American Idol either... so maybe not.

Although I'm reminded of a quote.. "In a recent survey it shows that 60% of 8th graders read at a 3rd grade level....wouldn't this then technically now be the 8th grade level?"

[OliX]

When I saw your comment I just had to see it for my self. Even though it's quite amusing, it is disturbing as well to know that there are people that doesn't think of improving them selfs at all. That's just sad.

everywhere such as http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww

[Morning Glory]

I think we are a long way past "becoming".

[VoltaireBlue]

I think we are a long way past "becoming".

totally!
I saw the thread title and thought "becoming? what's this becoming shit?"
I feel like I am surrounded by idiots at least 70% of the time.

[mystoo]

Oh my god..is that like...a serious question? Like, at least she's like...got her looks to get by on...for now.

So, I want to say YES.

[Morning Glory]

"Do they speak French there?"

lol. it just keeps getting better.

I think that they purposely put the dumbest people on that show. I refuse to believe that the collective human intelligence is so low.

[Bacchus88]

I found this a little gem random people from the US all parts.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2U_KRpz5NY
This really makes me sad, wow....god!
Apathy is suicidal bliss our fate!.....

[mystoo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa4q4FywsN0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa4q4FywsN0

Hahahahaha...

[One Eyed Cat]

I'm reading a book called "The Dumbest Generation". The citations are hard to refute. I see academics and others of great acumen and erudition as my betters. The nation, however, is to the point where democracy becomes a questionable concept. We do not have the informed populace Jefferson admonished us to build and maintain.

I remember a scene in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". The protagonist assumes the inmates are their against their will. In reality, most had checked into the asylum by choice. And so it goes ...

OEC

[Bacchus88]

OEC we are Republic not democracy....

I think the American public school system is doing what it was design to do with cruel perfection. To keep the masses just smart enough to goto work, pay taxes, and never question government on both side democrat or republican. We really do not have culture to fall back on, it rather hollow.... I am stopping, will rant about this for long time... there just isnt enough time for everyone to read it..


my hope for this country is starting to lose its luster....

[mystoo]

"Do they speak French there?"

lol. it just keeps getting better.

I think that they purposely put the dumbest people on that show. I refuse to believe that the collective human intelligence is so low.

If they didn't put stupid people on the show then they wouldn't really have a show would they? Come on! How can a 35 year old person NOT be smarter then a 10 year old???
But why does such a show even exist in the first place? This is entertainment? Are you kidding? Perhaps people really are THAT stupid.

[Bikerpunk]

I realise it was a typo, but the fact that you misspelled "America" in the title is inadvertently hilarious.

[Mr Karl]

well, it's good to know that everything's going according to plan

[Bikerpunk]

You're not supposed to tell the Americans about the invasion plans YET

[OrganizedKhaos]

Media DOES have a part in DUMBING down society.

They always put down the book worms... and glorify the rebellious slackers.

[Bikerpunk]

It's just the same laziness we see everywhere in society.

Why work? Flip a house.
Why learn? Get a GED. (I understand not all people who have GEDs are idiots, etc. -ed.)
Why understand geopolitics? Believe in a slogan.

[Amelia G]

Media DOES have a part in DUMBING down society.

They always put down the book worms... and glorify the rebellious slackers.

I think maybe it is because I am a rebellious bookworm workaholic that I can't figure out where I fit in.

[OrganizedKhaos]

Understandable.
I think you're very well rounded.

[OliX]

Not only americans....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4L5iqekwbKg

[Head Wreck]

agreed olix.

list the British too

[Mindgames]

Understandable.
I think you're very well rounded.

..and 90% of the population are now so dumb, they'd take that as a weight joke.


I totally agree with the idea that there are far too many people with too little interest in self-development, certainly on an academic level, but after having been surrounded by the inept for decades, I have given it some quite detailed thought (whilst applying encouraging bitchslaps to those who may benefit from them).


Society (meaning the US/Europe etc.) is no less academically qualified now than in the past - it's not that long ago when the idea of a woman attending college was tantamount to heresy... and in some places was heresy. Even post-WW2 a large number of people knew they could crawl through school in the shortest, lowest manner possible and still walk into a job in the mines, mills, factories.... government... without even basic literacy. Academic high-achievers were the butt of jokes back in the 1800s - it's nothing new. There's a wider GAP in knowledge, as the available mass of what can be learned has increased, so to those above the gap, it seems a lot farther to the floor. The baseline is the same.

What has changed is the scope of literacy - I remember a time when being able to type as fast as you can talk was the domain of the elite secretarial school student, but spelling was important to everyone. Now, spelling is handled largely by technology, but kids under 5 can type faster than me. Using the Net to post something inane onto YouToob or 'poke' someone on Facebook is easy for even the lowliest school dropouts, but ask a room of retired engineers to do it and half will probably give up. The skills needed to function in society are always in flux, and I'll guarantee that when you're sitting on your porch at 95, there'll be some kid laughing at you because you can't work the anti-gravity lawnmower.

[Bikerpunk]

Mindgames: why get a Ph.D in chemistry when you make more as a plumber?

[One Eyed Cat]

OEC we are Republic not democracy....

I think the American public school system is doing what it was design to do with cruel perfection. To keep the masses just smart enough to goto work, pay taxes, and never question government on both side democrat or republican. We really do not have culture to fall back on, it rather hollow.... I am stopping, will rant about this for long time... there just isnt enough time for everyone to read it..


my hope for this country is starting to lose its luster....

I know we were formed as a republic. A Constitutional Republic to be precise. Beside the point. The citizens elect representatives in a (supposedly) democratic fashion. Further, initiatives are being passed directly by the citizens. If the citizenry is ill informed, you won't end up with particularly good results.

OEC

[One Eyed Cat]

I think maybe it is because I am a rebellious bookworm workaholic that I can't figure out where I fit in.

I'm a rebellious bookwork workaholic and simultaneously a slacker. They love me until the cues come not to.

OEC

[Mindgames]

Mindgames: why get a Ph.D in chemistry when you make more as a plumber?

No reason at all why everyone should - but unless a few do, the plumber won't have anyone looking after what goes in his pipes.

Sure, you can earn more with a trade than with an education in many cases, but cramming all that rarely-used stuff into your head changes the way it works. I think like a shrink even when I'm being paid like an artist. Don't know if it makes me a better artist or not, but it helps me negotiate!

IMO it's not so much about how far you need to go, as how far you want to. Someone may not need the old core skills like mental arithmetic and spelling to get a decent paycheck, but the person who sets out to learn those skills anyway has an approach to life that will get them further. It's not what the skill is in itself, but the interest in learning something new each day. That's why having things like non-native languages on your resume carries a lot of weight even if the job doesn't need them - someone who learned Inuit from a book can probably understand the manual for the new trash compactor.

[Velvet-Tongue]

I don't think America is full of morons. Just the people that try and go on a show run by a redneck comedian probably are.

[thegreatBJ]

em... yes?

all the video's are so funny though

[VoltaireBlue]

No reason at all why everyone should - but unless a few do, the plumber won't have anyone looking after what goes in his pipes.

Sure, you can earn more with a trade than with an education in many cases, but cramming all that rarely-used stuff into your head changes the way it works. I think like a shrink even when I'm being paid like an artist. Don't know if it makes me a better artist or not, but it helps me negotiate!

IMO it's not so much about how far you need to go, as how far you want to. Someone may not need the old core skills like mental arithmetic and spelling to get a decent paycheck, but the person who sets out to learn those skills anyway has an approach to life that will get them further. It's not what the skill is in itself, but the interest in learning something new each day. That's why having things like non-native languages on your resume carries a lot of weight even if the job doesn't need them - someone who learned Inuit from a book can probably understand the manual for the new trash compactor.

*standing ovation*
great post. I agree 100000000000000000%

[Mr Karl]

oh well, most people don't want to learn...........and to force someone to learn is abusive

anyways, having a world where the majority of the population consists of morons is good for the economy

[Pickles]

Heh I read this forum from time to time, and this thread just compelled me to post. So I figured i'd share an 8th grade test from 1895, sorry for being long winded. Just curious how many could pass this thing. On another note hello everyone.


1895 TEST
This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 from Salina, Kansas. It was taken from the
original
document on file at the Smoky Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, Kansas and
reprinted by the Salina Journal.
8th Grade Final Exam: Salina, Kansas - 1895
Grammar (Time, one hour)
1. Give nine rules for the use of Capital Letters.
2. Name the Parts of Speech and define those that have no modifications.
3. Define Verse, Stanza and Paragraph.
4. What are the Principal Parts of a verb? Give Principal Parts of do, lie, lay and run.
5. Define Case, Illustrate each Case.
6. What is Punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of Punctuation.
7-10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the
practical
use of the rules of grammar.
Arithmetic (Time, 1.25 hours)
1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide. How many bushels of wheat will it
hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3942 lbs., what is it worth at 50 cts. per bu, deducting 1050 lbs. for
tare?
4. District No. 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a schoolseven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?
5. Find cost of 6720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. long at $.20 per inch?
8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance around which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.
U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)
1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided.
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus.
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States.
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas.
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, and Howe?
8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, and 1865?

Orthography (Time, one hour)
1. What is meant by the following: Alphabet, phonetic orthography, etymology, syllabication?
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: Trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate
letters, linguals?
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u'.
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e'. Name two exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: Bi, dis, mis, pre, semi,
post, non,
inter, mono, super.
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates
the
sound: Card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.
9. Use the following correctly in sentences, Cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane, vain, vein,
raze,
raise, rays.
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical
marks
and by syllabication.
Geography (Time, one hour)
1. What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of N.A.
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St.
Helena, Juan Fermandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco.
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.
7. Name all the republics of Europe and give capital of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give inclination of the earth.

[Kidthorazine]

there have always been idiots, there always will be idiots, although yeah I can see how things may be getting more and more dumbed down as of late, I mean jesus look at our fucking president.

although I also think that people are focusing their learning now on more practical things, rather than pure academia, comparing people today with people from 1895 is a bit unfair, since in 1894 people who weren't intellectuals probably wouldn't be in the 8th grade anyways.

[Bacchus88]

I realise it was a typo, but the fact that you misspelled "America" in the title is inadvertently hilarious.

Yes, Biker you are right it isnt in a American... the uses of "IS" was wrong...
But all the same glad someone got kick at out this! English and grammar were never very strong point for me in school.

So be kind a forgive me for that lol.... or just be yourself and give me hell!

[Mr Karl]

interesting exam