The Dumbing Down of America

[Big Steve]

What products out there make people use less brain power?

Examples:

Calculator instead of Pen and Paper
GPS Navigation instead of a Map
Spell Checker instead of a Dictionary

What are some others?

Big Steve [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[mbillie1]

Facebook

[roaaahhh]

calculator instead of pen and paper?????????
granted if your doing multi tables on one instead of your head you might functionally retarded but a graphing calculator has been one of the greatest upgrades in higher math education in a long time....

you want dumbing down of america, go with google, spell check, mtv, and social networking.

[mbillie1]

I assume Steve meant calculator for things like basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, division.........

[Big Steve]

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I assume Steve meant calculator for things like basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, division.........

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yeah basic [censored] like 6*7=42 etc. Not the 4th prime of [censored] for calculus.

Big Steve [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[mason55]

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you want dumbing down of america, go with google

[/ QUOTE ]

google makes it incredibly easy to find information. instead of having to go to the library and search through books, it allows information instantly. i am definitely way smarter because of google and I imagine that most people are as well. i know lots of people who aren't the brightest bulbs in the drawer but are still use google to look up lots of things they dont understand. in fact, google might be even more useful to those people. and it's not like someone who is too lazy to google would have gone to the library in the past to look it up.

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spell check

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spell check allows people to see the correct spelling of words. whether or not people actually learn after getting their words corrected is up for debate, but i'm sure some sink in after seeing them corrected and it allows people to produce works without misspelled words, something that will only increase people's ability to spell.

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social networking.

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how in the world does social networking make people dumber. if anything it exposes people to people with differing viewpoints who they might not meet if they were just hanging out with a small group of friends. it also allows people to keep in touch with those they might have lost touch with.

i think your examples are awful.



edit: I just saw the post actually asked "what makes people use less brain power" how is using less brain power related to the dumbing down of america? if anything, allowing people to learn with less effort is a good thing and will encourage people to expand their horizons and learn new information [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

[Blarg]

I'd bet many people can work things out on calculators that they have no hope of working out without one, at least in any reasonable amount of time. In that case a calculator is not merely a shortcut.

Big Steve, I'm thinking of this thread in terms of Paradise Lost, in a way.

In that vein, I'll contribute: working on your car. Used to be common and a huge money saver and great way to increase practical knowledge, even leading to career for some. Now that so many cars have computers and have their engine compartments built so tight that it's very difficult to change your own oil, it makes more sense to just know nothing and let the pro's do it.

I'd also posit pop psychology making people think they can't discipline their own kids and keep them from running around like wild animals, because it might cause the boogeyman to leap out of the closet and warp their kids' minds or something. We rely on experts and pseudo-experts way too much for even elementary things, and regarding kids, can easily feel like well-studied experts without having a clue or any control whatsoever on what's happening in our own families. We decide to feel good about trying, not about results.

[vhawk01]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
you want dumbing down of america, go with google

[/ QUOTE ]

google makes it incredibly easy to find information. instead of having to go to the library and search through books, it allows information instantly. i am definitely way smarter because of google and I imagine that most people are as well. i know lots of people who aren't the brightest bulbs in the drawer but are still use google to look up lots of things they dont understand. in fact, google might be even more useful to those people. and it's not like someone who is too lazy to google would have gone to the library in the past to look it up.

[ QUOTE ]
spell check

[/ QUOTE ]
spell check allows people to see the correct spelling of words. whether or not people actually learn after getting their words corrected is up for debate, but i'm sure some sink in after seeing them corrected and it allows people to produce works without misspelled words, something that will only increase people's ability to spell.

[ QUOTE ]
social networking.

[/ QUOTE ]
how in the world does social networking make people dumber. if anything it exposes people to people with differing viewpoints who they might not meet if they were just hanging out with a small group of friends. it also allows people to keep in touch with those they might have lost touch with.

i think your examples are awful.



edit: I just saw the post actually asked "what makes people use less brain power" how is using less brain power related to the dumbing down of america? if anything, allowing people to learn with less effort is a good thing and will encourage people to expand their horizons and learn new information [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

Agreed. I think that dictionary.com and Google are probably the two most important tools I have to get smarter, at least in the sense that the OP means. FWIW, I don't really think being able to do 6*7 off the top of my head relates to any meaningful intelligence, nor does spelling words correctly, but assuming thats what he's talking about, google FTW.

[Big Steve]

well along the lines of google, you can now search online instead of using a card catalog, and in college, periodical search engines are wonderful tools for report writing.

But we still, have people that have graduated from high school that don't know how to do simple math because the calculator does it for them, and can't read a map because they have Tom Tom.



But I have to agree with you. People are way to good parents with thier kids. And the ones that act like asses get labeled ADHD and given a handful of drugs. NEWSFLASH if your kid can sit and play Xbox 360 for hours at a time, they do not have an attention problem.

Big Steve [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[mason55]

Under the definition of OP Wikipedia is probably one of the worst things to happen in terms of requiring less brain power, but would you really argue that Wikipedia has dumbed down America? I have at least cursory knowledge on hundreds of topics that I might have never even heard of before Wikipedia. Anyone who doesn't go research things in scientific journals today wouldn't have 50 years ago, and some people who do now do it because they were exposed to topics through Google et al. Increasing the speed at which information is disseminated is never a bad thing.