Poll: Are the children of this generation less intelligent than us?

[cleverlymadeup]

i think the biggest issue is that parents baby their kids to much and more emphasis is put on just passing them and putting them thru school

i think the kids have the potential but the system and parents are limiting them and making them stupid

 

[Ignignoct]

Culture.

Imagine I screamed that word a thousand times at you so I could effectively communicate that I believe culture is the largest contributor towards practical intelligence.

That, and chemical predispositions in the brain that control reaction priority and impulsiveness. I'd be talking out my ass if I said I knew more than that they existed and fluctuate genetically, though.

Of course, this is a site tailored to nerds, so I doubt people will or have posted topics such as "Do our children need more football in grade school?"

Clarification: You're asking the smart and nerdy if they think the average joe is is lacking an attribute. An attribute that the smart and nerdy inherently have already.

In summation: Peanut butter and Jelly is ONLY topped by adding honey and nutella betwixt said peanut butter and jelly.

 

[Cid Silverwing]

OP: That's a very common moment that happens to everyone. We all have moments where we suffer brainfails.

On topic: Kids are growing dumber every year, yes.

 

[Flying-Emu]

As my math teacher repeatedly explains it:
This generation is no less intelligent than any other generation. We're just more apathetic. We simply do not care.

Every time he gives his speech on apathy, I always agree...

Really? By his logic, you wouldn't care.

We're not less intelligent. You can only judge whether someone is more intelligent or not when they've fully matured and made all the choices in their lives.

You have to be objective.

 

[Sewblon]

In a sense yes, because education standards have been declining since the 1960s if my parents have been telling the truth all this time they have been homeschooling me.

 

[DeleteMe1112311]

With technology, no.

With entertainment, no.

With stuff that does matter, yes.

There you go. That's a great answer.

Kids are getting smarter in terms of knowledge - what they are lacking is common sense and the ability to utilize the knowledge they learned.

I would have gone with lazy, too, but it's not always because they are lazy. Sometimes, they lack motivation because we don't give them a reason to be motivated.

Both of these. Thank you both very much for saving me the time and finding a way to say something that I could not find the words to express. The help is much obliged.

 

[Ignignoct]

As my math teacher repeatedly explains it:
This generation is no less intelligent than any other generation. We're just more apathetic. We simply do not care.

Every time he gives his speech on apathy, I always agree...

Really? By his logic, you wouldn't care.

We're not less intelligent. You can only judge whether someone is more intelligent or not when they've fully matured and made all the choices in their lives.

You have to be objective.

You have to not be so absolutist and understand that he was speaking towards society as a whole =p.

And yes, billions of people on this earth judge intelligence in a practical sense within the first few interactions with someone, and this isn't something to be ashamed of. It's necessary and healthy.

You have to be practical =p.

 

[Flying-Emu]

You have to not be so absolutist and understand that he was speaking towards society as a whole =p.

And yes, billions of people on this earth judge intelligence in a practical sense within the first few interactions with someone, and this isn't something to be ashamed of. It's necessary and healthy.

You have to be practical =p.

It's necessary and healthy, yes, but we're not talking about an individual person. We're talking about an entire generation.

You really can't be practical in that sort of situation. Judging someone based on a few random statements, you'd be able to think that even Einstein was an idiot. Surely he said some stupid things in his time when he was a child.

 

[Ignignoct]

You have to not be so absolutist and understand that he was speaking towards society as a whole =p.

And yes, billions of people on this earth judge intelligence in a practical sense within the first few interactions with someone, and this isn't something to be ashamed of. It's necessary and healthy.

You have to be practical =p.

It's necessary and healthy, yes, but we're not talking about an individual person. We're talking about an entire generation.

You really can't be practical in that sort of situation. Judging someone based on a few random statements, you'd be able to think that even Einstein was an idiot. Surely he said some stupid things in his time when he was a child.

For every Einstein you pegged wrong, a thousand more you'd hit the nail on the head =p.

And this initial judging is not a damning sentence, either. I may think a black dude is a gangsta when I first meet him if he dresses/talks it, but when he asks me what Ichigo's latest new power is in the Bleach anime series, all bets are off, and he's judged by his actions alone. Same for Einstein. We judges the cover, then read the book.

Sure you can be practical about it: Try not caring about the global scale.

Besides, the more failures there are in the world, the easier it is for you to rise above your peers.

Though, I will say there's something to be said for the motivation given through competitive spirit when you've met a true rival.

 

[SinisterDeath]

On my local 'news' Some 34 year old guy, Kidnapped his 'step-daugther'.

The News Anchors being the inteligent people they are, Decided to Interview one of his Highschool teachers.

The only thing the guy could say is
"I can't believe 'he' would do such a thing. He was great at sports, Football, basketball, baseball, I just can't see why someone who participated in so many sports would do something liket his."


I cried a little inside.

 

[lenneth]

i was walking home the other day and i happened to encounter a group of kids who were wearing primary school uniforms and they were dropping F-bombs every 3rd-4th word. but that's probably more of a problem with the parents. Humanity is in a sad state

 

[Aloran]

17 years old
not quite sure what generation I'd be classed in

But I agree with the apathy comment
I'm by no means stupid, taking the 3 sciences for A level
but at times I just can't be bothered
With stuff that arguably has no impact on my everyday life, I couldn't care less.
WIth what I need to know, I'm arguably cleverer than average.

It's all about what you deem as "intelligence". Hence the reason why I dislike tests so damn much- they don't test "intelligence", they test how much you can read

 

[Charli]

Nope, and I can say that with absolute confidence, my little brother is of the next generation and I swear to God I wasn't that intelligent as a kid... Laziness is a factor, but you shouldn't push one case onto the entire demographic, Kids are always getting smarter generation by the generation.

Remember there are douchebag egotist kids in every generation, you were that quiet little kid who rarely got payed attention to, they have those too and they'll be the 'smarter' ones.

 

[Mr Fatherland]

I hope not, I'm 13 and I can outwit my mum, who is quite a clever lady. I took an I.Q test and it came out 104, that's one less than Ronald Reagan. I voted for the lazy option though, since every boy from 20 years ago owned swiss army knives and climbed trees for fun.

 

[MMMowman]

I said to my older sister (a couple of years older) "Hey look it's a dead bird". She looked up to the sky and said "Where?"

 

[Brownie101]

It depends on "Us" and who the individual in question is.
I have many friends who...well...are idiots.
Half the people in my classes are.

 

[Samurai Goomba]

Well, my mom sure was a better parent than any 100 parents I could name that I've met more recently in my life. Since there seems to be a correlation between good parenting and children who don't grow up to be worthless, I'm going to say that yes, children are at least getting a bit stupider than they were. I'm not saying I'm wonderful, but YouTube is a good example of the kind of modern kids we're getting out of modern, no-discipline, TV-babysitting parenting.

 

[Masika]

Well, for those that spends hours and hours playing games or on the computer or texting instead of actually spending face to face social time, they, in a way are stupid. There's a Macleans article that does a much better job talking about this and I think it's called Dumbed Down.

Anyway, the article talks about how kids that spend lots of time in technology and spend less time with people are not allowing their frontal (pretty sure it's that one) lobes in their brain to develope properly. This in turn makes it difficult for them to read body language or hold decent conversations. However, as it was mentioned previously, these people become very technologically smart and can multitask in different things and sometimes find it very difficult to only do one thing at a time.

Then again, you have to look at what it means to be smart in todays world. When you look back fifty or more years ago, "smart" was to see how much information could you stuff into your head. Were as, today, it is to see how and where you can find the information. For example. Way back then, there were things you just had to know by heart you multiplication tables. Where as today, a calculator works fine. The same idea applies to history. Then, you studied to see how many facts you can learn. Today, you study to learn the concepts, not necessarily the facts.

A friend of mine who has been on the Escapist for a few years now told me about a poll tha was done on introverts and extroverts. People that spend lots on time plugged into techonology are more likely to be introverts and want to spend less time with people then those who do not spend a crazy amount of time involved in technology. I'm an extrovert, but all of my friends are all gamers and they are all introverts. Hmmm.... wonder why that could be.....

There is a positive and a negative to these coming generations. It all depends on whether or not you agree with what those are. We have the power to alter it slightly so not so many people are socially inept, but most people don't want to pull away from technology and face the person on the other side.

 

[Masika]

I must ask, was it an IQ test online? Because they are not so accurate. I did one and had an IQ of 145. I think mine should only be about 130. The ones online are also not valid/real. Alot of the times they are rip offs.

I hope not, I'm 13 and I can outwit my mum, who is quite a clever lady. I took an I.Q test and it came out 104, that's one less than Ronald Reagan. I voted for the lazy option though, since every boy from 20 years ago owned swiss army knives and climbed trees for fun.

 

[Masika]

Sorry 'bout this one. My computer had a little freak out...