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I was recently attending a chess club meeting at my school,(a nice change from the idiocy of some of my less nerdier friends:laugh: ) During this meeting one of the less intelligent members of the club said something particularly stupid... All of the insults that descened on him were, at first intelligent.... But then, then began to become so childish that it was painful. It was so bad, that my teacher had to tell them, and this is a direct qoute, to "Cut the six year old comments." And he wasn't joking. Some of them were really that bad. And then it hit me, my generation, save of few (such as myself , and others of higher intellect,) are much less intelligent then those of previous generations . Does anyone else have any comments or thoughts on the issue. Keep in mind intelligence is realitive, so saying that our genration, can use a computer or cell phone better isn't what I'm looking for...

The scary thing is, your generation, is still considered my generation. I get lumped with the kids that think "U R so kool! That rox3rs! is an actual sentance in the grand scheme of generations. People are getting dumber in this country, and this fuels other countries to point and laugh as they bury our students test scores. It is not so much a question to ask yourself "Are young people getting dumber?" that is a given. The real question is...WHY, don't you think?

I know you say intelligence is relative...
But, before even beginning to address your topic, my first question is how are you defining the words "intellectual," "intelligent, and "stupid?"

Perhaps a vowel rating?

"Intellectual" rates with 5
"Intelligent" rates with 4
"Stupid" rates with 2.

Therefore, logically, an Intellectual is 25% smarter than your average intelligent person, who is in turn 50% smarter than a stupid person.

My point being..
concepts like intelligence and stupidity are incredibly hard (if not impossible) to define and measure. Sure.. there's the oh so vaunted IQ test, and those have generally been proven to be wholly inaccurate and generally misleading.

IMO, a "stupid comment" might more properly be described as "an ill-informed comment."

Sorry... I know I'm being nitpicky


To approach your topic though... I think I'd say that every generation of kids has some who are more aware than others. And you always get the naysayers who point to the latest technological advances as the true culprit behind apparent "stupidity."
While I haven't looked at any statistics, I think it is probably fair to say that the less kids read and the less they are taught to think logically and question whatever they are told, the more likely they are to seem uneducated or lacking in maturity.

It's Ok. Nitpicky is good.
I agree with the definition that an ill-informed comment would be a better description. And also, I have noticed that many of my friends read very little. No matter how good I think book is they never will read it. So reading may affect it. But could there be anything else?

It seems to me that in my *huge* 9th grade class of 51, the only people that don't work hard to maintain a D- average are the people who read for fun. That includes me. I know it seems harsh, but it is pretty close to true. It also seems that the people who read don't do homework at home, rather we do our homework in the class before the one that the assignment is due in. And we get mostly A's. Strange... but that is the relation between reading and intelligence in my class.

@Magrus, so being unintelligent is better than intelligent by the vowel rating?

@ Wing, reverse your statement and then it is true.

so you want small numbers in the vowel rating system?

No.....nevermind. I have more important things to tackle currently. My question to you is, how many vowels are in your categorized label?

I'm #1

I can tell you are American!

so are you. and i think we should get back on topic before fable comes with the hammer of spam destroying

wing wrote:so are you. and i think we should get back on topic before fable comes with the hammer of spam destroying

That was a very intelligent remark. Right on the money. :laugh:

well, i have 2 parents that ill talk about here, my mom and my step dad, leaving my dad out because i dont know him very well...my mom and step dad came from the same generation, obviously, and my mom is very smart, all A's throughout school, my step dad? dropped out grade 10, BUT my step dad is intelligent with life, not school whereas my mom is intelligent in school, but not so much life, as she hasnt had as much time to waste(opinion based) on just living off a crappy job...now my mom supports the family because she was intelligent school-wise and made it through college(she had grades for university but went to college) and has a good job, my step dad doesnt work, because he refuses to go back to high school or work for minimum wage, but that doesnt make him stupid does it? and since my mom isnt as intelligent outside of school and work, does make her stupid as well? i sure hope not...theres different types of intelligences, you would be wise to trim it down to one type of intelligence...and my step dad is very practically intelligent(like fixing cars, or w/e else needs to be fixed...)

"The sum of the intelligence of the world is constant. The population is, of course, growing."

Seriously though, if you look at the physiological aspects, the prospects for "intelligence" are better for later generations, since you have better nutrition, better healthcare, etc (at least in the rich countries). But biology is just half the story. In order to use that potential, you have to use and train your mind. If you don't, you might very well be the village idiot with a brain that physically surpasses that of Einstein. As CE often tells me, your genome sets the upper limit for "intelligence", but there is no lower limit... usually followed by some claim that I am heading for the later rather than the first.

:laugh: :laugh: This thread reminds me of something: My sister-in-law is a professor teaching language and dialects. She is also a frightful intellectual snob, believing herself to be soaring above practically everyone mentally. This is obviously not the case, but like quite a lot of so-called "intellectuals" she is socially retarded to the point where her pompous windbag behaviour has chased away most of my brother's old friends. To put it mildly: sitting next to her at a dinner table, especially when she's had a glass of wine, requires a great deal of patience and a lot more wine.

So this June we went to a garden party hosted by a really old friend of me and my brother. Of the 40+ people there, only 3 of us had any academic training. The rest were craftsmen/women. A grand time was had by all except my sister-in-law, who parked her ever-expanding hindquarters with a bottle of red wine in the far end of the garden, and put on her "this is beneath me"- hat.

After a while a burly plumber who I've known since childhood decided he would try his best to entertain her a little, since she's sitting there all by her lonesome. Already pretty hammered he grabs a sixpack and heads over to her, presents himself, then sits down to have a chat. He ask her what she does for a living, she replies that she’s a teacher. He lights up and starts to talk about his kid’s teachers and teaching in general, but is rudely interrupted and told that “she’s not THAT kind of teacher, she’s a PROFESSOR!”

At this point I personally would have backed out and left her there, but he’s a nice guy, slightly sloshed and genuinely interested in getting to know my brother’s wife, who he’s never met before. So he asks her how she became a professor? This is where my sister in law makes a huuuge mistake. Because this guy is a plumber, sports a few old tattoos and drinks beer, she naturally assumes that he’s a mildly retarded git who’s never read a book in his entire life. So she starts to both patronize and lecture him at the same time, being her usually snide, pompous self. Let me point out that she speaks an incredibly annoying local dialect from the western part of Norway, at a slightly too high pitch, bordering on falsetto. She immediately gains the attention of everyone present.

She proceeds to tell the poor guy how it took 9 years of education, both in Norway and France, studying contemporary literature and languages. She namedrops a dozen particularly dire authors that every sane adult who’s ever been through high-school in Norway remembers with fear and loathing, but which she has studied in detail. She then goes into how she spent two years writing her main thesis on one of them and his influence on her local dialect and language, and ends by telling my buddy, in a tone positively dripping with contempt: “but I don’t suppose any of this means anything to you?”

At this point even my friend the plumber can’t take it anymore. The entire party is sitting there in complete silence, slack-jawed at the monumental arrogance on display, waiting for his reply. So he takes a sip of his beer, frowns and pretends to think deeply for a long time, then asks her:

“But…. do you know anything useful?”


Pandemonium erupts! :laugh: :laugh: :mischief: :mischief:

“But…. do you know anything useful?”

Smart guy. Given the problems with my brain and memory after my stint with modern medical wonders, my options changed drastically since I was 16. I would still consider myself "intelligent", but before that, everyone considered me "gifted". The difference? I can no longer square root large numbers in my head off-hand, or tear through books more than 6 years more advanced than my age/education level suggests with ease to absorb everything said. High level math is beyond me now, as is grasping difficult formulae and such.

Does that make me stupid? Perhaps to some people. Then again, those people miss the fact that all of that does not in any way help you in the "real world", not unless you get a job where you apply those things. I have never once used any of that since I left school. What then did I use?

*Basic algebra.
*Reading upside down and sideways in public places, such as stores and things, which, I was told was useless in school because everyone knows you never have to read upside down! It does wonders when trying to read something that is faced away from me when shopping, but cannot get to it because the little old lady happens to be standing there, staring at the cart in front of her, trying to remember where she is. Saves me 15 minutes an aisle when shopping. :laugh:
*A decent grasp of language habits and structure in order to process those incapable of speaking/writing English properly.
*"People skills", dealing with the everyday nonsense people toss my way without hurting them is a good skill to have.
*Learning the value of hard work, etc.
*Self-confidence and knowing my own self worth in various things I have dealt with previously.
*The worth of money in my life.
*What not to say in public.
*How to defend myself.

All of those things I learned on my own, whether it be in school, on the street, or at home. IMHO, school was a horrid waste of time for me, all 13 and a half years of it. From kindergarten to my half semester at college. I processed and learned all of the stuff I use daily on my own. I didn't need to sit through math class to learn what Cosign and square rooting numbers was, I never use them. If my parents had simply spent $4,000 on textbooks for history, math and science I could have taught myself everything I needed by the time I was 10 years old. I may not be able to claim 'higher education", or a $20 an hour paycheck. However, I can claim to be able to survive in nearly any given situation in civilization, which is more than I can say for most snooty "intellectual" types.

@Moonbiter,
ROFLMAO! That's beautiful! :laugh:

I've met quite a few academic types like that myself
And it's ironic. People like that just love to drone on endlessly about the "brutish ignorance of the masses" while simultaneously disparaging those of their colleagues who actually try to publish material intended for a wider audience outside of academic circles.

Moonbiter wrote:“But…. do you know anything useful?”

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

I know several people like your sister-in-law, and they do seem to know nothing useful. What it really comes down to is which is more important? Book knowlodge, or life and people skills? When it comes to life skills they are vastly more important to enjoying yourself.

Being somewhere in the middle of the intellecual grounds, I happen to know both people on either side of the intelligence scale. When it comes down to have fun, however retarded or immature the fun may seem to others, those on the side with less mental gifts are often far better at having it. However, it is a nice break to settle down to a good chess match with an intelligent friend.

Social skills are far more important and those who may have less talent in areas of the mind are often far more skilled at something like, talking members of the opposite sex. Or in the case of one of my friends he can barely manage a C average. However he the best goalie in class S. Good enough to play Div.I college ball. He also is one of the easiest people to get along with. So while lacking in intelligence, he is sure to get along fine in life, since he can deal easily with people.