are people getting dumber about old stuff, or am I just becoming obsolete?

And they cant spell for shit!!! Lol

 

Not knowing abput a obsolete technology doesn't make you stupid. However complaining about someone not knowing about a obsolete technology might...

Well said.

 

Stupid is the "new flat black"

 

The next time a kid asks what you think is a stupid question, don't contribute by being stupid. Be smart and give a factual forthwright answer.

 

True,true. But what I find-in my younger employees and my younger clients is that they don't have any curiosity. It's not about ancient technology-it's that they have no interest in the world around them. No interest in history, or reading , or how things work or how to bake cookies from scratch (where would the HAMB be if Ms Denise used a mix?) any number of things that I find interesting in my world. They don't learn how to communicate and they don't have a clue to to find out what they don't know. If it's not electronically placed in front of them , they are lost.

An electronic message contains only about 7% of the information you can get from a face-to-face conversation.

It's not that people are dumber, but they've lost the desire to learn.

 

that's why it's called "the dumbing of America". if you can't text it or twitter on it, it's not worth knowing about. we have always prided ourselves on being a super power, but the younger genration can't read or spell. they know nothing about the world and other countries. ask them to point out a place and they don't have a clue. ever watch the national news, that's NATIONAL news and you will see whats going on with Tiger Woods, Iraq and Afganistan, nothing else in any other country. the old saying is"love it or leave it"-the only thing leaving is brainpower.

 

Why does a kid need to know how a rotary phone works? WHen I was 19, I had no idea how a crank phone worked and had no need to know.

If I had to I probably could but I've never learned how to properly shoe a horse. Do I need to?

A 19 year old cashier has absolutely no need to know how to set points. Now, if they wanted to learn, I'd hope someone would show them how as opposed to telling them that you just oil them.

We are sometimes just surprised that people aren't aware of things that were once everyday to some os us but they have no need to know. (for the most part. A parts person should know what points are).

I'm 48. I've never owned a Model T. I still hope to but if I did, I'd likely look up an even older guy to give this kid a hand with it.

 

Trust me people are stupid, Im 19 and go to college and everywhere you look people just walk around without a clue. 90% of people I meet could not tell you where a spark plug is or know what a carb is. I have worked and boughten and paid for by myself 3 cars, and try and do everything or learn how to do it. People just don't want to learn or listen, if we stop learning how to we go anywhere in life?

 

On the other hand, I have no desire to learn the 50 different things my older daughters telephone can do which she already knows how to do before even picking her phone up.

It took my 8 year old daughter no time to learn things on the computer that took me a long time to get down.

 

Kids are stupid because they are young in the year 2010?? Lazy because they have a cellphone??
"Horse shit" said the papa sparrow to his flock, "Let's Eat!"

They are stupid if their parents are stupid and don't take time to educate them.
I see nothing to be proud about in saying I'm smarter because I'm older, it's a copout to say you young kids are on your own, you have to learn it yourself.

We don't have much to do with how the neighbors raise their kids, except set an example. Kids don't want to be the dumbest ones on the block, so one parent setting an example can be contageous. But if our own kids are stupid it's because we failed. If they ain't motivated to learn, we failed. If they are fat and lazy, we failed.

So, I guess I'm braggin'. All of my kids and grandkids have a job. None of them whine about the bad economy. My youngest grandson just got accepted to University with a 4 point GPA. We're just hoping we can dig up the tuition, don't have time to whine. When the family gets together we have intelligent conversation. One thing we don't find funny is bullshit movies like "Dumb and dumber". Anybody that thinks that kind of tripe is humorous is stupid themselves.....

 

Losing technology smarts is one thing, but my mother, aunt, and I all went in to the bank one day and went to the teller (mom and aunt are twins) and the lady said "Wow yall look like twins" to which my mom answered, that's because we are", with no hesitation the lady said "Were yall born the same day too?"


Is that not how twins come about? The whole born at the same time approach....

 

It is not ALL the new generation that is for sure.

My son and a guy a little older than me were discussing the engine in my son's truck, when this guy flatly stated that no engine without fuel injection could make more than 400 HP.....

 

My 5 year old niece sat down at my wife's computer and sent me an email the other day - no prompting, had never done it before, just watched her Mom do it and remembered how.

I never play games with kids on a computer - they kick my ass very badly every time.

What I find scary is the loss of cursive writing - I don't think I can do it anymore. I print faster than I ever wrote now. My parents who were born in the 20's had absolutely beautiful penmanship, mine was not very good, now non existant. I find I will type a note in Word or TextEdit if I am sitting at the computer, or print on a piece of paper if I am not. Remember letter writing?

 

My wife noted this the other day. She has to do the computers all day and she says "I think I'm forgetting how to write".

One day writing may become obsolete. I'm betting there are many people who are glad they never had to learn to set newsprint.

 

Letter writing. Reminds me. I just got a letter from my 92 year old aunt. Handwritten. My reply will be handwritten, of course. Typing it up on the computer and printing it on the Canon ink-jet wouldn't be any 'dumber', but I know she likes me to answer in kind so it would be kind of an insult to her to type it.

 

"Notable Quotations from George Santayana
'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.'
Life of Reason, Reason in Common Sense, Scribner's, 1905, page 284"

She was a ditz and a blondie if that says anything. sweet girl, just didn't seem very bright.

 

I'll bet those same idiots know the really important stuff in life though, like the entire menu at Starbucks and who won American Idol for the past seventeen seasons.

 

I don't think kids are getting dumbed down just being taught different things. Technology is everywhere. Even in my line of work everything is becoming digital. We have laptops on our jobsites and I really don't know what I would do without my blackberry. But both my 13 and 10 year old daughters are smarter than me when it comes to these things. They are taking computer classes in elementary and college credit classes in highschool. And the know it all attitudes that kids have..... I bet that generations before were saying the same thing about us. So the next time a kid asks a "dumb question" think about the answer you give them. Educate them and odds are they have something to teach you also. And remember this is who is going to be taking care of us in our twilight years.

 

This is why my wife and I are so damn nice and accomodating to our nieces and nephews (other than we love them)!

 

I have to go with DocWatson and 29nash on this one, it largely goes back to parenting and home environment. There are no shortcuts. I expect the school system to present the curriculum and anything beyond that is bonus. If kids do not learn honesty, integrity, initiative, self discipline, kindness, empathy and a work ethic in the home and "village" it is unlikely that they will pick these things up anywhere else.

Now my youngest just turned 18 and he is the most inquisitive person that I know, more worldly than I have ever been. (credit to my Ex). My computer is always on because it is the encyclopedia that never goes out of date. So when he stumps me, which is often, we google together and then we TALK. These days I learn as much from him as he does from me.

 

Yes, tens of thousands of out of control speeding Camrys and Prius'

 

Or... could it be she was trying to be nice and didn't care about your stupid watch she was too busy waiting for her next tweet to arrive.

Information overload is the name of the game these days.... kids have to absorb SOOO much with the Internet at their disposal now. It is much easier to forget the unimportant common sense stuff and look it up later on Google. Think about it, you had 1 set of Encyclopedias to read and a TON of critical thinking to do. Young people have more information than ever before and use their Grey matter not for critical thinking but information sorting and sifting.

 

I thought you were going to saw you caught the clerk just STARING at it because it says CONCENTRATE.

 

So you're saying she was a dtz blonde who's going to eventually "invent" the wind up watch? I believe you're taking that qoute completely out of context but whatever, carry on.

 

So I assume you guys got up early today to milk the cows, feed the stock? Hitched up the mule to plow the back 40?
Or maybe got the flint out to start a fire? How far back do you want to go?
Like there aren't dumb people in every generation?
You are not obsolete, you are just getting to the "dumb: the "worlds gone to hell", Back in MY day". stage!
As I approach 60, it's tempting to succumb to that time honored old fartdom, but then I remember I didn't like cranky old A holes when I was young, why do I have to turn into one?
Times change, it's one of the only constants in the world. The reason I don't participate in the Van Nuys cruise is that people would give me shit about my '10 Mustang GT. Sorry, my life hasn't fit the standards too many HAMB'ers and old farts insist on judging people on. I love cars and hot rods and drag racing, and I greatly admire those that can build their own cars.
Am I supposed to apologize for MY LIFE because i haven't had the time, the talent to do so? I won't do that.
Lighten up guys, I'm sure a couple of you have said and done a couple of "dumb' things in your life!

 

I was in a department store the other day buying a simple item. As I was paying the cashier, the power went down and she had to count out the change before the register told her how much I was to receive back. We are talking a 40ish lady and she just couldn't figure it out. She felt embarrassed and I had a good chuckle. I told her what I needed back and I don't believe she believed me.

 

Reynolds- Im 19 and two of my best friends and mentors are 45 and 68. I have learned everything I know about hot rods from LLoyd who is 68, everyday after school I would go to his garage and work on stuff from his 27T to his Deuce to the bobcat. I try to learn as much as I can from the old farts around me because they have lived the life and have the passion for what they do, and I want to be able to pass the fire I got from learning from them to my kids.

I have got "mucho" respect for my elders, because they are the ones that teach me the things the modern world has made inaccessible to me because of technology and from being lazy. On that note: Thanks to all the old farts on here, this is just another learning tool for me.

 

My wife's Ford Territory was running rough the other day. Opened the hood to see if a plug lead came loose - there are no plug leads. There isn't even a damn engine in there, just a bunch of plastic covers. Hell there isn't even a cable to grab a hold of and blip it. How do you even begin to troubleshoot that shit?
Scarier yet, I shut it of and when I restarted it had fixed itself - I walked back inside and suggested she sell it immediately and get a real car.....

Who would ever need to repair a car( or anything else for that matter)? They shouldn't break. If they do it should be covered in the warranty/service plan. If it's out of warranty your should have traded it in on a new one. Cars are throw away disposable items like everything else in our lives right? Why would you want to FIX something when you can get a new one and make the corporations' stock go up. That is after all why we're all here isn't it?

Don't know if people have become dumber but it sure looks that way from where I'm sitting........

 

This what I've observed as well. It seems a shame.

 

that website is always good for a laugh hahahaha