The Dumbing-Down of America: Anti-Intellectualism

[Guitarist]

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blo...-intellectualism-and-the-dumbing-down-america

A good but depressing article I just saw. Even PBS is affected by this sad state of affairs, and has been for years.

One of the things that frustrates me is that so many people believe everything they read on the Internet. Apparently teachers are no longer teaching discernment in research.

Another thing that bothers me is the number of people who say "I am convinced that [something I've heard] is factual" yet the thing they've heard has no basis in fact. There seems to be no distinction made between opinions and facts.

 

[WhatInThe]

Slightly aged but the big problem is big college, student debt and jobs. Why pay for a college degree when it's more certain that ever that it won't lead to 'a' job. Once in "a" job it might help advance someone or get them a raise. Also more jobs than ever require some kind of training or certification, over a 1000 last I check but that doesn't mean college credit courses. A lot of pipe & steam fitters wind up with the equivalent of an associates degree in mechanical engineering after completing their training and apprenticeships. Many police and fire academies require 2000 hours of training. College isn't the universal ticket it was a century ago. There are more things to learn and specialize in as well.

It would be nice if being a well rounded individual was a goal for self education but the next beer and tv show seem to get priority. But that's an contributing factor as well. With access to so much information that frequently would only be available in a formal course, book or lecturer one can find it on the internet. In some respects people have more "knowledge" but in the small portions they get it about the only thing it's good for is a trivia game.