New York Times has recently published a series of five short articles under the heading Are People Getting Dumber?, as part of their Room for Debate section.
Now, it’s all very stylish and fun for bloggerheads like myself to beak off about stupid people but I urge you to take the time and go through these pieces to get thoughtful takes on the very serious question of the alleged Dumbing of America.
I promise you, it will be worth your while.
They are as follows…
Thinking in More Sophisticated Ways
JAMES R. FLYNN, AUTHOR, “WHAT IS INTELLIGENCE?”
“Far from devolving, modern humans are getting smarter about applying logic to hypothetical situations.”
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To See Humans’ Progress, Zoom Out
STEVEN PINKER, AUTHOR, “THE BETTER ANGELS OF OUR NATURE”
“It’s easy to focus on the idiocies of the present and forget those of the past. A reality check shows we are improving.”
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Smart Moments Don’t Go Viral
RITCH DUNCAN, STAFF WRITER, DUMB AS A BLOG
“Online, the really dumb things that people do — even people of average intelligence — get amplified almost instantaneously.”
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Stupidity Is Funny, but It’s No Joke
ERIN JACKSON, STAND-UP COMIC
“Without dumb people doing dumb things, I wouldn’t have anything to riff about. I’d love to have that problem.”
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The World Grows More Complex
LINDA S. GOTTFREDSON, SOCIOLOGIST, UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE
“Modern innovations make us feel dumber, because they add to the work our minds must do.”
