Thread: Are people stupid or am I getting old?

Some people are dumber than you, and you are dumber than some. Where we sit on the stupid scale plays a part in how dumb we perceive the majority of others around us, but it is certainly common for people to assume they are surrounded by idiots. The way I think of it is that one idiot is complaining about the idiocy of the idiot surrounding him, who is in turn complaining about that idiot. So, moaning about others' failure to know what we feel they should know is sort of an equalizer, don't you think?

Nobody is getting younger though

Originally Posted by hoglahoo

Some people are dumber than you, and you are dumber than some. Where we sit on the stupid scale plays a part in how dumb we perceive the majority of others around us, but it is certainly common for people to assume they are surrounded by idiots. The way I think of it is that one idiot is complaining about the idiocy of the idiot surrounding him, who is in turn complaining about that idiot. So, moaning about others' failure to know what we feel they should know is sort of an equalizer, don't you think?

Nobody is getting younger though

Something to that. To me Tom Hanks is a "new" movie star. Same with Johnny Depp. When I hear young people talk about the latest stars I've never even heard of them. Still stuck back in the Jimmie Stewart, Clark Gable days I guess.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Something to that. To me Tom Hanks is a "new" movie star. Same with Johnny Depp. When I hear young people talk about the latest stars I've never even heard of them. Still stuck back in the Jimmie Stewart, Clark Gable days I guess.

Yes it sounds like you are stuck in a time that younger people could not possibly understand since they weren't there. I am certain my wife doesn't know who Leonard Nimoy is, but I would not bet against her that she knows the names of more actors and celebrities than I do

Originally Posted by Theseus

The problem is that people don't need to learn anything anymore. If they ever need anything, they just whip out their phone, lap top, ipad, etc..., look up the answer, spout it off like they are smart and then promptly forget everything they just looked up.

It's more than just that. The newer generations are being constantly bombarded with stimulation from all over the place. They have access to a whole bunch of neat gadgest, from Ipods to "smart" telephones. they always have something to keep them occupied, something that it keeping them entertained. When you're being entertained, you don't have to think much. They don't really have a few minutes in the entire day to be left alone with their thoughts. How are you supposed to learn & think in that kind of an environement ?

That being said, I don't think the newer generations are necessarily more stupid, they're knowledge is just different. I'm sure they know TONS of things that we just don't have a clue about. So on certain things, they are idiots to us, and on other things, we're a bunch of stupid old men to them.

Originally Posted by Glenn24

It's more than just that. The newer generations are being constantly bombarded with stimulation from all over the place. They have access to a whole bunch of neat gadgest, from Ipods to "smart" telephones. they always have something to keep them occupied, something that it keeping them entertained. When you're being entertained, you don't have to think much. They don't really have a few minutes in the entire day to be left alone with their thoughts. How are you supposed to learn & think in that kind of an environement ?

That being said, I don't think the newer generations are necessarily more stupid, they're knowledge is just different. I'm sure they know TONS of things that we just don't have a clue about. So on certain things, they are idiots to us, and on other things, we're a bunch of stupid old men to them.

That is a fact. The young fellow, in his twenties, that pierces at the shop, can play video games for 10 hours straight. Dark Age Of Camelot or something like that.

I once read a quote from Mark Twain, "We are all of us ignorant, just on different subjects." So I guess the old complaining about the young is nothing new.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

That is a fact. The young fellow, in his twenties, that pierces at the shop, can play video games for 10 hours straight. Dark Age Of Camelot or something like that.

I once read a quote from Mark Twain, "We are all of us ignorant, just on different subjects." So I guess the old complaining about the young is nothing new.

You can talk all you want about this generation's attitudes about this or that and how in the end it's a continuum and is always the same however just look at the current state of this country and that alone should cue you all in on the general intelligence of the country at large in this day and age. The real question should be, is it by design or it just happened that way.

i remember at the age of 37 i was moving to florida with a young lady i was dating she was 19 *(don't ask... call it a midlife crisis)... anyway as we were driving east on I10 the song "cashmere" came on the classic rock station we were listening to....

she said...

OH!!.. LISTEN ITS THE NEW PUFF DADDY SONG......

apparently a rapper had "rapped" *(or raped) over this song around that time...... she was disappointed to find out that in fact "puff daddy" was not the author of the song....

needless to say our relationship was very short after that moment because the generation gap was huge....

and she was dumb... as a rock.....

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

You can talk all you want about this generation's attitudes about this or that and how in the end it's a continuum and is always the same however just look at the current state of this country and that alone should cue you all in on the general intelligence of the country at large in this day and age. The real question should be, is it by design or it just happened that way.

Well, the only thing is that it is not the up and coming generation runnings things at all.
The post war generation is.
So if anyone is to be blamed for what the US or any other countries look like today, look to our generation, and even the one before that.
What todays young generation will achieve or not is to be seen in about 30 years.

Can i add grumpyness? I'm proudly becoming a grumpy old man at 31. It's like an adult switch got flicked in my brain at 30.. Buses being late really pi**es me off..

hair growing out of my ears at 42years old pisses me off...