They're lining up at the unemployment office like the rest of us.
Posted on 05/15/2009 7:20:03 AM PDT by BBell
Author Mark Bauerlein aims to provoke in his new book, "The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future" (Tarcher/Penguin). Do you agree? Take a look at eight reasons the Emory University English professor gives to ''not trust anyone under 30'' -- see which you think is the best. Disagree, or have your own spin? Have your say on this message board. Or see if Bauerlein answered your question directly in a chat from Wednesday, May 14.
1. They make excellent "Jaywalking'' targets
Bauerlein writes: "The ignorance is hard to believe ... It isn't enough to say that these young people are uninterested in world realities. They are actively cut off from them. ... They are encased in more immediate realities that shut out conditions beyond -- friends, work, clothes, cars, pop music, sitcoms, Facebook.''
2. They don't read books -- and don't want to, either
"It's a new attitude, this brazen disregard of books and reading. Earlier generations resented homework assignments, of course, and only a small segment of each dove into the intellectual currents of the time, but no generation trumpeted aliteracy ... as a valid behavior of their peers.''
3. They can't spell
Lack of capitalization and IM codes dominate online writing. Without spellcheck, folks are toast.
4. They get ridiculed for original thought, good writing
"On MySpace, if you write clearly and compose coherent paragraphs with informed observations on history and current events, 'buddies' will make fun of you,'' Bauerlein says. Wikipedia writing is clean and factual, but colorless and judgment-free. Often the most clever students, with flashes of disorganized brilliance on MySpace, switch to dull Wiki-writing formats for school papers, he says. "If we could combine the style and imagination of MySpace with the content of Wikipedia, we might get good stuff."
5. Grand
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
The American Spectator link is more in depth about the author and book. The book sounds interesting and I will probably learn something from it as I’m out of tune with the current generations. My kids are 10 and 13 so I believe it won’t be long and I’ll have a crash course in current trends.
....... every single day of my miserable existance.
Damn, Laz.... I plumb forgot about the zombies. Crap!!!!
Crap!!!!
We're all gonna die!!!!
At least the article had pictures; saved thousands of words from being read.
I would also contend that it still isn't set; consider British "colour," "labour," and "civilization" against American "color," "labor," and "civilisation."
They're lining up at the unemployment office like the rest of us.
Half are below the median intelligence. I think more than half are below the average.
.....3. They can’t spell.....
Freepers who post after turning 65 are exempt from spelling or typo errors
Boy, do I ever know what you mean. I keep a dictionary handy (on the computer) because I am constantly second-guessing my own spelling along with that of others.
What worries me is that a percentage of our smart and remarkable kids are being dumbed down.
those of us who eschew capitalization on FR, do so strictly as a way to give your life meaning. whatever would you have to post about, were everyone to post with proper grammar and punctuation? we are here for YOU, man : )
I’ve always liked the British versions better.
And all this time I thought you were twelve. ;-)
I suspect you will, up close and personal.
Best of luck.
May The Force be with you when the time comes. ;^)
What I long for : A spell check that not only tells me I’ve misspelled a word, but then gives me the correct freakin’ spelling, instead of just a red squiggly line. I’ve sat here and typed in 3 different spellings, all ‘squiggled’, till I’ve given up and googled and got the correct spelling that way.
spoken like a true pedant :)
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