Are people just getting dumber or what?

[RECHRGD]

We've got our ten year old grandson visiting us for the holidays and we try to have age appropriate programs on the TV for him to watch.  So, we're watching the game show "Are you smarter than a 5th grader".  There's some guy on there that graduated UCLA with a 4.0 GPA.  He begins by picking a 1st grade measurement question and can't answer it.  It was; how many pounds are in a ton....  WTF!!!!  I do get stunned sometimes by the lack of basic knowledge exhibited by many of our younger folks, but geeeze, a college graduate can't answer a question like that!  I do remember trying to convince an ex-son-in-law once that, at 60 mph you were traveling at the rate of a mile per minute.  He never got it!!!!  Do the schools not teach basics anymore or is it just too easy to look things up on the internet, so why learn this stuff....

[Cooter]

College grads with a 4.0 GPA just means they know how to take a test. It's the same 'ol thing my Grandpappy used to tell me. "Son, there's smarts, then there's common sense"...Most people think the smarter they are, the better/higher paying job they will get. This is true unfortunately, as EVERYBODY wants some pile of forms that says  your "Quaified" to do a job. When in fact, they can't do the simplest of tasks. The world is getting away from the DIYer. We are a society of over educated morons that can't touch our own asses with both hands.

This is part reason why I can't stand to see someone post on a forum that they "Can't do something"...NOBODY is so stupid that they can't do something, they just refuse to do so. Most give legitimate excuses like no time, as that higer paying job they got due to all those 4.0 GPA's they got keep them from being able. Then, there's the lazy ass, Instant gratification, people that just simply find doing the actual work on these cars is the sucky part and prefer to not to do any "Sucky" parts.

This is why I'm glad no matter what is thrown at me, I refuse to say "I can't do that", or "I'm not qualified" to do that. If it's built by man, I can work on it and most times repair it. The same cannot be said for the rest however as proof by you seeing it on National TV.

[skip68]

    how many pounds make a ton?       Pounds of what?

[The70RT]

It seems like car guys and cooks are the only ones that can comprehend weights and measures. A buddy of mine stated you would be surprised at the people who work construction that don't comprehend as well. He told a couple guys to cut some re-bar into 3' lengths and they said they were running low and may have to weld some pieces together, he says do what you have to do. They took 6' pieces and added 3' to each one making them 3 yards long  

[mauve66]

i just got back form home depot yesterday and i couldn't believe my ears

i buy a concrete stake with no tag on it, the kid, early twenties, starts looking through the computer to see what it is (after i told him), he keeps looking at the re-bar screen...........  finally i get him to change screens and he sees a pic of the stake, now there are 4 sizes, he looks at the stake and says "oh, you got the 2 ft one".  i politely tell him its the 18 inch one (on the screen right next to the 2 ft one) and he looks at me funny, walks around the register and holds it up against a ruler they have on the wall.  the only problem is this ruler is in tenths, 1.10 ft, 1.20 ft, 1.30 ft, 1.40 ft, 1.50 ft.........
he goes , "oh its not 2 ft, its 1 1/2 ft", at least he got that part right i guess, i say (still vaguely politely) "yes, its 18 inches", he walks 2 registers over to get a regular measuring tape and after measuring it AGAIN, he comes back and says...................  wait for it wait for it................ "you got the 18 inch one"

kinda like going to mcd's and ordering a half dozen mcnuggets and them telling you they only come in 6, 10, .........................

[mauve66]

It seems like car guys and cooks are the only ones that can comprehend weights and measures. A buddy of mine stated you would be surprised at the people who work construction that don't comprehend as well. He told a couple guys to cut some re-bar into 3' lengths and they said they were running low and may have to weld some pieces together, he says do what you have to do. They took 6' pieces and added 3' to each one making them 3 yards long 

damn canadians..................

[bull]

Some of the questions on that show fall under the "learn it and forget it" category but yes, I too have been sadly amazed at the very basic questions many adults can't answer on that show. The other day I was watching a youtube video where a guy was on the street with a mic asking people if they knew who Adolf Hitler was and there was an alarming number of them who had no clue. Now that to me is a lot more frightening than how many pounds in a ton, which itself is scary enough.

[A383Wing]

I watched that show when it was on.....there were a lot of questions I could not answer....

Bryan (not smarter than a 5th grader) 

[Tilar]

2000 lbs make a ton, and here are a few things that people really need to remember:

A degree on a protractor or a thermometer is a useful thing. A degree on a fool is just an indicator of money and education wasted.

Colleges are in the business of selling degrees. They have no interest in how the degree is used, only in selling more degrees. Never automatically grant any man or woman superiority because that person has a degree. It ain't safe!

[TruckDriver]

   how many pounds make a ton?       Pounds of what?

Doesn't matter if it feathers or if it's lead. A ton is a ton. Just the volume is different.

I suck at math, and I knew that, lol.

[Fred]

   how many pounds make a ton?       Pounds of what?

I think it's how many pounds of crap in a ton! 

[A383Wing]

is that something like "10lbs of crap in a 5lb bag?"

Bryan

[Vainglory, Esq.]

is that something like "10lbs of crap in a 5lb bag?"

Bryan

Hey!  No politics on this board!

[nh_mopar_fan]

Think about it this way.

If the average person is an idiot then there a lot of people even dumber.

[bull]

Think about how much is done for people these days; how much self-reliance has gone out the window even in the past 20 years or so. How many people could remember the phone numbers of even five of their friends and family members? It's all stored on your phone now. Why remember that there are 2,000 lbs. in a ton when Google can tell you in 10 seconds? Why learn how to pump the brake pedal on icy roads or parallel park when the car does it for you? Why get a job when the government pays your bills with other people's money?

[Fred]

is that something like "10lbs of crap in a 5lb bag?"

Bryan

Yes but if you wait till it dries, you can fit 20lbs in a 5lb bag!! 

[Fred]

Think about it this way.

If the average person is an idiot then there a lot of people even dumber.

The good thing is................it doesn't hurt to be an idiot. If it did, most of us would be screaming out in pain day and night!!

[nvrbdn]

people are programed that way today. my granddaughter is 11 years old. had homework with fractions. i said "devin dont you know how to find comon denominator on a fraction by now?" she said "we did that last year grandpa, now we use calculators in school so we dont do it no more so i forgot how."

[RallyeMike]

Think about how much is done for people these days; how much self-reliance has gone out the window even in the past 20 years or so. How many people could remember the phone numbers of even five of their friends and family members? It's all stored on your phone now. Why remember that there are 2,000 lbs. in a ton when Google can tell you in 10 seconds? Why learn how to pump the brake pedal on icy roads or parallel park when the car does it for you? Why get a job when the government pays your bills with other people's money?

....my butchery and cotton weaving skills have sure gotten weak from lack of use.

[Kern Dog]

I agree with BULL here. Technology has made people faster but certainly NOT smarter. The analytical part of our brains that are responsible for problem solving isnt being used like before. The reason that we were taught mathematics is to develop our 'problem solving" abilities. Use it or lose it.

[69CoronetRT]

There's some guy on there that graduated UCLA with a 4.0 GPA.  He begins by picking a 1st grade measurement question and can't answer it. 

maybe he was waiting for clarification on the question.

Short ton? Long ton? Metric ton?

There is more than one answer as there is more than one definition of a 'ton'.

[69CoronetRT]

There's some guy on there that graduated UCLA with a 4.0 GPA.  He begins by picking a 1st grade measurement question and can't answer it. 

maybe he was waiting for clarification on the question.

Short ton? Long ton? Metric ton?

There is more than one answer as there is more than one definition of a 'ton'. Maybe he wasn't the dumb one.

[Fred]

....my butchery and cotton weaving skills have sure gotten weak from lack of use. 

[bull]

Think about how much is done for people these days; how much self-reliance has gone out the window even in the past 20 years or so. How many people could remember the phone numbers of even five of their friends and family members? It's all stored on your phone now. Why remember that there are 2,000 lbs. in a ton when Google can tell you in 10 seconds? Why learn how to pump the brake pedal on icy roads or parallel park when the car does it for you? Why get a job when the government pays your bills with other people's money?

....my butchery and cotton weaving skills have sure gotten weak from lack of use.

That's not my point but it does make me wonder how many idiots these days don't know where meat and cotton come from. Throughout history there have been people who specialize in many jobs such as school teachers, carpenters, doctors, etc. I'm not talking about career skills, I'm talking about basic knowledge and how it relates to daily tasks. How to drive a car, how to add numbers together, how to read a book...

[TheGhost]

The movie idiocracy is going to come true...