I can't see the populace in that way. I, probably my mistake, still have some faith in some sort of belief in the rational capacity of the common people.
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I can't see the populace in that way. I, probably my mistake, still have some faith in some sort of belief in the rational capacity of the common people.
He doesn't need the medias help, and they are barely touching on the things that he has done that would piss off the majority in this country.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jacob Roman
Oh yeah, we're still fighting Iraqis. There are foreign fighters, but there are plenty of natives. There is also a growing civil conflict between sunni and shiite. Kind of looks like everybody will be firing at everybody else soon enough.
I don't.Quote:
Originally Posted by yrwyddfa
Fact is, the folks on this forum are far from average. We tend to be much more educated, much better informed, and above average in intelligence when compared to the average citizen in any country (certainly when compared to the US where I live). We don't represent squat, and we only speak for a minority...even Xanith.
The majority does not read much, and watches little news. They may watch news often, but anybody who has only seen news shows once every few years as I have, has noted that there is very little news on TV anymore. The news shows on most networks have one or two actual stories, then a few pseudo-news stories that are about celebrities somewhere. What can you learn from that? Not much!
I see a continual attack on intelligence in this country these days. Sometimes it is explicit, such as kids bullying those who do well in classes (makes the rest look bad). Sometimes it is more subtle. The conservative wing goes after 'liberal institutions'. However, their definition of 'liberal institution' is anything that sees shades of gray. They have lumped all the top colleges (every college except some conservative schools are demonized at will by the conservatives), all media except for right-wing sources like fox and conservative talk radio, and all other groups that are well informed together into this 'liberal influence' agains which they fight.
If you dumb down the colleges, if you silence all media except vapid news programs and right-wing propaganda, and if you push intelligent design (rather than the Flying Spaghetti Monster who obviously was the true creator), what do you get?
The Dark Ages.
That was the only period in known history when the pooled knowledge of man in Europe actually declined. Historians have shown that many facts (such as the shape of the earth) were known prior to the dark ages, then were lost, only to be re-discovered at a later time.
There are forces at work who seek to drive humanity into another dark age. They are not some big conspiracy, and not necessarily actual people. Just a confluence of attitudes, conservatism, and consolidation of media that is promoting ignorance in place of knowledge.
I think you have it all wrong Shaggy. The problem I have with the so-called liberal institutionalized Learning Centers (University’s and Colleges) is that they are the ones that are blocking other points of view and not opening up peoples minds. I’ve been to college and have been told flat out that alternate idea’s and ways of thinking are completely wrong and have been threatened with being failed if I didn’t come around to the “correct” way of thinking.
Isn’t the college experience supposed to open your mind to many idea’s, not to just indoctrinate you to one line of thinking? I don’t know any conservative that is opposed to open dialog and free thought. What is opposed is liberal indoctrination and the refusal to teach different points of view. So tell me who are the close minded dragging us back to the Dark Ages as you put it, the people who want an open dialog with many points of view or those that simply want to indoctrinate and push their view upon others? Think about it.
X
No I would disagree. For my Batchelors degree we were basically educated in the current methods, techniques and thinking in the IT industry. However, for my Masters degree we are actively encouraged to critique other peoples work, questioning current convention and explaining our reasons.
Universities are all about educating you to be able to work in that chosen industry, the way you think is entirely up to you because no-one can change how you see the world unless you allow them to
A 'view' is a belief necessarily because of it's definition. Belief's are opinions formed from experience and an 'inbuilt' morality. How that morality get's inbuilt is the subject of some controversy; the nature/nuture argument to name one. It goes without saying that most people hold beliefs that sometimes have empirical evidence, and sometimes are completely void of it. This is the nature of man.
I think that Shaggy's point that there is (i) No one class of person, (ii) no single belief that can be targetted as being responsible for the decline of intelligence is a valid one, and I think Xanith, that that is the answer your looking for: there isn't an answer.
So, being that you've been educated to work in the IT industry, and one presumes that you're a programmer, then exactly how many times have you used (for your job) Formal methods, set theory, combinatorics, graph theory (the list goes on . . . )Quote:
Originally Posted by Valleysboy1978
Or do you buy it of the shelf like the rest of us?
:rolleyes:
Why do you always have to over complicate things?
I was attempting to point out that the higher the education the more likely a less opinionated view can be achieved, but nevertheless the individual will always come to their own conclusion
I didn't think I had :confused:Quote:
Originally Posted by Valleysboy1978
:lol:
just jealous of your English language skills :thumb:
:lol:
Righteyo then :confused:
Wow, I didn't even think conservatives considered themselves open minded.Quote:
Originally Posted by Xanith
I actually think that a big part of the decline of intelligence is a sense of overload. It wasn't much over 100 years ago when an educated man could be conversant with the total knowledge of most fields of science. Now, the pool of total knowledge is such that a person could be an expert on a particular beetle, conversant on beetles in general, familiar with most insects and a few other animals, know nothing about plants, and still be regarded as well-informed in biology.
People expect me to be an expert on computers, but I am well aware that there is plenty that I don't know. In fact, the amount that I don't know is almost certainly greater than the amount that I do know, and I study the subject.
Considering this level of information, it is hardly surprising that the average person is feeling overwhelmed by it and is looking for simple answers to simplify the issues they face every day. The total is too much, and they turn off.
open-minded conservatives? Then surely not the ones involved in the creationism-evolution debate... :)
Yeah it's a good point. The point you make about a lack of ambition in aquiring intellectual skills is better, though. And as you've already said: it's all around.Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaggy Hiker