“Intelligence” has an ambiguous definition that is usually generalized as either an overall score integrating all areas of knowledge, the ability to recall information, or according to American developmental psychologist Howard Gardner, 8 different areas one can either be weak or strong in. The millennial age vastly differs from past generations where the progression of technology has increased convenience and an influx of new ways to do old tasks. However such accomplishments are overlooked as the generation is ridiculed by previous generations and given the grand title of being “the dumbest generation”, with technology as the culprit. There is no “in-between” feelings towards technology. People either strongly admire it’s conveniency or opposingly …show more content…
If being dumb meant receiving certain score on tests to recall past information rather than the ability to think abstractly, logically, and critically, then everyone is dumb in a sense. Ironically, it is revealed that in fact, “IQ scores in every country that measures them, including the United States, have been rising since the 1930’s.” (Source 2). The mental capacity of a human being is vast and it is possible to become smarter (aka recall info). If one were to apply their learning constantly it would integrate in their brains as long term memory. Known as pruning, this explains that frequently used synaptic connections in the brain are preserved, and those that are not, lost. Many people are appalled when millennials are not able to recall things such as US geography, US history, or the economic state of the nation. “As to elementary economics and social data, most could only guess at the population, labor force, and gross national product of their country...A good half of our candidates could answer such questions with only the thinnest recital of facts; many could not discuss them at all.” (Source 5). If such topics are only discussed and applied in the classroom, they will stay in the classroom. When are people going to use these in their everyday lives?. Asking an English teacher, for example, to do precalculus level math after years of not being exposed to it, would too give such interesting
“The Dumbest Generation” is a title no group of people want to behold. Nonetheless, people under age thirty have been given this belittling title. To those who go off questions about obsolete general knowledge rather than the ability to take in and evaluate knowledge, this title may seem quite fitting. However, Millennials aren’t quite as dull as they’ve been perceived to be. The ability of Millennials to absorb information, rather than know general facts, and their use of contemporary technology as reading and writing resources has proven that they are quite an innovative and bright generation.
In “Cultural Illiteracy,” a preface to the novel The Dumbest Generation, Mark Bauerlein critically evaluates how technological distractions affect the younger generation. Bauerlein states that “digital diversions” are cutting the younger generation off from culturally enhancing mediums and is in turn making the younger generation less intelligent. Though Bauerlein is correct about the increase of peer pressure due to technology, he is mistaken about how technology is making the younger generation unintelligent.
Has the modernization of the twentieth century made us smarter or has it hindered our brains to think in 140 characters or less? In the article, “Brain Candy”, Steven Johnson argues that the “steady upward trajectory” in global I.Q scores is due to what we thought was making us dumber: popular culture. However, this romantic critic is too rooted in his technology- age ideology. While Johnson claims that everything bad is good for us, family themed-programing is being replaced by fabricated reality television shows and channels specialized in selling, video games are hindering our reading and writing skills, and books are becoming things of the past. Johnson insists that popular culture is making us smarter, but is stupid the new smart?
“Technology is nothing. What’s important is that you have faith in the people, that they’re basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they’ll do wonderful things with them”. This quote perfectly conveys Karen Ho’s perceptive that is present, in her article “Biographies of Hegemony”. In her article, she provides another understanding of intelligence. She uses the case of Wall Street workers and their personal and educational backgrounds to make her case. “Implicit in this transformation from undergraduate to investment banker is Wall Street's notion that if students do not choose Wall street postgraduation, they are somehow “less smart”, as smartness is defined by continued aggressive striving to perpetuate elite status” (Ho 18). Ho’s conception of the educational system has been narrowed down to the social norms that society places. Smartness is merely associated with individuals who go to the best Ivy League Schools, medical schools, law schools, and etc. If a student is attending such institute they
The author claims that the working of a human brain is deeply affected by the technological advances of the current age. Closely administered behavior of Digital Natives reveals that they have sharper cognitive skills as compared to the Digital Immigrants of the previous generation. She begins by quoting Palfrey and Gasser as her counter-argument, who acknowledge the difference between the current and previous generations, thus: “These kids are different. They study, work, write and interact with each other in ways that are very different from the ways that you di...
The competition in today’s job market makes it seemingly impossible to be considered a competitive candidate without having some sort of college degree. This very fact has pushed researchers to analyze and report on the performance of students with various educational backgrounds along with the factors that affect their ability to obtain a college degree. One particular subset of students who show interesting graduation patterns are first generation students, whose parents have do not have a college degree. First generation students frequently encounter difficulty in school and must jump over many hurdles in order to graduate and receive a college degree. These hurdles include language barriers, intergenerational gaps and social class achievement
According to Mark Bauerlein, those who were born after 1982, known as Generation Y, are the world’s dumbest generation. Bauerlein argues that this generation is not meeting the standards that he believes today’s technology should allow them to reach and it is hard to argue with all of his statistics on test scores, but Bauerlein obviously does not understand this generation. Who does he think is behind it all? It takes a genius to create new technology, no matter what the technology is used for or how other people perceive it. It did not just appear out of nowhere. Generation Y is not the dumbest generation, because if they were that would mean Bauerlein’s generation failed to raise Generation Y, technology just creates itself, and test scores determine intelligence.
...of getting them an actual book knowing that it would only sit there. According to Andrea Lunsford, 38 percent of writing takes place outside of a classroom. She also said that we are in the midst of a literacy revolution. This generation has more access to knowledge than anyone ever has. This generation is in for something great. There might be evidence why Generation ‘Y’ is the smartest but with the ignorance of facts, by choice, and the lack of education, Generation ‘Y’ is considered to be the dumbest generation.
Recent information collected showing an increase to our IQs have many asking the question, are we smarting than our ancestors? Unlike our predecessors, we live in a time that poses a greater range of cognitive problems than our ancestors encountered, and as a result we've developed new cognitive skills and the kinds of brains that can deal with these problems. So in a way we are getting smarter throughout history, though it is widely debated if this is due to our environment or genes. Since IQ tests have been standardised many times over the last one hundred years, scientists have participants take a test designed for a previous age and record the results. What (Flynn, 1994) unearthed was that new test takers score much higher than those of the older generation. Flynn and his colleagues guessed that the difference in scores was due to improving modern environments. To them IQ is part heritable and part environmental- provide a child with opportunities to learn and they're likely to have a higher IQ later in
Not Only Are Millennials Redefining Adulthood but Are They Changing the American Dream as Well?
Members of the Y Generation include those born between the years 1982 and 1994. A generation is known as a group of people born in a particular period who would have experienced similar events or experiences while growing up. There are often negative connotations made against members of the Y Generation, as they are known for being spoilt, overly confident and too dependent on social media and technology. They are the first generation to have grown up with high-definition television, mobile phones, internet and social media. Generation Y are possibly more interested in the environment, caring and community orientated than previous generations. The majority of this generation is now in young adulthood and starting their careers. They make up most of the young singles and couples market and are a very critical group of consumers. Many of the claims made about Generation Y are based on little evidence and contradictory, this report seeks to examine these claims.
The generation that I was born into can sometimes be easily misunderstood by those in earlier generations. The individuals in my generation get thrown many different labels such as those that Rosie Evans (n.d.) listed in her article, “Millennials, Generation Y, the Lost Generation, boomerang kids, the Peter Pan generation…” and more. This can impact us as a whole because some will begin to live by the labels, in some cases that can be negative but in others it may be beneficial. Many people in this generation believe that they can’t reach their full potential due to labels and prejudgment, while there are others believe nothing can hold them back. When we get labeled all together that is also what may drive some to try to stand out from the
Generation Z is determined to change the future and is at an advantage over all previous generations to do so. This group is those born between the years 1995 and 2012, whom are currently ages 4 to 21. Statistics show Gen Z is extremely mature for their age with the lowest levels of drug use, alcohol consumption, smoking, and teenage pregnancy in decades, as stated by JWTIntelligence. This demonstrates that they are future orientated. Generation Z is unified, diverse, realistic, and technologically advanced, making them the generation with the power to impact the world.
We blame the millennials for their behavior and their different characteristics compared to previous generations; however, what if we stop looking at the millennials and start looking at the reasons that they behave sensitively? Each generation contains their differences, including the way they educate the next generation. We continuously judge the millennials behavior, but we rarely judge the people who influenced this behavior. Education has changed throughout the ages, not to mention the parenting skills that vary from generation to generation, which has affected the millennials way of interacting in the world. Millennials grow up believing that they are imperative, that they are secure, that the world will conform to their generation, and that the world is a “nice” place. This teaching, causes millennials to be sensitive babies early on in life. True, millennials have the freedom to act the way they want; nevertheless, like other generations, millennials will act the way that parents and other influences taught them to behave. The millennial generation should not be liable for their
Have you ever dreamed of being a genius? Genius is not about scoring 4.0 in academic’s cumulative grade point average, mastering seven languages at the age of seven, or having an extraordinarily high I.Q.Genius as referred to Collins Cobuild Advance Dictionary means “a person who displays exceptional intellectual ability, creativity, or originality, typically to a degree that is associated with the achievement of an unprecedented leap of insight”. For example, Albert Einstein is a 20th-century symbol of scientific genius. However, there are negative impacts of being genius such as it leads to psychological problems and disorders, it leads people to do something horrible, and it leads genius people to go against human right.