Why isn't the world encouraging people to get smarter?
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entremet
Member
These are very specific examples, not the world, which is an incredibly vague term.
The problem with your argument is that it lacks specificity.
Also if you're gonna state a fact, you need to back it up. Where are we cutting school funding? What locales? Are we cutting it in relation to other services? Are there deficits?
In many States, schools are funded very well. Mostly, this comes from property taxes. So if you're in a rich district, schools are funded excellently.
In the inner city, not so much due to the property tax issue. There's nuance here.
ZackieChan
Member
Also, read any Millennials thread here and it's full of people who feel they were encouraged to go through higher education. Where is this lack of encouragement that OP is talking about?
The Albatross
Member
Quite the contrary, the world is far smarter than it ever has been, and it continues to get smarter every year.
Take for instance the world's second-largest country, India, in just the last 10 years literacy rates have jumped by double-digits in many states:
These numbers in India are going to continue to grow at a fast rate because young people are widely educated in the country, while the elderly -- especially in destitute areas -- represent a larger share of the illiterate. As destitute areas become less poor and as more elderly die and are replaced by a literate generation, literacy rates will reach a plateau likely higher than 90% throughout most of the country. Considering that in 1950, the literacy rate in india was below 20%, this is staggering growth within a single person's lifetime.
If you look at the world literacy rate, in 1980, it was at 56%, by 2010 it was at 82% and today, it's likely around 85%
Also, it's insulting and completely wrong to suggest that if you follow some religious belief that makes you less smart. Maybe if you're comparing a very small subset of the population, say, a Harvard educated biologist vs. a West Virginia high-school dropout evangelical, but worldwide, literacy has often accompanied the spread of the worlds largest religions. The two largest religions in the world Christianity and Islam, while certainly having a checkered past (and in some cases present), have widely advocated literacy as the primary means to engage with the religion... Reading the religious texts. People who can't read in any language will have a far more difficult time engaging in any "learned" activity, whether its science, math, philosophy, or anything else, and so you typically see a positive relationship between the spread of religion, the spread of literacy, and then the spread of other higher sciences.
Literacy is just one metric. It's likely the strongest metric, but still only one. That said, you'll see similar growth in most topics world wide decade over decade. Some years may see a regression, for instance, I'd imagine the recession in North America and Europe triggered a regression in rates of higher learning, but over the course of a decade, those will even out and likely rebound... And if we're talking world wide, then during the American recession, there was a surge of specialized learning in previously 3rd-world countries that were preparing employees for positions that companies were now competing on price for. So even if Europe or the United States saw slower growth in areas of higher learning in the late 2000s, that slack would be picked up in countries like India, China, Brazil, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and other developing economies with large populations.
Take for instance the world's second-largest country, India, in just the last 10 years literacy rates have jumped by double-digits in many states:
These numbers in India are going to continue to grow at a fast rate because young people are widely educated in the country, while the elderly -- especially in destitute areas -- represent a larger share of the illiterate. As destitute areas become less poor and as more elderly die and are replaced by a literate generation, literacy rates will reach a plateau likely higher than 90% throughout most of the country. Considering that in 1950, the literacy rate in india was below 20%, this is staggering growth within a single person's lifetime.
If you look at the world literacy rate, in 1980, it was at 56%, by 2010 it was at 82% and today, it's likely around 85%
Also, it's insulting and completely wrong to suggest that if you follow some religious belief that makes you less smart. Maybe if you're comparing a very small subset of the population, say, a Harvard educated biologist vs. a West Virginia high-school dropout evangelical, but worldwide, literacy has often accompanied the spread of the worlds largest religions. The two largest religions in the world Christianity and Islam, while certainly having a checkered past (and in some cases present), have widely advocated literacy as the primary means to engage with the religion... Reading the religious texts. People who can't read in any language will have a far more difficult time engaging in any "learned" activity, whether its science, math, philosophy, or anything else, and so you typically see a positive relationship between the spread of religion, the spread of literacy, and then the spread of other higher sciences.
Literacy is just one metric. It's likely the strongest metric, but still only one. That said, you'll see similar growth in most topics world wide decade over decade. Some years may see a regression, for instance, I'd imagine the recession in North America and Europe triggered a regression in rates of higher learning, but over the course of a decade, those will even out and likely rebound... And if we're talking world wide, then during the American recession, there was a surge of specialized learning in previously 3rd-world countries that were preparing employees for positions that companies were now competing on price for. So even if Europe or the United States saw slower growth in areas of higher learning in the late 2000s, that slack would be picked up in countries like India, China, Brazil, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and other developing economies with large populations.
I know this is anecdotal, but I couldn't help but remember when I made my usual forays into the comment sections of articles last night, that I saw at least one person lamenting "the over-education of youth in our society". So, while yes, the world is getting smarter as a whole, and we're more able to point out the exceptions, there are people out there who decry higher education as "liberal brainwashing". I'm sure it has nothing to do with people being intelligent correlating with the ability to see more clearly what's wrong with their beliefs. Though I suppose there is some brain "washing" going on; in the sense that it cleans out the garbage that people like the aforementioned commenter fill their minds with on a daily basis.
Eh, education has always been co-opted by some group or another that benefits from people being uninformed. Be it kings, religious leaders, states, elected officials.
ThoughtsOfSpeaking
Banned
I'd be happy if Critial thinking was taught as mandatory subject. Half the world's ills would disappear overnight.
spookyfish
Member
Because dumb/ignorant people are easier to control.
The Albatross
Member
What worries me most is people who see the data that thoroughly refutes the premise of the thread, and then they restate the premise of the thread and blame it on ... capitalism, politics, religion, or something else.
Like, don't complain about the world being dumber and then blame it on something you don't like when the world is provably smarter.
Lord Error
Insane For Sony
This does seem to have stopped or started regressing in 1st world countries.
There's a chapter that talks more about it on that link.
But, it's just depressing to see people like Trump getting elected, antivaxxers gaining a foothold to the point of reintroducing diseases, Turkey sacking teachers due to being suspects for the coup.
The data shown here convinced me the world collectively is getting smarter, but still, why are we still dumb enough to let these shit happen :/
Maybe the time has not come yet for the newer generation to take over politics, who should be smarter as they lived their youths with the internet on their palms. Maybe by then, the world would change...
the-pi-guy
Member
People are definitely smarter and more educated than ever. Even a high school education in the US is quite certainly higher education than existed for most people in history.
Some people do celebrate intelligence, but I personally know people that full out resent it.
I feel like it should be celebrated more. Would love to see more money go to NASA and push the sciences more.
Some people do celebrate intelligence, but I personally know people that full out resent it.
I feel like it should be celebrated more. Would love to see more money go to NASA and push the sciences more.
ZackieChan
Member
"The world is getting dumber," says person saying dumb thing.
Because people are still people, irrational actors. We're not completely rational, otherwise capitalism would work perfectly and we'd be living in a utopia. Such things are impossible given the inherent failings of humanity.
I think you're mistaken in thinking that people being more educated will magically prevent stuff like this from happening. The industrial revolution and unparalleled scientific progress at the turn of the XIXth century coincided with the rise of nationalism and WWI.
Mammoth Jones
Member
This. Need em just smart enough to do their jobs and pay their taxes but just dumb enough to not question how badly they're getting fucked.
So basically, you just want people to think and vote how you do.
I would say we are, your problem is you probably think people with different beliefs from you are dumb and that is simple not true, democrats think conservatives are dumb and vice versa and according to both groups america has never been more stupid than right now.
And the other thing is depending on what you mean intelligence is hard to "teach" you can teach knowledge and know-how, but knowledge is something away from a google search now, and then with the know-how you have the problem that people learn to do it but you may not understand why is it going that way, like probability is a really hard concept to understand, as in people may go through 3 courses and still have problems understanding the monty hall problem (i still have to put in on paper everytime) and that past outcomes dont affect future ones.
And the other thing is depending on what you mean intelligence is hard to "teach" you can teach knowledge and know-how, but knowledge is something away from a google search now, and then with the know-how you have the problem that people learn to do it but you may not understand why is it going that way, like probability is a really hard concept to understand, as in people may go through 3 courses and still have problems understanding the monty hall problem (i still have to put in on paper everytime) and that past outcomes dont affect future ones.
entremet
Member
ZackieChan
Member
Ding ding ding
1st Course
Member
Yup. If anything many think people today are "overeducated"
http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20151208175803561
http://www.fool.com/investing/gener...ereducated-the-surprising-way-its-hurtin.aspx
mrhyderager
Member
Just as a general response to the idea that we're losing intelligence:
Education and Intelligence are not an equivalent unit of measurement. As others have said the rise of social media has given all of us a voice - good, bad, and ugly. The important thing to understand is that Education can foster Intelligence, but doesn't always. We've got to tackle that issue.
We're aware that not everyone learns the same, and I think it's becoming increasingly obvious that in fact, they probably shouldn't. Our approach to having balanced individuals has resulted in a highly standardized method of educating that requires everyone hit certain benchmarks - it ignores the reality that we really don't need to do that anymore.
The other question is certainly the high barrier of access between young people and education. College, as has been noted repeatedly, shouldn't cost what it does.
Education and Intelligence are not an equivalent unit of measurement. As others have said the rise of social media has given all of us a voice - good, bad, and ugly. The important thing to understand is that Education can foster Intelligence, but doesn't always. We've got to tackle that issue.
We're aware that not everyone learns the same, and I think it's becoming increasingly obvious that in fact, they probably shouldn't. Our approach to having balanced individuals has resulted in a highly standardized method of educating that requires everyone hit certain benchmarks - it ignores the reality that we really don't need to do that anymore.
The other question is certainly the high barrier of access between young people and education. College, as has been noted repeatedly, shouldn't cost what it does.
Rentahamster
Rodent Whores
Um, we actually are.
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