... Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 OK. This has gone totally off-topic, but I'll bite. First, let me applaud you for being a defender of the language. You and I are fighting a losing battle. I don't think there is a degradation in anything, I think it's just that you can see it now more with the spread of mass media. There's been a steady degradation of everything in sight and I've watched it all happen. I'm 59. When I was 18-22 I was around a lot of stupid hippies when they were actually serious about being stupid hippies. Lots of dope got smoked. Little got learned. A lot of sound and fury signifying nothing. It's been downhill ever since. I'm talking about the degradation of society in general, crummy spelling and intellectual laziness are just side effects and symptoms of the larger problem. Senator Pat Moynihan (D-NY) (no conservative, he) called it "defining deviancy down." He was exactly right. It's been going on for decades, media of all kinds always being a primary driver. That today's version of the media is a bigger and faster driver is probably true. There was a US Department of Education (it should be abolished) study about 10 years ago that said 22% of adult Americans were not "able to locate information in text", could not "make low-level inferences using printed materials", and were unable to "integrate easily identifiable pieces of information." Another USDE study showed that about 15% of the population was what you could call fully literate. 40% were at either basic or below basic levels of literacy. All that for $10-15K per year per kid, eh? Half of the adult population of Detroit (and most of them grew up there and attended Detroit public schools) is functionally illiterate. Thanks, NEA. How is that possible in a society that hasn't degenerated and degraded? I mean, lets be real here. I consider myself a protector of the English language but to pretend this is something that has come about recently is silly. I'm not pretending anything. I didn't say it came about recently, I said it's been a steady decline for decades. It's ongoing. It's very noticeable if you have a perspective on it longer than a decade or two. Now, back to baseball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordMagnus Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 Everyone always thinks the younger generation is dumber than they are.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 Everyone always thinks the younger generation is dumber than they are.... It's a problem that plagues this board and makes it intolerable sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
... Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 Dumber? You imply that I was talking about stupidity, as opposed to ignorance. You would be wrong. Stupidity seems to be sort of a constant over time. Ignorance is what is growing, your comment being a good example thereof. :lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Beinfest Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 Ignorance is certainly not growing. It's quite the opposite; awareness is growing. People's awareness of other people's ignorance is also growing. Go figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erick Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 Everyone always thinks the younger generation is dumber than they are.... BroncoBob knows a lot more than I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BroncoBob27 Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 That's funny. But what's funnier is that you said "tonite" was ONE letter off from "tonight." Must be some kind of South Florida math. Actually, that was me. Tonight = 7 Tonite = 6 You misinterpret what I mean by 1 letter off. Not 1 letter difference, but rather one letter off of the total number of letters needed to spell 'tonight'. Basically, it's hardly shorthand. Ahhh. I get it now. Made no sense before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BroncoBob27 Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 Everyone always thinks the younger generation is dumber than they are.... BroncoBob knows a lot more than I do. And you are showing why once again. It's that some of the younger ones here absolutely know they are much smarter than their elders. As in, once you reach a certain age your IQ drops each and every year. I have no idea how many different ways it can be said until it sinks in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BroncoBob27 Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 The jist of what I said was that the degradation (not just spelling) has been going on for the last 50 years. Which encompasses the rise of the teachers' unions. Lots more money across the board accompanied by constantly declining performance. The evidence of which is extant on every board on the internet, including this one. Other than that, don't try to put words in my mouth. I don't think there is a degradation in anything, I think it's just that you can see it now more with the spread of mass media. Literacy rates are higher than they were 50 years ago (and lets not even talk about 100 years ago). I mean, lets be real here. I consider myself a protector of the English language but to pretend this is something that has come about recently is silly. You have a point with the bolded part. But I would have to question the literacy rates. Not because I think you are wrong about them, but more because I would question who was being tested (age groups) for those results. If it were just HS graduates, for instance, then it may be a fair comparison. If it were the general public as a whole, then the results from 50-100 years ago would be slanted. But I'm all for a teacher's salary should reflect their output and not solely based on how much time they have in. Just like almost every other occupation in the world. Dotguy is kinda hinting around at that also. I don't think you believe in that so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heat84 Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 The jist of what I said was that the degradation (not just spelling) has been going on for the last 50 years. Which encompasses the rise of the teachers' unions. Lots more money across the board accompanied by constantly declining performance. The evidence of which is extant on every board on the internet, including this one. Other than that, don't try to put words in my mouth. What words?:confused The teacher's unions were part of the decline, not all of it as I said? You're referring to that? Sorry then. Everyone always thinks the younger generation is dumber than they are.... Yes, but for the first time in the history of man its actually true. I wouldn't say I'm a defender of the English language. I just think bad English makes us look bad to the rest of the world and inhibits evolution. I'm more of a defender of the evolution of American civilization, which is in a rut right now. As for this thread going off topic, the game is over and another game has been played, so the original topic is irrelevant. But the game that this thread is about was a (sadly) rare win, so perhaps we should stay on-topic to preserve the memory of a win. And it was me that derailed it in the first place.:whistle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heat84 Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 It's that some of the younger ones here absolutely know they are much smarter than their elders. As in, once you reach a certain age your IQ drops each and every year. What age would that be? 85 I hope. :shock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heat84 Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 double post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordMagnus Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 The jist of what I said was that the degradation (not just spelling) has been going on for the last 50 years. Which encompasses the rise of the teachers' unions. Lots more money across the board accompanied by constantly declining performance. The evidence of which is extant on every board on the internet, including this one. Other than that, don't try to put words in my mouth. What words?:confused The teacher's unions were part of the decline, not all of it as I said? You're referring to that? Sorry then. Everyone always thinks the younger generation is dumber than they are.... Yes, but for the first time in the history of man its actually true. I wouldn't say I'm a defender of the English language. I just think bad English makes us look bad to the rest of the world and inhibits evolution. I'm more of a defender of the evolution of American civilization, which is in a rut right now. As for this thread going off topic, the game is over and another game has been played, so the original topic is irrelevant. But the game that this thread is about was a (sadly) rare win, so perhaps we should stay on-topic to preserve the memory of a win. And it was me that derailed it in the first place.:whistle I don't agree about inhibiting evolution. A lot of this is the result of evolution by the technology age. We speak to each other differently because of technology. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schnellders Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 I am there somewhere ready for battle..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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