Quote:
Originally Posted by TougeLove
Does anyone else feel this way or am I crazy? Or both? I see kids from other countries thriving in math and science and american kids would rather watch tv or play video games.
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i realize i am coming into this one late BUT ..............
in response to the OP I would suggest a read of the book 'Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business' by Neil Postman written in 1985. Neil Postman is a true prophet.
from the wiki article here.......
Amusing Ourselves to Death - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"The essential premise of the book, which Postman extends to the rest of his argument(s), is that "form excludes the content," that is, a particular medium can only sustain a particular level of ideas. Thus Rational argument, integral to print typography, is militated against by the medium of television for the aforesaid reason. Owing to this shortcoming, politics and religion are diluted, and "news of the day" becomes a packaged commodity. Television de-emphasises the quality of information in favour of satisfying the far-reaching needs of entertainment, by which information is encumbered and to which it is subordinate."
apply that reasoning and the other concepts he lays down in this short but difficult read to other "social" technologies such as cellphones or social media sites and the train of thought is disheartening and eerie to say the least. i've read this book more than a dozen times very slowly and thoughtfully and am always amazed at how much this man saw exactly the 'idiocracy' that has come and has yet to blossom into it's true fruition. In fact I would say this book completely changed my worldview. And after every fresh reread of this book I always find a new concept or something else not noticed before.