what is our world coming too?

[jonot05]

Some people haven't fired a gun. Ha, i can fix most problems i have with mine and I'm still at school. As for cars, I'm not quite as handy but I'd like to think I'm not a complete tard. I think my comment speaks for most of NZ, well at least those of us that aren't Jafa's

[nickz]

Yes, that is sad. I go around and take lawn mowers and stuff people throw away, figure out what is wrong with them and then sell them.

It is a good way to learn about all of that kind of stuff, and it is also a good way to make money.

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

You know, I think someone in this thread will be getting an non-voluntary name change...

Looking at it from a cultural aspect, if he's from Oz then it's probably common parlance not considered vulgar, indeed possibly even a compliment

[Ragnarok]

Looking at it from a cultural aspect, if he's from Oz then it's probably common parlance not considered vulgar, indeed possibly even a compliment

Yeah, but this is a multicultural and international forum - and over here in the UK, it's one of the few words that's still considered too offensive to use on TV.

To be honest, a name, user title or signature with rude words in it doesn't raise my opinion of the person involved.

[POLAND_SPUD]

so true. it's cool though. that's why i'm gonna have kids in Russia. their school system is awesome. they have a 3 or 4 language standard and they r always like 10 grade levels above my American schools.

i want my kids to come back to America, go to Yale and embarrass them all.

i want them so smart that i won't know what the hell they're talking about.

I understand that was supposed to be ironic? but in fact it's not... several of my friends moved to the UK and they study there...

despite the fact that english is not their first lg they are doing quite well... why ?? becasue they are now being tought stuff that they had in their primary school...

I don't know why you mentioned russia - maybe for you russia = europe or russia is the capital of europe (lol sorry I couldn't resist)

[CpTn_lAw]

is it just me or does it seem like the most of the people in my generation are for the most part clueless when it comes to mechanical items and just things that seemed to be general knowledge and experience back a while ago
examples:
1. in religion class we were talking about war and the teacher asked us if any of us has used a firearm, i was the only one in my class to raise my hand

2. in the lab for science we had a rubber tube, a bunsen burner, and then the gas hook up, the teacher tells us to hook up the burner to the jet, immedialty everyone was confused as to how to do this, to me it was basic third grade stuff, just slip the hose over the hose barbs on the burner and hookup

3. on average in the parking lot each day 3 cars have dead batterys at the end of the day, the school is lucky if maybe two students the entire week know how to jump start a car

Man, how old are you? and in what school are you? Because i'm at the university and nothing like this happens...students often improve what teachers have to say...Sometimes I feel dumb 'cause i didn't came up with the idea.
Maybe people are getting less educated, but this has to do with everything from waking up to going to sleep : i mean, come on, people need to be punished to understand a certain thing is bad, rather than thinking a little bit a doing it right . I can't stop thinking about the "fasten your seatbelt, cause it's the LAW" ...man how full of sh*t is that? you don't wear your seatbelt cause it's the law, your wear it cause you understand that if you have a car accident, it will probably save your life! I have loads of examples...
People do things cause their told so; the moment nobody tells them what to do, they're unable to do anything. Maybe i'm pushing it a little bit, but come on, i give a century to mankind before only few people have precise knowledge, and the rest of the world asks for it.

[dilweed]

Personaly i think the level of inteligence has dropped and layziness has taken over. im very blessed to belong in a family who all have iq's of over 140. One of the main factors is the rate of anual income, better health care etc. This alows the darwin methods of natural selection to be blocked out from narrowing the ranks of idiots and growing the ranks of inteligent people. I think it's great all people are having better lives, but im worried about these trends. We will become so dependent on technology that we will be absolutely SCREWED when it suddenly is snuffed out.

[POLAND_SPUD]

hey look at it from this perspective - if there are guys who spend 99% of their time thinking how to get laid and they are acctually trying to do so they are likely to succede... if you spend 95% of your time thinking how to build an amazing gun, about the sense of life etc. that's ok - but don't be suprised that there are less and less inteligent people

hey that's the way it works - that's all

so if you are fed up with the what the world is comming too and you happen to be inteligent - go and find some girls


(while we are discussing the topic more and more dumbs are being concived - it's time to change it)

[i-will]

oh and i-will, babies do not have IQs of 1. You need an IQ of like 20 to breath, pump blood around your body and digest food etc etc

u know what my point is.
thanks for telling me though.
i didn't know that.
interesting.

[Ragnarok]

oh and i-will, babies do not have IQs of 1. You need an IQ of like 20 to breath, pump blood around your body and digest food etc etc

Not quite true- it's a nice tale that gets passed around primary schools, but the spinal handles most of those things - you can actually be brain dead and still live - like headless chickens really.
However, IQs below 70 make it hard to hypnotise someone.

IQ is a measure of intelligence dependent on your age. So actually, most babies have an IQ of 100, but it's not the same 100 as a 20 or 30 year-old.
The age dependence is calibrated so that most people's IQs remain near constant through out their life, and is judged based on the time they have had to learn.

So someone with a 150 IQ at 20 will have had an IQ of 150 at birth.

[i-will]

so true. it's cool though. that's why i'm gonna have kids in Russia. their school system is awesome. they have a 3 or 4 language standard and they r always like 10 grade levels above my American schools.

i want my kids to come back to America, go to Yale and embarrass them all.

i want them so smart that i won't know what the hell they're talking about.

I understand that was supposed to be ironic? but in fact it's not... several of my friends moved to the UK and they study there...

despite the fact that english is not their first lg they are doing quite well... why ?? becasue they are now being tought stuff that they had in their primary school...

I don't know why you mentioned russia - maybe for you russia = europe or russia is the capital of europe (lol sorry I couldn't resist)

i was being honest not ironic. i spent a few hours one day lookin up different school systems. compared to america Russia came up on top.

i may be american but i don't have the luxury of being spoiled and dumb.

[POLAND_SPUD]

well I don't know much about russian educational system but AFAIK most western countries have serious problems with education when compared to some developing countries...
I suppose that the level of schooling has dropped due to the lack of discipline, lowering of standards becasue of ADHD, learning disabilities and racial minorities etc.

I know it is not 100% politacally correct but lets face it - if any school lowers it's standards to help weak students it is also bound to lower standards for those who are doing well...


but generally schooling is a broad topic and there are lots of other factors as well

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

I know it is not 100% politically correct but lets face it - if any school lowers it's standards to help weak students it is also bound to lower standards for those who are doing well...

This is the sort of reverse-Darwinism I was talking about. Apparently pass rates in the UK for example have been getting better every year for the past 25 years - if you believe that it's because the Education system is functioning perfectly, you probably need to go to school more

[jrrdw]

From my view point, it seems to be more and more common as the years pass.

Generalizations to come next, don't beat on me for it;

This generation seems to be very computer/tech capable, but nearly useless when confronting a simple mechanical device.

I'll never understand how they can de-bug software conflicts, but can't figure out the lawn mower.

It's certainly not that they are less educated. The levels of math, physics, etc., that my nephew and niece study would have been considered college level when I went to high school.

They were raised with computers, video games (pong was just coming out when I was in school.) and the internet as a normal part of life. They have an understanding of these things that quite frankly, leaves me scratching my head.

On the other hand, they don't get as involved with the mechanical aspects of life. When your car breaks, you take it back to the dealer.

Just keep making payments, never own anything, and always, get the biggest and the best. (WHY do you NEED a , $40 000 car to get around town? Answer...If you bought the $2500 jalopy, you'd have to learn to FIX it!)

It really is a different way of thinking than that to which I am accustomed.

I find it quite refreshing that there is on this site at least, some people with a mechanical aptitude. It's like coming home to the farm in a way.

DITTO!

[potatoflinger]

The only good thing about the way our society is degrading is that it really makes the smart people stand out. When I get mad at kids at school, It makes me feel a lot better knowing that the kids who only try to get drunk/high/laid will be dirt poor when they make it out into the "real world".

Also, my school is the largest school in the county I live in, and it has over 1800 students. Out of those 1800 students, there are less than 50 that take a shop class. (other than the required foundations of technology class, which isn't really a tech. class anyway)