Off Topic Political Debate

I will be gentle Theo I can't prove that such a thing as a 'dumbing down' is taking place, and to suggest that this is part of a planned process would be the ultimate in conspiracy theories. But I perceive it to be happening. Not as a direct result of any one thing in particular - rather a combination of the decline in the media, the dumbing down of the school system (how many of the kids of today could get to grips with the learning material of 50 years ago ? ), maybe as a result of the digital revolution - cell phones, SMS. etc. Kids of today are becoming less and less able to pass their time without the use of gadgetry of some sort. Of course IQ. testing only measures a very small part of human intelligence, but this is not the only criteria used. How many children of today read things like Dickens, Dostoevsky or Goethe for fun in the way many of us used to in bygone years ? It's only a feeling, but when I look at very old pictures (old family snapshots) maybe even going back to Victorian times - the people looked less materially well off but, in some curious way, more intelligent (or at least more alive). Are we becoming zombie like as a result of technology ? I can't answer this - but my suspicion is that people in bygone times, left to their own resources, were far superior to us in many ways. The idea that any type of dumbing down is actually intended, is, of course absurd - but it nonetheless helps the system. Could modern Capitalism survive if we were all philosophers ?

 

The common conspiracy theory view is that there is a group of shadowy powerful people who keep the whole show in order... and then link it to the Knights Templar or the Masons etc...

 

Decline in the media in its unwillingness to analyse in depth I agree is evident. I would take issue with you about the reading of great novels if you're talking about whole populations. Illiteracy rates among my father's contemporaries were considerably higher than now, accounted for in part perhaps by many leaving school early to earn much needed wages or not attending much at all. It's true I come across few children who have read Dostoevsky but I come across few adults who have either...we're in a significant minority! I too find the ubiquity of the mobile phone and the reliance on soundbites of unreliable and unevidenced information a concern. However, as one who worked in British education for 40 years or so, it makes me cross that the school system is taken to be unsatisfactory on the basis of sweeping generalisations by people, especially politicians, who haven't set foot inside one for many years. Like hospitals, there are a number which are not as good as they should be, but there is extraordinary inventiveness and skilled teaching in most I taught and advised in. They compare well with the schools I worked with in the US, Hong Kong, Russia, Hungary, South Africa, and Ireland.

 

There's certainly a "dumbing down" in our own societys ability to think independently which i see as a measure of intelligence. As our kids become more and more reliant on technology their understanding of the principles that make it work seem to be less and less interesting to them and they focus on use rather than understanding. Is this just society moving on to another era where it uses ever more sophisticated tools but runs the risk of not being able to perform the basic functions? The far East seems to have a more "intelligent" way of life and education in general. I'm very worried about where we are going in the West, we run the danger of being consigned to history as a has been culture. The Norwegian and New Zealand ways of working to live rather than living to work are enlightened, what we need is to instill in the education system societal responsibility but also self responsibility. Let people learn about themselves, teach them and encourage them to identify goals that make them happy and then enable them to achieve. Consumerism is wrong as a culture, we all need to step back build up our frame of reference and then just go and do what makes us happy...Politicians and government need to focus on providing a safe and healthy enviroment for this with the backstop of welfare for those who really need it. What the unemployed and disabled really need is opportunity not money, any government failing to provide opportunity is a failure. THe governing power here in Scotland is one of the worst on this planet failing on every single issue it controls, heaven help us in 2017.....

 

The government should be congratulated for 'encouraging' many long term recipients on 'incapacity benefit' or whatever it is called now to actually return to work. The state should provide only for those who are genuinely are in need.

I remember my father -in-law, many years ago, choosing to be signed off sick (bad nerves) rather than be classed as unemployed because of the upgrade in benefit.

 

I can def echo these themes...

For me education should be about educating the person.... from the Latin educare ... to bring out.

Interesting the changes to brain development as a result of the technology... .we are developing a different type of person.

One of my grandkids has just started school and he has epilepsy which has all sort of associated problems in relation t large groups, concentrating etc.... within two weeks he was identified as a problem child and was already sitting outside of the heads office.... just awful.

When i worked in Bhutan around 1991 I headed up a programme supporting a British primary education system into the country... as the recognized the great value in child-centred education.....oh how things change

 

Dumbing down! If the few seconds I saw of a television programme named, I believe, Celebrity Take Me Out, there is no further this society can actually go downwards, we have reached the bottom of the abyss. I have never seen such unadulterated garbage; somehow we are paying for that. What is worse, however, there must be people somewhere who: watch, enjoy and actually know who the celebrities involved are.

 

Maybe worse is 'through the keyhole' with that cretin presenter, dreadful.

 

I do not know this programme, but just the title makes it sound like a guide for thieves. Where to find your next haul, so to speak.

 

Sounds awful.... i could just about enjoy Blind Date.... when Cilla did it....

I am afraid we have reached a stage when a significant part of the population is engaged with this mix of 'reality' TV with d list wannabes, Jeremy Kyle, junk foods, gutter press etc etc....

 

Comrade Corbyn's desperate attempt to re-brand himself ended in confusion today due to his mixed messages on immigration and maximum pay.
The only positive was an extra few bum fluffed trots for the party membership who loved his promise to join the Southern Rail picket lines. Unfortunately it further alienated 75% of the electorate.

He also managed to enrage his left wing allies by insisting he will not quit as leader even if his dire poll ratings have not improved next year. His paymaster Len McCluskey may have slightly different views on this subject. The knives are already being sharpened.

 

I read that the Daily Express could be taken over by the Mirror Group. A match made in heaven! At one time the Express had a circulation of close to 5 million, today just 400k.

 

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It wasn't owned by the delightful UKIP-funding Richard Desmond in those days...

 

What a puke inducing interview...

"He has honeyed words for almost everyone..."

 

Michael Gove showing what a competent operator he is, it is a pity he is not currently in government. It is also refreshing to hear the president elect wanting to support the UK rather than damage it.

Obama will go down in history as one of the least successful presidents.

 

What a huge problem exists in Northern Ireland. The agreement that was started by John Major and carried on by Tony Blair with outside help from people like Bill Clinton, tonight is in danger of collapsing. The problem centres around the First Minister and her refusal to stand aside while an inquiry is held into her involvement in a scheme that has gone very wrong. Pressure could have been brought on her from Downing Street to stand aside for a period, but the Government in Westminster relies on the DUP to help them get legislation through as they have such a small majority. The election will likely change little, leading to direct rule again. Under this current regime politics is far more important than doing what is the right thing for the whole of the Union and the people who live in it. Of course if direct rule happens again, the government will be able to say that they have consulted with themselves over Brexit, and the views of the people there will be ignored. All this of course is of no interest to those who live in their own little bubble, but it does show how the hard work put in by politicians from all parties is now being shoved to one side to appease a right wing rump.

 

I hear from a reliable source Theresa May congratulated Lincoln City in PM questions and also paid tribute to Graham Taylor.

Outrageous

 

I watched PMQ and the MP for Lincoln mentioned their result. I was surprised when TM added her congratulations (what about poor Ipswich) but then added it was a fitting tribute to GT - she must have been briefed as I cannot believe she would have any knowledge of football let alone GT's past.

 

She is somewhat religious, I believe - having frequently made reference to her Christian beliefs. Perhaps her thought processes went something like:

Lincoln has a Cathedral ~ Cathedral suggests God ~ God = GT