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thejdizzler's review against another edition
3.0
I’ve been bad at doing these recently because of life being so busy (new relationship, running, and lots of work), but it’s time to get back on the train. This next book, The Dumbest Generation by Emory University English Professor Mark Beuerlein, reminded me quite a bit of The Rebellion the Masses. This book however, unlike the title by Ortega y Gasset, and much to my chagrin, is more of a descriptive, rather than an prescriptive or explanatory text.
Bauerlein’s central thesis is that the Millennials (and generation Z that follows), rather than being the next greatest generation that’s going to usher in an era of innovation and development, are actually “the dumbest generation”. What does he mean by this broad phrase? Quite literally that the knowledge (and interest) of the current youth of how our current society works, both socially and technologically, is at a local minimum compared to recent generations. Bauerlein marshals an army of evidence to back this claim up, from reading statistics to test scores to large collections of quotes from thought-pieces anecdotally describing this “dumbest generation” phenomena. Bauerlein attributes much of this decline in desire and ability to engage with society to a turn inwards, facilitated by the rise of telecommunications technology such as the internet and cell phones, as well as the narrative of exponential technological change undermining traditional mentor¬–student relationships. Disappointingly, however I think this book failed to offer a deeper reason why this phenomenon is occurring now (or any historical comparisons), or what possibly could be done about the declining interest of this generation in maintaining of our society.
The fact of the matter is, as Bauerlein rightly acknowledges early in the book, that people have been complaining about the next generation for as long as there has been a society. Socrates complained about the youth of his day, as did Rosseau and Ortega y Gasset. This argument is often trotted forward as a dismissal of current critiques of the young: if it’s been going on forever, then these critiques can’t hold any water. However, I think this argument misses the key point that these cultural critiques are correct: the youth of Socratic Greece did have problems, why else did Athens fall under the rule of first the Macedonian Kingdom and then Rome if not for the increasing inability of the populace to govern and protect themselves. The same was true a few hundred years later, in ancient Rome, when later Emperors had to hire barbarians to defend the Empire because the native population was composed of the then “dumbest generation”, too obsessed with their own lives of luxury and intrigue to govern or defend their own state.
So while I wholeheartedly agree with Bauerlein’s critique of my generation, and the laying of first level blame on technological shifts, I think he, like Ortega y Gasset, misses the forest for the trees. This generation is the dumbest generation not only because of the internet and cell phones, but because we have lost faith in what we are doing. As I’ll talk about in my review of Historia como Sistema, societies are like organisms that grow, age, and die. The West has run out of the Elan to sustain itself, and this is the reason that people are checking out of our collective culture, not digital technology, or the narrative of eternal growth. And while Bauerlein makes the argument that this checking out is occurring, which was and still is an important argument to make, the why (digital technology) and the so-what (we have to save our culture thooooo) are completely unconvincing.
How I will be changing my life because of this book
I honestly didn’t really learn anything new from this book that I couldn’t already observe from my day-to-day life. People in this country, even very educated people, don’t care about the continuation of this civilization. In some ways, I agree with them. Materialist, Faustian society is destroying this earth that we all depend on. But that does not mean that it is not my culture, a culture that produced The Lord of the Rings and Antonin Dvorak. And so if there are things I want to save from Western Civilization, I should trust in myself, not in society, to do so.
kmsaunders's review against another edition
2.0
So far, I'm finding the author to seem a bit too angry. He doesn't seem to want to do anything but blame - he offers no solutions.
rinnyssance's review against another edition
3.0
So this book echos the same three premises throughout: 1) Although the rise in technology in classrooms constantly receive praise from critics, there are no results which mention a rise in education (if anything, there's a drop). 2) Most people born between 1980-2000 are generally disinterested in learning anything beyond what can make them a successful individual in their social circles. 3) While technology has advanced to the point where the entire world is in our back pockets, purses or book bags, young people primarily use the internet for their own ego and social purposes; research is left in the classroom.
I see these points in real life all of the time, so I can't disagree. What troubled me about his argument was he wanted everybody to be some literary, artistic, musical connoisseur. While I won't argue that these subjects (as well as history, which he constantly brought up) are semi-important for becoming a well-rounded individual, so are math and science. (ESPECIALLY math and science.)
Students, despite the rise in technology, have an extreme phobia, distrust and disinterest in these subjects. Just as many twenty-somethings know very little about civics, and politics there is an innate ignorance when it comes to science -- yet it's another subject that many people in power are trying to take away!
No one can explain evolution or the Big Bang theory, which would denote all religious dogma that spreads throughout this country. No one understands genetics, which would explain the physical differences between us. No one can do basic algebra, statistics or math calculations which can be used for a plethora of real-world applications (contrary to popular opinions). Yet, if you can't "do" these subjects, everybody laughs it off a bit and moves on. Proof that these things are equally ignored and spawn an ignorance this country cannot afford anymore.
This book would have been much better if he wasn't full of his own ego, constantly harping on the fact that no one likes his subject (history) or loves the classics as much as he does. As much as it disappoints him, not everybody needs to read the Iliad or Shakespeare plays in order to be a well-rounded individual. What is important these days is to be able to discern what's true and what isn't. The internet is being filled with propaganda from media outlets and peers online that are not entirely true and many young people follow whoever has the most agreeable opinions in their circle of friends. This problem crosses over the boundaries of history into science as well. I IMPLORE THE OLDER GENERATION TO STOP IGNORING THIS IMPORTANCE.
His arguments should have focused on critical thinking, problem solving, understanding how to think historically, linguistically, scientifically, mathematically. It should have provided possible solutions to the problem instead of constantly saying that the attempts to solve the problem or pretend it isn't there have shown no results. This book was no better than a rant. Teenagers and twenty-somethings don't want to add anything academic into their daily lives because it does not enhance their social lives, I get that -- so what's the plan? What is the possible solution?
We live in a world where college is no longer for an education but money and perceived power and status. Still, people graduate and return home to their parents because they aren't ready for the world yet. Where do they spend their time? The internet! The adolescent state of mind lingers well past the eighteenth birthday. Many twenty-somethings feel as though writing a blog or making a Twitter status about some current event they are....
...the point is there were absolutely no solutions in this book and it did not cover every pressing issue it should have covered. It was just a redundant rant about how he can't find a high school kid he can have a conversation about World War II with. For that reason alone, while it was informational, I'll leave it at three stars.
I see these points in real life all of the time, so I can't disagree. What troubled me about his argument was he wanted everybody to be some literary, artistic, musical connoisseur. While I won't argue that these subjects (as well as history, which he constantly brought up) are semi-important for becoming a well-rounded individual, so are math and science. (ESPECIALLY math and science.)
Students, despite the rise in technology, have an extreme phobia, distrust and disinterest in these subjects. Just as many twenty-somethings know very little about civics, and politics there is an innate ignorance when it comes to science -- yet it's another subject that many people in power are trying to take away!
No one can explain evolution or the Big Bang theory, which would denote all religious dogma that spreads throughout this country. No one understands genetics, which would explain the physical differences between us. No one can do basic algebra, statistics or math calculations which can be used for a plethora of real-world applications (contrary to popular opinions). Yet, if you can't "do" these subjects, everybody laughs it off a bit and moves on. Proof that these things are equally ignored and spawn an ignorance this country cannot afford anymore.
This book would have been much better if he wasn't full of his own ego, constantly harping on the fact that no one likes his subject (history) or loves the classics as much as he does. As much as it disappoints him, not everybody needs to read the Iliad or Shakespeare plays in order to be a well-rounded individual. What is important these days is to be able to discern what's true and what isn't. The internet is being filled with propaganda from media outlets and peers online that are not entirely true and many young people follow whoever has the most agreeable opinions in their circle of friends. This problem crosses over the boundaries of history into science as well. I IMPLORE THE OLDER GENERATION TO STOP IGNORING THIS IMPORTANCE.
His arguments should have focused on critical thinking, problem solving, understanding how to think historically, linguistically, scientifically, mathematically. It should have provided possible solutions to the problem instead of constantly saying that the attempts to solve the problem or pretend it isn't there have shown no results. This book was no better than a rant. Teenagers and twenty-somethings don't want to add anything academic into their daily lives because it does not enhance their social lives, I get that -- so what's the plan? What is the possible solution?
We live in a world where college is no longer for an education but money and perceived power and status. Still, people graduate and return home to their parents because they aren't ready for the world yet. Where do they spend their time? The internet! The adolescent state of mind lingers well past the eighteenth birthday. Many twenty-somethings feel as though writing a blog or making a Twitter status about some current event they are....
...the point is there were absolutely no solutions in this book and it did not cover every pressing issue it should have covered. It was just a redundant rant about how he can't find a high school kid he can have a conversation about World War II with. For that reason alone, while it was informational, I'll leave it at three stars.
shonaningyo's review against another edition
2.0
Two spiteful stars
Oh I have so much beef with this book, you have no idea. Let me preface this review with the fact that it will come off as "I'm not like those teenagers. I'm super special you guys!" but I truly do not mean to; it just will look and sound like I am.
I love reading. I always have and I always will, even if I may not divest a lot of personal time in the activity as of late.
In this spoiler there is a rambling of my history with books and reading in general
I recall in my middle school years I was completely OBSESSED with Greek mythology and anything and everything about it; in third grade a fellow classmate and I became amateur "Egyptologists" and studied the various gods and kingdoms for fun. In second grade, even (I was 8 at the time), I had to write in my journal about what I learned in a book I had read and here's basically what I wrote:
"I learned that in Roman times if a baby wasn't strong enough they would leave it on a hill to die. Also, they got married at 14." Like, would you expect a second grader to even be interested in that kind of shit? I know I wouldn't.
I really didn't dabble in fiction all that much; I devoured Harry Potter--who didn't?--as well as the Pendragon series (until the 6th book) and Gregor the Overlander series, but nonfiction was my thing, now that I think about it. History and culture always caught my eye and it still does.
Alright, onto my analysis of this shit book.
I am defensive, I'll say that right now. Fuck yeah I'm defensive! There is no way on EARTH that by surveying a group of Americans to calculate how much time they spent reading for fun--including magazines, music lyrics, comics, graphic novels, et al--your results came back "They don't read enough". I refuse to believe that. I absolutely refuse. There is absolutely no way my fellow countrymen would skimp out on such a basic task as reading a magazine. How many people are waiting in the doctor's office at any given moment? How many people are looking up news articles online regarding what this or that celebrity did right now?
If that counts as "literature" then shit, those numbers are higher, I'm sure of it.
Oh and let me lay this on you, Bauerlein:
Shit isn't what it was 50 years ago. In case you haven't noticed, people are busier than ever. Americans are the hardest working people on the damn planet, you can tell by how limited our vacation and sick days are and how we're completely fine with that fact. It's so ingrained into our culture to be working all the damn time that people all but shame others for lying to get a week off. And these sick days are usually unpaid. So you have to keep working. Oh and kids aren't exempt either. Much like in East Asia, kids in the US are worked to the bone with their studies. The slackers of course will be slackers, but the straight-A, cello-playing, debate team-leading, show choir and capella choir singing Junior still has more work to do at the end of the day.
What do people in this day and age want to do after a hard day of work? Clock out, exactly. And by clocking out I mean relaxing in a way that does not further stimulate the brain. You know what stimulates the brain? Reading. You know what people have been doing all day before coming home? Working with their brains all abuzz. Last thing I want to do is concentrate intensely on something like focusing on a plot. Reading requires taking in information, processing it, and giving a damn about whether to continue or not. With something like TV, it's just there in your brain: You are a passive party, whereas with reading you are an active party. After slaving away teaching Home Economics, I'd much rather play Candy Crush than devour The Great Gatsby on a whim...
So I will tell you right now that there are many people out there that simply have no time to read. It is looked at as a chore because their mental capacities have already been used up. Now for us bibliophiles who consider reading to be easy to get into and not that taxing on our brains (not saying those don't are stupid, but reading sometimes requires an investment and commitment, something they don't have at the moment) it may still be a challenge because again, it requires commitment and after a long day it would be easier to just...not.
Entering high school I still read but not at the same rate as I had in middle school. I'm a freshman in college as I type this review and I've probably read three books cover to cover that weren't assigned to me. But does that matter? I actually love reading through my History textbook as well as some of the books that have been assigned to me.
Also, manga is something that should be considered. If manga can be considered literature (and by Bauerlein's standards when tabulating how much people read, it does just like graphic novels) I usually am, on any given night, reading the newest chapter of a manga or else trying to finish a series.
I finished Bambino! half a week ago; I resumed around chapter 135 and continued until the end at around, I don't know, 170 chapters I think? Each chapter was around 16-20 pages. Oh and there was Berserk, which I caught up to, give or take, present status in a single week, 37 volumes.
Bitch, don't you tell me I don't read. I read a fuckton.
Oh I have so much beef with this book, you have no idea. Let me preface this review with the fact that it will come off as "I'm not like those teenagers. I'm super special you guys!" but I truly do not mean to; it just will look and sound like I am.
I love reading. I always have and I always will, even if I may not divest a lot of personal time in the activity as of late.
In this spoiler there is a rambling of my history with books and reading in general
Spoiler
My Mum and grandparents would tell stories of how quick a reader I was as a kid and how instinctively I picked up sounds that letters made (pronouncing "counterfeit" correctly at age 5 = win) and I read anything and everything, but I distinctly remember loving to read the "Illustrated Classics", which were abbreviated versions of the original classics that included some inked art but still held true to the basic gist of the story. Those were maybe 100 pages per, and Huckleberry Finn was my favorite. Picture it, I was reading about racism in the Old South when I was in kindergarten! (Is proud)I recall in my middle school years I was completely OBSESSED with Greek mythology and anything and everything about it; in third grade a fellow classmate and I became amateur "Egyptologists" and studied the various gods and kingdoms for fun. In second grade, even (I was 8 at the time), I had to write in my journal about what I learned in a book I had read and here's basically what I wrote:
"I learned that in Roman times if a baby wasn't strong enough they would leave it on a hill to die. Also, they got married at 14." Like, would you expect a second grader to even be interested in that kind of shit? I know I wouldn't.
I really didn't dabble in fiction all that much; I devoured Harry Potter--who didn't?--as well as the Pendragon series (until the 6th book) and Gregor the Overlander series, but nonfiction was my thing, now that I think about it. History and culture always caught my eye and it still does.
Alright, onto my analysis of this shit book.
I am defensive, I'll say that right now. Fuck yeah I'm defensive! There is no way on EARTH that by surveying a group of Americans to calculate how much time they spent reading for fun--including magazines, music lyrics, comics, graphic novels, et al--your results came back "They don't read enough". I refuse to believe that. I absolutely refuse. There is absolutely no way my fellow countrymen would skimp out on such a basic task as reading a magazine. How many people are waiting in the doctor's office at any given moment? How many people are looking up news articles online regarding what this or that celebrity did right now?
If that counts as "literature" then shit, those numbers are higher, I'm sure of it.
Oh and let me lay this on you, Bauerlein:
Shit isn't what it was 50 years ago. In case you haven't noticed, people are busier than ever. Americans are the hardest working people on the damn planet, you can tell by how limited our vacation and sick days are and how we're completely fine with that fact. It's so ingrained into our culture to be working all the damn time that people all but shame others for lying to get a week off. And these sick days are usually unpaid. So you have to keep working. Oh and kids aren't exempt either. Much like in East Asia, kids in the US are worked to the bone with their studies. The slackers of course will be slackers, but the straight-A, cello-playing, debate team-leading, show choir and capella choir singing Junior still has more work to do at the end of the day.
What do people in this day and age want to do after a hard day of work? Clock out, exactly. And by clocking out I mean relaxing in a way that does not further stimulate the brain. You know what stimulates the brain? Reading. You know what people have been doing all day before coming home? Working with their brains all abuzz. Last thing I want to do is concentrate intensely on something like focusing on a plot. Reading requires taking in information, processing it, and giving a damn about whether to continue or not. With something like TV, it's just there in your brain: You are a passive party, whereas with reading you are an active party. After slaving away teaching Home Economics, I'd much rather play Candy Crush than devour The Great Gatsby on a whim...
So I will tell you right now that there are many people out there that simply have no time to read. It is looked at as a chore because their mental capacities have already been used up. Now for us bibliophiles who consider reading to be easy to get into and not that taxing on our brains (not saying those don't are stupid, but reading sometimes requires an investment and commitment, something they don't have at the moment) it may still be a challenge because again, it requires commitment and after a long day it would be easier to just...not.
Entering high school I still read but not at the same rate as I had in middle school. I'm a freshman in college as I type this review and I've probably read three books cover to cover that weren't assigned to me. But does that matter? I actually love reading through my History textbook as well as some of the books that have been assigned to me.
Also, manga is something that should be considered. If manga can be considered literature (and by Bauerlein's standards when tabulating how much people read, it does just like graphic novels) I usually am, on any given night, reading the newest chapter of a manga or else trying to finish a series.
I finished Bambino! half a week ago; I resumed around chapter 135 and continued until the end at around, I don't know, 170 chapters I think? Each chapter was around 16-20 pages. Oh and there was Berserk, which I caught up to, give or take, present status in a single week, 37 volumes.
Bitch, don't you tell me I don't read. I read a fuckton.
fdterritory's review against another edition
4.0
As a teacher, I can tell you that Bauerlain's thesis is exactly true. I have always known that my students could learn material in order to regurgitate it on exams, but they had little hope of determining anything past whatever they had made a point of to memorize right before the test. Math students can calculate, but they have no ability to "think mathematically". History students can't attach ideas from one to another. And heaven forbid if your subject isn't "relevant" enough.
The author here gets it right: technology, money, and self-esteem-overload has made many of today's youth spoiled, self-centered, and stupid. There's no nice way to put it, but results are going to be easier to obtain if we're blunt about it. The author makes the argument that intellectualism should be encouraged and not lampooned, and the sooner the better.
The author here gets it right: technology, money, and self-esteem-overload has made many of today's youth spoiled, self-centered, and stupid. There's no nice way to put it, but results are going to be easier to obtain if we're blunt about it. The author makes the argument that intellectualism should be encouraged and not lampooned, and the sooner the better.
mokey81's review against another edition
5.0
This is an incredible book. A little depressing too considering how true the premise is.
I highly recommend this book. Especially to those people that have seen the intellectual deficiency in the younger generations.
I highly recommend this book. Especially to those people that have seen the intellectual deficiency in the younger generations.
thomcat's review against another edition
3.0
Author mixes topics together, presenting as a linked whole. Some topics have only one reasonable side, others are quite debatable. For instance:
Study of prior scientific achievement may lead to breakthroughs, but is that necessarily so with study of prior artistic achievements? What about other skills and studies?
A good overview on the general decline of literacy and competency, regardless.
Study of prior scientific achievement may lead to breakthroughs, but is that necessarily so with study of prior artistic achievements? What about other skills and studies?
A good overview on the general decline of literacy and competency, regardless.
amynbell's review against another edition
3.0
The book is interesting, but I don't agree with all the conclusions that the author makes in the book. I don't think the entire generation is dumb (although many are heading in that direction). And I don't think that the generation necessarily is doomed to have less intellectuals than the previous generations. In my college career (in a different generation), the intellectuals were few and far between. We found each other and stuck together, but I don't think that really ever changes. Granted, the Generation Y intellectuals are probably more likely to do a lot of talking rather than a lot of reading deep into the past, but I know Generation Ys who do seek deeper knowledge.
The author of The Dumbest Generation says that, among Generation Ys, standardized test scores are going down and that fewer people read books (beyond the Harry Potter series). But the numbers just don't seem that significant to me. And I think, too, that there will come a time when these Generation Ys wake up and look beyond themselves and their peers, wanting to learn more about the world around them. One thing I think is that you rarely ever have an Awakening until there is a need for one. It's easy to live in your me-me-me world of self-centered and social networking FaceBook profiles when there's nothing serious going on in the world.
I think, though, that it's the job of educators to notice these things and to teach skills that the Generation Ys don't have because of their media lifestyle. For example, I think that teachers should specifically teach students to pay attention to details and think in specifics rather than generalities. Also, I think that teachers should find a way to show students how reading is relevant to their lives as well as how current events and history are relevant to their lives. Also imperative is that teachers make it very clear to students how to determine if sources for their academic papers (and even for their blogs) are valid sources or not. Once again, it's an issue related to paying attention to detail and being willing to double check your sources.
In conclusion, I don't think Generation Ys are dumb (as the title suggests); I just think that they think differently. And I think it's very important for everyone else to learn to understand them and have dialogues with them so that we can mesh our "cultures" for a positive end result. We have to be willing to meet each other half way and learn from each other.
The author of The Dumbest Generation says that, among Generation Ys, standardized test scores are going down and that fewer people read books (beyond the Harry Potter series). But the numbers just don't seem that significant to me. And I think, too, that there will come a time when these Generation Ys wake up and look beyond themselves and their peers, wanting to learn more about the world around them. One thing I think is that you rarely ever have an Awakening until there is a need for one. It's easy to live in your me-me-me world of self-centered and social networking FaceBook profiles when there's nothing serious going on in the world.
I think, though, that it's the job of educators to notice these things and to teach skills that the Generation Ys don't have because of their media lifestyle. For example, I think that teachers should specifically teach students to pay attention to details and think in specifics rather than generalities. Also, I think that teachers should find a way to show students how reading is relevant to their lives as well as how current events and history are relevant to their lives. Also imperative is that teachers make it very clear to students how to determine if sources for their academic papers (and even for their blogs) are valid sources or not. Once again, it's an issue related to paying attention to detail and being willing to double check your sources.
In conclusion, I don't think Generation Ys are dumb (as the title suggests); I just think that they think differently. And I think it's very important for everyone else to learn to understand them and have dialogues with them so that we can mesh our "cultures" for a positive end result. We have to be willing to meet each other half way and learn from each other.