Serious Tapic #3: Is technology making us stupid?

[Jua]

Well?

[wildgoosespeeder]

Smart phones, well the smart has to go somewhere.

[randie]

Nov 6, 2010 14:41:22 GMT -8 Jua said:

Well?

Well? You brought it up. What are you're thoughts Mayor? Enlighten us.

[Wormopolis]

It has its moments, but calculators in math class doesnt exactly help those who NEED to learn how to do arithmetic. in more advanced classes that rely on the letters and symbols more then the numbers, sure, but not basic math classes.

I can tell you this though, without my Garmin navigator in my truck, I would have probably committed vehicular manslaughter by now. That thing is a fine exampleof helpful technology.

[Jua]

Technology makes things easier. Some are useful, but what comes with use is the action of taking away something. Some might used couculators so often that they have forgotten how to do basic math all together, and etc. So vaguely I believe technology is making people less intellegent.

[Wormopolis]

but you can agree that some technology INCREASES intelligence. The DVD player, although you could argue that it keeps people from having their own imagination, has given a lot of people the enjoyment of being able to watch a movie as often as they want and with as many interruptions as they want. The Pacemaker has kept some people alive for decades longer then they would have survived normally. Even the lightbulb, if you could consider it a technological marvel, brought people out of the candle lit reading rooms.

Do people rely too much on it? that entirely depends on teh person. some people now a days cant seem to drive anywhere without having someone on the other end of that cell phone. Is that conversation REALLY necessary? doubtful. They are probably just gossiping. I dont even answer the phone while driving unless I think its an emergency or I need help to stay awake while driving (I have sleep issues). Its sometimes the same people that will pay to sit in a movie theatre and talk on their phones. not sure why they couldnt just do that at home however...

computers are a mixed opinion for me. I love that the internet has opened up a REALLY fast way for me to find all sorts of information, from encyclopedic to directions and phone numbers, which makes life easier, but it also opened the door for certain negative activities like child pornography and identity fraud. Until the internet, those activities were scarce and REALLY easy to apprehend culprits. now they run rampant. which makes life more difficult.

in summary, I would say the advantages of technology has outweighed the disadvantages. We overlook some of the things that we used to concentrate really hard on, so we lose the basics behind things, but we gain the knowledge of how to use our new toolset, and what comes next.

[randie]

Without technology, we as a race, will die here on Earth unless technology helps clean it up.

Goo or bad we need it!

[Jua]

Nov 8, 2010 14:07:21 GMT -8 Wormopolis said:

but you can agree that some technology INCREASES intelligence. The DVD player, although you could argue that it keeps people from having their own imagination, has given a lot of people the enjoyment of being able to watch a movie as often as they want and with as many interruptions as they want. The Pacemaker has kept some people alive for decades longer then they would have survived normally. Even the lightbulb, if you could consider it a technological marvel, brought people out of the candle lit reading rooms.

Do people rely too much on it? that entirely depends on teh person. some people now a days cant seem to drive anywhere without having someone on the other end of that cell phone. Is that conversation REALLY necessary? doubtful. They are probably just gossiping. I dont even answer the phone while driving unless I think its an emergency or I need help to stay awake while driving (I have sleep issues). Its sometimes the same people that will pay to sit in a movie theatre and talk on their phones. not sure why they couldnt just do that at home however...

computers are a mixed opinion for me. I love that the internet has opened up a REALLY fast way for me to find all sorts of information, from encyclopedic to directions and phone numbers, which makes life easier, but it also opened the door for certain negative activities like child pornography and identity fraud. Until the internet, those activities were scarce and REALLY easy to apprehend culprits. now they run rampant. which makes life more difficult.

in summary, I would say the advantages of technology has outweighed the disadvantages. We overlook some of the things that we used to concentrate really hard on, so we lose the basics behind things, but we gain the knowledge of how to use our new toolset, and what comes next.

The advantages are definitely worth it no doubt. What happens when the tool is taken away? Not saying how this indecent would occur, but what if? Then the world breaks into chaos just because Computers are gone (2000).
Learning how to use the tooks doesn't necessarily make us smarter. Most use of technology is by habit. I can type 103wpm, but that doesn't involve my intelligence at all.
Conclusion: You're right the advantages of Technology do out-weigh the cons. But the simple point is.. (my opinion) that Technology is decreasing the intelligence of a good portion of humanity.

[Wormopolis]

Its relative though.

compare what people know now to what they knew 50 years ago. not just historical stuff, but I mean how to do things. certain diseases once thought to be fatal can now be cured.. BECAUSE of the technology. you cant say if people were smarter those same diseases would have been eradicated anyway.

we know more about or soloar system because of the technology of space flight. we are more entertained by the high definition color televisions, then we were with black and white TVs. did increasing that representaion make us dumber? I dont believe so, but I guess you could say more people look at TV then read a book. but does reading a book really make you smarter?

does knowing how "Catcher in the Rye" ends make you smarter? Does knowing the secret of "Soylent Green" really get you ahead in this world? I dont believe so, but picking up a math book or physics book might help you get further ahead.. but those 2 subjects are the foundation of the technology that is being discussed anyways.

[Jua]

Nov 14, 2010 13:20:22 GMT -8 Wormopolis said:

Its relative though.

compare what people know now to what they knew 50 years ago. not just historical stuff, but I mean how to do things. certain diseases once thought to be fatal can now be cured.. BECAUSE of the technology. you cant say if people were smarter those same diseases would have been eradicated anyway.

we know more about or soloar system because of the technology of space flight. we are more entertained by the high definition color televisions, then we were with black and white TVs. did increasing that representaion make us dumber? I dont believe so, but I guess you could say more people look at TV then read a book. but does reading a book really make you smarter?

does knowing how "Catcher in the Rye" ends make you smarter? Does knowing the secret of "Soylent Green" really get you ahead in this world? I dont believe so, but picking up a math book or physics book might help you get further ahead.. but those 2 subjects are the foundation of the technology that is being discussed anyways.

Good point.

[Pain]

Hmmm i agree with wormo.

[marshabar]

Superficial maybe. I've become a skimmer. AND DVR has made me a lazy listener. I listen like I can rewind anytime I want. Wish I could.

This board is unbelievably beautiful. Just amazing. Congratulations.

[Wormopolis]

You might be one of the few visitors that actually like it... I am terrible at design.. Im a code monkey. I mainly write out stuff to let other people tweak how it looks to THEN make it beautiful.

[marshabar]

Nuh UH!

I don't usually like dark boards, but this place looks like jewelry to me. ;D