Modern tech leading to dumber thoughts?

[TeeDee]

Something to muse upon and chip in over the Xmas break but is:-

Modern Tech leading to a dumbing down of Critical thought processes and applied intelligence?

I've noticed a day-to-day growing reliance upon certain installed apps ( Grammarly ) and the day to day use of things such as on phone calculators ( for simple level arithmatic ) , GPS directions+routes, C.V writer ( with prompted Key word suggestions ) and various apps and computer installed widgets that 'assist' the user.

So , do all these things assist in improving intelligence of the User or merely improve the perception that the User is intelligent?

When is criticial thinking and intelligence being used if we have an unlimited supply of tools to 'give' us the answer?



What are peoples thoughts on such things and do you use them day-to-day? if so , which ones.

 

[crosslandkelly]

Some good reading on the subject here.

Are Humans Getting Smarter or Dumber?

Have humans gotten brighter or duller over the years? The answer is not entirely clear.

www.livescience.com

We Are All Getting Dumber, New Science Proves, and No One Is Sure Why

Are our terrible diets, bad schools, tech obsession, and increasingly trashy media to blame?

www.inc.com

 

[Wayland]

I think the problem is not that people are dumber that before but that dumb people can be heard and seen far more now than they used to be.

For the unwise man 'tis best to be mute
when he come amid the crowd,
for none is aware of his lack of wit
if he wastes not too many words

Hávamál, Poetic Edda.

 

[crosslandkelly]

"Better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt."

Mark Twain.

 

[Broch]

Surely, intelligent people will make maximum use of all the appropriate tools and materials available to achieve their purpose. They can now do it faster, more accurately, and with a wider audience.

Dumb people, will make maximum use of tools to achieve what they did before - nothing.

Of course, being reliant on technology is another thing altogether.

 

[henchy3rd]

Something to muse upon and chip in over the Xmas break but is:-

Modern Tech leading to a dumbing down of Critical thought processes and applied intelligence?

I've noticed a day-to-day growing reliance upon certain installed apps ( Grammarly ) and the day to day use of things such as on phone calculators ( for simple level arithmatic ) , GPS directions+routes, C.V writer ( with prompted Key word suggestions ) and various apps and computer installed widgets that 'assist' the user.

So , do all these things assist in improving intelligence of the User or merely improve the perception that the User is intelligent?

When is criticial thinking and intelligence being used if we have an unlimited supply of tools to 'give' us the answer?



What are peoples thoughts on such things and do you use them day-to-day? if so , which ones.

I believe it perceives the inception that people are clever.. I use it regularly & have done so to cheat in the past.
But that cheating taught me something new.
I’ve been told im a mind of useless information, by cheating or studying.
For instance, I’ve no information backup to a cheat, but can hold a conversation on a studied subject.
Confused.com

 

[TLM]

Of course, being reliant on technology is another thing altogether.

Not really, too much reliance is just dumb. One should be able to fall back to earlier ways if needed.

 

[TeeDee]

Of course, being reliant on technology is another thing altogether.

Indeed

 

[Jared]

Think the problem is like minded people can find each other easier, and form bubbles on social media where they are constantly reinforcing their ideas and not having them challenged.

 

[billycoen]

Bit of a paradox really,the more certain people get "tech savvy",the dafter they become.

 

[Kadushu]

Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.
—Plato (possibly)

 

[TeeDee]

So many people saying so little of original thought.

 

[pieinthesky]

I am looking forward to the day that sat nav falls over and I am the only one on the roads that knows the way

 

[TeeDee]

I am looking forward to the day that sat nav falls over and I am the only one on the roads that knows the way

I'll just follow you then.


I think the point I was trying to reach for referencing something like SatNav was that surely the act of physically remembering something like the route to a location must help create & strengthen or retain memory processes.

I believe studies of London Taxi drivers doing the Knowledge has shown that they have improved cognitve ability - Yes, that is the far end of the polar spectrum but I would tend to think that the more things we choose to not 'try' to remember the less we engage and retain cerebral functions.


I wonder if the same is true when we choose to rely on tools such as Grammarly for emails.

 

[billycoen]

Predictive text..why would i want a phone to pre empt what i'm trying to say,as if it's too difficult to actually type what you want to say.

 

[Robson Valley]

Modern technology limits you to whatever intellect the app programmers have. If they didn't think of it, YOU CAN'T DO IT. For the most part, they are too young and too ignorant to realize that us geezers HAD TO Be innovative to make a lot of things happen. I'm really proud of that difference.

I believe, firmly, that bush craft education does a little to alleviate that disparity.

I will now go back to whipping the finish on a crooked wood carving knife.

 

[crosslandkelly]

I'm old enough to remember using encyclopedias, maps and libraries to find the information I required for specific tasks. The act of going out of your way to find this info, meant it had value and stayed with you. Information is now instantly available, and instantly forgotten and valueless. Kids are not taught critical thinking in schools, just how to pass tests. The endless stream of dumb media entertainment, propaganda, text speak, advertisments, and useless info pumped into our conciousness everday, has got to the point where many cannot think for themselves and blindly follow whatever shiny bauble or outspoken cretin, catches their eye. In my view the world is definitely getting dumber.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

Humans have always become slaves to their technology & the internet appears to be the biggest slave owner yet. Whilst the net is both a library of knowledge & a depository of trash, human predisposition for addiction & the titilation of it's basest insincts tends to lead many to inhabit the areas where banality prospers. Humanity's herding instincts & the need to conform, which has led to society fracturing into radical tribes certainly isn't conjusive to critical thought, since believing now is more important than knowing & what one thinks about anything is influenced by the majority view of one's chosen clan.
I don't know if people are dumber now or simply know less since they no longer have to remember or learn things but I think there has been a change in the wiring of the little grey cells.
The perpetual bombardment of news, propaganda & media brainwashing is no doubt overloading our little brains & causing unimaginable damage to our thought processes & changing our behaviour, which of course leads us wide open to psychological manipulation & into accepting the unacceptable. I suspect anyone still in the possesion of critical thought will be at a grave disadvantge in the societies of the future, where blind compliance will be a requisite if you wish to have access to the new 'normal"

 

[henchy3rd]

I'm old enough to remember using encyclopedias, maps and libraries to find the information I required for specific tasks. The act of going out of your way to find this info, meant it had value and stayed with you. Information is now instantly available, and instantly forgotten and valueless. Kids are not taught critical thinking in schools, just how to pass tests. The endless stream of dumb media entertainment, propaganda, text speak, advertisments, and useless info pumped into our conciousness everday, has got to the point where many cannot think for themselves and blindly follow whatever shiny bauble or outspoken cretin, catches their eye. In my view the world is definitely getting dumber.

Took me back to the eighties when we used to go to the main library in town or the local one, we used to spend hours in the local/social studies library for old maps & information more than anything or the museum.
thanks for jogging my memory of fond days.

 

[The Frightful]

You only have to watch pedestrians at traffic lights, push the button and waitlike a numpty, meanwhile I'm 100m up the road. ‍. I taught my boy to cross the right way, at all types of crossings as they are relatively safe as long as you keep ears and eyes peeled. Once this was mastered i taught him how to cross the road if no crossing places where available. So yes, tee dee 100%