Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
WCDT: 11-15 October 2010 (1771-1775)
raoullefere:
--- Quote from: Akima on 16 Oct 2010, 14:28 ---Yeah, I'm sceptical too. It sounds to me like one of those "Dang kids today!" type things. Of course there will always be those who have difficulty learning to do anything, but otherwise? I'm in my twenties, and I'm forever amazed by all the things that, for example, conservative newspaper* columnists tell me "my generation" can't do, with which my friends, co-workers, and I have no difficulty at all.
*Yeah, that's right, I read print media! OMG! And I learned my multiplication tables too!
--- End quote ---
I'm sure you can. And there are certainly numerous young people in my neck of the woods who can, too. But what I really see in this statement is you attempting to preserve a cake intact whilst stuffing a chunk of it in your gob. "Of course there will always be those who have difficulty learning to do anything," means, by definition, this condition exists. Furthermore, if they have such difficulty, and the simpler means (even if it 'takes longer') of rattling off the numbers on a digital display exists, it stands to reason which way they will go. After all, that only requires numbers be learned, killing two 'learning birds' with one stone. (This is the approach taken, apparently, by some Special Ed teachers)
One thing I find that some folks on the 'nets, particularly in as educated, erudite a crowd as seems to be present on this forum, is a lack of understanding that there exists those who will not learn if they are not made to, no matter their actual capability. These folks have always been with us, and may always be. There are various reasons for this, some cultural, some religious (if you prefer not to lump that in with cultural), some from apathy, and some for a variety of reasons that vary wildly from person to person. If we could ever find a way to encourage everyone to use the brain their body has made so many sacrifices to support and to rejoice in the use, I suspect we'd be at least a little closer to some of these utopias we see from time to time in fiction.
Or, of course, it could be hell on earth.
pwhodges:
Most utopias have turned out that way.
Akima:
--- Quote from: raoullefere on 16 Oct 2010, 16:04 ---But what I really see in this statement is you attempting to preserve a cake intact whilst stuffing a chunk of it in your gob. "Of course there will always be those who have difficulty learning to do anything," means, by definition, this condition exists.
--- End quote ---
I take your point, but what I was objecting to was the implication that age, or generation, was the key factor. I'd say that failure to learn something is determined by a combination of ability and motivation, rather than the decade in which one was born. The idea that "today's youth" is somehow stupider or lazier than the commentator's generation at the same age is a classic "Dang kids!" reaction.
zadojla:
--- Quote from: pwhodges on 16 Oct 2010, 16:03 ---I remember trying to explain to a supermarket manager the inherent absurdity of selling fire alarms for £3.99 each, £7.99 for a 2-pack, or £12.99 for a 3-pack. I got nowhere.
--- End quote ---
I used to work for a supermarket chain (now-defunct Grand Union, for those in the NE USA). That is a supermarket trick, deliberately done. Most people assume that the price-per-unit improves as the size of the package increases. Not true at all; usually the second-largest package has the best price-per-unit. They assume most people have neither the skill nor will to actually calculate it for themselves.
--- Quote from: peterh on 16 Oct 2010, 15:50 ---That is for you to decide...
--- End quote ---
I live in Texas. Anyone can carry a gun. Best be polite.
Schmorgluck:
And then there are those young'uns (plus those trying to pass as younger than they are) who seem to make a point of spelling like shit when communicating on the Internet. I try to explain to them that it's a lack of respect for those who'll try to read their prose. I try to talk to them about the Netiquette (yes, I'm old enough to know this word). But my ultimate impression is that they spell like shit on the Internet because "all the cool kids do it!"
And as a disclaimer: out of experience, I'm able to make the difference (at least in French and English) between dyslectic people and people who don't give a shit or even use deliberately bad spelling. Come to think of it, I wonder how the former view the latter. I suspect they might find them offensive.
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