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8 Reasons Why This Is The Dumbest Generation

boston.com — .

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  • socivitus, on 05/11/2008, -71/+239I hope this goes popular, I'd love to see the comments. Overall, I think its that this generation doesn't read and doesn't learn life skills early enough to fully comprehend them when they get older. I know people who are 18-20 who read and spell worse than I did when I was 10. It's sad really.
    • rossmcd, on 05/11/2008, -29/+140But I bet those 18-20 year olds are much better than you were at finding information
      • relentless1914, on 05/11/2008, -14/+97Some young people can find info, but in my experience, they have no idea of how to discern fact from opinion or to evaluate sources for impartiality...
        • KayIslandDrunk, on 05/11/2008, -6/+25And every teacher I knew in HS or prof in college didn't care. All that mattered was you submitted something that "could" pass as legit. So the kids that really needed to learn the difference never developed those skills.
          • musicbear, on 05/11/2008, -4/+22And all teachers here in FL want to teach is "what is on the test" to get out of school so the kids "don't get left behind" and the school doesn't get a failing grade.
          • codyg1985, on 05/11/2008, -3/+19Thanks to No Child Left Behind teachers are forced to teach what is on the test or risk losing their jobs. There is no longer any room left for more advanced teaching, or teaching of life skills that would help you in college and beyond.
          • JMSantos, on 05/11/2008, -2/+46Sorry, but that's *****. As a HS teacher myself, I've found plenty of times and opportunity to expand on student learning through related discussion. Even though I teach math, I've held discussions ranging from ancient history to quantum mechanics (this is to 9th graders). I've even taught my 9th grade Algebra students simple matrix operations so that they know how mathematicians actually do certain problems rather than just what's "on the test."

            Teachers who teach to the test are lazy, ill-informed, or simply bad at their jobs.
          • effward, on 05/11/2008, -0/+10JMSantos, I'm glad that you are such a great teacher, but the sad fact is that many teachers are no where near as good as you. I am a junior in HS and all the teachers of my AP classes teach purely for the AP test (with the exception of my Calc teacher who is awesome). The only other class I have that doesn't seem to teach for the test is english, which is one of the few classes where we actually have some intelligent conversations.
          • icono1, on 05/11/2008, -0/+5JM Santos is correct in that if a classroom teacher has the time and initiative the kids will talk about and enjoy a wide range of topics. However, with the changing public educational environment brought on by the no child left behind initiative 'the test' is of primary importance and all else is secondary to 'the test'. Which means that at all classroom teachers will be directed by their school board's and or administrators to teach the test and suspend all other educational activities such as teaching 'class' content. If they, the teachers do not teach what they are told to teach, then they will face disciplinary actions and sanctions from their school board and or school administrators.
        • oirvine, on 05/11/2008, -2/+24Older people are any better at discerning fact from opinion or to evaluate sources for impartiality?
        • Sinnic, on 05/12/2008, -1/+3No, and they're usually the ones bloviating ineffectually at the incomprehensibleness of 'technology', or spewing the same hackneyed old nonsense about youth and the coming dumb-***** apocalypse. Like some attention whore English professor/author has ever gotten down and dirty with shaping the hearts and minds of America's youth. Most professors don't give two ***** whether you sink or swim and I doubt this guy is any different.

          Hope he sells a ***** of his books through manufactured media controversy, though. It's the American Way!
      • neopolaris, on 05/11/2008, -15/+1BFD
      • DavidBGie, on 05/11/2008, -13/+1Too many Libtards! Ok, that may be a symptom of the problem. The problem before "No child left behind" was that educators were lowering the standards locally to pass stupid kids. If the "Stupid" kids happen to fall into a racial group then nobody would touch the issue. They would loose their job if they said (for example) that the Japanese kids did poorly on test that whites and blacks did well on. If you published this information you would be a racist against Japanese. If you just lowered the standard of the test and everyone passed then everybody was happy... Except for the kids when they got out in the real world and realized they were not educated. In school they had high self esteem but low education so when they get out to their first job they think "Hey, I'm smart!" before earning that self opinion.
      • haleym, on 05/11/2008, -0/+16Don't be so sure... a true story to illustrate my point:
        My mom is a college English professor. A 3rd-year student in a class of hers (probably 20 years old) was doing a paper on William Faulkner, and approached her after class one day with a research problem he was having: he couldn't find any essays, critical works, etc. about a certain theme in Faulkner's work. My mom was a little surprised, as she knew for a fact that quite a bit had been written about this theme and Faulkner. But, to help him out, she gave him the title of a book she knew on the subject to pick up at the library.
        The next day, the student came up again after class and thanked her, and said: "you know, that library's quite a place - I went and found that book, and wouldn't you know it, there just happened to be all these other books right next to it that dealt with the exact same subject! I should go there more often!"
        It was only at this point that my mom realized this student - a third-year college student, of all things - had been doing *all* of his research online, and had never even considered using the library as a resource.
        Moral of the story: knowing how to use Google != having superior info-finding skills in all cases. There's still plenty of information out there that's not online, and it would behoove this generation to learn how to access it a little more frequently.
        • Kerrigore, on 05/15/2008, -0/+1I don't know what's up with that college, but at my University most research assignments I've had have required both academic journal articles and books, and you can generally only find journal articles online (that is, you can find journal articles online and off, but not books online). I've also had about 4 different classes which had seminars on how to do research, find books, and so on. I'm not a huge fan of using books simply because their topic is usually much broader than my relatively small paper and it's harder to find the information you need in a larger book than a smaller article, but if I don't find what I'm looking for with journal articles (or a book is required) I will go to books. The other advantage to journal articles is of course that they are often much more recent and up to date, which matters in some fields more than others.

          Anyways, that was one student out of how many? Presumably most of the rest of them found books with no problem? Anecdotal evidence doesn't really demonstrate an overall trend. I don't think people are much dumber now than they were before. Some of the teaching in the schools has actually improved; where once it was mostly rote learning, now I've found it to be focused more on understanding than pure memorization. Maybe this varies from place to place. For some reason a lot of the older generation who had to do more rote learning think that, for example, not knowing a whole bunch of historical dates off by heart (ones you could easily look up if you ever needed the info) means that kids are dumb or uneducated or something.

          Literacy isn't the only measure of intelligence, either. I was easily one of the best English students at my high school, but there were tons of kids who could defeat me handily at math or science (part of this was due to less of interest in those subjects on my part, but still). People are intelligent in different ways. I've known people who don't read books, couldn't write a literary essay to save their lives, but are brilliant at physics, biology, etc. and can even write science papers fairly well.

          I do think philosophy classes should be mandatory in High School, though. That would be the place for the skills and life lessons that some of you feel are missing from other classes. It could be a place for rational, critical thought, for learning about different ethical theories and questions about the nature of knowledge, inquiry, the mind, politics and political theory, the nature and theory of science and social science, the fundamentals of logic, and so on. I think it's good for people to think about these things at least once in their life, and some do on their own, but group learning and discussion makes it infinitely better.
      • logosx1, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1Information is useless without the ability to comprehend it or communicate its meaning.
    • Daz3, on 05/11/2008, -9/+116What are 'life skills'? I thought they were something that people claimed to have when they lacked any real qualifications.
      • drmobutu, on 05/11/2008, -1/+7You know, like, how to cut & paste...
      • marx2k, on 05/11/2008, -8/+5They're the base on which you build everything else on. Reading, writing, arithmetic, logic, etc
        • Daz3, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2Uhh, those would be reading skills, writing skill, arithmetic skills and logic skills.
      • bobbyi, on 05/11/2008, -0/+16The most important one is knowing how hard to spin the spinner. If you don't do it hard enough, it is easy for people to say that you were gaming it to have land on the number you want. However, if you spin it too hard, it may fly off the base entirely.
        • FatLoser, on 05/11/2008, -0/+5thanks for ruining my day... my blood pressure just spiked... so many fights broke out as a result of that god damned wheel, and it's partially responsible for why I never speak with my sister (that whore)
    • goscript, on 05/11/2008, -3/+47Place #9 on your list: Some are so dumb that they cannot place a description on their digg story. Sounds familiar?
      • vroom101, on 05/11/2008, -11/+11pleeze dont mak funofmy dumbness...it...hurtz...my...selph...oooopsy!...It hurtz my selfesteem.
    • Ampulex, on 05/11/2008, -24/+10This is merely an observation and not a comment to anyone in particular. The this generation is the dumbest is its members are illiterate and write "reason why," "nauseous for nauseated," "aggravated" for "irritated," and so on. None of the clowns who will respond to this article even know any better either but that won't keep them from posting their dopey, ill-educated opinions.
      • goffy59, on 05/11/2008, -3/+8what what what?
      • Szandor, on 05/11/2008, -0/+11"The this generation is the dumbest is its members..."

        Your incomprehensible sentence makes me nauseous and aggravated
      • scotticus, on 05/11/2008, -0/+5"your stupid"
      • chocolatetacos, on 05/11/2008, -1/+3This generation is no dumber than the baby-boomer generation. It's not like we were responsible for George W. Bush. We've got stupid leaders with no balls, and life has been so comfortable for so long that people are only absorbed in what affects their own lives. I don't think that has anything to do with the Gen-X'ers, Gen-Y'ers, or whatever they're being called these days. It's a top-to-bottom societal issue.
      • burnin8r28, on 05/11/2008, -0/+3this is just an observation:
        your an *****
      • Kerrigore, on 05/15/2008, -0/+1From the New Oxford American Dictionary, 2nd Edition:

        nauseous |ˈnô sh əs; - zh əs; -ēəs|
        adjective
        1 affected with nausea; inclined to vomit : a rancid, cloying odor that made him nauseous.
        2 causing nausea; offensive to the taste or smell : the smell was nauseous.
        • disgusting, repellent, or offensive : this nauseous account of a court case.

        aggravate |ˈagrəˌvāt|
        verb [ trans. ]
        1 make (a problem, injury, or offense) worse or more serious : military action would only aggravate the situation.
        2 informal annoy or exasperate (someone), esp. persistently : [as adj. ] ( aggravating) she found him thoroughly aggravating and unprofessional.

        USAGE Aggravate in the sense 'annoy or exasperate' dates back to the 17th century and has been so used by respected writers ever since. This use is still regarded as incorrect by some traditionalists on the grounds that it is too radical a departure from the etymological meaning of ‘make heavy.’ It is, however, comparable to meaning changes in hundreds of other words which have long been accepted without comment. See also usage at exasperate .

        I hope you now understand why you're a moron.
    • freediverx, on 05/11/2008, -11/+106"Overall, I think its that this generation doesn't read and doesn't learn life skills early enough to fully comprehend them when they get older."

      Yeah, and they keep playing that loud noise they call music and walking right across my lawn!

      Seriously, though, this sounds like a book written by an aging English professor who, while observing his career choice growing increasingly irrelevant, now attempts to make a quick buck by writing a book designed to insult one generation while fueling the insecurities of another.
      • UNL1M1T3D, on 05/11/2008, -2/+13I agree, to compare this generation to generations past is simply dumb. It's comparing apples to oranges. We are the technology generation. We have the capability to be in contact with almost anyone at any time in various ways. Also with the internet you have the world of information/disinformation at your hands. If you want some piece of knowledge, and you know how to find it, you will. I know a lot of my peers who are very intelligent people, and disprove every single one of those 'reasons' that this generation is stupid. The author of this article is praying on stereotypes.
        • spiffytech, on 05/11/2008, -2/+8Not to, you know, prove the author's point or anything like that, but the word is "preying", as in "the lion's prey", not "praying to God".

          Being able to find information is great. Actually putting that information to use is what actually matters.
          • UNL1M1T3D, on 05/12/2008, -4/+4I am sorry, but in the real world people understand that not everyone has a masters degree in the English language. I think that some people feel that personal exchanges between people over the internet have to be on the same par as a book that is being published. Even critically acclaimed writers have proof readers and editors, because they are human and make mistakes. I think that if people payed less attention to what was actually typed and listen more to the message that the author is trying to convey, we would all be much better off.
        • boot20, on 05/11/2008, -5/+9I completely disagree. The "Technology Generation" has a number of issues, ranging from not truly understanding the technology they use to not having critical thinking skills. I've taught the current crop of 18-25 year old, up until I couldn't stand it any more. A year ago, I gave up. You want to know why? Because the "Technology Generation" cannot think for themselves. It's a group think mentality that is destroying that generation.

          You want to know something amazing though? While you can contact anyone at almost any time, guess what...I can do the same! Amazing really.

          Oh and finding information is NOT the same as understanding and assimilating the information that you've found. The Technology Generation is stuck at the bottom of Bloom's Taxonomy and can't get up.
          • UNL1M1T3D, on 05/12/2008, -1/+5That is your opinion based on your on personal experiences, but that doesn't mean that it's an absolute. You say that not truly understanding the technology is one of a number of 'issues'. I am sorry, but did not understanding how a record player or car work hamper your ability to use those devices or cause you major issues? Not every 13 year old needs to know how ports and TCP/IP works to use their favorite IM client works. As far as not having critical thinking skills, that is a meaningless blanket statement that holds no weight. Sure you have your personal experiences to back you up, but those are skewed by the filters that you are putting them through. Just by looking at your word choice "current crop", leads me to the conclusion that you have a prejudice against young people. I don't know what inspired it, and frankly I don't care. Have you ever considered the thought that it is not our lack of critical thinking, but your inability to inspire critical thought? I think it's funny that you claim that my "crop" can't find information, absorb it and then utilize that information, because I used those exact skills to look up some of the buzz words you used. You claim that we have a group think mentality that is destroying our generation, but you make no mention on how it is "destroying us".

            I think the only thing that brought me reassurance is that you are no longer teaching.
          • boot20, on 05/12/2008, -2/+1"You say that not truly understanding the technology is one of a number of 'issues'. I am sorry, but did not understanding how a record player or car work hamper your ability to use those devices or cause you major issues?"

            Yes! That's exactly what I'm saying. You don't need to understand all the naughty bits inside, but you do need to be a critical enough thinker to understand that it's not magic and pixie farts that make it run.

            "As far as not having critical thinking skills, that is a meaningless blanket statement that holds no weight."

            Your blanket statement that my blanket statement is meaningless and holds no weight is meaningless and holds no weight.

            "Sure you have your personal experiences to back you up, but those are skewed by the filters that you are putting them through. Just by looking at your word choice "current crop", leads me to the conclusion that you have a prejudice against young people."

            A) Strawman
            B) Not only personal experience, but I have hard data that says we're in for a big surprise in the next 20 years...and not in a good way.

            "Have you ever considered the thought that it is not our lack of critical thinking, but your inability to inspire critical thought?"

            I thought about it, but when I can inspire 20% of my class to do wonders, I have to wonder why the other 80% can't do jack.

            "because I used those exact skills to look up some of the buzz words you used"

            If "Bloom's Taxonomy" is a buzz word, I better get that sucker in my CV stat. I'll give you a little pointer here. Just because you don't know something doesn't mean it's a buzz word and it doesn't mean somebody is trying to show you up.

            Let me give you a quick lesson. There will ALWAYS be somebody better than you. You will never be the best at everything, but you can try your ass off. If somebody pwns you in knowledge, work harder to surpass them. You'd do the same in Halo 3, so why not work your brain a little? (BTW I'm pretty sure my 33 year old fingers could pwn you in Halo 3)

            "You claim that we have a group think mentality that is destroying our generation, but you make no mention on how it is 'destroying us'."

            I didn't think I'd have to state the obvious, but the problem with group think is you are always concerned what the other people in your sphere think. The inherent problem here is that it stifles innovation and limits creativity because if you are "different," than you are no longer part of the group.

            Should I go on, or would you like an entire dissertation on the topic?

            I still teach, I just don't teach college. I've given up on that mess. Oh, and just so you are aware, I'm the top trainer at my company and I am also the most requested for return training.
          • UNL1M1T3D, on 05/12/2008, -2/+3
            “Yes! That's exactly what I'm saying. You don't need to understand all the naughty bits inside, but you do need to be a critical enough thinker to understand that it's not magic and pixie farts that make it run.”

            If you think that everyone in our generation thinks that the world runs on “magic and pixie farts”, as you so elegantly put it, you are sadly mistaken. I have had this discussion with many of my peers and if anything I think that the opposite is true. I can't tell you how many times someone from your age “crop” has just asked me to help them with something technology related only to have their eyes glaze over and give up or tell me to “just do it for them”. This isn't everyone older, but it is a behavior that my peers and I have noticed more in older generations.


            “Your blanket statement that my blanket statement is meaningless and holds no weight is meaningless and holds no weight.”

            I am not going to add to this, because there isn't anything more to say.

            “A) Strawman
            B) Not only personal experience, but I have hard data that says we're in for a big surprise in the next 20 years...and not in a good way.”

            A) Define current crop.
            B) Hard data that isn't cited is nothing. And you used to teach college?

            “I thought about it, but when I can inspire 20% of my class to do wonders, I have to wonder why the other 80% can't do jack.”

            Once again this lies with you. It is not the students job to inspire the teacher. The techniques you were using were obviously only effective on 20% of the class. It would be statistically unlikely to be able to get 100% of the class to “do wonders”, as you will (and always have regardless of generation) have students that don't care. I have been in classes where the teacher was very effective at doing their job.

            “If "Bloom's Taxonomy" is a buzz word, I better get that sucker in my CV stat. I'll give you a little pointer here. Just because you don't know something doesn't mean it's a buzz word and it doesn't mean somebody is trying to show you up.”

            Here is the definition of a buzzword:

            http://www.answers.com/topic/buzzword?cat=technolo ...

            According to the definition given by answers.com you just used CV stat as a buzzword. Never have I nor will I ever imply that I know everything. I just don't believe in throwing around words for the sake of trying to impress the layperson.

            “Let me give you a quick lesson. There will ALWAYS be somebody better than you. You will never be the best at everything, but you can try your ass off. If somebody pwns you in knowledge, work harder to surpass them. You'd do the same in Halo 3, so why not work your brain a little? (BTW I'm pretty sure my 33 year old fingers could pwn you in Halo 3)”

            Thank you for life lessons 101. I am already aware of this. You never “pwned me” with knowledge. As far as Halo 3 goes, yes you probably would “pwn” me at Halo 3, seeing how I don't have an Xbox 360 or Halo 3. Not every 18-25 year old owns and Xbox 360 and Halo 3 and it's foolish for you to assume that. While we are sharing pointers let me introduce you to a pointer I learned early in life. Never assume. It makes an ass out of 'u' and... well at this point just 'u'.

            “I didn't think I'd have to state the obvious, but the problem with group think is you are always concerned what the other people in your sphere think. The inherent problem here is that it stifles innovation and limits creativity because if you are "different," than you are no longer part of the group.”

            If you visit the comments section of this site who has a large user base of 18-25 year olds, you would see that the majority of my generation could care less about offending or hurting someones feelings if they feel they are incorrect.

            “Should I go on, or would you like an entire dissertation on the topic?”

            If you would like to, feel free. This is the most fun I have had in a while.

            “I still teach, I just don't teach college. I've given up on that mess. Oh, and just so you are aware, I'm the top trainer at my company and I am also the most requested for return training.”

            Well that's good that you've 'given up on that mess'. I am glad that not all teachers have this outlook.
          • boot20, on 05/12/2008, -1/+2"If you think that everyone in our generation thinks that the world runs on “magic and pixie farts”, as you so elegantly put it, you are sadly mistaken."

            The good majority of your generation seems to think so. I'm a Computer Scientist, so I expect those that come into my courses to have some background in technology. It seems my assumption was wrong.

            Why take a CS course if you haven't the first clue, save for how to post to your blog or update your facebook page?

            "I have had this discussion with many of my peers and if anything I think that the opposite is true. I can't tell you how many times someone from your age “crop” has just asked me to help them with something technology related only to have their eyes glaze over and give up or tell me to 'just do it for them'."

            Dude, you do know that "my generation" and the generation before mine are the ones that wrote all the code for the internet, started the whole idea of mobile computing and cellular technology, and produced 90% of what everyone that touches technology uses today.

            "This isn't everyone older, but it is a behavior that my peers and I have noticed more in older generations."

            Look, there is a world of difference between a 30ish/40ish plebeian and a 20ish something who wants to degree in a technological field who hasn't the first clue.


            "A) Define current crop.
            B) Hard data that isn't cited is nothing. And you used to teach college?"

            A) 18-25
            B) WTF? Do you think a keep a spread sheet of this stuff floating around so I can post it for your amusement?

            Needless to say, of the 18-22 year olds, I had a failure/drop out rate of around 70% in my technical courses (my colleagues experienced about the same) . The worst part was that these were intro courses that were basically gut courses that anyone could pass. The big problem I ran into was a total lack of critical thinking and the inability to think beyond simple textbooks.

            "Once again this lies with you."

            No, it is the onus of the student to learn. I'm no sage on the stage (another buzz word there for ya), I'm a guide on the side (buzz word two). I teach, but I'm not there to make you learn, I'm there to give you information and build your knowledge. You have to want to learn...something that seems to be lacking in the 18-25 year olds hitting college now.

            "It is not the students job to inspire the teacher."

            It's the students job to learn...which seems to be an impossible task if they don't want to learn or think.

            "The techniques you were using were obviously only effective on 20% of the class."

            Nope, it was effective for about 80% of the class, but 20% were the only ones who could critically think and see beyond what was in the textbook.

            "It would be statistically unlikely to be able to get 100% of the class to “do wonders”, as you will (and always have regardless of generation) have students that don't care."

            No kidding....Thanks for the update there skippy.

            "I have been in classes where the teacher was very effective at doing their job."

            So have I...and so have did my students. My courses were typically full and my return rate was around 99%. I would have to sign a fair number of course overrides to allow further students into my courses. Amazing really, since I'm such a bad teacher that I would have so many students that would want to return to my courses.

            "According to the definition given by answers.com you just used CV stat as a buzzword. Never have I nor will I ever imply that I know everything. I just don't believe in throwing around words for the sake of trying to impress the layperson."

            How the hell is CV a buzz word? How is using proper names for describing anything a buzz word? How else would you have me describe Bloom's Taxonomy?


            "Thank you for life lessons 101. I am already aware of this. You never “pwned me” with knowledge."

            I'm pretty sure you aren't and I'm sure I have.

            "As far as Halo 3 goes, yes you probably would “pwn” me at Halo 3, seeing how I don't have an Xbox 360 or Halo 3."

            Really? Not that I'm picking on your generation, but wtf man? Halo 3 is friggin' awesome. Ok, tell me you have a Wii!! You have Mario Cart, right? Can we play that and be friends?

            "Not every 18-25 year old owns and Xbox 360 and Halo 3 and it's foolish for you to assume that."

            I assumed it because it's only sold like 1387598759437598347957983475 copies....

            "If you visit the comments section of this site who has a large user base of 18-25 year olds, you would see that the majority of my generation could care less about offending or hurting someones feelings if they feel they are incorrect."

            Oh my...this is beyond wrong...you haven't seen the digg thought police? I mean look at how I'm being dugg down. Look at other threads where sock puppets astroturf diggs and the rest of the community jumps in...

            "If you would like to, feel free. This is the most fun I have had in a while."

            Honestly, I'm WAY to lazy...my suggestion is to google terms like
            group think whitepaper
            group think research

            "Well that's good that you've 'given up on that mess'. I am glad that not all teachers have this outlook."

            More and more teachers are jumping ship because it's just not worth it. Not only must you deal with the politics, but you are forced into passing students that shouldn't pass and pushing students through.
          • WiredLain, on 05/12/2008, -1/+1Thats right give up on the current and future generations. Guess what you and your attitude is part of the problem.
      • neopolaris, on 05/11/2008, -3/+6...and all the dumb twenty-somethings give a thumbs up.
      • ithkuil, on 05/12/2008, -3/+3Right, it was written by an English professor named Mark Bauerlein Mark.Bauerlein@emory.edu. The website for his book is www.dumbestgeneration.com. Maybe some of you skilled internet youths out there can help this Mark $%#head learn some new skills himself, like how to get a new e-mail inbox or a new website after his site goes down or gets taken over or his in-box fills up with 10,000 emails. Maybe you could teach this dumb @#$er what a botnet is.
        • boot20, on 05/12/2008, -1/+3God forbid you actually read the book or anything....
    • DrMonkeyLove, on 05/11/2008, -36/+29"They don't read books" - Who cares? What books are they supposed to read? I could read trashy romance novels, but I'm pretty sure it's not going to make me a hell of a lot smarter. I personally almost never read books because, what's the point? If I've read the best classics, and most unique books in any particular genre, everything else just tends to feel like reruns. That's why when I do read any books now, they're always non-fiction. But *****, maybe I should be picking up the latest Hardy Boys book or something. Contrary to popular belief, reading for the sake of reason doesn't make you any less dumb, especially if you read mind-numbingly stupid crap.
      • alittleroy101, on 05/11/2008, -10/+46" I personally almost never read books because, what's the point? "
        You are missing out on so much. That is an incredible attitude.
        • djbon2112, on 05/11/2008, -19/+14Did you read his next sentence?
          • alittleroy101, on 05/11/2008, -3/+19Yes I did. I find it hard that he's read almost every great book in existence.
          • AmaDaden, on 05/11/2008, -14/+6Your missing the point. He is basically saying that reading story books is worthless. He has a point, story books are no better then watching a movie or TV show. Even if it's well told it's still just a story. If you prefer reading to watching then fine. But that is a PREFERENCE, reading story books instead of watching TV does not make you smarter.
            However HE IS NOT SAYING HE DOES NOT READ. He said "when I do read any books now, they're always non-fiction" He is basically saying when he reads now it's books he can learn from, not some silly story book that can't teach him any thing.
          • alittleroy101, on 05/11/2008, -2/+11Monkey: 'I personally almost never read books because, what's the point?'
            You : 'However HE IS NOT SAYING HE DOES NOT READ.'
            Actually, yes he pretty much is. He's not saying that he loves to read, but he always reads non-fiction. He's saying he never reads.
          • AmaDaden, on 05/11/2008, -12/+3You are only reading that parts of the posts that allow you to continue bashing him. Stop being ignorant and read more then up to the line that suits you.
          • alittleroy101, on 05/12/2008, -0/+3Nobody agrees with you. Also, your generalization of works of fiction as "silly story book[s]" is laughable. Perhaps it is you who should stop being ignorant. Feel free to fire away after this comment, I won't be back in this thread. Goodbye.
          • Mothrog, on 05/12/2008, -0/+3"Your missing the point."

            Says the dunce that can't even write proper English.
        • musicbear, on 05/11/2008, -0/+13Engendering a love to read in kids makes their vocabulary stronger and their ability to reason and follow through complex statements better. It also prepares them for college where they will be doing a lot of reading and writing that they may not necessarily want to and they will generally be more equipped to tackle long and tedious study sessions if they already have good reading and study skills in place.
        • tyywebb, on 05/11/2008, -0/+11Some people enjoy reading simply as an activity, some do it purely for the knowledge gained. To each his own.
        • chocolatetacos, on 05/11/2008, -3/+3I'd rather read New York Times columns or economic papers. So sue me. There's plenty of other good media out there than books.
      • AsSubtleAsABrik, on 05/11/2008, -0/+26While you have a point, there are certainly enough good books to keep you busy for most of your life.
        • doshindude, on 05/11/2008, -22/+4but 90% of them are *****.
          • musicbear, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1With what? 500 million titles in print through traditional outlets? That's a whole lot of good left over.... more than you'll ever be able to read...
      • ultrafez, on 05/11/2008, -1/+19I work in a bookshop, and we have a huge wall covered from floor to ceiling of adult fiction - and no, they're not "trashy romance novels", or all classics either. Personally I think you're stupid thinking that when you read the best classics or the most unique books of a genre everything else seems recycled; many books may well share similar plot outlines, i.e. murder mystery, espionage, etc. but it's all of the smaller nuances of the plot that make books different.
        Give fiction a chance!
        • musicbear, on 05/11/2008, -3/+4The only good reading is to read what you love - be it books or audio books or things online. The fact that you are reading and stretching your imagination and being motivating to do further reading and perhaps to action, is the most important thing. So called classics are classics because they are starting points from which many things grew, they aren't necessarily well written - Hemingway... cough cough... HG Wells... gag cough cough... or things that you will suddenly be enlightened from. From graphic novels to current events to sci-fi to biographies, read what you like and be open minded enough to explore further from there... that's what's important... and that's from an 11 year bookseller.
        • MtheoryX, on 05/11/2008, -2/+2While I'm certainly not against reading, in general, ultrafez just might be a bit biased here. You know, working in a bookstore and all.
          • ultrafez, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1I'm trying to stay unbiased in this debate, I personally don't read that often anyway - I don't actually like my job very much in the bookshop. However I do respect people that read a lot, as I can see why they do it. I would read an awful lot more if I had more free time, which I don't currently due to college.
        • Lazydriver, on 05/11/2008, -0/+2H.G Wells? Musicbear? Really? You've obviously never read Men Like Gods.
        • agarwaengrc, on 05/11/2008, -2/+2The real world knowledge a person needs to be able to fully (better make that as much as possible) comprehend what's happening around him in the world (in terms of societal transformations, politics, science, economics, world history etc) is so vast and of such critical importance, that to spend time reading fiction is almost surely a frivolous extravagance. That being said, it's nice to have fun or ponder aimlessly irrelevant matters once in a while, but we must have some perspective about the importance of fiction and literature...
        • theredwhyno, on 05/11/2008, -1/+1As far as American education psychologists are concerned, a "Classical education"—reading the Classics, understanding Latin and Greek, and familiarising oneself with history, giving oneself a solid foundation for further learning on an ongoing basis—is wholly irrelevant. That's one of the key differences between European and American education psychology. Apparently, in America, a classical education is inconducive to makin' that dollar...
      • Stevethegreat, on 05/11/2008, -9/+10Yep, because reading on the net or books in the forms of ebooks is not reading at all. I can safely tell you that I'm far more capable to discern factual information from partial and -also- being able to read things that matter now that everything takes equal light and I MUST make the choice than before the age of the Internet.

        One can use a screwdriver as a tool and another to put his eye out, the Internet IS the greatest source of knowledge and wisdom ever devised, the fact that there are people using it as a medium of garbage information is to be expected, it happened in all generations including in those who where reading your so precious "printing word". I'm sick and tired of people bashing the new generation by only looking the myspase generation while they choose to ignore those who are actively engaged on creating the greatest source of knowledge ever created (Wikipedia) or those who build new forms of governance ("e democracy" in small communities) or even those who are in dedicated forums regarding matters of great importance talking with people who will never be able to talk with on these matters as half a globe separates them IRL.
        • DrMonkeyLove, on 05/11/2008, -9/+10Exactly!!! People freak out when you tell them you only read one book in a year, and pay no attention to the fact that you've read thousands of useful articles on the Internet. Apparently you can only be informed and intellectual if you read books. Online information simply doesn't count. I say that attitude is close minded and ridiculous.
          • bobbyi, on 05/11/2008, -2/+3Previous generations read articles too. They had these things called newspapers that were full of them. That didn't stop people from also reading books. This has nothing to do with online vs. offline.
          • deskimo, on 05/11/2008, -2/+2Books are valuable and wonderful and everything, but the Internet is far and away more informative than any single book. Just because books are full of rich information doesn't take away from the fact that they are still more authoritarian than the Internet - instead of having a conversation with the author, the book is transmitted one-way, as TV and radio. While I'm not saying that the book is anywhere near as soul-withering as TV and Radio, I am saying that the Internet takes the information richness of the book and frames it in an inherently more democratic medium where knowledge is less constrained, and transmitted omni-directionally.
        • Loonatickle, on 05/11/2008, -5/+12There's a legitimate reason for that attitude. Very little on the Internet is well-edited. Furthermore, the articles tend to be extremely brief. When you read books you get more in-depth information--but beyond that, you also improve your own understanding of sentence construction, organization, and narrative flow.

          For example, if you were well-read, you'd know the expression is "closed-minded" and not "close minded."
          • Stevethegreat, on 05/11/2008, -4/+4Apparently ebooks does not count, no? I have read many more books in my laptop as I'm constantly on the go, than I would be able to do if I had a library. It's just not practical to take a book everywhere you go especially if you have a laptop anyways which you can fill with hundreds of books (legally purchased).
          • vlad43210, on 05/11/2008, -0/+5Brief is not necessarily bad. There is a difference between reading articles on the 'Net and reading novels for pleasure, whether in electronic form or otherwise. This is not a "good/bad" difference, it's a difference between what you are absorbing. In general, people should do both.
          • chevyorange, on 05/11/2008, -1/+4People shouldn't make the mistake of thinking this generation created the internet.
          • stmyers, on 05/11/2008, -2/+6"For example, if you were well-read, you'd know the expression is "closed-minded" and not "close minded.""

            Yet, I still know exactly what you mean. Who the ***** cares?
          • agarwaengrc, on 05/11/2008, -1/+4Nooooo stmyers, when writing, it's extremely important to follow pointless conventions that have nothing to do with semantics! It shows how smart you are!

            \sarcasm
      • juliend2, on 05/11/2008, -7/+4I don't read books... I read Facebooks and PDF eBooks.
        Books are SOOOO 20th century!
        • specialK16, on 05/11/2008, -2/+1Seriously though, I read tons of articles and some books on PDF and I really don't feel any less intelligent than people who like to read books.
      • Uranium118, on 05/11/2008, -6/+2I don't read books either. I listen to audio books. Much less effort to put into and you can do other stuff while you listen to it.
      • liah, on 05/11/2008, -0/+2Except for the fact that you subconsciously learn correct grammar and spelling as well as expand your vocabulary and your imagination.

        Reading is a phenomenal thing that requires true use of your brain. Don't underestimate it.
    • natmaster, on 05/11/2008, -7/+9And I know people with basic reasoning skills that don't make hasty generalizations. That's a logical fallacy in case you didn't know. You're sad. Really.
    • kaleesh, on 05/11/2008, -13/+2go suck cuogar bals man.
      (21 year pld here.)

      But seriously, if I were to make an informed and mature comment, I'd immediatly get dugg down in meat space with a lot of "don't recite your text book, man!"s.
    • klisejo, on 05/11/2008, -4/+50Hey look another article blaming GTA IV for some societal ill even though it only came out a week ago.
      • Frostek, on 05/11/2008, -3/+7It's an example.
        • UNL1M1T3D, on 05/11/2008, -0/+9The author was using it for shock value. He could have just as easily said forms of distracting entertainment.
        • dlllb, on 05/11/2008, -1/+3An example of what exactly?
      • burnin8r28, on 05/11/2008, -0/+1in a week fox will be blaming the ww3 on GTA iv
    • bdbr, on 05/11/2008, -1/+54I'm 49, and I disagree with this article. Most of the high schools around here offer at least 10 AP classes, and kids can graduate with two or more years of calculus. About 10% of my daughter's graduating class had a 4.0 or better. The competition for spots in top schools is fierce.

      It could be easy to read Digg comments and assume these people don't read and/or can't write a succinct essay, but that won't always be the case.
      • SidU, on 05/11/2008, -1/+11Amen!
        • UNL1M1T3D, on 05/11/2008, -4/+5rAMEN!
          • vanden9, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2'4.0 or better' What country are you in, over here in the US the highest you can get is a 4.0.
          • jefbob, on 05/12/2008, -0/+5@vandeen - I believe getting an A in an AP class is worth more than an A in a non AP class, therefore allowing you to go over a 4.0.
      • marx2k, on 05/11/2008, -7/+6Now if only your situation was typical to the rest of America...
      • ashfish, on 05/11/2008, -2/+8Yeah, in my high school class the school was forced to pretty much double the amount of AP classes they had because so much of our class wanted to enroll. A good portion of the top 5% of our class (consisting of about 1,00 kids in total) had over a 4.0 GPA. That's saying something for a Hawaii public school. I think a lot of it has to do with a) the teaching style at school and b) parental influences. Most of the schools here in an attempt to comply with that "No Child Left Behind" BS center the entire class curriculum around the bottom 2% of the class and don't pay attention to the rest of the class, or don't provide sufficient materials to get the rest of the class engaged on a level they're learning at. What then happens is kids that aren't in the bottom to middle part of the class then get put in "honors" classes in an attempt to cater to their learning levels instead of bringing the entire class up to that level. Separate out the good ones, and just deal with the others. Then there are parents who won't even let their children play outside, or won't let them learn about certain subjects in school and start to stifle the curiosity of their kids. They get yelled at for asking questions their parents can't understand, instead of trying to have a thought provoking conversation. We live in a day in age where if you're not at the norm level you're an oddity. The biggest lesson I learned in school was how to *****, that was all my teachers wanted out of my papers. So that's what I gave them, and turned to the internet and the library to do my own independent research on subjects that actually interested me.
        • chocolatetacos, on 05/11/2008, -1/+9Damn, dude, break up your paragraphs.
      • theredwhyno, on 05/11/2008, -0/+4The problem is, grades and classes offered are not a reliable indicator of intelligence, partly because the standards change. In the pursuit of better test-scores in public schools (and thus better funding, higher approval ratings), the department of education decided it would be too difficult to improve the quality of education, so they just lowered the standards (read: they 'dumbed down' the standardised tests, and made courses easier to pass). On paper, it looks like schools are performing really well.

        i remember when a lot of it started. i was in 7th grade, and my teachers announced that they weren't going to spend any more time teaching us to spell difficult words, or teach us vocabulary—they said we 'could look up big words if we needed them'. Instead, they said, they were going to concentrate on 'frequently misspelled words' (which meant the ones the spellchecker won't pick up)...the usage of there, their and they're, etc. To this day i'mn irked with fellow college students who never seemed to figure this out...and that's only the tip of the iceberg.
      • realmccoyucf, on 05/11/2008, -0/+3Two of my friends are high school teachers. They are basically not allowed to fail any students. Don't think good grades equal good intelligence.
        • bdbr, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1That's why I mentioned about AP classes and competition for the top schools (colleges which rank among the best in the world). These are not students loafing their way through school. Just because there are kids at the bottom doesn't mean that there's not intense competition at the top.
      • FatLoser, on 05/11/2008, -0/+5Yay for GPA inflation... makes everybody feel smart even though its original intent was to be a relative measurement. When half the class is getting straight A's, the class is not difficult enough. Bell curve or GTFO.
    • mrjit, on 05/11/2008, -1/+86We don't read? What the ***** are we doing on the internet, telepathy?
      • tyywebb, on 05/11/2008, -1/+21Hivemind.
      • unorginalityftw, on 05/11/2008, -4/+12He means we don't read books, educational sources, and the like which are ultimately supposed to expand our minds and increase our knowledge.
        • Synyk, on 05/11/2008, -2/+32Internet is the new book. It's the same thing, a means to transfer information to the reader.
          Yes, the internet has a lot of meaningless ***** in it...but then again, so do books.
          • UNL1M1T3D, on 05/11/2008, -3/+6Very well said, I agree.
          • unorginalityftw, on 05/11/2008, -0/+1I agree with you as well, but I was merely pointing out the original intention in contrast to the comment made by mrjit towards the parent poster and all that jazz.
        • c0un7, on 05/11/2008, -4/+7The problem is that internet panders to the short-attention-span problem - all the texts we read online are short and focused on a simple subject: news and such. In my opinion, this is also one of the reasons why modern Hollywood movies cannot hold a candle to earlier productions: you will be hard pressed to find a movie with a shot lasting for more than 5 seconds, before cutting to another shot.

          I'm not saying this is "bad", I'm just saying that the attention spans are getting shorter, and less lateral knowledge is being acquired - if you need something, you look up the exact definition - you don't browse through a book to find it.
          • FatLoser, on 05/11/2008, -1/+3tl;dr
          • RobotJesus, on 05/12/2008, -1/+1Why is this even relevant? Things like this get my goat, CHANGE in attention span does not mean we are dumber, it means we are used to getting information as quick and efficient as possible. Why browse through a book to find a definition when you can get the same information in a few short sentences? You older generations who make us out to have shorter attention spans need to speed up. (PS: This article was *****, to say the least.)
        • PURPLEDRINK, on 05/11/2008, -2/+1Wtf kind of books are you reading? There's maybe a few books on the planet that will do something so grandoise as "expand our minds". Maybe... you should look into a more complete education, as opposed to just "books."
        • aki42, on 05/11/2008, -1/+1Yes that is true if you only go to myspace and youtube. What about one of dem debate sites?
      • Pyroteq, on 05/11/2008, -8/+5omg ya srsly this guy is a douche lol
      • bobbyi, on 05/11/2008, -0/+2Youtube
      • BruceBogtrotter, on 05/11/2008, -0/+1I've learned a lot by reading stuff on the internet, but I hate reading on a computer screen(quick eye fatigue).
      • L4WL3RS34L, on 05/11/2008, -0/+2Digg doesn't really count as actually reading...
      • nycmac247, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2LOL short attention span theater claims he's reading
    • Heidenreich12, on 05/11/2008, -2/+25Its because the way we do things now, are different than the way you would do things in your time. We don't 'need' to read books, because we can find the same information on the internet. And as far as grammer, your 100% correct. But this is not because of us, its because of the people teaching us. Which is YOUR generation. And the acceptance of silly things such as, EBONICS (which is ridiculous).
      • jmignea2, on 05/11/2008, -3/+16*You're....

        I'm hoping you just did that to prove a point.
        • Synyk, on 05/11/2008, -3/+0yea he did... you understand his message, whether he's missing an apostrophe or not...
        • AeonsAdvocate, on 05/11/2008, -7/+2Which is 'you are' generation?
          I think 'your' is correct.
        • enignock, on 05/11/2008, -0/+3he meant the 100% part.
      • L33tmaster, on 05/11/2008, -1/+8*grammar
      • tymilu, on 05/11/2008, -2/+0Except that Black Vernacular English isn't accepted, really. Ask anyone that has taught or "learned" English in an inner-city school. But regardless, BVE has just as much structure and relevance as any other vernacular. It's a race issue, not a "state of our youth" one.
      • FatLoser, on 05/11/2008, -1/+3He used the wrong "your" on purpose, for effect. Jesus christ in a ***** spaghetti string thong.
    • jesus8mypoptart, on 05/11/2008, -13/+18That was a ***** article, that was fake and made up. None of it was facts or anything. Just some old fag ranting and raving. On the other hand I agree with the comment about books and reading. Lame example, but I hate it when im looking at peoples myspace's and under books they put some gay thing like "books? why would I want to read?" or some stupid thing like that. but all his other points where stupid, GTA made me smarter I would never have thought of getting a hooker then kill her so i could get my money back. woooooo!
      • UNL1M1T3D, on 05/11/2008, -2/+8You're not doing much to disprove this article.
      • HeyaBILL, on 05/11/2008, -1/+9Stopped reading at "fag."
      • PURPLEDRINK, on 05/11/2008, -0/+2it was a bad article. Anyone who thinks j walking is a valid example (taking it at face value) is a ***** retard. Again, take note that this article is a "top x reasons" format.

        Also, digg's user base has become very much like youtube's lately so yes to UNL1M1T3D. Speaking of which, somehow youtube comments are becoming less dumb as digg's are becoming more retarded.
    • chillmandan, on 05/11/2008, -0/+7I'm glad to see that you're so much better than the rest of us. Get off your high horse please.
    • UltramegaOK, on 05/11/2008, -0/+1How many times did you run spell check to avoid looking like a dumbass?
    • deskimo, on 05/11/2008, -2/+1The fact that this article appeared at all on Digg disproves every single point contained within. See below for my 10 reasons why the baby-boom generation is even dumber than ours.
      • dlllb, on 05/11/2008, -0/+2How about you stop following the guy who wrote the article with criticising the next generation? Its irrelevant.
        • deskimo, on 05/11/2008, -1/+1The next generation? No, I'm criticizing the generation(and I admit it's a presumption) of the author of the article. If he's going to generalize and criticize us unfairly as a generation, then I'm going to generalize and criticize his generation unfairly. :-)
    • isaactwito, on 05/11/2008, -3/+37How about all you stupid mother ***** in our parents' generation? You're the reasons that this world is so ***** up. How could you be so ***** foolish as to elect Bush TWICE? How could you let America turn into the joke of the world? Our justice system is *****, no one even trusts that votes determine elections anymore, our economy is failing, everyone in the world ***** hates us, yet you call us the "dumbest generation"? How about you take a look in the mirror and realize that the current generation has failed completely? We're the ones out on the streets protesting the war, we're the ones speaking out against the injustice in government, we're the ones rejecting the ***** that your pathetic generation has pumped claiming to be "popular" modern media. You have nothing on us. Maybe it's just my young, foolish spirit talking, but it looks like we're the only chance this world has to gain some dignity back.
      • dlllb, on 05/11/2008, -7/+2World =/= America
        • homerang, on 05/11/2008, -0/+2It does when we start bombing people.
      • Spudster, on 05/11/2008, -0/+6I think this generation is much more in tune on issues of liberty than their parents are. (Marijuana for example...)
    • slythfox, on 05/11/2008, -0/+9I've heard of generations blaming previous generations, but not the other way around. It's all pathetic.

      And while I'm at it, I've noticed the X generation is generally quite mean spirited.
    • deskimo, on 05/11/2008, -1/+47My *ten* reasons why, if the generation of the author of this article is as dumb as the author of this article, then that generation is even dumber than ours.
      1. They make generalizations about the intelligence of an entire generation of people for the sake of convenience and self-superiority.
      2. Millions of them voted for George W. Bush......twice.
      3. Millions of them voted for Ronald Reagan...and then George H.W. Bush.
      4. Using the Internet, the full utility of which they are far from realizing, we are in the process of taking back the democracy they were ready to give up(see #3 and #2).
      5. They look upon the Internet as a mere knowledge source, whereas we look upon it as the most "ridiculously easy group-organizing" instrument that ever existed, and therefore the single most powerful re-democratizing force to ever come into existence.(see #4).
      6. Because of their self-defeating myopia, they chastise people who use the Internet as the most efficient memory aid in history in the same way as those who chastised the original inventors of written language probably did, elevating obsolete books to a pedestal that they don't deserve.(see #5)
      7. Some of them are still secret(and some not-so-secret) racists 43 years after the end of Jim Crow segregation.
      8. They can't even come up with 10 reasons why our generation is the dumbest.
      9. Once idealistic and hopeful, many of them gave up their progressive political ideals in favor of cynicism and the shallow comfort of material wealth and traditional values, which explains 1) neoconservatism and 2) why we are the only Western country in the world with a right-leaning working class.
      10. They are just now waking up to the fact that #9 was a huge mistake.
      • Spudster, on 05/11/2008, -0/+10I am a particular fan of number 9. I really don't understand why working class workers are right wing because it does nothing to help them in the pocketbook.
        • aaabatteries, on 05/11/2008, -1/+5because it's the "Christian" thing to do.
    • specialK16, on 05/11/2008, -2/+21So, I am stupid because I am young.

      Yes, I really like being called stupid because I chat, I research on the Internet (not only wikipedia), I have tons of books on PDF and read them whenever I have a chance and because I find my tx2000 to be more comfortable and practical than having books, I am incredibly good at multi-tasking (I can hear music, chat with my buddies and do homework at the same time, while I leave many webpages including digg, bank sites, etc opened), because the sales of GTAIV were incredibly big even though I didn't buy the game myself, and because I am 18 years old.

      Great article! Loved it! Such an unbiased and objective opinion! /sarcasm.
      • enignock, on 05/11/2008, -5/+4No, you are inexperienced and arrogant because you are young. You are stupid because of your genes.
        • specialK16, on 05/11/2008, -1/+5Yeah, thank you for calling me, my parents, and my grandparents stupid.

          Now that I know you are smart, go get a life.
      • enignock, on 05/11/2008, -0/+4P.S. The period called and I think you know the rest.
        • isaactwito, on 05/12/2008, -3/+1Can you please go choke to death on your own dick?
    • burnin8r28, on 05/11/2008, -1/+1it's hard to pick a side. Most reasons are retarded, and older people are not any smarter than I am. I am 15 and alot of my peers are really stupid and apply to this article alot. I say were all retarted and were all *****.
    • specialK16, on 05/11/2008, -1/+9People try to put us down (Talking 'bout my generation)
      Just because we get around (Talking 'bout my generation)
      Things they do look awful cold (Talking 'bout my generation)
      I hope I die before I get old.


      • BTraina, on 05/11/2008, -0/+5Why dont you all f-fade away (talkin bout my generation)
        And dont try to dig what we all s-s-say (talkin bout my generation)
        Im not trying to cause a big s-s-sensation (talkin bout my generation)
        Im just talkin bout my g-g-g-generation (talkin bout my generation)
    • PURPLEDRINK, on 05/11/2008, -0/+2"doesn't read and doesn't learn life skills early"
      The fact that you feel and think that these skills are learned from a book is pretty sad. This is exactly the kind of person self help books pry on. Those who think they can buy or read their way to betterment. It's just very insecure to think there is something so wrong with you that you must somehow evolve "early on", unless you just really sucked at life that much back when you were refering to your youth... well then nvm.
      • WiredLain, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2I thought it was your responsibility as parents to teach the current generation those "life skills"
    • Shap3shifter, on 05/11/2008, -3/+2The other problem relating to our generation's illiteracy is the fact that the majority of books available in curriculum for grade school students aren't that interesting. For a majority of my grade school career I read the same damn story about some pissed off Indian, Mexican, or other minority that's pissed off at society for being persecuted. Then at some random point, there's a girl that gets knocked up and she's pissed off at society, at herself, and her family.
      It's the same story every freaking book.
      Until recently, I never really read that many books because they were not appealing to me. But now I have been greatly immersed into reading because I went out of my way to find reading material that I know will hold my interest. If schools introduce a broader range of literature in their English curriculum to students it can ignite a dormant desire to read books.
      I'm tired of the pissed off minority who gets knocked up and bitches for 250+ pages. I'm tired of writing papers on the pissed off minority after the fact. It's annoying and repetitive.
      • WiredLain, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2I'm in my 30's and I remember reading such excellent books for school assignments like "Where the Red Fern Grows"
    • thelif, on 05/11/2008, -0/+1To me reading books, or reading e-books, or the newspaper are all part of reading. But what makes me sick are the people who are proud of not reading, what the ***** is so great about ignorance? "I don't need stuff in books, I can just google it" that's ***** great you can google about the latest celebrity scandal, but what about a heart transplant, youtube it? There are knowledge in books that haven't been transferred to the electronic medium, it's stupid to just dismiss them. It makes me angry to see all the posts bragging about ignorance and just get so defensive about being stupid.
  • lucidguru, on 05/11/2008, -53/+33Dumb = "using different part of their brain"
    The internet has make trivial knowledge obsolete. It's great that the last generation could name every state capital, every president and tons of other pointless facts, but I can just google for this information and have that list for you in 5 seconds. Why the hell should I waste my time memorizing this? And spell-check has made learning to spell pointless (things should be spelled phonetically anyway).
    This generation is much more concerned with legitimately important information --> understanding how things function and work. The article argues that original though is discouraged... I would argue the contrary, and that the attention and controversy is welcomed (well maybe not at myspace, but that's more of a maturity issue).
    • AndrewJC, on 05/11/2008, -3/+22And see, the problem with what you just said is that it isn't about WHAT knowledge you have. Yes, I used to be able to name every state capital (and granted, I'm not exactly old at 28), but even then it was trivial knowledge.

      The really important thing is how to TAKE what information you have and USE it to form theories and understandings of the world around you. It isn't about how much information you can gather en masse; it's about creating a more thorough understanding of how the world works. THAT is what is missing from the upcoming generations.
      • sethisastud, on 05/11/2008, -3/+8Hate to tell you this--at 28 the article was about you as well.
        • zeabu, on 05/11/2008, -2/+2Age is nothing but a number. There are kids with the age of 16 smarter than a lot of people 40 or 50 years old. There are a lot of people older than me that also fit very well into the description of the article, without the ability of do some online search. Then again, I know a lot of 20-35 years olds that don't either. So I can say, there are a lot of people, from young to old, that don't know trivia, and that don't know to search for information on the internet.
      • AmaDaden, on 05/11/2008, -1/+11That is missing from previous generations too. It's the hard part of learning and no one does it. Previous generations based being smart on knowing useless crap like all 50 states. They had the misconception that if you could memorize the states and poems it would make you better at writing poetry and understanding politics. This has been proven to be wrong so this form of teaching is no longer done but most older people do not realize this and still think that "kids today should be memorizing things like I did!"
        Don't get fooled by all this crap, it happens every generation. The older group thinks that "kids today and uneducated and disrespectful" then kids think "Bah what do those old farts know anyway? I'll show 'em! My generation will solve all the worlds problems!" They are both wrong and i doubt that will be changing any time soon
        • zeabu, on 05/11/2008, -0/+2Although I think people should know poems by heart, they should know that Vietnam is not a neighbor of the US. They should know a country, only by the sound of its name, whether that's lays in Africa, Latin-America or Azia.
          I do agree with your second paragraph.
        • codyg1985, on 05/11/2008, -1/+3"They had the misconception that if you could memorize the states and poems it would make you better at writing poetry and understanding politics."

          It will not bode well for your political career if you happen to say that you are in Chicago, IL when you are speaking in Springfield, IL.
      • M0nk3y11, on 05/11/2008, -0/+4Simply put, what seems to be missing is the drive for progressive thought. "Let someone else figure it out, I need to go update my MySpace." Laziness has become the newest human instinct... "How can I accomplish this by doing the smallest amount of work possible?" The drive towards plenty of luxury inventions now are "How can I enable the user of this to be as lazy as possible" Out there someone is saying to themselves, "I need to be able to play my video games non-stop, I'm going to need a chair that holds my drink, hooks up to my speakers, feeds me and massages my back..." heh heh - Weak links.
      • PURPLEDRINK, on 05/11/2008, -0/+1right, and that isn't hindered by the ability to not know every state capital, and such individuals who are able to "USE" such information and who were born into that generation aren't having any problems. Anyway, why did you even post, to see your comment?
    • tehjarvis, on 05/11/2008, -7/+10Because just looking something up means that you're not retaining the information.
      If you're looking up (using your example) state capitals, that doesn't make you as smart at knowing state capitals as who has them memorized, it makes the internet as smart.
      • tehjarvis, on 05/11/2008, -4/+5Reading that back right now, it hardly makes sense. I hope you can get the gist of what I was trying to say. I apologize. Damn, it's early.
      • bphicke, on 05/11/2008, -1/+12Memorizing state capitols doesn't make you smart. Any dolt can memorize a list.
        • M0nk3y11, on 05/11/2008, -1/+3Exactly.
        • zeabu, on 05/11/2008, -2/+10The memorizing of capitols, or states/countries/persons doesn't make you smart. That's right. But reading an article with knowing some names and geography does make you see links you wouldn't otherwise. If all Americans/Europeans/... would know a bit more about the Middle-East, they would know it's a bad idea of McCain wanting to invade Iran right now, because it lays between Iraq and Afghanistan, and thus creating one big warzone, impossible to have control of. If they knew that, they would see why it's better to first clean up the mess in Iraq and Afghanistan, before even considering invading Iran. If people store information in their head, instead of leaving it on the internet, they would also know it's not Iran which is a supporter of Al-Quaida, on the contrary, they are arch-ennemies. If there is one country supporting Al-Quaida, which I doubt, it is Saudi-Arabia, the US-ally.
          That's why knowing facts is different than looking up facts. Because most people are lazy to look something up.
          • bphicke, on 05/11/2008, -4/+1Strange, since it is not the younger generation pushing a war with Iran.
          • zeabu, on 05/12/2008, -1/+1bphicke: You can read between lines, between my lines, things even I don't see. I never said it's the young generation that's pushing for war. I said it's illiterate people. That's something from all ages, but it now has some revival, that's what I see in my generation. People around me use me as a dictionary, or an encyclopedia, and somehow that feels wrong, because I don't consider myself an Einstein.
          • bphicke, on 05/12/2008, -1/+1Sorry, I thought we were still on topic. Guess I was wrong.
        • bobbyi, on 05/11/2008, -0/+4What does that have to do with reading books? You really think that when people talk about the value of reading they mean picking up an almanac and memorizing it?
    • kublerross, on 05/11/2008, -4/+7yes and why should i have to remember anything? even before the internet there was always the smart guy in class whom i could have asked.
      • ChappyChaps11, on 05/11/2008, -0/+3Sure you could! And if he didn't get smart then what? The next guy, and him? At what point is there any motivation to learn? I'll throw a movie title out there, Idiocracy. I see that as being able to happen and it starts with the ideals you just pointed out. I'll brb, gunna go Brando my lawn.
    • xchino, on 05/11/2008, -1/+29"And spell-check has made learning to spell pointless (things should be spelled phonetically anyway)."
      Until you go to fill out your first application on pen and paper and it becomes obvious that you're ill educated. Things should be spelled phonetically? How would you differentiate between homonyms, genius? I'll let you google homonym since it's one of those "pointless facts". I ate eight cookies, which was two too many. There's a reason things are not all spelled phonetically.

      Knowing all the capitals and presidents is one thing, that was information I once had to memorize, thought I'm sure I'd get beat on a pop quiz by an 8 year old today. Knowing how to communicate via the written word in your NATIVE tongue, without the use of aid, is about as low a bar that can be set before I start calling you mentally handicapped.
      • Onyxblaze, on 05/11/2008, -11/+1Well, homonyms wouldn't really matter if people could actually pronounce things correctly. Many homonyms are also a verb/adjective pair, so only a complete idiot wouldn't be able to understand the meaning of a sentence. And, hate to burst your bubble, but the entire english language is phonetically spelled, and, a long time ago, dog could be spelled dog or dawg.
      • AngryFox, on 05/11/2008, -1/+7Well said xchino.

        Spelling phonetically? Are we seriously discussing this?? How retarded does one have to be before "learning to write their native language" becomes an overwhelming task? Leave IM speak where it's supposed to be: in text messages.
      • zeabu, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2"How would you differentiate between homonyms, genius?"
        That doesn't matter. My mothertongue (Dutch) is full of that, German too, even English deals with it. You have the context.
        Spelling phonetically is very possible, take Spanish for example. Or Qur'anic Arab. Write as you speak, speak as you write.
    • threemagic, on 05/11/2008, -3/+8What the internet and IM has done is taught them that conversation responses are done in 4 words or less, given them no accountability, and inhibitions that we used to have with face to face or even phone, to some extent.
      • freediverx, on 05/11/2008, -3/+7Dugg, on the assumption that you meant those things as positives. :-P
      • taradisiac, on 05/11/2008, -3/+2lol @ "accountability"
    • bwilliams80, on 05/11/2008, -1/+3The internet has make ? really?
    • Sapulator, on 05/11/2008, -0/+3You, my friend have just described an Engineer.
    • dan222555, on 05/11/2008, -1/+2You're reason #9.
    • garageboy101, on 05/11/2008, -0/+3txtin mk3s u a b4d sp3lr
    • fuzzybeard, on 05/11/2008, -1/+1Computers break. Searches don't always give you the context you need, or are even *GASP* incorrect. You can be in an area without power or internet access.
      /FAIL
  • diabolicdiablo, on 05/11/2008, -87/+1021I find this list somewhat insulting.

    1.) They make excellent "Jaywalking'' targets : The tonight show screens hundreds of potentials before they find the "token dumbass" this does not characterize the entire generation

    2. They don't read books -- and don't want to, either : I read books regularly, Michael Crichton, and John Grisham might not be up to your standards, but I enjoy them

    3. They can't spell : Your right I can't spell. I use spell check. It takes the place of proofreaders from you generation.

    4. They get ridiculed for original thought, good writing: If you are turning to myspace & wikipedia for original thought, maybe you shouldn't be on the internet.

    5. Grand Theft Auto IV, etc. : The augment here is that GTA4 made $500, out selling all other forms of media it's debut week. Yes, an in depth interactive experience is more entertaining to me than mindlessly sitting through another superhero movie.

    6. They don't store the information : "40 year old immigrants spent their time acquiring information in the library" In the 1800s people also had to ride a horse for miles to get a gallon of milk. I don't see you complaining about that. It's called PROGRESS.

    7. Because their teachers don't tell them so : "adult realities can't penetrate" This is a dumb generation because we don't listen to what the teachers/government tells them what to think !!?? Hey Gramps remember the 60s? What about Woodstock?

    8. Because they're young : Again this is the reason why "this is the dumbest generation" ... I'm seeing a fallacy here.

    Thanks Boston Globe - now I know to disregard any thing you ever print.
    • bxblox, on 05/11/2008, -63/+446"They can't spell : Your right"
      You're right, you can't spell.
      • mciampa1214, on 05/11/2008, -40/+30Technically he spelled it right; he just didn't use the correct grammar.
        • bxblox, on 05/11/2008, -29/+16If I spell cat as dog its still wrong.
          • Ramble, on 05/11/2008, -4/+44What an excellent misunderstanding of grammar. Well done old chap.
          • bxblox, on 05/11/2008, -36/+2What a wonderfully irrelevant comment. Well done, young lad.
          • kevlarbaboon, on 05/11/2008, -2/+23What a wonderfully sexy comment. Well done, good man.
          • Doktag, on 05/11/2008, -0/+22*it's
          • r00tus3r, on 05/11/2008, -0/+13Well I know I'm CERTAINLY not taking English lessons from a guy who doesn't know when to use "it's" and not "its".
          • Gogogo111, on 05/11/2008, -1/+8bxblox you're a dumbass
        • gormlens, on 05/11/2008, -11/+19spelt
          • mciampa1214, on 05/11/2008, -0/+17'Spelled' is also a correct usage.
          • darlingt, on 05/11/2008, -0/+12"Spelt" is British; "spelled" is American. Both are correct.
          • KMartSheriff, on 05/11/2008, -4/+3Spelt = UK English
            Spelled = North America English
          • ispeakasian, on 05/11/2008, -2/+1actually it's spelt = UK English; spelled = American.
          • Fozefy, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1KMartSheriff: I take offence at that. American English yes, however us Canadians use UK English.
      • MrPig, on 05/11/2008, -37/+24You know... maybe he did that as a joke. Maybe he just ignored the small mistake or MAYBE you're just a dick.
        • bxblox, on 05/11/2008, -22/+14Maybe it wasn't a joke. Maybe you should shut the ***** up.
          • feshmania, on 05/11/2008, -1/+8Maybe we should all just calm down and take a couple steps back here...I'm getting some major negative vibage, bro. How about we all go back to my buddy's van, take some B12 and eat some orange slices and think about our journey across the Universe? You just have to feel the vibe of the ether, man. Peace, love and all that.
          • Onyxblaze, on 05/11/2008, -2/+3Calm the ***** down.
          • M0nk3y11, on 05/11/2008, -3/+1Yeah - You didn't contribute anything positive to the comments on Diablo's post, are you here to bust people's balls? If so, grow a pair and do it in real life and not on a message board. All I see is you flaming the guy for using the wrong word, give me a break. Yes - this does come off as a bit hypocritical, however you deserve it and he doesn't. Stop acting like a jerk man, this is supposed to be interesting and mind expanding, not filled with nonsense and people picking apart the semantics of someone's opinion. What's important was his opinion, not if he's a human dictionary.
          • bxblox, on 05/11/2008, -2/+1Let's see if im getting this right. I respond to a comment about spelling and proofreading and then MrPig calls me a dick. I tell him to shut up and I need to calm down, stop being a jerk, and stop busting peoples balls?

            I'm not picking apart the semantics of his opinion. I am responding to his opinion. If he had said, "I likes me sum dogs," I would not have said anything. Why? Because in that case it would have been irrelevant to the discussion. However, he made a point of saying that spellcheck eliminates the need for proofreading. I disagree with his opinion and the way he spelled "you're" was the perfect example. If none of you can understand something so simple then there is no point in continuing this discussion,
        • rlbond86, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1This is EXACTLY what the article's point is. This generation just doesn't care.

          BUT, a big part of that problem is education. Teachers don't teach grammar anymore, for example. Today, students are just a number -- a score on a test.
      • sk11, on 05/11/2008, -17/+7He spelt that part correctly, he just got the grammar wrong. I guess it'll be a while before we see in browser grammar checking.
        • M0nk3y11, on 05/11/2008, -3/+6Spelt? ;)
          • sk11, on 05/11/2008, -2/+5American 1: like, they, u noe, speak, like, english in england? and like, u know, like, dats wher english comes from?
            American 2: no way dude, why wud english come from england? datz stoopid. every1 noes english comes freom amereca. englishers dont even noe how 2 spel properlie, dey spel spelled like spelt.
            American 1: lol
            American 2: rofl

            Non-Americans: *face palm*
          • M0nk3y11, on 05/12/2008, -0/+2Hahahaha, isn't that the truth!
      • faskill, on 05/11/2008, -11/+57I read that as, "I'm an idiot, but I'm okay with that." I dugg you up bx.
      • thailand1972, on 05/11/2008, -9/+50"It takes the place of proofreaders from you generation."

        I guess "you" is also "spelt correctly" but is the wrong word.
        • specialK16, on 05/11/2008, -2/+6Ohhhh, look at me, I never made spelling or grammar errors when I was handwriting a paper back in the 80s.

          Jesus.
          • thailand1972, on 05/12/2008, -1/+2Wow, now the backlash has truly begun. You cannot EVER point out a spelling mistake/grammar error without somone going off the rails. OK, let's just forget it then - let people spell as they please. I feel I'm I going to "loose" this battle ;)
        • JustinPM, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1This is kinda funny to me because it's like Jesus' digg comment. I've never made any grammatical errors. Signed, Jesus.
        • monalisaa, on 05/13/2008, -0/+1Proofreaders are still required for the things that they have always been used for (I work for a publisher).
          Most people don't need a spellcheck if they can spell reasonably well. I'm not saying my spelling is great, but when you have to write anything specialized spellcheck is a pain in the ass.
      • alittleroy101, on 05/11/2008, -18/+353. They can't spell : Your right I can't spell. I use spell check. It takes the place of proofreaders from you generation.
        Looks like you need to hire one of those proofreaders from his generation. Two ***** in one sentence.
      • Konstantino, on 05/11/2008, -15/+116Are you all oblivious to sarcasm? He was obviously typing incorrectly as a joke. Note that there aren't nearly as many spelling or grammar mistakes in the rest of his arguments, only the one relevant to spelling and grammar.
        • suedeb, on 05/11/2008, -1/+19hey check it out someone from our generation has a sense of humor, looks like one up on the fogies.
        • bobbarkerbilly, on 05/11/2008, -4/+6Suuuurrreeee. The one instance of sarcasm in the entire eight point argument. Way too convenient.
        • bxblox, on 05/11/2008, -6/+5I'll repost this response here because it explains why sarcasm is irrelevant to the discussion. Once again, *that is the point*. Spellcheck will not catch 'Your' because it is a valid word. He said dismissed proofreading because spell check is a valid replacement. That example disproves the point he was making. I don't care that he made a spelling error. I was making a response to his statement about proofreading and spelling. What better way to explain why proofreading is still necessary than using the example he already provided, regardless of whether its a joke?
        • rlbond86, on 05/12/2008, -1/+3If it were a joke, he would have used quotation marks to emphasize, or used "(sic)" or similar to convey intent of error.
      • patch6, on 05/11/2008, -14/+8You read, but do you comprehend?
        Plenty of mistakes for a self-proclaimed bookworm.
      • patch6, on 05/11/2008, -9/+2Submitting an empty comment during editing should delete the original instead of just posting and finalizing it. Please bury this and my other comment.

        And yes, there is irony in my criticism being posted in response to the wrong message.
      • rpgmaker, on 05/11/2008, -7/+48It was a joke, *****.
        • bxblox, on 05/11/2008, -2/+5I'll re-post this here for imbeciles such as yourself.Once again, *that is the point*. Spellcheck will not catch 'Your' because it is a valid word. He said dismissed proofreading because spell check is a valid replacement. That example disproves the point he was making. I don't care that he made a spelling error. I was making a response to his statement about proofreading and spelling. What better way to explain why proofreading is still necessary than using the example he already provided, regardless of whether its a joke?

          There's no way to respond to a comment about spelling/proofreading without mentioning spelling/proofreading. Now kindly ***** off.
      • dlite922, on 05/11/2008, -8/+14you moron, that *was* the joke. You're too dumb to get it.
        • bxblox, on 05/11/2008, -2/+6No, it wasn't the joke. The point was not the spelling alone. It is claiming that not being able to proofread can be remedied by using spell check. Even if it *was* the joke, it proves the exact opposite of the point he was making. Spell check will not correct that error so the "joke" makes no sense. You're just too dumb to realize it
      • j3ff86, on 05/11/2008, -4/+8Just read "your" and "you're" both as "you are" (to test it) and you will never misspell it again.
        • jaydoj, on 05/11/2008, -0/+1mnemonic device....well done
        • IllBeBack, on 05/11/2008, -1/+1But "your" doesn't mean "you are," so how will that help?
          • j3ff86, on 05/12/2008, -0/+0That's how you know not to use "you're"
      • Synyk, on 05/11/2008, -6/+27When I read that part I KNEW some one would reply "ZOMG IT'S "YOU'RE" DUMBASS!!!111ONEONE"

        He did it on purpose...and I'm sure the only ones that understood were of the "dumbest" generation.
        • bxblox, on 05/11/2008, -3/+2That second line made no sense.
        • IllBeBack, on 05/11/2008, -1/+1So then how do you dismiss all of the other errors? That was just one out of a plethora of other mistakes.
      • wildmXranat, on 05/11/2008, -7/+3Bravo ...bravo , grammar nazi. May every dot , hyphen and coma you ever use, remind you of how smart you really are. You see, digg's spell checker will not catch 'Your' ,because it is a valid word and he had quite a long write up. Looks like an easily missed mistake.
        As far as the article is concerned, I agree with the GTA4 criticism. While the game itself is not at blame, even though I don't like it; GTA4 is remarkably marketed and permeated beyond the quality it really is. It's damn mediocre and there's no doubt about it.
        • bxblox, on 05/11/2008, -1/+4Once again, *that is the point*. Spellcheck will not catch 'Your' because it is a valid word. He said dismissed proofreading because spell check is a valid replacement. That example disproves the point he was making. I don't care that he made a spelling error. I was making a response to his statement about proofreading and spelling. What better way to explain why proofreading is still necessary than using the example he already provided, regardless of whether its a joke?
      • blueandgreen24, on 05/11/2008, -5/+6"The augment here is that GTA4 made $500."

        Sigh.

        Look I agree with pretty much everything you said, but if you're going to make comments about how you actually can spell, please just do a manual spell check anyways. It detracts from your point which I think is a good one.
        • miculito, on 05/11/2008, -1/+2I thought he made it clear that he can't spell.
          "Your right I can't spell."
          And regardless, what does it matter? You understood his point and agreed with it.
        • bobbyi, on 05/11/2008, -1/+2So scrambling a few letters is more egregious than being off by a factor of A MILLION on the sales figure?
        • IllBeBack, on 05/11/2008, -0/+1Using the non-word "anyways" is a great way to detract from an otherwise valid point also.
      • chaoswings, on 05/11/2008, -2/+2I also think it's ridiculous to fault people for not spelling correctly when commenting and various other things. I am a lot more attentive if I have to hand a paper in to be graded then if I'm writing up a comment on Digg. Also all those people who can't spell and have poor grammar are 6 or 7 years old give them a break. Just because it says they are 18 on their profiles doesn't mean it's true.
        I think that they seemingly find more fault with our generation because things are more public and open for the whole world to see. Kids don't make their parents spell check for them when they are on the internet, but they sure do if it counts for school
        • IllBeBack, on 05/11/2008, -0/+1"graded then* if I'm writing up a comment on Digg"
          I stopped reading what you wrote at "then."
      • Gemfinder, on 05/11/2008, -0/+1Hey, cut 'em some slack, maaaaaan! English is a hard language to learn!
        [/bay area open-mindedness]
        All joshing aside, if you think about it, all languages are hard to learn. How do you go from babbling disconnectedly to Shakespeare or the Bhavagad Gita? And yet, every day, millions somehow manage the cognitive leap, and billions throughout history have achieved it.
        They should have made it an even "10 reasons" and laid one of the reasons at the feet of the Bush Presidency. He is of average intelligence at best (and dumb as a bag of mud by most accounts), and has fostered a climate of not just ignorance, but antagonism towards intellectualism. Logic, science, innovation and reason are looked down on; and when our Senators tried to get funding for rural schools here in Oregon, Bush called it "Pork barrel spending."
        Crack a book, scare a Neocon.
      • Birdman3, on 05/11/2008, -2/+3Whether or not he can spell, he certainly can't punctuate correctly:
        "I read books regularly, Michael Crichton, and John Grisham might not be up to your standards, but I enjoy them."
      • scimitar91, on 05/11/2008, -2/+1I'm 16 and I know it's all true for most youths today, and *your* just one of them.
        Oh and about #2: ***** books.
        and you can add #9: use excessive profanity.
      • xlneoMAXlx, on 05/11/2008, -0/+4" "They can't spell : Your right"
        You're right, you can't spell. "

        I wish I could digg you a thousand times.

        also:

        " It takes the place of proofreaders from you generation. "

        your*
        • WiredLain, on 05/12/2008, -0/+1It's not like he was writing a book or research paper just a quick comment on Digg. Like you don't make spelling a grammar mistakes when jotting down something quick.
      • suedeb, on 05/12/2008, -1/+0looks like our generation isn't full of nitpicking morons either. another one up on the fogies.
    • alienunknown, on 05/11/2008, -37/+16Spelling nazi's are retarded..
      • bxblox, on 05/11/2008, -3/+19Its not about being a spelling nazi. He disproved the statement he was making in the same sentence. You cant say spell check eliminated the need for proofreading and then make an obvious error that spell checking would miss and proofreading would not.
        • Onyxblaze, on 05/11/2008, -6/+4Or he doesn't give a ***** because this is DIGG.
        • BetterOffEd, on 05/11/2008, -1/+5That's part of the problem too. People should give MORE of a ***** in general.
      • MudMan69, on 05/11/2008, -0/+15What about punctuation nazis?
      • Cattywampus, on 05/11/2008, -3/+12"Spelling nazi's are retarded.."
        I think that statement proves the author's point that this is the dumbest generation (though I don't agree with that statement)... not only do some of them not know how to spell, they don't care. A potential employer certainly might not think it's "retarded" if you can't spell on your resume or cover letter.

        And no, trying to ewes spell czech is knot anne answer!
        • Radan, on 05/11/2008, -0/+11THIS is what's wrong with the current generation! They have completely stopped caring about their spelling and grammar. While I don't usually mind that much when people misspell a word or accidentally using for example "a" instead of "an", since it's a quite easy thing to miss when writing a long text.

          Though when the kids start misspelling words by purpose simply because they don't care about proper grammar and spelling, like for example not using correct capitalisation, I feel like punching them in the face.

          How freaking hard can it be to start every sentence with a bloody capital letter!? Are you freaking retarded?!

          God, I'm starting to feel old.
          • alittleroy101, on 05/11/2008, -1/+2I find it rediculous, and I'm loosing patience with it.
          • marx2k, on 05/11/2008, -0/+1@alittleroy101 - patients
          • alittleroy101, on 05/11/2008, -0/+1aha, forgot about that one.
    • AndrewJC, on 05/11/2008, -12/+92Spellchecking is NOT the same as proofreading. Utilizing a spellchecker does not remove the necessity for proofing your work (or "work" in the case of a Digg comment, since it obviously doesn't matter). It's fine if you don't care how you're writing or spelling when you're on Digg, but when you submit that proposal to your manager at work, you'd better have your ***** spelled correctly and using proper grammar. And using the word "augment" when you mean "argument" isn't going to impress your boss or the client you submitted the "perfectly spelled" document to (after all, "augment" isn't going to be caught by the spellchecker, is it?).
      • kevlarbaboon, on 05/11/2008, -10/+4You know, this is what they said about the milkman when milk wasn't something you needed delivered to your door anymore.
        • chevyorange, on 05/11/2008, -0/+2I wish milk was still delivered fresh to the door.
        • siandt, on 05/11/2008, -1/+0You wish milk were still delivered fresh to the door.