One thing that gets under my skin, "dumbing down."

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I HATE that expression with a burning passion and when people use it in such a general way just makes my blood boil.
Think about it, it's just a form of passing the buck and not owning up to the work you must do in order to be educated. It's far easier to complain and say, "there they go dumbing things down again," than to say, "you know what? I need to do more to make sure I am as educated as I can possibly be."

If every one thinks in that vein, there will be an overall smarting up. Complaining about "dumbing down" is, in fact, dumbing everything downward.

I believe it starts with each individual doing their part to make sure nothing needs to be, "dumbed down" even though that expression is pure nonsense to me anyway.

There are literally hundreds of different types of human intelligences that can be observed and creatively measured other than those in the academic world of school and vocational schools, in many other ways than so-called standard I.Q.

It's not so much dumbing down that's the issue but focusing on a very limited area of human potential intelligences to make cogs in a complex society that will work.

However, failure to tend a garden of other MANY potential human intelligences can be the difference between genius and invention OR robot mind alone of stick in the mud existence.

Aghogday -

The term "dumbing down" doesn't even make sense and it's demeaning.

OP

Are you complaining about...the ACT of "dumbing things down"?

Or...

Are you complaining about...the use of the phrase "dumbing things down"?

I guess I need for you to...dumb it down for me! Lol!
Its rather ambiguous.


Both the phrase, and the thing itsself, seemed to be needed. For example- an aspie like me with many savant type interestes tends to be smart in esoteric ways that most folks are dumb, and is impaired in ways most folks are smart in.

So both I, and most folks, need a certain amount of "dumbing down" to interact (both in person, and in the media).

The word 'dumb' isn't the insult that it once was. There's the whole "For Dummies" book series that sells well.

As anhogday said, there are different intelligences, and there are also different learning styles. But beyond our personal differences, there are also circumstantial differences. Some people come from backgrounds that work against them. As a teacher, I've met some pretty smart dumb kids, who would be hugely successful in a different setting. Some manage to rise above circumstance. Others don't. Habit and self-belief are two of the biggest hurdles.

Dumbing down is a socio-political term used in the media, most often by right wing media sources, to argue that the public school systems, in the overall education process, are not meeting the full needs of a society that requires specific skills to make the society work.

Classes in math and science are often cited as weaknesses compared to other countries.

Honestly, even through High School, and three degrees in college, close to the top of my classes, the academic world offered few life skills for me in the 'REAL' working world; however, my choice is to learn about things I enjoyed in college when versatile choices are provided for me in college, back in the late 70's and early 80's.

And eventually the personal lessons my academics in Anthropology, Social Sciences Interdisciplinary, and Health Science brought to me IS how to be at peace as an individual without the common United States Citizen's need AND GREED for material success.

However, that satisfaction IN my personal life even further mastered now in middle-age precipitated financial independence anyway, as I for one collected very few materialistic goods.

Now my wife is another story, and if she followed my non-materialistic practices in life, we would be millionaires, instead of close to half a millionaires, in total assets and cash resources combined.

But that's okay as money WILL NOT BUY HAPPINESS, ONLY peace of mind, health and wellbeing in connecting to other human beings successfully in real life will, PER my way of life, IN what I personally see that WILL DO IT.

I do not concern myself with what other people think is going on in the world.

I form an opinion of my own, let It flow, and simply let the stuff I do not agree with TOTALLY GO.

IT'S MOST definitely worth the peace of mind to me; however, I never mind hearing the differing opinions of others.

It never ever truly GETS to me in an emotional way though, as again, I just flow through life, the way I see it, and let the other crap go.

Of course, being financially independent does have its advantage, as I answer to absolutely no one, but the laws of the land, AND work WITH GOD, of course, instead of against GOD, as I often see people do, per Mother Nature True and ALL THAT IS TRUTH.

One thing that bothers me are the ones who use the phrase "dumbing down" in response to how they view "society is heading" when they have virtually no college education, then they get angry at me for asking them what degrees they have and why don't they make the world smarter by earning their own degree instead of complaining about "dumbing down."

I don't even believe in it. It's just a banal generalization. It's trite and it's become a catch phrase for people on the far right. I believe in doing what you can to become better educated, not sitting there complaining about vague generalizations such as this. Think about it, if everyone worked on themselves instead of these accusations, the idea that something can be "dumbed down" would be null and void.

There's always going to be subjects you feel are beneath you and it's entirely subjective. Not everyone has the same tastes, so something that appears to be dumb to one person won't to another. Everyone has something they feel is dumb.