General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsCarl Sagan in 1995 on the "The dumbing down of American"
My friend Carl sent me this:
Carl Sagan predicted this future in his 1995 book The Demon Haunted World.
Was he wrong?
The dumbing down of American is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30 second sound bites (now down to 10 seconds or less), lowest common denominator programming, credulous presentations on pseudoscience and superstition, but especially a kind of celebration of ignorance."
--
Never forget this:
The forces rigging our economy, undermining our democracy, polluting our planet,
and stoking hatred are counting on you to give up.
Cynicism is how they win.
Stay clear-eyed and ready for the fight ahead.
Blue Owl
(54,915 posts)Jeebo
(2,315 posts)I've got his Cosmos series on DVD, the full set.
Ron
Henry203
(178 posts)75% of Americans did not attend college. They stopped reading in the 11th grade and cheated to get out of high school. Is there any wonder why we have this problem.
Pluvious
(4,801 posts)I find it interesting that Sagan wrote that in the early days of NAFTA, at a time when we couldn't fully appreciate the economic ruin that would bring to small towns in the rust belt. People who feel left behind are susceptible to populist rhetoric (consider Germany post WWI). The disappearance of well-paying jobs that don't require a college degree has engendered resentment in these communities and have driven them rightward. That along with the relentless defunding of public education helped create the environment we're in now (among various other factors, of course). Sagan's analysis was prophetic. My two cents, FWIW.
My reply
And it's painfully ironic how driving the lower class in middle-class rightward, has the opposite effect of what they wish to have restored and improved.
Their response
That's where killing public education comes in.
I've also wondered how the rise of reality TV in the late 90s has influenced a whole generation by rewarding betrayal and deception. People observed that contestants that advocated community and kindness were often the first voted off the island. "I'm not here to make friends."
Me
We've been played
moondust
(20,515 posts)Alvin Toffler wrote Future Shock in 1970 suggesting "information overload" in which "input exceeds the processing capacity...which is likely to reduce the quality of the decisions."
It's gotten so bad that today, 54 years later, I think I'd call it "superficial nonsense overload."
I think Alvin and Carl were prescient as evidenced by the apparent recent election of a fascist felon.