Originally Posted by WaspStar

First of all, I think all generations tend to be disdainful of their younger counterparts, particularly when the matter of "intelligence" comes up.

I think you're right about the Internet playing a large role, but for a different reason. Because so much information is now readily available, people don't bother to commit it to memory. (Why should one bother learning about the intricies of Brazil's economy when that information can be accessed in five seconds?). As Seltzer pointed out, some people confuse factual knowledge with intelligence.

That said, I can see how "intelligence" (read: creativity, originality, critical thinking) could be found lacking in our generation (well, I'm 19, but that's close enough) simply because of the popularity of electronic games and the woeful state of our educational system (NCLB, anyone?).

The true problem is that it's unfair to call an entire generation less "intelligent." Different generations have different values. How many young people these days find I Love Lucy or Bob Hope to be funny? The way we measure intelligence is subjective (how do you define intelligence?).

Originally Posted by ProggyMan

I'll agree our education system sucks, but is it any worse than 40 years ago? My mom never got a single class on biology and she's one of the smartest people I know. The math we do in our schools now is way ahead of the what the previous generations have done. If you look at other countries I don't think there's anything wrong with their school systems. Can anyone who grew up in the 70's/80's who have kids now or are somehow involved in education say the at schools are worse? I'm not saying that they're good, but are they really worse?

Originally Posted by WaspStar

I think that forty years ago, schools taught creative thought more (and that's what's important, not advanced biology or the level of math). Today, all classes have one goal: high test scores. In the 50's, the goal was to prepare people for a trade, to prepare them for life and to think for themselves. (Or am I completely misinformed? Either way, the system sucks right now, and the emphasis on standardization is outweighing any benefits an improved ciriculum may have had).