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are humans gettin more lazy and dumb??

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dan330

Extreme Android User
with all that i see...

remotes for everything.. tv, fans, lights, doors
calculators.. i used to be able to do semi-hard math in my head.
phones .. i can only remember 3 phone numbers.. that barely includes my own.
internet... can get anything ..find anything.. at your finger tip
cars.. that park and drive themselves
sigways.. don't even need to walk any more

now we bitch about .. so many touches on smartphone to get a simple thing done. one more touch than blah blah blah.

i am guilty of this.. i want to be able to say "ok Google" and ask the phone to do things without touching it.

are we just getting way out of hand???
a couple of hundred years from now... will we just be big fat blobs.. fed through tubes.
 
I had the next door neighbor's kid watch my cats while we went on vacation. She did a great job, cats were happy and healthy, but the kid's mother told me that she, the mother, had to come over to show kid how to operate an old crank type can opener.
 
I think there was an old SF story like that. The aliens used the blobs for food.

It was a Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man"
 
rootabaga said:
Wow, you know somebody should do a movie about that, but with a kind of cute setting so that it makes the point even for kids to understand. I bet Pixar could do a great job of it, you should sketch out that into an outline and send it over. Maybe even toss in the idea of us having to abandon earth because we've filled it so full of trash (and discarded phones!!). :D :D :D
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Kinda like the Matrix?
 
I heard about a kid who didn't know what a manual window winder was in a car - he'd never been in a car that didn't have electric windows.

As for the original question about are we getting lazier: I'd say we're no lazier, just more effective in our application of laziness.
 
I don't see it as lazy. I'm a SUPER busy person- with the exception of my fiancee, reserving me for hanging out time must take place days or a week in advance (day of is almost always out of question). Every little thing I can do to reduce the menials in my life is a few more moments I can spend on something else. Or a bit of extra effort taking a photograph. Things like that.
 
My kids get confused and slightly annoyed when we listen to the radio in the car or go somewhere that has cable TV because of the commercials and the fact that they can't repeat a song they really liked or pick a specific episode of a TV show.

Slowly they're understanding the concept of radio but it's interesting to witness.
 
Netflix ....
hulu...

my daughter.. has never had to wait till next week.. same time.. same channel.. to get the next episode ..see what happens.
 
"In the year 5555
Your arms hangin' limp at your sides
Your legs got nothin' to do
Some machine's doin' that for you"

...sometimes it's a bit too far to walk, so we use our segways and electric bikes instead.
 
I can't believe that there are people who haven't seen Wall-E. That is one of my favorite movies. And definitely where we are heading as a species, unfortunately.
 
Nearly everything mentioned in the OP sounds to me like an example of "working smarter, not harder" which would be the opposite of dumb in my opinion.

Laziness falls solely on the individual. You could argue that the simpler we make everything, the more more free time we will have to do other important things such as: prepare healthy meals instead of grabbing fast food in a pinch, go to the gym, spend more time with family, personal hobbies that make us happy, etc.... The list could go on forever.

That's what I think anyway...
 
Brian706 said:
Nearly everything mentioned in the OP sounds to me like an example of "working smarter, not harder" which would be the opposite of dumb in my opinion.

Laziness falls solely on the individual. You could argue that the simpler we make everything, the more more free time we will have to do other important things such as: prepare healthy meals instead of grabbing fast food in a pinch, go to the gym, spend more time with family, personal hobbies that make us happy, etc.... The list could go on forever.

That's what I think anyway...
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That's what's making a lot of people grumpy. You can't have it all. Even if both parents cooperate with cooking, cleaning, housework, the kids still have needs, and if you are working long hours, forget it. Now you have excessive wellness, do this, do that, and no free time for your head. Half listen to a ebook on the phone since you have no time to sit and read the hard copy and enjoy it. You do all the HAVE TOs listed by advice columns and articles and you are more stressed than ever.

My mother did the Monday, wash day, tuesday, cleaning, routine, cooked, got me to help. We got things done early so we could go to the beach, etc. We lived off our huge veggie garden, so that meant canning, fruit and potatoes in the root cellar. She also worked as a cook and a domestic. When you were done with all chores and time to relax, you could relax.

Things today demand attention RIGHT NOW. We had a microwave that kept beeping if you didn't open the door.
Manual for washer and dryer - remove clothes immediately. We could let the water sit in the old tub washer until we dealt with it and no complaints from the tub.
 
Interesting thread.

Do I flat out disagree that technology is trying to remember everything for us and making our lives too easy and making us all weak and soft in a way?

I think there is some or maybe a lot of good reason for some body to be concerned over how much technology is thinking for us and doing more for us with out out own minds working.

The human brain is a muscle - it must work in order to figure out the world around it and if it becomes idle - it becomes weak. However if it is over worked it can (depending on circumstances) become schizophrenic and maybe a bit delusional.

We have spell checkers that do our thinking for us. Calculators that work for us. This is bad (please note: ONLY IN A WAY) because we no longer even take the time to remember some of the (very important) details or the ins and outs of certain ways of thinking.

Am I saying that all calculators are bad?

Not really but I believe it can seriously destroy creativity over time and maybe even hamper somebody's intellectual ability... remember the human brain is a muscle that needs to be worked...

I think what is problematic is that we don't even have to rely heavily on our own brains and we don't een have to think about how and why something was created - we have become more like "followers" and less individualistic.

Take hand writing for example.

I never grew up with so many computers all around me like the youth today that help you that you don't even have to think for yourself...

This is a very interesting thread that is very thought provoking.

I seriously seriously seriously wonder that one day when the world (more than likely - like newspapers) throws away traditional writing methods (good old fashioned pen and paper ;-)) will each and every single one of us lose our own sense of identity and our own uniqueness?

It is an interesting thought isn't it?

Am I saying that we go back to the stone slate like Fred Flintstone?

133852.jpg


No... but I believe that certain things make us truly unique - or help make us more unique might cease to exist.

Is it really that bad if a child at school re-invents calculus?

I self discovered many things at school (re-invented) in science and maths that were University level.

I believe that technology in a way can be destroying creativity (inventiveness) and that people might even miss the small details that can have incredible and great significance in life.

It is important for anybody to start and "use their hands" kind of thing - even if it is something as small as building a house or constructing something "small".

Of course not everybody wants to be an engineer or a scientist but I sometimes I deeply believe it is important to... "go back to the basics"... when we even forget how to add...

Awesome thread I like it a lot.
 
hi stinky..
good post.. long time no see :)

I might argue with you .. a little.
we all should learn the basics of math and memorization in school. so that we all understand how things are done.

but tools like calculators, smartphones, and computers ... devices to take care of the "little" things. free our minds from those burdens.
this hopefully gives our brains the opportunity to use our minds for other areas.
to think more towards new design or creativity or reinvent things.

lets say we humans can use about 60% of our mind. no matter how you squeeze it.
here or there .. only 60%.
then if you free the basics .. routine small stuff out.
then that "freed" percentage can be reallocated to more "interesting" or "unique" endeavors.

sure on one side of the bell curve.. some people will just be more lazy.
but the other side .. some will be more useful.

humans are NOT getting more stupid .. just reinventing ourselves to allow / open other potentials.

(I hope)
 
Hey looong time no see! Indeed! :D

it is good to be back :)

No worries what so ever with a disagreement because you have so many good points! :D

I like it when people disagree! xD

I also agree with you - it depends like you say for more meaningful tasks.. :) This is such an awesome thread and very thought provoking.

Calculators / smartphones and all dire / vital inventions are indeed an awesome invention and not only that - we cannot live without them today!

We speak the same language on this one! :)

I agree with you 500% that it is important to take our minds off of the less important tasks and let machines do the more monotonous tasks that dont need any inventive thinking.

Adding is adding.

Multiplying is multiplying.

You are right. :D It is an easy task that does not need any "inventive" or "out of the box thinking" kind of thing :)

Just monotonous repetitive tasks that don't require any "out of the box" thinking - you are right actually!

But then if we want to put our minds into more inventive areas maybe doing more things in the physical world is maybe a better idea?

Very cool thread hey.

Great thread I like it a lot!
 
i would say yes and no. its all a matter of perspective. theirs being lazy and being efficient.....

people who are lazy can also be construed as being efficient workers.
 
only if the tasks/things that they need to and want to do.. is being completed correctly, completely, and on time.

other wise they are JUST lazy.
then tech devices are used only to hide the fact that they are lazy
 
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