Are People Getting Dumber?

[WhaWhaWha]

Putting the issue of banning BMS aside just for a moment...

At the variety store cash register my purchase came to $4.77.

Looking at the money I have in my pocket, I see that I have a few coins and some paper, but don't have the exact change. Rather than have to carry a bunch of coins, I hand over a five and two pennies. When the register jockey counts the money, I'm greeted with a blank stare as if I'd just handed her a handful of M&Ms and said "keep the change".

I got back two dimes.

"Wait a second." I say, donning my math teacher hat, "I gave you five dollars and two cents. If my purchase cost four seventy-seven, then you owe me an extra nickel."

"Oh. Hold on a sec-"

At this point in the story, the person contacts a manager, gets some keys, pulls out a book to learn how to "void" stuff, whatever. While this happens, I ponder to myself whether it's worth this much hassle just to get five cents back. Inevitably, I look at my receipt and see that the cashier has typed in a number for the amount paid that's completely different than what I gave and whose change is different than what I was given or actually owed.

What's so perplexing about this scenario is that it's happened to me countless times over the last couple days. The amounts and settings were different, but each time I was shortchanged by someone too stupid to do simple math.

It's even worse when you consider that the cash register should be doing all the work for them. I can understand somebody being thrown off by a smartass like myself paying an unusual amount so I can avoid carrying pennies, but c'mon. All you've gotta do it type in the amount of money I'm handing you and let that bulky beige box in front of you do all the math. It's really, really simple.

 

[healer677]

I don't really think people are dumber, but...


like my daddy used to say - "Never underestimate how lazy or how stupid people really are."

Sadly, it could be just that.

 

[Berlin]

Are People Getting Dumber

... I'd say lazier in general .

 

[Bobzilla]

I recently went somewhere with my 16 yr. old daughter where the clerk used a calculator to add $29.00 & $6.00. That's right, even dollar amounts. Even my kid looked at her like she couldn't believe it!!

 

[lickrolaine]

my vote,dumber

 

[Esco!]

Not dumber but more shallow

 

[RogerRabbit]

... I'd say lazier in general .

I would concur...It is a sad state of affairs...

 

[Dick]

oh, my vote is definetly dumber.

what do you expect? we live in a world where most people care more about Brittney Spears pregnancy and Paris Hilton's latest fame update than about anything remotely real and informative. We'e been dumbing ourselves down to the lowest common denominator for years now.

hell, Im impressed the register guy got that close!!!

 

[Dash]

To top off to all ur opinions, the higher learning education institutions of Canada continue to be adamantly determined to insist on the conviction to continue raising the already ludricrous tuition rates charged for admission for already poverty stricken citizens of Canada.

P.S. Oh yeah, by the way, did u guys hear how the average pay rate is absurdly low and like the majority of middle-class citizens are struggling just to pay their rent each month?

What a joke this country is. If u ask me, its a severe insult to capitalize and try to make profit off of a person's most vital necessity and right: Access to an education. In my opinion, in this country, education should be the last thing the government should look to make profit off of. For students are already insanely poor and getting poorer and dumber.

The government should be providing grants for students who are struggling just to keep up the marks.

And what was York University's defence for their insistence on raising the tuition? Get a load of this, guys. They said they needed to be able to afford more internationallly reknowned teachers! That was their justification for increasing tuition towards already severely poor students.

So, can York University tell me, what's the point of having internationally reknowned teachers in your classes, if no students can even afford to attend their classes?

From supposedly "smart" individuals, in a supposedly higher learning institution, does this seem like sound logic?

........By the way, the President of York University, I have never met her, but I was told it was a woman, gets driven around in a limo.

.......................Can you say....Corrupt?

 

[Dick]

We already have enough youth.
How about a fountain of smart?

I love that line. never heard it before, may have to use it somewhere myself.

 

[C Dick]

I don't think people are getting dumber (insert shill for "The Bell Curve" here), but the economy is getting more efficient at sorting people into jobs by IQ, so that the dumbest among us are more and more likely to be appearing as cashiers and things like that. That should mean that some other jobs are getting smarter people, though I have not observed so much of that.

 

[markvee]

Dumber AND lazier.

Whipper snappers!

By the way, you call this hot ...

 

[rama putri]

Dumber, shallower, lazier, greedier and less ethical. My fellow humans have never failed to disappoint me these areas.

 

[Keebler Elf]

I don't think getting incorrect change is ANY indication of the general intelligence level of the public, especially in regards to youth.

You have to realize that we're not in the days of the abicus and counting fingers anymore. Kids are raised on calculators; it's expected. While it's great to know how to be able to do math longhand, the simple fact of the matter is that the vast majority of the time you'll have a calculator utility available to you which will do the job faster and with less risk of error. I have trouble writing out long division simply b/c it's a skill I haven't used since junior high.

Most new cash registers calculate change for you, so the cashier doesn't need to be able to count. This only adds to the inability of people to count b/c it's simply not expected of them.

Sit yourself down next to an 18-year-old and he'll probably smoke you when it comes to tech skills and proficiency. Simply on a conceptual level of technology, kids are way ahead of us (especially when you account for the difference in age). So in that respect, kids are smarter than adults. People don't like to hear that, but it's true. Does it really matter if you don't know how to use a typewriter? No, b/c it's outdated and no longer in common use. Counting out exact change for small amounts without a calculator is equally on its way out...

To put it another way, paying cash is outdated in and of itself. We're in the age of debit now. Ask any kid; they'll tell you...

 

[RogerRabbit]

That should mean that some other jobs are getting smarter people, though I have not observed so much of that.

I see this IQ/ EQ divide growing, compare how many post secondary educated people in varied fields [ e.g. lawyers, Doctors, Engineers, etc.] we have today in the world vs. 40 years ago...

 

[Asterix]

No offense WhaWhaWha, but how smart was it to stick around and make an issue of this over 5 cents? Did you expect the cashier to grow extra brain cells while you waited?

 

[dickydoem]

Considering that there is a 30% high school dropout rate, the lack of education isn't just due to high tuition costs. How can we expect someone with a limited education to do simple math. Besides maybe adding is not part of the "new math" program.

Like the growing divide in the very rich and the very poor there seems to be a growing divide between those who are quite clever and those who are functionally illiterate.

 

[WhaWhaWha]

I'm not at all rich or even successful, but I am University educated. My majors were math and computer science. I was one of the first generations to be permitted the use of calculators in classes and exams. Despite this I can perform excellent mathematical feats. In one of my jobs, as a merchandiser I am often called upon to multiply long lists of four digit numbers by two-digit numbers - (e.g. $12.95 x 35 = 35 x 13 minus 35 nickels equals $455.00 minus $1.75 = $443.25 plus 7% GST = $474.28.

I often forget to bring a calculator and more often dont have an even surface to lay a piece of paper, so I perform these calculations in my head. In fact I just typed that math sequence without stopping to perform any manual calculations. There are tricks. I'm not bragging. Believe me there are skills I wish I had instead of this. The ability to earn more is one of them.

My point being, if someone as average as me can do this, why can't the average grown up add and subtract two, three, and four digit numbers with mechanical aid? Why do more than half the cashiers in their thirties or older not understand what I'm doing when the total comes to ... say $6.17 and I put down my last sixteen cents of small pocket change next to a quarter and give the choice of allowing me to short a penny or break a quarter -- even when I explain thats what I'm doing?

 

[Keebler Elf]

My point being, if someone as average as me can do this, why can't the average grown up add and subtract two, three, and four digit numbers with mechanical aid? Why do more than half the cashiers in their thirties or older not understand what I'm doing when the total comes to ...

Because most people find math boring and don't bother to practice it.

 

[tagboy]

I don't think ppl are dumber now than they were before. I mean how would I know how bright or smart ppl were back then. When one does not give a flip about something, it usually shows in their performance or should I say lack of.

I know that when it comes to something that I care about, I usually end up doing well or being pretty good at it. If I was being paid a low wage for a not so interesting job, I could see my head not being there.

Also, I think with the existence of calculators and other aids, we've become lazy in doing any calculations mentally. This guy I know, who's been in Canada for all of three years, can whip out calculations faster than we can with a calculator. Why? Because he didn't grow up in the era of calculators. He used his head and still does. When I pay for anything in cash, I usually test myself by seeing if I can do it faster in my head than the other person can with a machine, and if I am correct.