Community Chat

[Noel7]

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@Poodlepet2 wrote:

Noel, I am in total agreement.  My daughter is 22 and I still remember an argument I had with her second grade teacher-who I really liked.

DD had major problems remembering the four basic math functions-and later, she really had problems with following steps to solve basic algebraic equations.

Her teacher told her Dad and I that "all that is changing.  There is too much information out there for kids to remember it all.  It's more important that they know how to access information".

Call me a fossil-or progressive, but that line of pedagogy did not fly with us....We had many holes in our children's academic lives to fill because of what was not being taught.  It's not the teachers fault: they have strict guidelines and templates they have to follow. Critical thinking was really deficient-and so was grammar among other things.

Poodlepet2

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Hi @Poodlepet2

I totally agree with you.  All the information in the world at our fingertips doesn't mean much if people don't have critical thinking skills and understand logic.  It doesn't matter if that information comes from a library or a computer.

Another thing to remember is that books age out.  Often, the info from a computer is more accurate and up to date than a book that's been sitting in the library for several years.

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[blackhole99]

My son is always listening to someone's point of view or looking up some kind of info on the internet , he is so well informed. I guess he's smarter about the things he chooses to be smarter about.

[Mominohio]

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@pattypeep wrote:

@qualitygal The smart part shows when we are able to "filter".

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Agreed, and it has always been this way, with printed information, TV etc. Just more of it now (information and sources) to be sifted through.

[Mominohio]

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@ROMARY wrote:

I think that our memories could be a bit lax.  Children (and adults) don't have to memorize or remember as much now-a-days.  Everyone seems to use their GPS for everyday and frequently traveled daily locations.  There's probably one portion of our brains that isn't being used.  The memory part.  Just guessing, of course.

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I agree with this. I don't put phone numbers in my phone for the people in my life, I remember them. I still use a map and not a GPS, and other things to use my brain and not let the technology do it all.

[goldensrbest]

I enjoy looking up things on my computer, beats looking up things in a encyclopedia!!

[Carmie]

I love my computer and have had one way longer than the average person.... think DOS before windows.

That said, my computer does not make me smarter. It makes my brain lazy and doesn't make kids smart at all.  Who still does math in their head?  Who remembers telephone numbers and addresses?  Why learn to spell? 

These are just little things, but our brains used to get a workout.....not anymore.

Another thing to think about.... what would happen if the whole grid went down?  We would not be able to shop for good or pump gas.  Credit cards wouldn't work.  Many newer cars wouldn't run even if they had gas.  Some heat and AC units would run even with electricity. The whole world would come to a screeching halt and it would be devastating

Yes, I love modern technology but it scares me too.  We should not take it for granted and it needs  to be respected.... like fire.

[Moonchilde]

I wouldn't say "smarter", but we have the potential (if we choose to use it) to be very well-informed, and educated about many things.

But it's all about DO you look things up, DO you embrace new technology, DO you want to search and learn. IMO there are many out there (judging by what is said daily on these forums) who take great pride in NOT taking advantage of all the information and ease computers bring to our lives.

[patbz]

Even though I'm 73, I've been around computers since I was in grade school (my father was a computer engineer who helped install/adapt/run the first mainframe computer, Univac, for Federal government use).  I love computers, use my tablet at least 1/2 of every waking day and attribute part of still being pretty sharp to continually  challenging myself with books, articles, quizzes etc.  My only regret is that my dear Father, who passed in 1999, isn't here to enjoy all the post-MacIntosh (his last computer) advances in computing.

[ROMARY]

'First of all', I have learned a lot, using my computer.  I just thought of something.........Is it true that we have to use our minds (brain-wise), or it somewhat/somehow begins to wane.  I recall seeing the TV public service announcement, telling us to make use of our ability to think, memorize, etc., etc.  Also, in elementary or middle school, we were taught to exercise our brains by studying Algebra, etc.  Well, that was the reason why we had to take those classes.  p.s.  My mind just couldn't handle Algebra and the other 'whatever' (Trigonometry, Geometry, etc.) classes.  I had to work very, very hard for a 'B-' grade.  It was grueling, and I remember saying/thinking (during those days) that I surely was over-exercising my brain! 

[millieshops]

I don't feel I'm any smarter than I was prior to the invention of computers.  Acquiring information is certainly faster than it used to be, but information without the intelligence to understand it, to draw conclusions from it, to apply it?  -  that's still much more personal than technological.

In some ways, I feel having the computer access is actually detrimental.  I know I learned enormous amounts of information when I went to library stacks to read to find information to complete research assignments.  Now if I were doing those same assignments and put a few terms into a search bar, I'd never be exposed to a great deal of the information I used to read when I had to rely on wider topics and the indexes of my major resource  material.

Still, there is no way we're ever going back.  Besides, how would we measure?  I definitely have lots of knowledge others don't, but I'd be totally lost in even the most basic of science classes at my local community college.  Which knowledge base would be considered smarter if we tested?