The Matron agrees with this article, well worth reading. The great cultural divide? Not between red states and blue, but those able to understand Narrative -- a group that is rapidly decreasing in size.
While I agree with much of the article, I have to point out that half the population has ALWAYS been below average in intelligence. For better or worse, it is always the upper half that determines in what direction a society moves, and they have tended to make society more and more complex. (See: adjustable rate mortgages, internal combustion engines controlled by onboard computers, online libraries, advanced medical care vs our ability to understand it.) I am not sure that moving toward a more image-oriented culture is necessarily a bad thing; it seems to me that the content and intent of the images that determine their worth.
It may be that what is worse than the trends described in the article is the increasing number of children being raised in single-parent homes at or below the poverty line. It's tough to provide a safe and nurturing and stimulating home environment when the single parent is stretched so thin.
All that said, every time I see or hear of or read of something incredibly dumb that someone did or said, I say to myself, "And then they voted." And that is indeed a scary thing.
As a newspaper reporter, that freaks me out. But I have to admit to being a poor reader who considers type-size pretty heavily in my book selection. I also have to admit to writing a lot of stories about criminals who are not wearing pants.
I think there are a lot of people who would consider themselves to be in the superior group but don't actually make a habit of exposing themselves to complexity. I hope I'm not one of them!
Hi Erin -- I think you're right about people elevating their (our) own ability! I'm going to share the article with my students, some of whom I would put into that non-narrative group.
I wonder what Ivy would say about that article. Oh, and I may have purchased enough books for those that didn't. Not to mention those checked out of the library.
There is much truth to this article, yet I am surrounded by very intelligent people who vote purely on emotional impulse, basing their decision on one or two issues, and believe with all their heart in very limited thinking. THESE people have political clout AND brains so it is their heads I'm more curious to figure out.
9 comments:
This is a great article, thanks for pointing me towards it.
While I agree with much of the article, I have to point out that half the population has ALWAYS been below average in intelligence. For better or worse, it is always the upper half that determines in what direction a society moves, and they have tended to make society more and more complex. (See: adjustable rate mortgages, internal combustion engines controlled by onboard computers, online libraries, advanced medical care vs our ability to understand it.) I am not sure that moving toward a more image-oriented culture is necessarily a bad thing; it seems to me that the content and intent of the images that determine their worth.
It may be that what is worse than the trends described in the article is the increasing number of children being raised in single-parent homes at or below the poverty line. It's tough to provide a safe and nurturing and stimulating home environment when the single parent is stretched so thin.
All that said, every time I see or hear of or read of something incredibly dumb that someone did or said, I say to myself, "And then they voted." And that is indeed a scary thing.
As a newspaper reporter, that freaks me out. But I have to admit to being a poor reader who considers type-size pretty heavily in my book selection. I also have to admit to writing a lot of stories about criminals who are not wearing pants.
I think there are a lot of people who would consider themselves to be in the superior group but don't actually make a habit of exposing themselves to complexity. I hope I'm not one of them!
Holy Smoke - 80% of households did not purchase one single book last year? WTF?
How sheltered am I? Yikes.
Thanks for the heads up -
Bonnie
Hi Erin -- I think you're right about people elevating their (our) own ability! I'm going to share the article with my students, some of whom I would put into that non-narrative group.
I wonder what Ivy would say about that article. Oh, and I may have purchased enough books for those that didn't. Not to mention those checked out of the library.
That was a total buzz-kill. Sobering statistics for sure.
There is much truth to this article, yet I am surrounded by very intelligent people who vote purely on emotional impulse, basing their decision on one or two issues, and believe with all their heart in very limited thinking. THESE people have political clout AND brains so it is their heads I'm more curious to figure out.
Jenn -buzz kill indeed!
I've been quoting the article to practically everyone since I read it yesterday. Had the toe-curling embarrasment of quoting to someone who said:
"Well, I guess our household falls in to that 80%". I'm not a reader!"
Eeek. I am trying not to judge her.
; )
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