Conversations - The Dumbing Down of Society
Last night, we had a flat tire on the way home from a trip we took to a library an hour away for National Library Week. My husband made the comment, "If people would have listened to Tesla, we could be flying home." My eleven-year old son took the bait and launched a debate over Tesla's ideas versus Edison's ideas for the remainder of the trip - another hour, since we had to utilize the doughnut tire and drive around 45 mph.
He proceeded to tell my husband that the people of Tesla's day, of Edison's time, were not ready for Tesla's ideas. He had too many ideas that seemed far-fetched. Edison took things slower, and, thus, people listened to him. He also explained what may have been accomplished had Tesla and Edison continued working together.
As I replay this conversation in my mind this morning, I am reminded of how difficult it is to engage everyday people like me in any conversation that does not involve our direct surroundings. When we are at work, we talk about work or possibly about kids at home. When we are at home, we talk about our house and our yard. When we are traveling, we may be able to see the location we are visiting. When we visit friends, we may venture to engage in mindless gossip or opinion. On social media, we may debate the Presidential candidates. But we rarely discuss. We do not think - or at least we do not talk - outside of the box.
Believe it or not, I have put this theory to the test. When talking with people, I will lead into a conversation about a book I have read or a movie I have watched that could lead into a more philosophical conversation. I purposely try to steer the conversation in that direction. If I am talking with someone in person, that person generally changes the subject. If I am talking on the phone, the person suddenly has to hang up.
Why is that? Why is it that we cannot see any farther than where we are at that current moment? Why do we have no interest in discussing philosophical, sociological, or existential questions? Even the people of Tesla's day and Edison's time were more conversational. As I study the writers and scientists and artists of centuries past, I learn of a society in which learning from real situations and real conversations took place in life - not just at a school or a college.
We often hear the term "the dumbing down of education" or the "dumbing down of society." So often, we apply this term to low scores on a standardized test or not knowing the answer to a question that was asked on a middle school quiz from 1828. That is not what the dumbing down of education or society is, in my opinion. The dumbing down of society is the emphasis on mundane, material things to the point that we no longer have an interest in thinking outside of the box.
He proceeded to tell my husband that the people of Tesla's day, of Edison's time, were not ready for Tesla's ideas. He had too many ideas that seemed far-fetched. Edison took things slower, and, thus, people listened to him. He also explained what may have been accomplished had Tesla and Edison continued working together.
As I replay this conversation in my mind this morning, I am reminded of how difficult it is to engage everyday people like me in any conversation that does not involve our direct surroundings. When we are at work, we talk about work or possibly about kids at home. When we are at home, we talk about our house and our yard. When we are traveling, we may be able to see the location we are visiting. When we visit friends, we may venture to engage in mindless gossip or opinion. On social media, we may debate the Presidential candidates. But we rarely discuss. We do not think - or at least we do not talk - outside of the box.
Believe it or not, I have put this theory to the test. When talking with people, I will lead into a conversation about a book I have read or a movie I have watched that could lead into a more philosophical conversation. I purposely try to steer the conversation in that direction. If I am talking with someone in person, that person generally changes the subject. If I am talking on the phone, the person suddenly has to hang up.
Why is that? Why is it that we cannot see any farther than where we are at that current moment? Why do we have no interest in discussing philosophical, sociological, or existential questions? Even the people of Tesla's day and Edison's time were more conversational. As I study the writers and scientists and artists of centuries past, I learn of a society in which learning from real situations and real conversations took place in life - not just at a school or a college.
We often hear the term "the dumbing down of education" or the "dumbing down of society." So often, we apply this term to low scores on a standardized test or not knowing the answer to a question that was asked on a middle school quiz from 1828. That is not what the dumbing down of education or society is, in my opinion. The dumbing down of society is the emphasis on mundane, material things to the point that we no longer have an interest in thinking outside of the box.
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