Why Do People Get Smarter?

Both Carol S. Dweck and Annie Murphy Paul use the term intelligence in their essays, but they have slightly different meanings. While Carol S. Dweck uses the term intelligence as a measure of how smart someone is that can be expanded through effort, while Annie Murphy Paul uses intelligence in the same manner (a measure of how smart someone is), but in how it can be suppressed.

In a 2008 Washington Post article "The Dumbing of America", the author paraphrases late senator Daniel Moynihan who claimed, "Dumbness has been steadily defined downward for several decades, by a combination of heretofore irresistible forces. These include the triumph of video culture (and by video I mean every form of digital media, as well as older electronic ones); a disjunction between Americans' rising level of formal education and their shaky grasp of basic geography, science and history; and the fusion of anti-rationalism with anti-intellectualism" (Jacoby,

     A renowned professor of education and psychology at Harvard University, Howard Gardner has radically changed the way we look at intelligence. In 1983 Gardner published the first of two books that theorize that there are multiple intelligences. Gardner believes “that human cognitive competence is better described in terms of a set of abilities, talents, or mental skills, which we call “intelligence” (378). Gardner’s theory dismisses the idea that intelligence is a single attribute of the mind and suggests that there are different types of intelligences that account for different human

The general intelligence of humanity is dropping. It may not be obvious to most, but the people who are smart or bright now, would have been average fifty years ago. Everything is being made easier and being pushed back, so that it is less apparent that things are understood less and to a lower degree. One has to finish college now, to get the equivalent of a high school education.

The different methods of communication cause our society to adapt to the incorrect environment, which will eventually cause us to be dumber. Not only is technology making us lazy and less motivated, but it’s also lowering our IQs. According to TNS research, studies have shown that the IQ of the average person living in the United States is lowering because of technology. Technology distractions are everywhere. Even Isla Campbell, who is a researcher of technology trends, agrees. In "Are We Getting Dumber As Technology Gets Smarter?” Campbell says that “society is getting dumber as technology gets smarter” (Campbell). The movie Idiocracy is an example of what the society could possibly look like if we rely on technology too much. In this movie, the main plot involved how technology has been advancing throughout the years, but yet the people seem to be less intelligent than ever before. This movie is entirely fictional, but from how the society acts upon technology these days,

Is Generation Y the dumbest generation yet? In Sharon Begley’s essay “The Dumbest Generation? Don’t be Dumb” she brings up an author by the name if Mark Bauerlein. Bauerlein has wrote a book describing how he believes Generation Y is the “dumbest generation” and is blaming it on their ignorance with use of the internet. He uses very basic evidence, such as that there has been a decline in adult literacy from 40 percent of high school grads in 1992 to 31 percent in 2003. (Begley 90) Begley brings up a very good point as the definition of “Dumbest”. (91) She proposed two separate definitions, the first being “holding the least knowledge” and the second being “lacking such fundamental cognitive capacities as the ability to think critically and

In chapter one of The Dumbest Generation, Mike Bauerlein makes several statements about our generation and comes to a conclusion that helps set the groundwork for the entire book. His analysis of today’s youth states that the current generation is lacking when it comes to intellectual knowledge. He provides evidence that states that today’s under-thirty population in the United States does not have adequate knowledge, and their lack of knowledge with affect them greatly in their adulthood years.

It is a natural tendency for people to assume that they are smarter than people that are younger than they are. It is widely thought that with age, comes more knowledge, and a better understanding of the world. However, this thinking can't be used as a broad statement for entire generations of people. While there certainly are older people that are much wiser than younger people, this fact doesn't mean that younger generations as a whole are dumb. With the knowledge and discoveries made by previous generations at the disposal of younger generation's, the young people of today are smarter than ever.

The authors Mike Rose, Gerald Graff, and Charles Murray are all scholars in education. Each one of them brings concrete facts about education in America. They all believe that education is very diverse and that it can come from anywhere not just school. For example Mike Rose writer of the text “Blue Collar Brilliance” explains how intelligence is used more in labor jobs than normal jobs. He believes that intelligence is overlooked. For example he talks about how when he was in his mothers store he would observe and analyze the things around him. He then started to realize the amount of work that waiters do such as communicate with customers, write down orders, and memorize who ordered what. He believes that intelligence doesn't just come from school and that it can be from anywhere. Furthermore Gerald Graff a professor In education argues that what teachers teach to students in schools limit students intellectualism as he gives personal experiences such as topics that were interesting to him he seemed very knowledgeable and therefore his hidden intellectualism was shown. In addition Charles Murray an American Political Scientists writer of “Are too Many People Going To College” talks about how more people should be going to college. He believes that basic education should be taught early on in elementary and middle school. He also mentions that people who don't pursue higher education doesn't mean there intelligence are any less than the ones getting post secondary

Along with the progression of society, major advances have been made in hundreds of different fields — particularly technology. Controversy has risen, and debates ensued over whether today's young Americans are really “the dumbest generation,” due to their “money, media, e-gadgets, and career plans” [Source A]. While advances have been made, they have brought with them resources to benefit off of, and ultimately assist in the overall intellect and intelligence of the human race.

Throughout the essays of Graff and Johnson, intelligence is being redefined; Graff draws from personal experience of his journey to intellectualism while Johnson promotes

A critical evaluation of “Does the Internet make you Dumber?” (Nicholas Carr June 5, 2010)

Is the internet making us smarter or dumber? People continuously argue whether this rise of electronic use and internet in our lives is a negative or positive aspect. In June 5, 2010 Wall Street Journal article, Nicholas Carr raises and answer the intriguing question,“Does the Internet Make You Dumber?”Nicholas Carr argues that the internet has bad effects on our brain. He says that the internet makes it harder to remember anything, and that is harder to move memories into long term memory. Those who are continually distracted by emails, alerts, and text messages understand less than a person who can concentrate. Nicholas Carr points that the internet can change the way our brain acts. He states that those who use the internet are shallow, and the internet is causing irreversible damage to our thought processes and making us stupid. A week later, Steven Pinker counters Nicholas Carr’s assertions in his own New York Time article,“Mind Over Mass Media.”He argues that electronic technologies are not as horrible as some may make it seem, and he starts his article by addressing how“New forms of media have always caused moral panics”(199). Throughout his article, Pinker explains why critics, who accuse electronic technology as harming to human intelligence, are wrong. He suggests that,“these technologies are the only things that will keep us smart”(200). Through media and social networking, the internet brings people closer together and provides convenience for people’s life.

Are we to busy searching the web to realize how dumb we are becoming? We live in the age of technology, where there is easy access to the Internet. Nicholas Carr, the author of “Does the Internet Make you Dumber?” stated a good question that is relevant to our generation. Since we have easy access to the Internet, it is making us dumber instead of smarter. I believe individuals have taken advantage of the Internet and it is costing them their thinking skills. Sometimes individual don’t realize the impact that the internet has on our brain and education. The author states that the internet comes with distractions, many information, and it models our brains.

When a person utters the word “intelligence,” people tend to think of a genius like Albert Einstein developing some obscure equation that the great majority of the population will never understand. The problem with the definition of intelligence is that people relate intelligence to words like “genius” which require intelligence but do not have the same definition as intelligence. Often, people try to use related words to define intelligence, but these words are unable to define intelligence since many are only different levels of intelligence. While many definitions try to encompass the meaning of intelligence and various definitions describe a small part of intelligence, no definition completely explains intelligence, because