Shoe by Gary Brookins and Susie MacNelly for September 15, 2023

As I get older…..I get dumber.

Smart phones, social idiocy, relaxed cultural constraints

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They let AI do the thinking for them, therefore not learning for themselves.

Too few with the Everest syndrome.

The dumb people have always been there. Now they just have more ways of letting everyone know about it.

Please answer the question!

Explains the voter trends.

Because they read the Tattler Tribune???

Everybody consider themselves to be above average.

Answer, the present day American public "educational’ system, the entertainment ‘industry’, and the fascination with sports.

That’s why.

Electrolytes, from drinking Brawndo

It hasn’t changed but the smart phones amplify them now.

I used to live in ultra-conservative south central PA. The Reich wingers there actually consider any form of education as “liberal indoctrination,” and celebrate being dumb. This is a place where racism is open, and they fly Confederate flags an hour and a half 21st century drive northeast of Gettysburg on I-81. They also use “y’all” north of the Mason-Dixon Line.

It’s dumb people or smart a$$es.

They’ve always been there. The smartphones and social media gave them a platform and a megaphone.

If you paid $4 for a bottle of Smart Water, I got news for you. It ain’t working.

That’s why I don’t have a cell phone. I don’t want a phone that is smarter than me.

I remember when the first handheld electronic calculators came out. Some of my fellow students even then were saying, “Why do I need to learn math when I can just use one of these?” Duh.

easy because of UnSocial Media and people living in their own bubbles Americans have gotten fat, lazy, and stupid : and that is not a way to go thru life

Balance.

That is a really good question.

Gee, Shoe, do you think the media might have something to do with it? Most outlets have become, and remain, stenographers for the rich and powerful. Pushback is obsolete, and critical analysis is almost dead. People are uninformed, not stupid.

Because all the smart devices are doing all the thinking for them.

Most people seek Confirmation Bias, not information. Consulting multiple sources and performing critical thinking before making decisions is way too much effort.

Best question, Shoe has asked in a long time ! ! ! !

Artificial intelligence and natural stupidity.

The dream of futurists was to develop technology that would free humankind to pursue more lofty aims. Unfortunately, we’re talking about a whole lot of dummies that only want more power for themselves. So, instead of AI being used to free writers to produce more thoughtful copy, their employers will use AI to replace the writers and produce cheaper drivel to plaster on our screens.

Intelligence in the universe is finite. The universe is expanding.

Don’t need to waste time getting “smart” when you can buy all the smart you need.

Maybe because we’ve transferred too much of our brainpower to those devices. Ken Jennings (of Jeopardy fame) notes that the use of GPS reduces the ability to think spatially, and many people cannot find their way around without the device. Our social interactions have move from face-to-face to the anonymity and distance of the electronic interfaces.

Because all of those “smart” devices allow people to quit thinking for themselves.

Where does Shoe think the smartness in those gadgets comes from? The companies that make them steal ours.

Cos tech took all the smarts. Watch closely, folks. If we do not apply our selves in a better, more effective way and soon, AI is going to rule and then NObody going to be happy.

because too many parents use “smart” devices as babysitters and don’t make kids go out and play and learn from experience, also too many don’t interact with their kids playing games which develop mental abilities because they are on their own devices.

There must be a straight correlation.

Our society doesn’t value education and intelligence. However, if you can throw a perfect spiral pass or you’re entertaining then you’re a hero.

Because it takes too long to profit off smart people.

“When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.”― Mark Twain

People that don’t practice smartness look like a first time batter trying to hit an MLB baseball.

Excellent point

The answer is very simple, smart stuff, whatever it is, doesn’t make people smart, it only makes the people who make the stuff rich.

A lot of these people aren’t really dumb, they just bought into the trump cult. That’s the way cults work. If you refuse to think for yourself, you let yourselves be pawns in someone’s plan to lead you to your slow, painful deaths. Doesn’t matter. YOU MUST OBEY.

Everyone of those “Smart” knew they had a perfect million dollar market…

More people on the planet for one reason. No idea if the percentage of idiots has remained the same or actually increased. We definitely hear about their insanity much faster so that awareness is a solid second reason .

Because all those “smart” conveniences are making so that people don’t have to think as much.

They have always been here. But now they have a global audience.

QED

People believe they don’t need to think because of all the “smart” tools.

Touche’

…cuz they don’t hafta think on their own anymore

My neighbor tells me that all this technology is bad for us and society and that we only need to turn back to Jesus and everything will get better.