the dumbest generation.

One would think sitting down and reading a few chapters in a book is an easy task, maybe even relaxing. In today's world, I'd say that's not the case. It's not due to lack of intelligence or illiteracy, it's due to the world surrounding the pages (for me atleast). There is constantly a beep, a vibrate, a ring, a tweet, or the occasional song of the popular musician of your choice pulling you away. As I sit down and totally disconnect I'll study what technology is really doing to our generation. Thanks to Mark Bauerlein, everything I'll need to begin this study is found within the chapters of The Dumbest Generation. So do as I did, silence your cell phones, pause your Pandora, close Facebook and Twitter, and focus on what's right in front on you. Just read.

INTELligence...more like lack of intelligence.
As Bauerlein discusses the Leno segments of "Jaywalking", I couldn't help but laugh at some of the pedestrians responses. To those following along in the book I hope you could easily answer the first few questions (50, Bethlehem, served as UK's prime minister). After a teen said the Pope lived in England, Paris, I had little hope for the next answer. The college student who knew that Thomas Edison invented the light bulb impressed me and restored faith in my generation, that is until he added, "Yeah, with the kite". It's sad that we live in a world where significant men such as Edison and Franklin are easily confused and barely recognized for their major impacts and influences on our lives today. We may not know the names of the men who made revolutionary discoveries, but we sure know the names of our favorite digitally enhanced stars competing for the title of Idol. Sad to say I know that Phillip Phillips was this year's favorite, but I also know that the Speaker of the House is Mr. John Boehner. So I guess I'm only partially guilty. My generation is living for now. No concerns for the past or the future, just living life day by day, with a carefree come what may attitude. We seem to think we're untouchable, excusing dangerous and unacceptable behavior with YOLO. (I heard someone say, "yolo is a stupid man's carpe diem" and I couldn't agree more.) Not that this generation would know, but history repeats itself. We have a lot of troubles coming our way, which is scary because we'll have no idea what to do. I don't think we can ask Siri on this one.

Let's tackle our next step of the study...a-literacy.
Bauerlein defines a-literacy as "knowing how to read and choosing not to". What happened to reading a good book when you were bored or actually cracking open the classic assigned to you in English. Why has reading become such a chore? Like I mentioned before, the world outside the pages. There are so many other things to busy yourself with. Who would read in a high school study hall when you could be playing Temple Run? I don't know about you but Huckleberry's adventures with Jim are far more exciting than being chased by monkeys as you run toward no end. So where did we go wrong? Are our advances in technology becoming set-backs? The studies presented in Bauerleins assessment of our downward spiral suggest that may be a contributing factor. Not only has technology given us hundreds of other things to busy ourselves with, it also gave us a new set of priorities. We are said to wear "anti-intellectualism" on our sleeves. Like the girl on the radio, people are proud of their inability to appreciate a good story. They think it's cool to discourage education. Today's culture has taught us that it's better to have watched the latest episode of Pretty Little Liars (the majority of my floor took part in the A festivities tonight), then to have read the chapter slides of your chem class (how I spent my night). Caring about your grades, the class material, and the world events around you may have you labeled as a nerd, but you're going to be one of the few to overcome THE DUMBEST GENERATION.