Are we raising a generation of nincompoops?

[bijou]

Second-graders who can't tie shoes or zip jackets. Four-year-olds in Pull-Ups diapers. Five-year-olds in strollers. Teens and preteens befuddled by can openers and ice-cube trays. College kids who've never done laundry, taken a bus alone or addressed an envelope.

Are we raising a generation of nincompoops? And do we have only ourselves to blame? Or are some of these things simply the result of kids growing up with push-button technology in an era when mechanical devices are gradually being replaced by electronics? ...

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On the upside, when the zombie apocalypse comes these kids will be easy pickings. :D

[FlaGator]

Just look at the number of criminals who have the waist band of their pants or shorts just above the kneecap and expect to able to run from the cops. Yes we are raising a generation of nimcompoops and the resulting criminals are proving to be even dumber.

[bijou]

Just look at the number of criminals who have the waist band of their pants or shorts just above the kneecap and expect to able to run from the cops. Yes we are raising a generation of nimcompoops and the resulting criminals are proving to be even dumber.

So far we've yet to find a disadvantage to this. ;)

[Rebel Yell]

[Molon Labe]

That's a scary good film.

[Nubs]

It's got what plants want, it's got electrolytes.

[Gingersnap]

Friends playing devil's advocate say I'm wrong to indict a whole generation for the decline of skills they don't need. After all, we no longer have to grow crops, shoot deer, prime a pump or milk a cow to make dinner, but it was just a couple of generations ago that you couldn't survive in many places without that knowledge.

I do all those things. The problem outlined in this article is that skills build on skills. I may never need to milk a cow but I do know how to approach and handle livestock, I know that cows and goats need to be milked twice a day unless they're dry or nursing, I know that milk better be handled in a pretty sterile environment, I know what mastitis looks like and how to treat it without antibiotics, etc., etc.

The same is true of any hands-on skill set: cars, house painting, gardening, cooking, or whatever. There is a lot more knowledge involved than what you can download from an app.