Miscellaneous

I am so smart. I am so smart. S-M-R-T!

With a hattip to friend of the site Coffee from a Cardboard Cup I found an interesting op-ed in Sunday's Washington Post. Called "The Dumbing of America," it's about, well, the dumbing of America. Author Susan Jacoby talks about how anti-intellectualism, anti-rationalism and low expectations are damaging the fuck out of our country.

To the extent QuizLaw has a fanbase (and this is absolutely true for the much larger fanbase of sister site Pajiba), I think it largely comes from what feels like a growing minority in this country -- people who aren't afraid of their own intellect, despite the "snob" and "elitist" tags that get thrown their way by a growing number of the dumb and intellectually ignorant. I won't try to speak for anyone else, but despite the often elitist comments I make both here and on Pajiba, I don't generally think that I'm better than folks (except for most of Florida, naturally) simply because I may be more aware and curious about "smart" things. After all, I know that there are plenty of people who would rightly recognize that the extent of my knowledge on most subjects is of a very base level, and I would hope they'd refrain from pointing their nose down at me for not digging deeper. Similarly, I don't honestly point my nose down at most of the general public which has become complacent in its ignorance.

Anyway, I don't necessarily agree with everything Jacoby says -- for instance, I don't know that the shrinking public attention span is a problem, per se, it simply means folks need to be engaged in a new way -- but the article is well worth the time for those who like to think about things. But if you'd rather catch up on some celebrity gossip, I'd totally understand.

Full post as published by Quiz Law on February 18, 2008 (boomark / email).