I would say that the Older generation (I am not part of that yet) were better innovators than the newer generations. Before you all jump all over it most of today's inventions (past 20 years) are just improvements on things that were already have (cell phones vs land line, Tablets vs PC vs desktops vs mainframe). With the exception there is always an exception to health care innovations.

I think the younger generation is typical of every younger generation ever.....in 20 years, they'll either know more about the world or think they know more about the world....and will lament how little the current younger generation knows.

I feel the need to point this out....but the literal definition of ignorance is lack of knowledge.....so yes, "Never Knew" = lack of knowledge...lack of knowledge = ignorance.

D'oh!

One of my favorites misquotes ever! (made by an individual running for office in the late 70's)...."Ignorance is no excuse for the law!"

Ok, back to topic.

i think the biggest difference between the older and younger generation is not the knowledge or lack of it, not the acceptance or reluctance to change, but that the youger generation is much more focused on "me" and makes many more decisions based on what is best for them. They have been brought up in a time of unrivaled prosperity, where everyone is a winner and is given a trophy, where every whim and desire is given...so they don't understand sacrifice, being told no, or have a concept of the greater good.

As RJ points out above, when they have kids, 20 years down the road this will repeat.

Hi Stupendous Man;

Your post resembles this quote more than anything else.


"We have a saying in the movement that we don’t trust anybody over 30."


Right out of 1960s Berkley, that is.


"But the younger dont have that hangup. They dont have that predisposition to keep things the same way. They just look around, see what works best and go with it. That's how we evolve as a civilization."


This is a nice, nebulous, touchy-feely statement but how does it really square with history? Civilization does evolve alright however cleaning up the messes made because of the ignorant also could be said to contribute greatly to that evolution. How do the younger necessarily know what is best? Intuition and hunches won't reliably cut it. Education, experience, and good judgment, all which may only be acquired with time, make the individual wise. Sorry, but the younger don't have it ... yet. In American society we've come to place too high a premium on youth, something not often seen either in other cultures or through the annals of history.

I can assure you that I don't feel threatened because of any change for the better. I do however, feel threatened by change brought about by ignorance and through those who manipulate the ignorant and I'm old enough and wise enough to know the difference.

Besides which, the "younger" don't have the market cornered on "change," both good and bad.

They have been brought up in a time of unrivaled prosperity, where everyone is a winner and is given a trophy, where every whim and desire is given...so they don't understand sacrifice, being told no, or have a concept of the greater good.

would you still consider yourself a winner if while running on dark early morning some creepy looking clown jumps out of nowhere and gives you a trophy?

no, i'd consider myself an Okie if that happened...

I think we make this big delineation between young and old....much of what is being said about some young people is true...but we aren't focusing on the problems of some older people either. There are wise young people and stupid old people. At the end of the day, i think you take people....one person at a time.

I agree with this. Well said.

I recently met a PhD who studies generational gaps and it's fascinating. No matter what era you study, the older generation thinks the same of the younger generation.

"I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words... When I was young, we were taught to be discreet and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wise [disrespectful] and impatient of restraint" - Hesiod, 8th century BC

"What is happening to our young people? They disrespect their elders, they disobey their parents. They ignore the law. They riot in the streets inflamed with wild notions. Their morals are decaying. What is to become of them?" - Plato

I also just found this, which made me laugh:

"I recently read a letter to the editor of a local newspaper poking fun at how certain people are so prone to accuse our times of displaying moral decay. The writer of the letter wanted to know exactly what time people were comparing modern times to. Was it 50 years ago with the jim crowe laws denying rights to people of color? Was it 100 years ago where 1/2 the population -- women -- weren't permitted to vote? Was it 150 years ago when slavery was permitted? Was it 200 years ago when the native americans were being run off their lands?"

I think a lot comes from experience. When I was in college I thought that an education was unmatched. When I got into the real world I realized just how few "educated" people actually understood the depths of the the things they studied. Yet people with real world experience seemed light years ahead of them.

Our current youth will get more experience and be better off over time. I know this to be true. But there is a problem with this generation. You can look these things up in many management studies that have been done. 1) The current generation has to know everything immediately. This probably comes from the vast access to information the internet provides. The problem is, like many things such as the 3/5 laws, you cannot just look up the rule and know what it says. You actually have to learn about it in the context of the time.

The other problem with the current generation is that they have been very coddled in their lives and told they are unique and special. This led to a study in the early 2000s that had been conducted for over 50 years. It concluded that for the first time in the early 2000s greater than 50% of college graduates believed they could do what they wanted to do, even if it impacted other people. Personally, I have seen a lot of evidence of this with the 20 somethings and early 30 year olds. They lack the ability to be responsible for their own actions and do not take other people into account very well.

News flash, you are not special and only unique by genetics, in that your uniqueness is just like everyone else.

This current generation has never been so far behind scholastically in core subjects such as math and science. From my experience their critical thinking needs significant improvement. If someone on the internet says it is true..... it may not be true.

I think BOL is a great example of the dichotomy amongst generations. Right now we have 30 somethings posting poop and [censored] jokes. Back in my day, a person was already an adult by that age.

I want to know why some people need to draw attention to themselves.

Shemp, are you gonna try to lecture me again on what the 3/5ths Compromise is?

"I recently met a PhD who studies generational gaps and it's fascinating. No matter what era you study, the older generation thinks the same of the younger generation."


Perhaps it's because what the older generation thinks is the truth. This isn't rocket science.

Past social injustices aside, the nation's morals are distinctly worse at present and nothing is served by beating dead horses of yesterday in an attempt to justify the advancing decay of today.

So you're saying, if you dont count all the horrible ways we treated people, things are way worse now than before.

I dunno, I think systematically treating classes of people like trash is more immoral than openly takling about sex. But to each his own.

systematically treating classes of people like trash


Has this really changed or is it hidden better?

I sorta agree with you here. When you're talking about problems of today, just because they're better than before doesn't mean it's good or acceptable. We should keep improving as long as there are issues to face (which will be forever).

BUT, you're not just talking about the issues of today. You're specifically stating that the past was better. And so you're trying to waive away the most glaring and obvious examples of why that's incorrect by dismissing them as dead horses. in effect "the evidence against me shouldn't be used because i'm tired of hearing it".

Yes, they keep being brought up because that's the evidence against your case that you keep being brought up . It's like OJ saying "I'm tired of you bring up DNA everytime i say i'm innocent. BESIDES all the evidence you've used before, how can you prove i'm guilty?"

it's a decent point, and i'd throw in that the targets have shifted somewhat. But i do think things are overall better. Overall, the wronged aren't quite as wronged as the wronged in the past.

Are you discounting the ISIS issues?

what do you mean?

Overall, the wronged aren't quite as wronged

I would say that the those wronged by ISIS are just as wronged as other groups in the past. (or are we only discussing the US which would be fine)

How does ISIS treat classes of people?

oh yeah i agree with you. That's why i said overall. if you look at individual cases, yeah, it's not better to be brutally murdered now vs 50 years ago vs in the middle ages. To that person it's the same. and that will always be the case. But overall there are less instances of that kind of thing.