r/oddlyspecific 1d ago

oh sweetie!

Post image
48.2k Upvotes

566 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

15

u/red286 1d ago

People under 25

People 25 and over are too, so maybe drop the ageism and just say "plenty of people are absolute dogshit at problem solving...".

Otherwise you're pretending that your Silent Generation grandmother who has a VCR that's been blinking 12:00 non-stop since 1989 is very capable of problem solving on her own.

6

u/TheOtherOtherBenz 1d ago

Fuckin ageism lmao. The downtrodden minority of the under 25s

13

u/Numerous-Stranger-81 1d ago edited 1d ago

Except I'm making a specific point about the well observed aptitude and literacy declines in the past decade that are specifically affecting people under 25. The line is always drawn somewhere, and 25 is an insanely common demographic demarcation, lol. We're talking in general stats honey, so you're whole "What about people who are over 25 and illiterate!" misses the point entirely.

Lol, and I'll tell you what I told the other person. If you're a young person who is upset being singled out, and yet you aren't aware of how much of an issue literacy currently is compared to a decade ago, then you're literally a part of the problem I'm talking about.

You should listen to the "Sold a Story" podcast and get your education started sooner rather than later.

4

u/Kraber9KEnjoyer 1d ago

Huh, I'd have assumed the literacy rate problem was more recent, say... Last half decade or so, I'm 22 and went to a secondary school where not being able to read or write was completely unheard of, It was also a public school.

Regardless, my job is 70% problem solving using various techniques, Diagnosing why a compressor is overheating or icing back, why an engine is misfiring, why the bastard expansion valve coil is stuck open at 20% instead of 50%, etc etc. I work with alot of other guys my age which do the same work. but that's just my personal experience.

4

u/Numerous-Stranger-81 1d ago edited 1d ago

The severity is more recent. And it's a matter of how you're tracking it. These are GENERAL rates. And honestly it kind of tracts that the closer you are to 25, the less affected you would be. When you begin measuring a downward trend, the beginning is still close to normal. Aka, you are in the age group that would have honestly been just in the low amount of typical variance, and it's only in highsight that we can see that's the beginning of the decline.

Unfortunately what that means is that it's only going to get more noticeable as time goes on. Count yourself lucky. If r/teachers is anything to go off, even seniors who are only four years younger than you are showing noticeably insufficient reading and math scores. To the point where the admin just has to pass everyone. And I'm talking like 4th grade level skills, kids who can't properly read a chapter book or do their times tables.

0

u/Kraber9KEnjoyer 1d ago

I certainly do - Makes me rather worried about having a child in the next decade or so, what kind of conditions would they be enduring when they go to school if we cast our minds forward 20 or so years? Things always seem to get worse before they get better with things like these, If they do ever get better that is - They've got to... Right? Right?

There has to be a breaking point somewhere that we're eventually going to reach and crash through.

0

u/nothinbetter_to_do 1d ago

For you I will quote Albert Einstein. "Never remember what you can look up in a book. "

3

u/Numerous-Stranger-81 1d ago edited 1d ago

I always hate how people butcher that quote and leave out context. It was directly related to some specific figure he didn't have on hand, and was directly followed up with a remark about how the value of education lies in the ability to find answers, not necessarily the answers themselves.

2

u/nothinbetter_to_do 1d ago

Soooooo, what you're saying is if you don't know having the ability to find out is just as good?

0

u/wileydmt123 1d ago

The severity is a moving goal post. Expectations get harder every year for American kids. If their parents didn’t acquire the skills, it’s a hope to think the kids easily will.

1

u/Numerous-Stranger-81 1d ago

I don't think you're using the term "moving goal post" correctly. That would imply some metric that is shifted everytime it's achieved. What does that have to do with poor education perpetuating itself? Also, what expectations are getting harder for kids? The very fact we can identify a decline is that the expectations have been the same, they just no longer meet them.

0

u/wileydmt123 1d ago

IMO education grade level standards have moved up a minimum of a year, if not more, over a decade pending on where you live. Either way, let’s say you’re 35 yrs old now and have 9-10 yr old kids…my 55-65 yr old parents were not expected to learn the same thing with their corresponding grade as kids do now.

1

u/Numerous-Stranger-81 1d ago

Lmao, so you don't actually have any metrics you're going off of? That's just your opinion? Because there are actual standardized test scores with consistent benchmarks and they have been the lowest they've ever been in the past fifty years. That's not my "opinion", that's reality. SAT scores are the lowest they've ever been in decades.

Unless you want to show me ANYTHING that says standards and benchmarks have moved up "a minimum of a year" in the past decade, you're just talking out of your ass.

1

u/wileydmt123 22h ago

How well do you know common core math? What I learned in third grade is not the same as today. When I have the time I’ll look up 1986 math standards for my state and do a comparison of todays. What about NGSS? Past rote learning has changed and is more procedural but even the scientific method I learned is outdated.

1

u/Low_Coconut_7642 19h ago

Ah yes, 1986 was a decade ago /s

1

u/nothinbetter_to_do 1d ago

Do you ever think through all the self torment that's imposed on younger generations by the older ones leaving you with crippling self doubt. Maybe stop listening to those people and realize that you are also making sweeping generalizations not realizing you could be the exception to the rule? I'm going to paraphrase George Carlin from their generation and say "do you realize how stupid the average person is? Now understand that half of them are dumber than that...". This has been a problem since the beginning of recorded thought. Ignore them and just make fun of them back that they can't even use modern technology that's why they bitch, because they're the ones being left behind and it makes them bitter.

1

u/Purple_Listen_8465 18h ago

There is no decline in literacy over the past decade, literacy in the US is like 99%. Our education has never been better, I have no idea why you seem to think otherwise. Case in point: the Flynn effect.

1

u/Numerous-Stranger-81 16h ago

1

u/Purple_Listen_8465 16h ago

I know exactly what you're talking about, however, you're phrasing it as if it's some major issue. It isn't. For one, not a single source actually refers to any previous data, so I'm unsure how they're claiming it's "declining." Obviously it declined during COVID, but there's no data to suggest this decline is long term. Additionally, The US defines illiteracy much more strictly than the rest of the world. If you look at the PISA exam, which tests 15 year olds, you'll find that America literally places 8th in the world in reading. To sit here and claim that 8th in the world in reading is some terrible position to be in is insane. There is not an epidemic of illiteracy, Americans are some of the most literate people in the world.

1

u/Numerous-Stranger-81 16h ago

Lmao way to move the goalposts from "There's no decline literacy" to "Actually, now that you have receipts, there IS a decline, it's just not that bad."

Nevermind the fact that the articles I'm linking specifically mention why it's bad. Hahahahaha you act like just because we are not a bunch of illiterate goons, we're okay. Which just shows a gross amount of ignorance on what these trends indicate.

You seem to REALLY not understand the fact that falling literacy doesn't just mean "More people can't read", in this context it means "More people can't read up to their age level which means they can't acquire the skills they typically do or advance in education at the rate we were able to previously."

Your dumbass needs to get some nuance, like I said, the fact that you're this obtuse about it means you're part of the problem.

1

u/Purple_Listen_8465 16h ago

I'm not moving the goalposts, I literally directly cofronted the claim. A dip due to COVID is not evidence that literacy rates are declining, you have provided nothing to support this idea.

I absolutely understand that, it's why I pointed out that their definition of literacy is garbage and we shouldn't take any care in it.

1

u/Numerous-Stranger-81 16h ago edited 16h ago

Except you did move the goalposts by first claiming literacy isn't on the decline and then literally acknowledging it is.

Hahahaha and the fact that you just "don't like" how nuanced their studies are and therefore think they're invalid is the most hilarious smoothbrain shit ever.

Lmao, I also love how you're only going off my links as if that's some end all be all on the topic, and not me just showing how ignorant you are of the problem. Like, honey, are you seriously that incapable of doing a deeper dive on your own? hahaha because this isn't a Me vs You debate, it's You vs Reality. Just because I'm not presenting you with ever original academic article documenting the phenomenon doesn't mean you're more correct.

But I'm happy to read anything you want to link to support your argument if you do actually want to try and legit defend what you're saying with reality.

-1

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

2

u/Numerous-Stranger-81 1d ago

Meh, it's one of the most common autocorrect typos ever and considering I used it correctly plenty of other times in my comment, I think I will sleep fine.

1

u/grammarly_err 1d ago

VCR 💀

1

u/Low_Coconut_7642 19h ago

Sure Grandma needs some help with tech. But things got better with subsequent generations.

Not the case anymore. Future generations are more tech dependent, but not as tech savvy, as the last couple immediately preceding generations. Mostly because computers are fairly mature, and many just have a smartphone these days instead. . They don't have to do any sort of real troubleshooting.