are people getting dumber about old stuff, or am I just becoming obsolete?

I still think it was funny the day my niece, (who was 16 yrs old), couldn't get the passenger window down in the truck because she "can't find the button". I did laugh out loud a bit, then told her how to "roll" the window down with the crank. Then I realized at 16 she had only known how to use power windows.
Then I asked her if she knew what a record player was..... she didn't. Another laugh for me.

 

While we are on the subject, does anyone know what this thing is used for?

 

Older..... why ,cause every pos is a rat rod or a gasser, make s me sick ,there like geese one goes down they all go down.......I dont know if its wiser or older !!!

 

Then I assume they aren't cranky old guys that treat you like an idiot!
Re read my post, I'm far from young. I don't feel the need to treat everyone younger or different than me as dumb.

 

Right on DocWatson. I couldn't agree more.

 

My 4 year old grandson rolled my windows down without anyone instructing him. It's possible he had watched me do it.

 

People are no dumber but we have a lot more instant access to those that are though (eg. the people of walmart site).

I bet the average kid could walk circles around 90% of this board on a computer or a cell phone because that is what is relevant to them. A wind up watch is not.

Not having knowledge about the same things as you does not make someone stupid it just means they have a different set of skills than you do. If everyone knew and was good at the exact same stuff the world would be a pretty boring place.

 

Don't rule all of us out! I'll be 20 next month, I think my generation is the last of youths that can remember being a kid before the internet, cell phones, etc. was a mainstream concept in society. I've been obsessed with these old cars ever since I was born. I started building those old monogram '55 chevy models in particular around age 5 without the instructions, and have always been drawn in by vintage tin. I don't think I've been "tainted" like the majority of the younger generations out there.

For all you grandpas and fathers out there, heres some advice on how to impact a young child, buy them a model car! That's one of the first things that set me on the road today of my automobile obsession. It teachs them patience, drive, and is the first stepping stone to "building" cars. It'll get them off the video games!

 

My local putz informed me that there is no such thing as a chevy 302, thats a ford engine!

 

The issue that scares me is the younger generation is not learning how to communicate face to face with others, their peers, parents, boyfriends/girlfriends, etc. They text all day long. They sit in the car traveling somewhere with their parents and they are either on their phone texting or watching a DVD or playing video games. No one ever talks to each other. I rememebr the best conversations with my parents is when we were going somewhere in the car, even running errands...or over the dinner table. I have visions of the next generation of amrried folks laying in bed next to each other texting each other.

 

As though it actually matters, here's my take on everything.

First off, I completely agree with those who are blaming it on the growing up environment. There is, however, something I want to add to that. The main reason I have seen for the poor environment is not laziness, it's good intentions. See a lot of people think that they need to make life "easier" for their children than it was for them. Too bad that in doing this, they inevitably make it more difficult for these kids who now feel entitled to whatever they want. It's all relative folks, what one generation perceives as "difficult" will be completely different than another due to the tasks and technology that demand the time of that particular generation.

Secondly, the desire to learn has gone way down thanks in no small part to the internet. People think they don't have to know anything because it's available for them at their fingertips. This leaves a large knowledge gap because there are a lot of people whose very important memories and experience won't get passed down because they don't know how or care to put it in a digital format. Stories, history, knowledge used to be passed down by nothing but memory...sadly it is the complete opposite anymore. You guys ought to look at Japan and their "National Treasures." These are PEOPLE who preserve knowledge and ancient skills/understanding in the traditional manner...with themselves.

As for the rest of it, take it from this 28yr old young'n who still loves to learn. I grew up working with my hands; have milked a cow, grown food, built things, demolished things, domesticated animals, started a fire with flint/sticks/hope, made my own tools/weapons, set type, made ceramics/cookware from scratch, dug holes by hand, swam in a dirty and unsanitary body of water, camped under the stars in the winter, hiked to the top of one of the highest mountains in the country, faced wild animals, listen to music on a stereo built 18years before I was born, can rebuild most anything mechanical and on top of all that I built the computer that I am typing this on. If I don't know how to do something, I ask someone who does and HAS done it for a LONG time. I take every chance I can to learn something new and am the first to admit when I don't know something. Most of my good friends are much older than me because I don't get along with "my" generation. I will side with you long-tooths in most any subject because one of the big reasons I'm here (the HAMB) is becasue I am and always will be a traditionalist.

People aren't getting dumber, they just don't care anymore. That's called ignorance folks, what can we do to try and stop it?

 

Applied digital dexterity?

 

Must be the same guy my buddy and his mud racing partner bought a Burb 4x4 off a while back with a "race motor" in it. The guy called my bud a dumb ass and told him he didn't know a thing about engines because the engine damned well was a race motor because, look right there on the chrome valve covers, "Summit Racing" big as Dallas. But they got the whole Burb running 454, good drive train and the 40 gallon tank I have sitting out here for my 71 GMC for a grand total of 100.00 bucks so we will see who was the dumb ass in the end.

One problem with kids knowing anything today is that most schools require that you teach to the level of the slower learners in the class instead of being able to tell them that they better bust their asses to keep up or fall in the dust. The brightest kids in the class get bored and the really slow kids in the class will probably never get it without special help anyhow.

The feel gooders in the nation would never go for it but maybe it is time to get competitive with the rest of the world and test kids (at least in larger districts) and the brightest of the bunch go to schools where they can be taught at a faster and higher level and the others go to to other schools or classes where they can learn at a more comfortable speed with teachers with the patience to handle that.

We have guys on here every day asking the same questions on old cars and the same ones of us answer those same questions time and time again or refer them to previous threads. BUT, we do actually have a lot of members who have never owned or driven a car with points or a carburetor let alone one that is 70 years old before they bought their HAMB friendly project vehicle.
GM vehicles with just a few exceptions electronic ign since 1975, that is 35 years which is two generations of never having points. Most cars have been efi since the mid 80's. With that it doesn't make a 25 year old stupid because he doesn't know how to adjust a set of points it just means that until now he has never needed to know. When I ask that same 25 year old how to do something with this LG phone sitting next to me he gives me that "look" as in "hey, that's simple crap that you should know".

And as someone previously said, if some asks a question give them a straight and truthful answer and not a bullshit answer. On the Mickey Mouse watch, a simple, it has a spring in side that runs it and you wind the spring every day to make work would suffice instead of giving an answer that had not truth to it. Hell, I don't think I have worn a watch that I had to wind for at least 35 years and that was the last 10.00 Timex I had.

 

That's not a sign that the guy is dumb. He just never saw points. 99% of anyone under 30 has never seen points and never will or need to. They don't need to know, as that information is of no value to them.
The only 22 year old people that know about points are people that are into older cars.
If I were to have a conversation with a expert stamp collector, I wouldn't be able to add much to the discussion. Stamp collecting is of no interest to me and was not something that I needed to know about to live successfully day to day.
Does that make me a dope? Hardly.
In my opinion, the definition of "dumb" is people who lack the basic skills to be employed, maintain a checkbook and a SAVINGS ACCOUNT, get along with society, be responsible, law-abiding, not be a drain on society and have good grammar and communication skills.
Knowing about someone else's hobby is not important and not knowing does not make someone "dumb".

 

thats OK. I've been told by a parts guy they didn't make bosch platinum spark plugs for a SBC

 

K13, you have it pretty much right. I have a brother-in-law that is amazed that I am remodeling our house by myself. He just can't understand that I know how to hang a door, install windows, do electrical and plumbing, hang sheetrock, tape, texture and everything else required.

His problem is he is a city boy, never worked in the country. I was raised in the country and had to learn OTJ how to do things myself.

So many today are too specialized with what they know, and/or don't take the time to learn something, that to me, is common knowledge.

Most today are not stupid, some act that way to get out of doing the hard things in life. They would rather pay to have it done.

I am self-employeed and part of my job (I feel that way) is to teach people to do some of the things that are easy for anyone to do. My thought is why pay to have something simple done if you can do it yourself.

 

I was taking a calculas class for my design tech degree a couple of years back and I was the only one in the class toher than the teacher who knoew what a slide rule is and the teacher didn't know how to work a slide rule. So I showed him.

 

this says it all.......

 

http://http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_images/3/3299/2881/33246440005_large.jpg

 

My son's high school has an excellent auto shop program that he has been looking forward to for years.
I know the head shop teacher and he made sure that my son got into his class for grade 10
( 2 other teachers - not quite as good as the old guy )
For 2 days the lesson was how to check the air in tires and after 2 days some of our future leaders still couldn't get it.
My son says at one point the teacher paused and did a deep sigh, he then turned to my son in front of the whole class and asked him "So Jay, what did you and your Dad get done on the '64 lately?"
"Well we installed the 5-speed Sunday"
.

 

that may be true, but the fact that she believed that turning the knob changed the batteries makes me think she's not working at walmart to pay her way through an Ivy league school.

I'm about to turn 29 and I don't know everything but my dad taught me that the best way to learn something is to do it. If something doesn't work take it apart and find out why. When I was 19 I had a 49 Chevy Fleetline which had a wind up dashboard clock that wouldn't run. I took it apart and got it working then spent a few weeks tinkering with it till it keep pretty damn good time if I remembered to wind it.

 

Sometimes I think the people that know nothing about cars are blessed.

 

Ummmmmm, boughten????????

 

Why are you mentioning this? Is it because you think electronic encyclopedias (along with modern electronic devices including cellular phones) are a bad thing? Yes, "back in the day" there werent cell phones/answering machines/whatever else so you had to "plan and think ahead". We all know that, so what's your point? Is it that we shouldnt embrace technology? If it was better back then, I really hope you dont have a cell phone/answering machine/television/computer because that would be pretty hypocritical, wouldnt it?

Exactly.

I like this one. I'm 24, one of the basement phones in my parents house is a rotary. Im sure I knew how to use it by the age of 5. That said, I dont feel any smarter than another 24 year old that hasnt happened to have used/seen one. It isnt as if people of my generation would just stare at it blankly and not ever figure it out.

I like this one, too. It's like calling someone stupid because they dont speak Latin (a fairly obsolete language IMO).

E. M. Tiffany wrote: "Better days through better ways, even as the better things we now enjoy have come to us from the struggles of former years." That was in 1930. Luckily some people were there to agree with him.

Completely agreed!

Best post in this thread yet.

In no way so I mean to offend anyone with what I have said. I was raised to have respect for my elders, even if they do not deserve it. I felt the need to interceed because many of the posts here made broad cantankerous statements that generalized younger people as being a lost cause.

I think every generation has a group of negative people that will always complain about younger generations. I dont know why, my only guess is that it gives them a feeling of superiority. Putting people down to make you feel better about yourself sounds like a miserable way to live.

 

yes ,,they are dumber

though also ,,every generation is detached from teh one before it to a degree

also there is so much focus on technology and it changes so fast anymore,,That "old" means that something only had this much memory before.. Everything is an "upgrade from what was"

We had a barn sale years back,,lotta city people stopped,,there was an old 30's type writer on its stand,,the lil kids started playing with it. One kid said to his Mom,,"wheres the monitor? "

sadly the only thing that may still exist from the age of type writers is the keyboard aspect.


The worlds fucked,,and the new sentiment is live for the now..

worse than being dumb,,no one really cares anymore,,and that's teh worst part

 

. . . and all this bashing on kids has what to do with traditional hot rodding?

If you guys think all the young kids are so fucked up, why don't get off the internet and do something about it? Volunteer in the schools you think are such shit. Get involved in community groups.

Ever heard about "Don't like something? Do something about it or shut up?"

Remember, your parents and grandparents generation probably thought you were a moron as well.

Now can we get back to the hot rods?

 

Its the lack of common sense that kills me. Backed up by the thought process of "Someone else will fix it for me" or "Someone else will take care of me". My kids have all the latest ad greatest in techno-gadgets but they can still spend an entire day playing with sticks and rocks. Maybe there is still some hope......

 

. . . and when you were twenty a sixty year old man thought the same thing about you.

Older people and younger people, for the most part, just don't get each other, it's always been and it always will be that way.

You call kids stupid, but who's the first person you call when you can't get your computer or cell phone to do what you want it to, your son? Your grandson?

Old people are stupid and who's the first person a kid calls when his car wont start, his dad? His grand-dad?

Some 20 year old in 1956 thought he was setting the world on fire listening to "Rock Around The Clock" with a pack of cigarettes rolled up in his sleeve, why? because adults didn't get it and hated it.

Now that same guy 40 years later doesn't get a kid with a mohawk listening to punk rock and says to himself "kids today," just like someone said about him 40 years earlier.

It's a cycle, it will go on until the end of time.

P.S. I am including a Hot Rod picture with this post just to keep things on topic.

 

No shit! Is it me or have threads been getting dumber?

 

FWIW, when I went to school, we spent literally like just a couple days on carburetors. While I was there, they sold about 95% of their 40+ year accumulation of carbs, from 1-bbl Rochesters dating to the 40s, to the last computer controlled carbs, to a local outfit that rebuilt them. A lot of factory donated stuff that had never been on cars - they let me have a couple and one I decoded to '71 GTO/Pontiac 400 4-speed - and that was 14 years ago.

What scares me more about young people today is the loss of youth. One of my friends still sometimes played with her dolls at 13. Another friend has stepsisters just getting to that age, and both ran around doing things you'd think they were in college if I described. One of them finally got it and behaves now, the other one still wants to run around and be stupid and do things that in some instances are just plain criminal. Sex, drugs and rock & roll.. well, what passes for the latter nowadays. I used to want to have kids, I'm not so sure anymore.