Yep, I guess we are all dumb

Mark Bauerlines argument is that teenagers nowadays are so wrapped in technology and are not focused on school, casing them to become dumb. Their world is on the computer that supplies all the knowledge they need. He argues that people use excessive ammounts of technology by providing many statistical facts on how much time kids spend studying on an average night, how low the scores on standardized testing has gotten, and how many kids use tumblr, facebook, and twitter. He starts of his argument by saying that kids use way to much technology then begins to provide facts on studying time, etc. The last chapter of the book argues the many ways of how our culture has changed because of technology. The structure of his argument is statement, reason, cultural tie.

I agree that people use to much technology and that this affects the knowledge of people today. "The latest social and leisure dispositions of the young are killing the culture." I agree with this because I can tell that people are not as connected to other people and are not involved in anything that is not online. People do not branch out anymore to try and do new things. They do it all online."The knowledge principle forms part of the democratic faith, and it survives only as long as a fair portion of the American people embraces it, not just intellectuals and experts." I agree with this statement very much. I can tell that in society today, people are not as smart as they were because they spend too much time on social networking sites. They have the neccesary tools to become educated but they use them to their advantage. If people do not try to gain more knowledge, how can knowledge be maintained/kept?

"For those who are disposed to intellectual sport, they embark automatically disadvantages by their social habitat." I disagree with this because some people may benefit from being social. What if htey talk about knowledable things? What if they are seeking knowledge when interacting? This would be a good thing. "Democracy doesnt prosper that way. If tradition survives only in the classroom, limping along in the watered down lessons, if knowledge doesnt animate the young when they are with each other and by themselves, it wont inform their thought and behavior when they are old. I disagree with this because kids can still learn things outside of the classroom. If they choose not to learn as kids they can still learn, maybe not as fast as if they learned as a kid, but they could still learn. No one learns everthing as a child. Everday is an opportunity to learn something new.

I think Bauerline's argument was very effective. It was very hard to find things I did not agree with. The argument made me feel dumb but I knew it was true. All the statistics he provided were correct. He made himself very credible and was very persuading. Overall, his argument was very effective.



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