Why are teens sooo dumb?

[Limited-Time]

Re: Why are teens sooo dumb?

Originally posted by ZmOz:<br /> I think the better question is, why do 40 year olds think they know everything? I can assure you, they don't. A "dumb" teenager turns into a dumb adult if their only knowledge is learned through experience.

The well spoken words of youth.

 

[snapperbait]

Re: Why are teens sooo dumb?

At 18 I knew everything.... <br /><br />Around 23 to 25ish I started to realize I did'nt know everything...<br /><br />Now, at 33, I know that I dunno Jack Schitt and I can't figure how I lived this long having done some of the stupid things I've done...<br /><br />The way I figure it, the REAL learning curve starts at about 30 years of age...

 

[QC]

Re: Why are teens sooo dumb?

Boy snapper, that pretty much sums up my intepretation and personal experience. <br /><br />To answer Z's questions from that other thread, I am 46 and I hope to God, and/or whoever else might be listening, that I know more when I am 56, 66, 76 etc. When it starts going the other way is what I am worried about . . .

 

[Kalian]

Re: Why are teens sooo dumb?

Yep!<br />What snapper said!

 

[sloopy]

Re: Why are teens sooo dumb?

Originally posted by tommays:<br /> well haveing an 18 year old girl <br /><br />my daughter is much more focused and switching from full time ballet study to medical study<br /><br /> i think the fact that she has NOT had a serious boy friend yet keeps her head much more clear<br /><br />tommays

...moving in for the kill...

 

[jtexas]

Re: Why are teens sooo dumb?

Originally posted by ZmOz:<br /> I think the better question is, why do 40 year olds think they know everything? I can assure you, they don't. A "dumb" teenager turns into a dumb adult if their only knowledge is learned through experience.

Close...a dumb teenager turns into a dumb adult only if they don't gain knowledge through experience.<br /><br />Why do they think they know everything? It only seems that way...by 40 you ought to have a much better idea of what you don't know<br /><br />I predict you will find that the wisdom level of your average 40-year-old will increase substantially as you get older.

 

[Pony]

Re: Why are teens sooo dumb?

Well I for one am humble enough to understand that I have a lot of things to learn. I think that expiriences result in a lot of knowledge that you just can;t get any other way. I try to live in such a way that I am aware of the fact that I may not know everything, and that there may be something to learn with the mistakes I make

 

[JB]

Re: Why are teens sooo dumb?

Genes and hormones demand rebellion of adolescents.<br /><br />That is how our ancestors avoided inbreeding. They kicked the little buggers out of the family if they didn't leave of their own accord.<br /><br />They tell you how wrong you are, but they will often accept the same advice from adults to whom they are not related.

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Why are teens sooo dumb?

JB couldn't have put it any better.

 

[QC]

Re: Why are teens sooo dumb?

Jeez, I already said that. You old guys think you know everything

 

[Pony]

Re: Why are teens sooo dumb?

I agree with what JB said (what QC said earlier) to an extent. Rebellion is one thing, complete lack if disrespect for one's fellow man is different.<br /><br />These hormonal differences, to me, are not excuses for being a jerk.

 

[ZmOz]

Re: Why are teens sooo dumb?

Every person in this world is born either smart or stupid. Smarts cannot be taught to a person anymore than algebra can be taught to a dog. If your teenagers truely are "dumb", that fact will never change. Dumb teenagers make dumb adults, smart teenagers make smart adults.<br /><br />Yes, I do agree that the majority of teenagers are hopelessly stupid, but unfortuneately the majority of adults in this country are also hopelessly stupid.

 

[QC]

Re: Why are teens sooo dumb?

Originally posted by ZmOz:<br /> If your teenagers truely are "dumb", that fact will never change.

My poor kid, noooooooooo . . . Man, that SAT score must've been a fluke

 

[Pony]

Re: Why are teens sooo dumb?

posted by ZmOz:<br />Every person in this world is born either smart or stupid.

I completely disagree. If you take a child straight from the womb and do absolutly nothing in terms of teaching or learning and development, and you put that said child in an emvironment that stunts mental growth, they will most likely not be smart. This is why it is hard for people to get out of poverty (partly) because there is an endless cycle of a lack of educational opportunities. Inteligence is a culmination of informations and learning you get as you grow and as your brain grows, it is NOT something you are JUST born with.<br /><br />Sure some of it may be nature, but nuture is at the very least half the battle. To say its entirely based on what your are born with is obsurd.

 

[ZmOz]

Re: Why are teens sooo dumb?

I would define "smart" and "stupid" based on IQ. IQ points cannot be learned. A child that was raised by dogs could easily have an IQ over 200 and still not know how to wipe his own @$$.<br /><br />At the same time, if someone with a below average IQ somehow gets into Yale, he could be taught with the best professors in the world and his IQ would still be below average. Our president is a perfect example of this.<br /><br />If you choose to define smart and stupid differently that's up to you...

 

[CJY]

Re: Why are teens sooo dumb?

SAT score, I missed it. How about an ACT score?<br /><br />Just curious.

 

[QC]

Re: Why are teens sooo dumb?

CJY,<br /><br />My kid just took the SAT and did pretty well, I was just funnin'. ACT not big here yet.<br /><br />I actually agree with Z about IQ, but that was not the point. This thread was supposed to be about why teenagers would reject the FACT that experience matters . . . more about why they reject so loudly and do a lot of dumb stuff and how that seems to be built in. My theory, which I thunk up my ownself despite the probability that it has been noted before, is in the first post.

 

[dogsdad]

Re: Why are teens sooo dumb?

Originally posted by Quietcat22:<br /> <br /><br /><br />If they act like total jerks and either deny or dispute logical assertions then they a) either get mad and leave the cave or b) we (parents) get mad and kick them out of the cave. Without this dynamic they would just simply stay forever End result? It helps the species reach further and diversify more.

QC, what you say is quite logical. If cave-parents kicked the llittle buggers out as soon as they declared they knew everyting, surely the inferior would die off by the second day out. Those who had a lick of sense might have made it.<br /><br />These days, though, the little buggers will do something to get in trouble and the parents end up holding the bag. And meanwhile, society decays.<br /><br />The only thing you say that I would contest is that we are not wjho we were 30,000 years ago because they had a handle on such things. We don't seem to have a clue these days.

 

[CJY]

Re: Why are teens sooo dumb?

Hey QC, congrats. It has to make you feel good though. My 17 year old just got his ACT results back. He did very well also.

 

[POINTER94]

Re: Why are teens sooo dumb?

Zmoz and QC,<br /><br />Wow, neat theory. Who defined the IQ test? Someone really smart? Do you have to ask people their IQ before you listen to them? You will find in time that "smart" manifests itself in many ways. I learn from people everyday and some of those don't score so high on the IQ scale but do very well in the "real" world. IQ is just a measurement. It's like saying a 30 foot boat is better than a 28 because it is 2 feet longer, and we all know that is not always the case.