Illiterate America

[Reach]

Re: Illiterate America

Literacy is a concept of knowledge and knowledge is gained after birth, not inherited.

This is true; however, people that are more intelligent gain more knowledge over time than people of less intelligence, and intelligence is partially inherited. That is, one aspect of intelligence is the ability to learn, and some people do it naturally faster than others.

We know this because there is a proportional relationship between your ability to perform some fluid intelligence task (e.g. solving from scratch a problem that you are entirely unfamiliar with) and performance on a general knowledge and literacy test.


As such, literacy is not something that can be magically fixed. There will always be people that do not have the natural capacity to obtain literacy.

Unfortunately, most of the time, it's seems to be "like father, like son". Dad's a drunken, unemployed hopeless wreck, and so Billy ends up the same way.

I know there's no facts or statistics to back that statement up

People do have a tendency to end up like their parents. This is because of genetic and environmental reasons, which makes your assumption correct.

People that get inferior genes do get off to a bad start, and this only snowballs. Someone born of inferior natural intelligence will accumulate less skills over time, which leaves them less options in terms of employment in the future, etc. Slippery slope.

My parents did not go to college and barely got through high school -- I turned out alright.

you know anecdotes have nothing to do with population trends :P

Not to mention that barely getting through high school is not causally linked to low intelligence. My dad was the same way but is highly intelligent and very literate and successful either way.

Chances are you parents are pretty smart regardless, which is what you inherited, and combined with a better environment than they received, you achieved much more in the long run.

What is vital is always genes + environment. If one is lacking, so will success.

[N.T.M.]

Re: Illiterate America

lol Just wait 'til you get a job (if you don't have one already).

It's incredibly prevalent. =P

Maybe not illiterate, but certainly literacy deficient.

Yeah I kinda assumed that's what he meant.

Just how inept would one have to be with reading to be considered illiterate? Would it be being able to read the material, regardless of the time required, or would it be able to analyze the material and understand what it's saying?
Because cognition varies on many levels

It is a somewhat subjective question, but I really think you're over analyzing it.

I don't believe that children are doomed from the get go. People are stupid because of their lack of motivation or education. I think the child of two unintelligent people can be educated to the point of excellent literacy.

There is an indelible aspect of predisposition, but in general I agree. Also realize that an impoverished environment exacerbates this issue. By recruiting mental faculties regularly you're actually literally building your brain (there are visible differences). I'd presume that this is even more critical in the formative years of childhood.

[Izzy]

Re: Illiterate America

I think like reach was saying. There is always going to be a number of people less literate then others. That is something that just happens by nature.


So saying that a natural phenomenon is causing millions or billions of lost revenue doesn't make sense because it's money we never had and never will have. So it is only causing us to not make as much money, not lose money. In the business world they see that as the same thing but I don't agree with that.

It's similar to saying how the united states being so long it is causing business millions of dollars in shipping costs because they have to spend so much on gas. Well ok, but that isn't something you can fix. That is just a static issue that wont change.

[Cenright]

Re: Illiterate America

I believe that THINKING is the main issue. As Devonin brought out in his quote. It wasn't the reading, but being able to identify exactly what was important. As others stated later, motivation is another factor.

Society is built on habits. You do what is acceptable, because that is what everyone is doing. In France they have nude beaches, and that is fully acceptable, being that the habit has already formed directly into the culture. In China, they have forced the population into accepting what is told to them, and now that they need forward thinkers, it is nearly impossible for them to train them, because it is completely against the habits that the government has forced, and that their Grandparents, Parents, and Peers have all accepted as the norm.

In the US, people are believe that they are ENTITLED to being stuck up, superior, and you be proud that you are the country with the biggest guns. People are free to decide what they want for the most part, but everyone looks to others for a good amount of that, so as to still fit in. The media becomes a huge factor in that, and the media only wants to sell what sells the best. With so much information being force fed through TV and Newspapers, when does someone ever have time to think for themselves.

Parents do the training for critical thinking, it starts when they are beginning to talk. By the time they are in Kindergarten, they should already have some of that, and it shouldn't end there. The school systems are getting more and more into tests, tests, tests. Stuff those kids full of info, have them throw it all back up on the test page, and if the score is high, GREAT! Schools are also getting away from critical thinking. I have spoken to some teachers of 2nd - 5th grades that would LOVE to teach some of those higher thinking skills, but they are so loaded down with what the State demands that the kids be force fed, there just isn't any time to do it.

It is the job of the parent. If the parents are both at work, and when at home they are sitting in front of the TV, or they have to work because there is only one parent, then the child never gets any of the higher thinking skills needed to think for themselves.

I believe that is the root of the illiteracy that is spoken of here.

[Mollocephalus]

Re: Illiterate America

what you say is very true, and the problem is inside the structure of society. there is no society that encourages breaking up from traditions. the concept of tradition itself is detrimental at this point, because it's a package of unspoken rules, norms and actions that do not undergo the necessary scrutinazion and wide-range analisys and, even worse, places its roots in the very early stages of development, making it almost impossible to change afterwards.

[N.T.M.]

Re: Illiterate America

Meh, idk. Just the diversity in the US couldn't make contrarianism too discouraging. I disagree.