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I've got a big debate about to go on, and I've been pondering the argument: "As a direct result of technological advances, humans are devolving"

I definitely think so. I mean, in the good ol' days, you had to read a book, memorize the facts, dadadada.

Now with technology, you just have to whip out you iphone and google it. We've become so absurdly dependent.... Do yall' agree or what?

Aren't we reading/learning the information either way???????????????????????? Tf lol

I don't think it's absurd... simply the reality of modern life. Not necessarily a bad thing, more a tool that we shouldn't be starved of. 

We are dependent to an extent, but I like to think of the web as a big, big... big, big book. And don't see a huge difference between whipping out a book, or a phone. 

Memorizing things != intelligence.

End result: You're wrong, bask in the shame of being wrong!

What? I'm sorry if I implied that intelligence= memorizing. Just, like, my math class.

In the 6th grade we learned that we could use calculators instead of mental math, and after all those years of stupidly annoying factorization tables, we took advantage of this like mad.

So now, in the 9th grade, sitting around, I thought about this and asked a fellow classmate what 6x3 was. He punched it into his calculator.

WHHHHHHYYYYYY

So I guess I'm getting to being lazy rather than stupidity.

PS: Is your profile pic a reference to a game off pixel pixie...?

It's a reference to the early zelda games if I'm not mistake.

Maybe the classmate of yours was just stupid lol.

Early pokemon. (I think)

The first Zelda game I believe.

And that classmate is most certainly stupid, either in lack of math ability or in common sense (metal math multiplication chart is so much quicker than a calculator in my opinion).

Oh no i know its from the first zelda game, but the whole cat part....

There was a game on pixel pixie (not there anymore) that was legend of zelda, but instead of the guy handing you a sword, he handed you a cat

Well, it all really depends on how you use it. If you use it to be one of those stupid facebook 'like' sluts, then yeah, you do start heading to stupidville with all the stupid stupids and their stupid stupidity.

If you use it to learn stuff, and obtain facts, whether you're memorizing it or not, you're learning something. You can keep whatever interests you. Just because you don't memorize it doesn't make you less intelligent.

Exactly.

Don't get me started on Facebook. It's like it attracts the dumb, dim and dense who then congregate within it. 

Not really, since you could always open the book and find the thing you forgot.

If anything it allows common people to read and learn about things that interest them with a click of a button. Of course there is lot of crap out on the net but same can be said about books (true me, the false information in many of them is... wow)

I guess the only negative side effect (which is actually over shadowed by the plus effects) is that it promotes laziness. You can read a summary of a millennia old Empire (like the Byzantine one) under 10 minutes on Wikipedia. And thus we have 100.000 idiots calling the Eastern Roman Empire if that's not sillier than calling it Byzantine.  

Ya, a lot of books have lies in them and you have to learn how to tell if something you read is true or not. The internet is very useful for that if you know where to look.

I always figured that was because people don't care enough to read history and not because it was far easier to find the information(even if some of the info is wrong.)

Also I'm a bit confused, are you telling us that we shouldn't call it the Byzantine Empire because that is silly?

I imagine Drako is referring to the fact that the Byzantine empire didn't call themselves as such. They still believed themselves to be the Roman Empire even if the culture had drastically changed by that point.

But they're dead so we can call them anything we want.

I think it's less confusing to call them the Byzantine Empire instead. After all, as you said, they are dead so what do they care?

It's like calling the United States "Doo Doo Land" after it has been carved up by Mexico and Canada. Haha

But, I suppose you're right in the fact that it makes distinction easier. 

Lol "Doo Doo Land"

It's basically like when the Empire falls and the province of Nalin comes out unscathed in most timelines and typically still carries out a lot of the old Empire's way of doing things (usually run by Brenda and/or the Eternal), but the "Nalin Empire" is different enough to be considered something separate in the history books.

Whenever you explain something using Eternal, or another of your stories, I wondrously understand. I would say you should become a teacher, but that probably wouldn't turn out too well... 

No, my problem isn't people calling it Byzantine. My problem is people calling it "Eastern Roman Empire". It is is a newer term that snobby people use to sound smarter but is as wrong as the Byzantine one. Calling it Byzantine is ok since that's how it is called for... 500+ years.

On the scale of the whole world to 1 person (let's assume the ratio of 7,000,000,000 to 1) so many people are making advancements, that one generation of species cannot handle every advancement in the thriving society of today. This is because in the last 400 years or so, humans have been thriving rather than surviving. Although many people today survive my doing farm work and feeding themselves, much of the human population is thriving off of others work. There was no diabetes when the Egyptians were building the pyramids. Many of the diseases (both physical and mental diseases) can be traced to people becoming lazy (aka not worrying about hunting as much as worrying about when the next meal is).


The advancements in technology since the industrial revolution(s) has sparked a growth in the middle-class of 1st world countries (aka countries that have had industrial revolutions and advancements in technology - America, Japan, Europe, etc). Which make up a large amount of the population on earth, although certainly not over 50% - it is still a large amount.


So In relation to the OT, yes many people in many places have become dependent on other peoples work to run their daily lives, does anyone actually care enough to change it?

Why do you think there was no diabetes in ancient Egypt? I would like to see where you got that idea from.

I would like to change it but I know that the situation right now is far better than what we had before. Why would we go back to what we had before when we've been able to improve ourselves(mostly) from what we were before?

I got that idea from the discovery of cancer in recent centuries... when people began being lazy and the industrial revolution caused quite the amount of pollution. Also I'm no diabetes expert (nor have I met very many people with diabetes), but isn't diabetes an imbalance of natural sugars within the blood? If so, a meal back in Egypt was a privilege - not just something to eat when your bored. Now a days within the higher middle-class, a meal is just expected and food is abundant to the point where people can eat whatever tastes good - which is sugary things - which cause an imbalanced diet and can cause diseases, like diabetes. Unlike within ancient times of no machines or modern technology.

Humans have, as a species, been thriving for much longer than 400 years. Humans have certainly been thriving as a species since the advent of agriculture, and arguably much longer. That dates us to at least roughly 10,000 years. Human survivorship as a species has not been an issue for a very, very long time.

Diabetes was first diagnosed in Egypt.  (http://books.google.ca/books?id=i0qojvF1SpUC&pg=PA3#v=onepage&q&f=false) This happened roughly 1500 BC.

Well that proves I don't know anything about diseases.


But I wasn't talking about overall thriving, I was saying that humans have been thriving more often since the recent centuries because of advancements in technology (the original topic). So, just to clarify - I wasn't meaning to sound as though I was referring to thriving overall, I meant to keep to the topic of technological advancements and their relations to my opinions on the thriving society that many people live in today.


have I recently been singled out as an enemy? I feel like people are intentionally disapproving of the tiniest details I get wrong *sad face*

Ah. Well, I didn't think you'd addressed the overall topic at all, since the topic was asking if technology makes us stupider. It is undeniable that we have become more technologically advanced since the scientific and industrial revolutions but I don't think you actually argued for or against humans becoming stupider due to technology.

I know that I haven't singled you out, personally.

Cunningham's Law: "The best way to get the right answer on the Internet is not to ask a question, it’s to post the wrong answer." 

Your posts seem to contain more lies and more incorrect information than anyone else's, and I think that would explain why you feel like people are responding more negatively towards you.

If you'd like that to stop, I would suggest working on being honest and checking your facts. If you're not sure about something, mention that. When you make statements like: "There was no diabetes when the Egyptians were building the pyramids." You forfeit the right to play the victim card and say: "Why are people going out of their way to prove me wrong!!!" It's okay not to know anything about diseases, just don't lie and say that you do.

FYI: I think it's likely that one of the three major forms of diabetes did not exist in any real frequency when the Egyptians built the pyramids (type 2).

Well my source is usually my crazy grandmother when I was young... she told me there was no cancer back when the Egyptians were making the pyramids but I figured "That can't be true, I'll just put a different disease." I didn't intentionally choose diabetes, and it has no real meaning in what I said originally... my post wasn't about diabetes - it was just an example of a disease. Citing sources is horrible and tedious, so I just go off of memory and what seems most likely. I don't lie all the time geez -.- I lie some of the time, and it can get out of hand but it's the internet, no one is going to care if someone lies in the first place.

except people like you, who have to prove everything that isn't right, wrong, because obviously people really want to have the knowledge that someone on the internet lied or was wrong.

So what I was trying to say was: Why do people *cough like you* pick up on the little things that other people *cough like me* say on the internet that is wrong? It just seems inefficient and overall useless to point out with sources that someone is clearly wrong. So why do it in the first place? Why not just ignore it? No one would care in a couple of days anyways. Especially on the internet, where it doesn't affect anyone in real life. No one is going to be put in jail for lying about diabetes in Egypt in real life, so why should they be corrected here in a virtual sense?

Also Cunningham's law is very accurate, too accurate..


So to sum it all up, Why do you care? Why do you care enough that you would rather do research into the subject than ignore it and let it be forgotten?

It sounds like your real argument is that tech makes us liars and that's okay. I also disagree with that, but that's another discussion.

Why do you care?

I think it's annoying when people flagrantly lie or flagrantly present incorrect information as fact. I don't care if you don't know something, but if you don't know something and then present it as fact, don't get upset when you're called on your bullshit. That's so out of line.

Why do you care enough that you would rather do research into the subject than ignore it and let it be forgotten?

Listen, Ford. Don't flatter yourself. I'm a biologist and I do actual research. It took me literally 30 seconds to find out that diabetes was DISCOVERED in Ancient Egypt. Seriously, I googled diabetes, went to the history section on wikipedia, checked out their source and copy pasted the URL. That's how long it would have taken you to check your information. I'll reiterate though, I'm not even mad that you didn't check your obviously false information, I just think it's ridiculous that you didn't check, got called out, and then had the audacity to blame me for it.

It sounds like you need to learn how to deal with assigning responsibility. You're seriously mad that people call you out for lying. Just think about that position for a second. Ridiculous. Just stop lying.

Also, I have literally never heard anyone say that citing sources is 'horrible'. That's a legitimate first. Damn.

So you care out of personal preference... I didn't need that long of an answer. I guess some people just care about things other people don't. I agree that I disagree with you, and I apologize for my words. Also I'm not going to stop lying.


My hand holds no weapon against you, I hope yours does not hold one against me.

......Right then haha.

 . . . at least he gave an answer

and it was honest! Who would believe that you could still show some dignity on the Internet!

Ford, you realize that you're on a writing site, right? Saying that I care out of personal preference wouldn't come close to communicating what I wanted to say.

Well, now that you've just admitted to intentionally lying from here on out, yeah, I won't lie, I definitely think less of you.

Your thoughts and actions are justified, I cannot deny logic. . .most of the time.

Don't worry, logic is for the weak anyway.

Each side has their advantages, less logic makes room for more fun :D

At this point, all I can say is basically summed up as "Seconded," but I might as well elaborate: 

There's enough nonsensical crap on the internet already. I fact-check fairly often, even when it's a subject I know very well, just so I can be sure that I know what the hell I'm talking about. It grates on me when people spout random bullshit because they can, then seriously expect that to be a valid argument for whatever point they're trying to make. Making a mistake is one thing, sure, making shit up... not really okay.   

It's not absurd that if we have the capability to do so, we humans will become lazy under-appreciative bastards, but I do find it absurd that only our software technology is getting any speedy progress in comparison to the hardware we use every day (besides 3D printing).  Maybe it's because of the absurd social norms  of this world?

First, fix your grammar (sorry but I had to).

Technology does not make us stupid, it makes us lazy. Any older gentleman or lady who didn't grow up in the time when computers are in every other home will tell you how convenient it is for us that whenever we need to research something, it's only a few clicks away vs being hours of searching for the right book.

Are you going that our medical advancements are making us devolve? Are our vehicles now sloppy and inefficient vs having an animal pull us around all day? Are we now idiots for choosing a quicker and better way to communicate with people across the country and world? No, no, and no.

People without a doubt have become lazy because of technology, and that's the problem. Have you seen some of these inventions? There is seriously a stick that is made to wipe your ass for you, WTF!  Anyway, I will say that there is an overwhelming dependence on technology in our society which may or may not be our downfall.

WALL-E anyone? :P

Except that Wall-E had monopolistic company that was synonymous with the government.