Is society becoming more stupid

[Bill DawesParticipant @billdawes]

Now I have seen it all (well until the next time) Bought a greetings card the other day, one of the film wrapped ones, and there was a sticker inside telling me to remove wrapping before sending. Who and why thought this was a necessary thing to say?

Bill D.

[Bill DawesParticipant @billdawes]

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

how many warnings did it have to dispose of the wrapping carefully, not eat it, that it is flammable, to keep away from children, to recycle it…………

[Mike PooleParticipant @mikepoole82104]

McDonald's advise us that coffee is hot, I think I knew that before I could read.

Mike

[IanTParticipant @iant]

Yes!

[nigel jones 5Participant @nigeljones5]

Indeed

[Trevor Drabble 1Participant @trevordrabble1]

Another example of the "sue" culture ? Remember the American who successfully sued a motorhome manufacturer , who , as he was driving down the road , set the vehicle to automatic and then went into the back to make a drink and was then less than happy when the vehicle subsequently left the road and crashed ?

[Mexican jonParticipant @mexicanjon]

The world gone crazy 

 

Edited By Mexican jon on 09/03/2018 02:54:33

[Martin DowingParticipant @martindowing58466]

This is called "progress".

In any case our schools are good for nothing and cause brain damage of kids.

Martin

[“Bill Hancox”Participant @billhancox]

I chuckle at the label on Huggies diapers (nappies). The package states "up to 10 lbs". The average person would surmise that they are referring to the weight of the baby. There are probably some village idiots who would think that the diaper holds 10 lbs of poop.

[Barnaby WildeParticipant @barnabywilde70941]

Posted by Trevor Drabble on 08/03/2018 23:42:44:

Another example of the "sue" culture ? Remember the American who successfully sued a motorhome manufacturer , who , as he was driving down the road , set the vehicle to automatic and then went into the back to make a drink and was then less than happy when the vehicle subsequently left the road and crashed ?

I guess the real test of stupidity comes from those who believe this to be true. Whilst it is more common to crash a motorhome on cruise control than it should be, there are precious few real, documented cases of where anyone has successfully 'sued' the manufacturer.

[I.M. OUTAHEREParticipant @i-m-outahere]

Posted by Bill Dawes on 08/03/2018 22:59:53:

Now I have seen it all (well until the next time) Bought a greetings card the other day, one of the film wrapped ones, and there was a sticker inside telling me to remove wrapping before sending. Who and why thought this was a necessary thing to say?

Bill D.

Surprised it didn't have the instructions on how to open it on the inside !

[jimmy bParticipant @jimmyb]

Posted by Mick Charity on 09/03/2018 05:07:09:

Posted by Trevor Drabble on 08/03/2018 23:42:44:

Another example of the "sue" culture ? Remember the American who successfully sued a motorhome manufacturer , who , as he was driving down the road , set the vehicle to automatic and then went into the back to make a drink and was then less than happy when the vehicle subsequently left the road and crashed ?

I guess the real test of stupidity comes from those who believe this to be true. Whilst it is more common to crash a motorhome on cruise control than it should be, there are precious few real, documented cases of where anyone has successfully 'sued' the manufacturer.

Well said!

Jim

[FMESParticipant @fmes]

If you are into bizarre humour, watch a film called 'Idiocracy' – it will explain all in the first few minutes of the film.

Regards

Lofty

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

Posted by IanT on 08/03/2018 23:26:00:

Yes!

Clearly a reply to the thread tittle?

In that case,+1.

I used to ride (perched!) at the side/back of a Standard Fordson while ploughing. My job was to trip the plough out of, and in to, work at the headlands each end of the field. I was about 7 and my brother was about 9. He steered the tractor and operated the clutch pedal. Dad, I think, kept the furrow reasonably staight with our other tractor – by adjusting the inside furrow width, as necessay, of his plough. This would have been after school and while the farm worker went off to milk the cows. .

My other duty, while plowing, was to replace the engine governor rod, when it fell off and the engine revved at full speed. The rod was very adjacent to the fan blades, but I knew I needed to keep my hands away from the spinning fan. Can’t remember actually being trained about the risks involved – only how to do it.

We knew to oil the mowing machine cutter bar while standing behind the oscillating knife; we knew to keep away from the (unguarded) flywheel of the hay baler; etc,etc. I was driving a large tractor, on my own, by the age of about 7 or 8. I dared not stall it as I could not restart it (engine started with a handle). If I needed to stop the engine, I parked it on a steep slope and did a rolling start, if necessary.

I was steering a D8 Caterpillar with Euclid scraper at the age of 12, and cutting at 13. My elder brother used to drive to the cut and back, unsupervised, while the regular driver had a rest/snack. The only bit he was not allowed to do unsupervised, was to empty the box at the tip – a steep down-hill run while operating the emptying cable mechanism.

Times have certainly changed!

[jimmy bParticipant @jimmyb]

Posted by not done it yet on 09/03/2018 06:58:18:

Posted by IanT on 08/03/2018 23:26:00:

Yes!

Clearly a reply to the thread tittle?

In that case,+1.

I used to ride (perched!) at the side/back of a Standard Fordson while ploughing. My job was to trip the plough out of, and in to, work at the headlands each end of the field. I was about 7 and my brother was about 9. He steered the tractor and operated the clutch pedal. Dad, I think, kept the furrow reasonably staight with our other tractor – by adjusting the inside furrow width, as necessay, of his plough. This would have been after school and while the farm worker went off to milk the cows. .

My other duty, while plowing, was to replace the engine governor rod, when it fell off and the engine revved at full speed. The rod was very adjacent to the fan blades, but I knew I needed to keep my hands away from the spinning fan. Can’t remember actually being trained about the risks involved – only how to do it.

We knew to oil the mowing machine cutter bar while standing behind the oscillating knife; we knew to keep away from the (unguarded) flywheel of the hay baler; etc,etc. I was driving a large tractor, on my own, by the age of about 7 or 8. I dared not stall it as I could not restart it (engine started with a handle). If I needed to stop the engine, I parked it on a steep slope and did a rolling start, if necessary.

I was steering a D8 Caterpillar with Euclid scraper at the age of 12, and cutting at 13. My elder brother used to drive to the cut and back, unsupervised, while the regular driver had a rest/snack. The only bit he was not allowed to do unsupervised, was to empty the box at the tip – a steep down-hill run while operating the emptying cable mechanism.

Times have certainly changed!

Clearly all very good examples of why we need so much safety now. I take it you'd let grand kids play with a mower…..

Jim

[Clive HartlandParticipant @clivehartland94829]

Yes, even adults have accidents! As a 10 or 11 year old I was loading fruit boxes onto a lorry for transit to market, tying down the load, then ride to the drivers house to tell him it was ready to go.

Feed and curry the Dray horses and water them. Stand with the Farrier as he made horse shoes and helping by holding the piercing punch for the nails.

I enjoyed my child hood, tramping the mud in the Medway and coming back on a plank as the tide rose, hand dabbing for flatties in the creeks etc.getting the first cherries and apples without being caught. 

Edited By Clive Hartland on 09/03/2018 08:21:40

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

NDIY may have survived but the rate of deaths and injuries to children on farms is and has always been appalling. The HSE produced a booklet for farmers which started:

"Using real examples, this booklet highlights the main causes of the 44 child deaths in agriculture from 1990-2000."

Back in the 1980s I recall that farming was the most dangerous industry, ahead of steelmaking and coalmining. It doesn't change.

"6 Feb 2017 – Farming. 1. Farming. Reuters / Phil Noble. Agriculture is the UK's most dangerous industry, with 167 deaths over the past year. "

"30 Oct 2013 – Agriculture is still one of the most dangerous areas to work, according to the latest figures released by the Health and Safety Executive. "

Neil

[Sam Longley 1Participant @samlongley1]

When I was 9 my father bought me a Bridges DIY kit which included a small wood turning lathe, a pillar drill & a circular saw as ax Xmas present.

I quickly wore it out so the following year he bought me a Myford wood turning lathe.

I cannot imagine my daughter in law even allowing my grandson to go anywhere near such equipment let alone go in a shed on his own & use them totally unsupervised & make things.

I have just submitted an article for a magazine about how at the age of 12 I took my fathers boat & sailed off with a friend for a bank holiday. Nothing particularly startling but certainly unusual in today's world.

Today's generation will just grow up having missed so much of life's experiences & will, in the end, be so much the worse for it. Those bought up in the eastern part of the world are doing those things & will run rings around our younger generation in years to come

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 09/03/2018 08:30:34

[Jon GibbsParticipant @jongibbs59756]

I'm not sure that I agree entirely that society as a whole is getting more stupid – rather, I think that society has become more aware of its responsibility for the well-being and actions of the stupid or the ill-informed.

In days gone by if a few stupid people were injured/killed due to their ignorance it was just fine and dandy – strengthened the gene pool, allegedly. These days, I'm not so sure.

There is another case of course and that is when the stupid and ill-informed are responsible for the safety of others – their own children's or other people's safety… **LINK**.

It probably goes way too far at times but what can you do?…

The fact is that the wealth of knowledge is expanding all of the time and we're all stupid and ill-informed about a large proportion of that. Socrates claimed to know nothing and it's fair to say that we, as a society, know a heck of a lot more now than in his day. But, I'd argue that very few of us are humble enough to know or acknowledge our own limits like Socrates – You only have to think about the recent "fashion" for mistrusting experts, who by definition know more about their subjects than the general populace…

…I think that brings us back to the OP's question, but hopefully it is just a short term blip and we don't need to start building the 'B' Ark of the Golgafrinchans

Jon

[Mick B1Participant @mickb1]

I think Neil's got the point there.

This thread's a bit self-selecting. Some of us know we may've been more fortunate than clever. The ones who didn't get away undamaged from their youthful exploits won't generally be posting here.

[pgk pgkParticipant @pgkpgk17461]

Posted by Mick B1 on 09/03/2018 09:06:01:

I think Neil's got the point there.

This thread's a bit self-selecting. Some of us know we may've been more fortunate than clever. The ones who didn't get away undamaged from their youthful exploits won't generally be posting here.

I think that's called natural selection and evolution.

We all used to swim in the local river every summer and I only recall one kid tangled in weeds and drowning

pgk

[CirclipParticipant @circlip]

We were always told that the emissions from the exhausts of cars using Leaded petrol were affecting the brain cells of the young – – – – wonder what's responsible for it now?

Regards Ian.

[Clive HartlandParticipant @clivehartland94829]

maybe put it another way, young people seem to be able to do tasks, camping exercise if it is all set up for them and organised. But the spark of self enterprise seems lacking. The will to go forth and enjoy oneself and explore and thereby learn by experience and expanding knowledge has failed. Groups of kids are herded around and shown things once and never or hardly participate in longer periods of application. Education, education, education has been a complete failure in my eyes and political aims have stifled individual endeavour apart from a few bright sparks who have broken free. Otherwise why would young people accept menial jobs when supposedly gained high degrees, but in practice are inept and only want to push buttons. The apprehension of Mothers now who shudder at letting their child walk to school, wow, I walked at the age of 5 a mile each way four times a day in country lanes. Instead the clutter up the roads and that in my opinion is stupid! Rant over

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

This is supposed to be an engineering website, albeit a hobby one but surely we should be dealing with evidence-based thoughts and actions here, rather than silly, cynical and often uninformed opinions. Surely if you want to trade worthless hot air you should post on the Daily Hell / Dail Express / Jeremy Kyle / Jeremy Vine etc.

Murray

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