Thread: What happened to our intelligence?

Originally Posted by EricOKC

Many of those devices came from Japan, but much of the technology was developed here.

Now i'll grant you that the US has not exactly been living up to its standards, but to claim we have had no contributions is short-sighted at best.

I never said that. I'm just pointing out that we are not as supreme as many think. We have many things that we have contributed but so have many other countries. While we may seem to be more advanced in some areas we lack in others. Education comes to mind. I am not trying to put down the U.S. but I am trying to say we are only part of the humanity and not the only one that matters.

Originally Posted by partofme

I was watching an episode of modern marvels on the history channel the other day and it was about 80s technology and I realized how many things of the big gadgets we have now really came from that time and from Japan. CDs and VCRs which lead to DVDs, cell phones, etc...
.

I believe the tv show was mistaken. Wouldn't that be an historic first!

Actually these were invented in the west, but mass produced in the east. Japan follows the teachings of Demming on Quality which makes them competitive. The West still excells in creative design.

One area where Japan do excell is robotics... an outgrowth of their automated production.

Japanese high schools stress rote memorization instead of creative thinking. That does not promote creativity.

Originally Posted by t714zu

I believe the tv show was mistaken. Wouldn't that be an historic first!

Actually these were invented in the west, but mass produced in the east. Japan follows the teachings of Demming on Quality which makes them competitive. The West still excells in creative design.

One area where Japan do excell is robotics... an outgrowth of their automated production.

Japanese high schools stress rote memorization instead of creative thinking. That does not promote creativity.

Without them we wouldn't have them cheap enough for average people to own them which is what has impacted our lives. So it took both of us which is my point. We do contribute much but they had just as much a part of these things changing our everyday lives as we did.

Originally Posted by EricOKC

What has Austrailia given the world, since you think its better than the US. Lets see...we've got Crocodile Dundee and Fosters. Thats pretty well about it.

Hmmm, let me think - Australia created the bionic ear; a little thing called penicillin; plastic bags; pace-makers; ultrasound; IVF; black-box flight recorders used in planes; scramjet engines; electric drills; latex gloves; bullet-proof glass; the technology used in photocopying; anti-fraud polymer bank notes; refrigeration; the world's first vaccine to prevent cervical cancer; spray on skin; freestyle swimming (which was originally called the Australian Crawl); plus many, many, many more. We also created the winged keel used in yachting which kicked your butt in the 1983 America's Cup .

Perhaps you might like to think a bit more in future before you speak (or type in this case), and provide such baseless throw-away lines.

Originally Posted by andrew789

As for space technology..tell me where do you think that is going.

I feel that the lack of interest and 'umph behind it is the reason we have stagnated as a society, or at least part of the reason. I feel that our biggest enemy is apathy and lack of vision. Another poster I agree almost exactly that we've not been exploring new frontiers and have had all the time in the world to consume ourselves more and more which gets us nowhere. We don't know enough about a planet like say, Mars for example, to determine whether humans could make it there. The mars oxygen is not as free as Earth oxygen, though numerous anaerobic bacteria on earth is about do just as much as it could on Mars (which we know exists.) Growing food in greenhouses would very well be possible on Mars. Exploring ways to colonize Mars or elsewhere would no doubt be the most difficult thing that humanity has ever pursued. In my opinion, it's very risky to keep the consciousness of humanity bound to one planet; it could be wiped out. But, I can understand the apathy of many in regards to the colonizing space and exploring it.

Originally Posted by emptypepsi

I feel that the lack of interest and 'umph behind it is the reason we have stagnated as a society, or at least part of the reason.

I agree, something seems amiss.
As a nation we flipped over anticipation of mans next achievement.
New car models were as exiting as, as!!! Hmmm.
(WOW!!! That one has fins…)

I feel that our biggest enemy is apathy and lack of vision. Another poster I agree almost exactly that we've not been exploring new frontiers and have had all the time in the world to consume ourselves more and more which gets us nowhere. We don't know enough about a planet like say, Mars for example, to determine whether humans could make it there. The mars oxygen is not as free as Earth oxygen, though numerous anaerobic bacteria on earth is about do just as much as it could on Mars (which we know exists.) Growing food in greenhouses would very well be possible on Mars. Exploring ways to colonize Mars or elsewhere would no doubt be the most difficult thing that humanity has ever pursued. In my opinion, it's very risky to keep the consciousness of humanity bound to one planet; it could be wiped out. But, I can understand the apathy of many in regards to the colonizing space and exploring it.

Okay. Now your in my area of expertise. The space shuttle is so freaking old I remember Reagan saying “Cool” while attending a launch.
I just put in a bid to build a model of the 2 part rocket ARES which is replacing the space shuttle.



Check it out: (Go to, “How We'll Get Back to the Moon.” and click on, “View animation…”)
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ex...ain/index.html

I'm glad that they are upgrading. Hopefully it isn't too late to stimulate the public with the prospect of space exploration. I honestly believe that space exploration and a global move towards colonization could be one, among many things, that helps unite us more as a species.

Here's a reason why this nation is losing its edge: our imagination. To be intrested in something, and become truly passionate, that field must capture your imagination. What I find more and more in my education is that the teachers of such fields as science, computer science, and engineering do a horrible job at capturing my attention. In school, I am almost constantly told to leave all the fun stuff to the professionals, here was the most interesting experiment conducted in my sophomore year of High School, mixing Baking soda with Vinegar. In an electronics course I took, we were not told how electronics work, rather, we were instructed on how to use them, and that we should never try to work with such electronics. I disobey these teachers, and enjoy furthering my education outside of my education, by going to places that I call a book building, errr.... library ... see what I mean?

Originally Posted by Samantha

Maybe we became too greedy. Looks like our car makers aren't stepping up fast enough to alternatives to oil and Japan is beating the shit out of them.

lol wrong. Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller were all masters of Greed. Maybe we aren't greedy enough.

I think the problem is that American culture trains a bias against education and the educated.