# Am I old or just not stupid? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 1, 2025, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-old-or-just-not-stupid/1012445 "2025-01-01T16:43:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2025, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-old-or-just-not-stupid/1012445/61 "2025-01-02T21:13:05Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Every generation presumably thinks the next one is “stupid” or “weak” because technology advances generally lets them enjoy an easier life where maybe a lot of skills aren’t needed anymore. One of the main ways we assess the intelligence of other people is by their use of language, which for most of us means the English language. But this may lead us to (consciously or unconsciously) underestimate the intelligence of people who didn’t grow up speaking English, even though they may be extremely fluent in their native languages, because they no speaka the good English. I think a similar dynamic may be at work when we evaluate the intelligence of people of a different generation, when they aren’t as fluent with some technology, skill, or cultural practice that we grew up with. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2025, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-old-or-just-not-stupid/1012445/62 "2025-01-02T21:19:39Z")
Grandpa Simpson: I bet those dumb-ass college kids can’t even saddle up a mule. Hell I could do that when I was 10. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2025, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-old-or-just-not-stupid/1012445/63 "2025-01-02T21:33:35Z")
> [@StringsandHammers](#): > > I simply don’t understand it from an evolutionary perspective. It took millions of years of evolution for homo sapiens to develop. How in the world did we reverse those millions of years of evolution in one generation and everyone become markedly dumber? > > I mean sure people may not share the same information as previous generations. Perhaps even lesThey may not know how to work an abacus but how can the general public be dumber in a span of a single generation? They share 99.9999% of the DNA as their parent’s generation. It defies logic imho. Because these aren’t evolutionary traits. They are learned behaviors and skills. Here’s a simple example. My kids (age 7 and 10) don’t really know how to ride a bike. Why? Because we haven’t had time to teach them, we don’t live in an area where it’s safe for little kids to ride bikes, and there isn’t much motivation to do so as everything is ether walking distance or driving distance with not much in between. By the time I was their age, I was riding bikes everywhere because that’s how we got around. My kids aren’t any dumber than I am, but they just haven’t mastered a particular skill. Similarly, if a significant portion of your social interactions are online, you don’t develop in-person social skills as quickly. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2025, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-old-or-just-not-stupid/1012445/64 "2025-01-02T21:49:56Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > > [@msmith537](#): > > > > Every generation presumably thinks the next one is “stupid” or “weak” because technology advances generally lets them enjoy an easier life where maybe a lot of skills aren’t needed anymore. > > One of the main ways we assess the intelligence of other people is by their use of language, which for most of us means the English language. But this may lead us to (consciously or unconsciously) underestimate the intelligence of people who didn’t grow up speaking English, even though they may be extremely fluent in their native languages, because they no speaka the good English. > > I think a similar dynamic may be at work when we evaluate the intelligence of people of a different generation, when they aren’t as fluent with some technology, skill, or cultural practice that we grew up with. I would tend to agree. But also think of the verbal and non-verbal social cues people learn as part of their language. When people fail to learn them or learn to read them in others, it’s a lot like they no speaka English. They might be judged as disinterested or unintelligent because they miss cues or lack confidence in how they should respond. ---
**Author:** ![StringsandHammers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stringsandhammers/32/17933_2.png) [@StringsandHammers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StringsandHammers)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2025, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-old-or-just-not-stupid/1012445/65 "2025-01-02T22:00:28Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > > [@StringsandHammers](#): > > > > I simply don’t understand it from an evolutionary perspective. It took millions of years of evolution for homo sapiens to develop. How in the world did we reverse those millions of years of evolution in one generation and everyone become markedly dumber? > > > > I mean sure people may not share the same information as previous generations. Perhaps even lesThey may not know how to work an abacus but how can the general public be dumber in a span of a single generation? They share 99.9999% of the DNA as their parent’s generation. It defies logic imho. > > Because these aren’t evolutionary traits. They are learned behaviors and skills. > > Here’s a simple example. My kids (age 7 and 10) don’t really know how to ride a bike. Why? Because we haven’t had time to teach them, we don’t live in an area where it’s safe for little kids to ride bikes, and there isn’t much motivation to do so as everything is ether walking distance or driving distance with not much in between. > > By the time I was their age, I was riding bikes everywhere because that’s how we got around. > > My kids aren’t any dumber than I am, but they just haven’t mastered a particular skill. > > Similarly, if a significant portion of your social interactions are online, you don’t develop in-person social skills as quickly. This is not the same argument you made earlier which was this: “Honestly, young people seem very stupid, clumsy, and awkward to me these days…” This is called confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is when someone is predisposed to believe something is true, then they find anecdotes to support that belief while ignoring instances where it is not true. Would you say a dog, a chimpanzee, a whale, or any other sort of mammal has gotten progressively more stupid or clumsy in a generation? Is this solely the domain of homo sapiens? I might be inclined to agree with your comments on the younger generation being less socially adept but stupid and clumsy is something different. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2025, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-old-or-just-not-stupid/1012445/66 "2025-01-02T23:45:16Z")
> [@StringsandHammers](#): > This is not the same argument you made earlier which was this: “Honestly, young people seem very stupid, clumsy, and awkward to me these days…” This is called confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is when someone is predisposed to believe something is true, then they find anecdotes to support that belief while ignoring instances where it is not true. Would you say a dog, a chimpanzee, a whale, or any other sort of mammal has gotten progressively more stupid or clumsy in a generation? Is this solely the domain of homo sapiens? I might be inclined to agree with your comments on the younger generation being less socially adept but stupid and clumsy is something different. [/quote] I said they “seem” stupid and clumsy. That inherently implies perception based on my anecdotal experiences. It’s entire possible that, taken as a whole, they are less physically adept for the same reasons. In fact, I have read a number of articles where the military expressed challenges with the level of fitness for many new recruits. Then again. I am willing to entertain it just might be standard old man bias. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-old-or-just-not-stupid/1012445/67 "2025-01-03T00:31:23Z")
The fundamental attribution error is: When I fumble with something, it’s because of circumstances - I was under the weather, the object was poorly made, the lighting was bad, or someone watching over my shoulder made me nervous. But when someone else fumbles with something, it’s because of their basic nature - they are inherently clumsy, unintelligent, or from a generation or class of people inherently clumsy or unintelligent. ---
**Author:** ![sunacres](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@sunacres](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunacres)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-old-or-just-not-stupid/1012445/68 "2025-01-03T00:51:47Z")
> [@StringsandHammers](#): > > Baby boomers utterly failed their fiduciary duty to protect their children’s generation and now what we’re left with is a God awful mess… > [@StringsandHammers](#): > > how can the general public be dumber in a span of a single generation? They share 99.9999% of the DNA as their parent’s generation. It defies logic imho. We’ll see if future generations continue to attribute the misdeeds of “1%” to an entire population. Doesn’t look like we’re getting any more rational, at any rate. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-old-or-just-not-stupid/1012445/69 "2025-01-03T01:12:56Z")
I don’t know what to say about my fiduciary duties, but I took a bunch of kids who didn’t know how to screw in a lightbulb and taught them how to rack a breaker without blowing themselves up in an arc flash. The inscription on the chip on one person’s shoulder might blame the Baby Boomers, but someone else chip could blame those feminists who dumped their sons’ dads. Scapegoating gets ugly fast ---
**Author:** ![StringsandHammers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stringsandhammers/32/17933_2.png) [@StringsandHammers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StringsandHammers)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-old-or-just-not-stupid/1012445/70 "2025-01-03T07:37:39Z")
Needless to say most baby boomers had little real control over how our country developed. The vast majority had no political power, no real wealth, and weren’t CEO’s of fortune 500 companies. They had no hand in the widespread use of cell phones, they weren’t responsible for writing the social media algorithms that targeted younger demographics. They certainly weren’t responsible for shipping our manufacturing base overseas. Many Boomers worked deadend jobs, took care of their families, and lived simple lives. Then there were also guys like Steve Jobs who did have a lot of control and did setup workshops to exploit foreign workers in inhumane conditions. I believe a lot of these baby boomers who did hold the reins of power failed in many respects to protect the younger generation from dangers they knew full well existed. I think it’s every bit as unfair to paint the younger generation with a broad brush for the misuse of these cellphones as it is to paint baby boomers with broad brush for putting these things on the market and the pursuit of the almighty dollar above all else. ---
**Author:** ![LilXMo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lilxmo/32/4225_2.png) [@LilXMo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilXMo)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2025, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-old-or-just-not-stupid/1012445/71 "2025-01-05T22:36:55Z")
“So he get’s out a paper bag for my sandwiches and proceeds to try to open it.” If we’re being particular, the correct spelling is “gets” and not “get’s”. Grammar, just like opening a brown bag, is not always easy… ---
**Author:** ![I.Dunno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9f8e36/32.png) [@I.Dunno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I.Dunno)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-old-or-just-not-stupid/1012445/72 "2025-01-06T01:26:36Z")
Boy that takes me back. My Catholic grade school required us to make book covers. It was the first thing we did on the first day of school. They provided the paper, and I think it had local ads on it. But I don’t ever remember using tape at all. We just made them tight. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-old-or-just-not-stupid/1012445/73 "2025-01-06T06:35:01Z")
In the cafeteria at work, there are at each cashier’s counter a pile of plastic bags. I don’t usually use them because I carry down to the cafeteria a bag made of some material designed to last for dozens or hundreds of uses. I use that to carry the food back to my desk. On the occasions that I do use the plastic bags, I have problems just like guy in the OP did with paper bags. I have to carefully pick apart one plastic bag from the stack of plastic bags. Then I have to separate the two sides of the bag. To do this, I wet the thumb and forefinger of both hands in my mouth. I then put those thumbs and forefingers on the top of the bag between the handles of the bag. I rub them on the top of the bag and the bag separates enough that I can pull apart the two sides. The wetness of the thumbs and forefingers lets them stick to the bag just enough. I then shake the handles to open the bag to put the food inside. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-old-or-just-not-stupid/1012445/74 "2025-01-06T07:14:50Z")
My nemeses are the Publix produce bags. They must be made of spider silk—they’re so thin, it’s like trying to open a ghost’s wallet. Even the wet-finger method doesn’t work most of the time. And when that fails? Cue the awkward _“Excuse me, can you open this for me?”_ scavenger hunt. Nothing beats stopping a stranger in the cucumber aisle, waving a limp plastic wad while they give you that look—equal parts pity and _“Whoa, who let this guy out in public?”_ But hey, I guess a little humility never hurt anyone. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-old-or-just-not-stupid/1012445/75 "2025-01-06T11:30:17Z")
My memory doesn’t extend to Publix produce bags specifically, but … For many of these plastic produce / grocery bags, they are now made with one edge assymmetrical. e.g. the edge of the front sticks out ~1/8" more than the edge of the back along one side of the bag. Once you locate the edge that has this feature, a simple slide of finger against thumb across that edge near the top of the bag will separate the halves every time with no wetting, fussing, or cursing. Not all bags have it, but those that do are vastly easier to open. Once you know this feature exists. Many trash can bags have the same feature. Check the bags at the stores you frequent and you may be pleasantly surprised. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-old-or-just-not-stupid/1012445/76 "2025-01-06T12:44:29Z")
I have to believe that there’s something about the OP’s story that I’m missing. Opening a paper bag is a challenge? It sounds more like a cartoon than real life, unless I’m just not understanding what this bag looks like. Paper bags usually come folded flat – a four-sided rectangle – and the side that you open is the side that is not like the others, which is usually already half-open when you pick it up. What am I not understanding? > [@Chronos](#): > > I think you’ll see them if and only if local government bans the plastic ones, because the plastic ones are a lot cheaper for the grocery store. True, but what happened in all grocery stores around here is that when plastic bags were banned, they didn’t revert to paper bags – they went forward into the glorious future of reusable bags. Which are a great idea except it totally doesn’t work for things like online orders for pickup or delivery. I think I’ve linked to pictures that some people have posted of their kitchen cupboards and closets overflowing with “reusable” bags that will never get reused and are a nuisance in landfills, because grocery stores have nothing else to put these orders into. The only places around here that still use paper bags are the government-owned liquor stores, and that’s because they can’t figure out what they’re doing. They went from heavy plastic to paper to no bags at all and then back to paper, depending on how the winds of the various lobby groups were blowing. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-old-or-just-not-stupid/1012445/77 "2025-01-06T12:58:45Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > True, but what happened in all grocery stores around here is that when plastic bags were banned, they didn’t revert to paper bags – they went forward into the glorious future of reusable bags. Huh. My town “banned” plastic bags. So the grocery store started using paper bags, and “charged” a nickel a piece. (That is, they gave you a discount of a nickel per bag you brought. I don’t think they still do that, but they did before covid.) They also sell nice sturdy reusable bags for a dollar apiece. Despite the “ban”, you can also get plastic bags in the produce section, where there are rolls of them to bag your lettuce or loose apples or garlic cloves. These are handy around the house when straining soup or lining the compost bin, but they don’t have handles, so they don’t double as cheap totes During covid, stores got antsy about refusing bags, and i think that’s when they stopped giving you a refund for bringing your own. They are happy to use the bags i bring (just the box bottom paper bags they supply, but i have a big stack, so i reuse them a few times) but no longer give me a nickel a pop for doing so. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-old-or-just-not-stupid/1012445/78 "2025-01-06T14:02:18Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Despite the “ban”, you can also get plastic bags in the produce section, where there are rolls of them to bag your lettuce or loose apples or garlic cloves. These are handy around the house when straining soup or lining the compost bin, but they don’t have handles, so they don’t double as cheap totes They have plastic produce bags everywhere here, too, but they’re a completely different thing – they’re small and the plastic is very thin. I save them because they’re useful for things like wrapping leftovers instead of using up plastic wrap, and many other purposes like throwing stinky items into the kitchen garbage. I’m an expert at tying tight knots in those things! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-old-or-just-not-stupid/1012445/79 "2025-01-06T14:43:47Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > I have problems just like guy in the OP did with paper bags. Not really. Sticky plastic bags are one thing. Trying to open a bag from a side that doesn’t open is new level. > [@wolfpup](#): > > I have to believe that there’s something about the OP’s story that I’m missing. Opening a paper bag is a challenge? It sounds more like a cartoon than real life, unless I’m just not understanding what this bag looks like. I’m not smart enough to make up a story like that. Yes, he tried to open it from the side instead of the top complaining how hard paper bags are to open so I’m sure this wasn’t his first time losing in a fight against a paper bag. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2025, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-old-or-just-not-stupid/1012445/80 "2025-01-06T16:07:25Z")
Plastic bags open (or at least peel apart) most easily from the side, not the top. Paper bags, of course, peel apart easily from whichever edge, but are designed to open from the top. Perhaps we’re seeing negative skills transference on someone who from birth (in 2008(!) ) has dealt exclusively with plastic bags for everything in their life and never knew there was any other kind. Until starting that job last week. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-old-or-just-not-stupid/1012445.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-old-or-just-not-stupid/1012445.md?page=5)