Jims ThirdSpace

Are we becoming more stoopid?

It seems every week we’re each confronted with someone as we do life, that makes us wonder, are we becoming more stoopid?

It can be as simple as a check out person at a store that doesn’t understand why you’re giving them three pennies, along with $3.50 when you owe them $3.48 until after they key the money into their cash register and it tells them how much change to give you. You better hope they don’t mis-key the money you give them, because if they do, you’re in trouble. Or having to ask directions over the phone to a business, and all the directions are given by turning at fast food locations.

A professor of education at University of Illinois at Chicago, Gerald Graff says, “The more accessible knowledge becomes, the more things there are to be ignorant about. Knowledge has increased, but the human capacity for knowledge hasn’t increased that much.” OK, I get it. There is so much info-stuff out there, we can’t hold it all in our cache, so we have to page over to our hard drive to retrieve the info.

Another famous educator, Professor Gump says, “Stupid is as stupid does”.

I’m not alone thinking we’re getting more stoopid. A recent article in The Atlantic, talks about the dumbing down of Americans. Stopping people on the street and asking simple questions are clips we love to watch from late night talk shows, and there are all those wonderful contests, Miss America, Miss USA (they are not beauty contests, but select the best female representative of America based on many parameters). I think we’re in trouble.

Take a couple of minutes and look at this test in Newsweek. How would you do?

If you really want to test yourself, try these series of questions in this Newsweek article.

I think it’s time we watched more Jeopardy, and less Whipeout.

Even better than Jeopardy, enter into a conversation with someone at your favorite coffee shop.

Talk about what’s happening in your community, in your life.

Make a new friend.

Unique visitors to post: 0

Tags: building community, coffee house, stoopid, stupid people

Three questions for Wednesday

These are the three questions (with answers) that will be asked at supper Wednesday night:

1. What do Monica Lewinsky, Don Drysdale and Rick Lucas all have in common? Wednesday is their birthday.

2. What do a skimboard, an ipod and a magazine all have in common? They are all on Jimmy’s I take to the beach list.

3. What do David Beckham, Usher and Hillary Duff all have in common? They all have perfumes (scents) named after them.

Unique visitors to post: 0

Tags: building community, Great place, no way

It’s the first day of summer

No kidding, today was the first day of summer.  The calendar has finally caught up with the temperature and the humidity. In Florida, you now schedule your yard work early in the morning or late in the afternoon to be able to survive.  Getting wet from the summer showers is common, you have to get used to being wet. The beaches are loaded. I went to a nearby Starbucks today and it was different: very quite, very empty, very unusual, very non-community, everyone must have been building community at the beach.  Is there Wi-Fi at the beach?  We’re  having a blast building community at our Summer Vacation gig at church.  People are connecting with each other.  Lots of laughter.  Lots of great stories. Lots of excitment.  I taught “in big church” this past Sunday.  I challenged people to get involved at many different levels; there was a great response.  It looks like it’s going to be a very good summer.

Unique visitors to post: 0

Tags: building community, starbucks, Summer Vacation, third space