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I wonder about the larger context here, though. No matter what academic studies discover or examine, the rise of anti-intellectual culture suggests that we as a

I wonder about the larger context here, though. No matter what academic studies discover or examine, the rise of anti-intellectual culture suggests that we as a species are going to need to pivot to documentary efforts, in a hope that what we learn in isolation now survives to be acted on in a future, more exploratory, generation.

lolinder 2y ago
We could also try to fix the anti-intellectual culture instead of just griping about it and/or retreating. It didn't emerge out of thin air, it emerged as a reaction to a mostly-accurate sense among non-intellectuals (i.e., the people who make most of the world actually work) of being constantly condescended to by the intellectual class. What we need isn't to go all prepper for some kind of dark age, what we need is a new breed of intellectual that actually makes an effort to understand what life is like for the 65% of the population without a 4-year degree and then attempts to bridge the gap rather than trying to run the world from within a filter bubble.
- bovermyer 2y ago
  What you suggest is worthwhile. But it shouldn't be our only card. Let's do both.
- staplers 2y ago
  We could also try to fix Not gonna happen with lobbyists and shareholder corps benefitting from an intellectually stunted populace. The unregulated economic system incentivizes this.
  - lolinder 2y ago
    > intellectually stunted populace Case in point. Go out and meet some of these people and then report back.
    - staplers 2y ago
      You know nothing about me or where I come from. You're not making the point you think you are. You can lead a horse to water. It's not my job to encourage intellectual rigor. It's political leadership's. Pushing that burden onto imaginary everyday philosophers you've conjured up is futile.
      - deleted 2y ago
        [deleted]
      - lolinder 2y ago
        Said "imaginary everyday philosophers" created the anti-intellectual backlash by, among other things, saying things like what you're saying here. Asking them to either shut up or actually make an effort to bridge the divide isn't futile, it's our only hope.
        Aeglaecia 2y ago
        your perspective is seen through a lens , his comment is true , western education systems suck and don't produce bright individuals by design
      - pas 2y ago
        Whose job is to pick a leadership that then values said rigor? Since this is a feedback loop it's everyone's duty to help so it works as a virtuous cycle and not the poo-poo loop it has become.
- AngryData 2y ago
  I mean step 1 would be raising wages at all levels, something that a capitalist economy is going to oppose at every step of the way as it limits capital acquisition and reduces investment returns. To me it seems pretty obvious why someone making $40,000 a year doing some trade and/or taking off 1-2 decades of their lifespan and quality of life is pissed and opposed to the status quo when they see investors and capital owners and politicians making consistently brain dead decisions yet still raking in millions. Watching corporations buy out and legislate away small businesses and replacing them with corporate versions that cost more money while reducing their service capabilities and competence. Its the luddite situation repeating over and over again. Groups of smart individuals working together build something greater, but someone at the top of the capital pile claims or buys all the credit while firing and replacing, or offshoring now, all the individuals who actually did the work and actual innovation, and economic imbalance results in turmoil and rage until it finally boils over and people start destroying looms. Because instead of all the auto-looms they built benefiting everyone, it mostly only benefits a handful of individuals who claimed ownership, while pushing everyone else in a race to the bottom as their old small business models get crushed by the legal and financial departments of the big cats.
- kjkjadksj 2y ago
  We are fundamentally at a loss here because of the dynamics of propaganda. Simply put more money is spent misinforming than informing and since this will always be the case due the the powerful incentives of population control, there will always be some degree of idiocracy happening. Short of probably redistributing all resources equally and eliminating the money and economic system we have that lead to these incentive structures.
  - lolinder 2y ago
    I'm pretty immersed in the anti-intellectual movement just by virtue of where I live, and while I won't deny that there's some room for propaganda in the explanation, the bulk of the cause is simple: The average American has correctly identified that intellectuals despise them. That's it. Propaganda is a useful scapegoat, but the actual problem is that the average American has caught on to the sneers and derision and doesn't like being treated that way. Redistributing resources won't help because those plans are always put forward from a place of condescension towards the less educated, and the condescension is the problem!

lolinder 2y ago

We could also try to fix the anti-intellectual culture instead of just griping about it and/or retreating. It didn't emerge out of thin air, it emerged as a reaction to a mostly-accurate sense among non-intellectuals (i.e., the people who make most of the world actually work) of being constantly condescended to by the intellectual class. What we need isn't to go all prepper for some kind of dark age, what we need is a new breed of intellectual that actually makes an effort to understand what life is like for the 65% of the population without a 4-year degree and then attempts to bridge the gap rather than trying to run the world from within a filter bubble.

bovermyer 2y ago
What you suggest is worthwhile. But it shouldn't be our only card. Let's do both.
staplers 2y ago
We could also try to fix Not gonna happen with lobbyists and shareholder corps benefitting from an intellectually stunted populace. The unregulated economic system incentivizes this.
- lolinder 2y ago
  > intellectually stunted populace Case in point. Go out and meet some of these people and then report back.
  - staplers 2y ago
    You know nothing about me or where I come from. You're not making the point you think you are. You can lead a horse to water. It's not my job to encourage intellectual rigor. It's political leadership's. Pushing that burden onto imaginary everyday philosophers you've conjured up is futile.
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]
    - lolinder 2y ago
      Said "imaginary everyday philosophers" created the anti-intellectual backlash by, among other things, saying things like what you're saying here. Asking them to either shut up or actually make an effort to bridge the divide isn't futile, it's our only hope.
      - Aeglaecia 2y ago
        your perspective is seen through a lens , his comment is true , western education systems suck and don't produce bright individuals by design
    - pas 2y ago
      Whose job is to pick a leadership that then values said rigor? Since this is a feedback loop it's everyone's duty to help so it works as a virtuous cycle and not the poo-poo loop it has become.
AngryData 2y ago
I mean step 1 would be raising wages at all levels, something that a capitalist economy is going to oppose at every step of the way as it limits capital acquisition and reduces investment returns. To me it seems pretty obvious why someone making $40,000 a year doing some trade and/or taking off 1-2 decades of their lifespan and quality of life is pissed and opposed to the status quo when they see investors and capital owners and politicians making consistently brain dead decisions yet still raking in millions. Watching corporations buy out and legislate away small businesses and replacing them with corporate versions that cost more money while reducing their service capabilities and competence. Its the luddite situation repeating over and over again. Groups of smart individuals working together build something greater, but someone at the top of the capital pile claims or buys all the credit while firing and replacing, or offshoring now, all the individuals who actually did the work and actual innovation, and economic imbalance results in turmoil and rage until it finally boils over and people start destroying looms. Because instead of all the auto-looms they built benefiting everyone, it mostly only benefits a handful of individuals who claimed ownership, while pushing everyone else in a race to the bottom as their old small business models get crushed by the legal and financial departments of the big cats.
kjkjadksj 2y ago
We are fundamentally at a loss here because of the dynamics of propaganda. Simply put more money is spent misinforming than informing and since this will always be the case due the the powerful incentives of population control, there will always be some degree of idiocracy happening. Short of probably redistributing all resources equally and eliminating the money and economic system we have that lead to these incentive structures.
- lolinder 2y ago
  I'm pretty immersed in the anti-intellectual movement just by virtue of where I live, and while I won't deny that there's some room for propaganda in the explanation, the bulk of the cause is simple: The average American has correctly identified that intellectuals despise them. That's it. Propaganda is a useful scapegoat, but the actual problem is that the average American has caught on to the sneers and derision and doesn't like being treated that way. Redistributing resources won't help because those plans are always put forward from a place of condescension towards the less educated, and the condescension is the problem!