American students are about 50 percent less likely to study now than in previous decades, and over one-third learn almost nothing after four years of college, according to the book Academically Adrift. Many Americans expect answers and results to be a “click” away. Wikipedia, spell check, and the “…for Dummies” series are seen as acceptable quick fixes.
So, are we really experiencing a “dumbing down” effect?
One of our basic duties of citizenship is jury duty, but many people aren’t even eligible, or competent to serve. According to a study by the Northeastern University’s Capital Jury Project, more than 50 percent of jurors couldn’t properly define “preponderance of the evidence.” The same study found that more than 50 percent of jurors could not define “speculate,” and about 25 percent did not know the meaning of “burden of proof,” or “admissible evidence.” To help them, a number of states have recently provided jury members with “plain English instructions.” Is this a matter of practicality, or a “dumbing down effect”?
President Obama enacted the Plain Writing Act along with three subsequent executive orders mandating that governmental communications are so that the “public can understand and use” them. So, no more speaking politics, then? One result out of this was where The Department of Health and Human Services turned a six-page “Losing Weight Safely” article into a single, fold-out brochure, supposedly conveying the same information.
If you were struggling with weight loss and had a choice, would you choose the one-page brochure or the six-page article to read in an effort to help? But, the greater question is which one would benefit you the most on becoming more leaner.
And now enter the smart ones. People who are now marketing and profiting from, yes, you guessed it, making the long, shorter and the complex, more clear.
So, maybe some people aren’t all that dumb after all?