why do they say kids are cleverer than adults?

[*Jess♥]

I am watching a program on tv.

it has a load of kids doing maths.

these kids are struggling on simple mental arithmetic.

like 29 plus 15...

these are mid teens kids.

I am shocked at this since they have tv shows like "are you smarter than a 10 year old"

I am about average at mental arithmetic.

so I find this surprising.

I thought about it for a bit and i thik.. yes when they get to my age they will probably be as good if not better at this than most adults.

so it's a development thing.. but there has always been this idea being thrown about that kids are naturally smarter.

it's a myth. they're not.

I'm not trying to discredit anyone. I am just expressing my surprise.

I think that the only reason why the kids in "are you smarter than a ten yr old" can answer these questions is becaue it is more fresh in their minds.

if you turn hte tables and ask questions that are not taught in schools, you would have the adults answering a hell of a lot more questions correctly.

[*V Guyver]

It depends on the education these kids got. My schools (in which I went through 3 grade schools and one highschool) were horrible in many ways. Most teachers had no interest in being thorough, creativity wasn't always advocated just "focus on getting the kids to pass the standardized tests" and so forth. My schools didn't have things like a chess team, I had to create one. We didn't have clubs, aside from beautifying the school, which translates to "clean litter and then maybe plant a flower" and such we didn't learn much.

In my situation I got into nothing but fights, was abused by teachers in my first school and allowed to be abused by students in my first two schools. I was considered a child prodigy, the type of kid that could end up doing advanced equations, architecture, or possibly advanced management positions down the road if they were to skip me a grade and give me advanced classes. My ability to learn things as a kid was higher then normal. So what happened, I got held back, had a teacher who claimed I made up all of my disabilities and problems to gain attention, and had no interest in learning. She stuck me in the back of the classroom and made sure I had trouble, also ignoring my inability to see the board clearly. In the end, I didn't amount to anything, and any extra learning I did in my life was due to my own self interests, if you see me studying the concept of string theory, divide by zero, and 30 different subjects of history, it's by my own hobby of learning, which sad to say is also primitive. This is what happens when you go to a city like Newark, a run down archaic place, overridden with crime and corruption, nothing is left for the children to evolve with except for those few children who were stronger then me and made something of themselves and the support they got. Now like everyone else, I'm just a depressed dummy.

Enough about me though, my point is that kids can be smarter and cleverer then adults, it's just that we usually fail them with either our systems of education, or our own ignorance. Scientific fact shows that a child's ability to learn is incredibly better then any adults. Given the right subject and proper education, you'd see a lot of kids these days outsmart adults. But it isn't common thanks to situations forced upon them in cities. In rural towns it is usually easier to teach kids because of a less rigid "pass the test" mentality.

My brother, not the brightest kid around, easily gives up and doesn't try. He does however shows areas of creativity, has proven himself to be very manipulative, and at times clever.

A few days ago he disappeared, his sleeping bag was gone, and had left no messages. I called to find out if my mom got a call from him, no luck. He later showed up three days later on my doorstep crying and yelling at my why I wasn't home. I wasn't fooled. He had asked me the day before he disappeared if he could sleep over a friends house, I told him only with the permission and with the address and phone number given to me. I had to leave that day to pick up my sister and he figured he's take advantage of this fact to sleep over his friends house for 2 days. He would of fooled my mom but wouldn't fool me. Because if he had been locked out of the house as he claimed, then how is it that he got his sleeping bag out conveniently to sleep over hi friends house? How could he ignore the fact that I would be waiting at home worried sick about him, and not think to pass by? Also, he only dared do this over the weekend when no school was on so I would check in at school. Also, I found no need to call the police this time because he left evidence behind thanks to his missing sleeping back. In effect, he mad a plan that would of worked on most people, especially with his manipulations of emotion by crying and playing the victim, but he didn't fol me. So now I have grounded him and plan on making him do nothing but chores this entire week. If my mom gave damn and actually would be home enough to watch over him, she'd probably smack him, then ignore him, but not me. No his attempts only infuriate me more because if he had used this much of an an elaborate plan to fool me, then he should be doing way better in school.

Also I find that children are too easily corrupted and distracted by TV. I found that the only way to get my brother to study and work hard was to remove videogames from the house. In effect I can't play videogames anymore myself. If I leave the the PS2 out, he reconnects it, same with the gameboys, and then places everything back to avoid detection when he knows I'm gone. So I no longer touch consoles. If I could, I'd remove TV's but we have large TV and I can't remove it and he'd simply plug it in again and unplug it. I resolved not to give him a computer until late highschool as to avoid Internet abuse (and likely porn that he'd watch in a couple of years) and if it wasn't for my mom, I'd of locked way every DVD movie in the house by now so that he'd have less of a distraction. I think children everywhere have many of these sames problems, and it's depressing to know a kid like my brother who could be great in school fails because he obsesses over worldly pleasures and entertainment.

oh and I'm sorry, I gave more details of our lives then I would like, but to relate from firsthand experience and to show some of my points, I guess I could figure no other way. Consider this all one of my many limitations.

[Matt Bellamy]

In all honesty, claiming that today's kids are "more clever than Adults" is merely propaganda for the worlds failing school systems.

Yes, there ARE kids who are more clever than Adults. It's true. But those numbers are VERY low.

Yes, with new technologies, and new discoveries, kids these days should be taught so much more than their parents where at that age. And Adults, being set mostly in their ways, don't learn as easily, thus coming to the theory that " Kids are smarter than Adults".

However, the problems are numerous, ranging from the fact that Kids don't want to learn, to Teachers not teaching properly, or even Governments interfering with what is being taught. If you look at the numbers of Students who do not go into the higher education fields, compared to even the number that manage to graduate High school... you will see that things look bleak... for the world.

The USA gets picked on for it, and rightfully so, but other countries are getting to be no better.

It's really a disturbing trend, that no one, Teachers, Parents, Religions, or Politicians, want to acknowledge. More and more students are being indoctrinated into other things. Like Gangs, dealing Drugs, or trying to get into the "Entertainment" Industry. Places they think they can make easy money, rather than spending the years and money to get a career, like a Doctor, Engineer, or in a skilled trade... who can make decent money... but the work required is just too daunting sometimes, and quick and easy money is too easy of a treat.

I would have included "Unskilled Laborer" in that... but a lot of people I've seen who get into "Unskilled Laborer" positions right after High School, if they work hard enough, CAN make a living in the Trades etc... without at first realizing it.

In the end, it's how you are brought up that shapes your morals and beliefs. And sadly, that is the #1 problem with the world today. It's a combined effort of the Parents, Society, and Governments. And it's sad when all 3 are failing today's youth.

Some manage to rise up, and fight the temptations, and actually make something of themselves. And unfortunately, as much as we want to praise them for it... it's not them we should be focusing on. It's those who fail who should get the focus. The help. but it seems society doesn't want it to work that way.

And thus, we get reports like " Kids these days are more clever than Adults".

There is some truth to it, just not the truth we should be hearing.

*end rant*

[*zeo]

Kids are generally not smarter than adults, but they do think differently and can come up with answers that adult mindsets would cause us to get wrong because of the way our minds have been trained to think.

So in a way you could argue that they are smarter in some aspects but not in a generally practical way.

[*V Guyver]

Kids are generally not smarter than adults, but they do think differently and can come up with answers that adult mindsets would cause us to get wrong because of the way our minds have been trained to think.

So in a way you could argue that they are smarter in some aspects but not in a generally practical way.

Yes generally not smarter. But they have a number of advantages. I already mentioned faster learning. You just pointed out how mindsets in children are different. More often then peopel think, children manage to find solutions and are very direct, often skipping a mind set saying "we can't do this" or "We have to keep doing this because it's what we're used too." I had kids ask me some pretty nifty questions that would male a seasoned polition sweat.

[*Jess♥]

ah yes, that is really interesting.

kids are more versatile. they are willing to thik outside teh box more because the box is not as clearly defined for them.

as we grow older, we become accustomed to thinking in certain ways.

yeah, I have tried having a conversation with my parents and they just don't wanna know a lot of the time. they are too confortable in their own prejudices etc.

[durendal]

Well, for one thing, kids are free from the restrictions that logics dictates to them, which adults have most of. And like mentioned before, has more liberty to think outside the box.

Also, before I continue, I would like to apologize if my statements would be offending anyone, as it is a harsh truth that I find hard to believe but is convinced enough to point out.

Today, it is not that kids are smarter than adults, its because adults have turned less intelligent. I have no support as to how this happened, but based on studies shown on simple surveys, most adults lack the mental capacity to think straight. The people they get on the show "Are you smarter than a 10 year old" are usually normal less than average ordinary people. If you put people who plays Jeoperdy there, I don't think they would embarass themselves like that. Also, one factor is also the nervous factor. Pressure tends to block out any semblance of logic. But still, my point, nowadays, the average intelligent quotient is getting lower and lower. Just look at the president of the United States for god sakes. February 30??? And on national television? I am not making sweeping attacks, but just look at how the people in America lives. Majority of the people are hounded by credit card debts, psychological difficulties, emotional issues. All of these problems can be avoided with simple common sense. Watching the Suzie Ormon show, I find more and more people like that. Especially the "Can I afford it" section. People are willing to give away their life savings just for some material things that they don't need. To be short and blunt, adults are getting dumber.

I do like to mention that there are exceptions to these people. Thankfully, the people I encountered in this board is nothing like the people I mentioned above. I noticed that it is usually the close minded people that are susceptible to intelligence lapses.

Again, I do apologize if my statements have offended anybody.

[*V Guyver]

The ironic thing is, I've seen people who have better careers, better paying jobs, and better educations then most... and still ask and do the most stupid things. Also, there are people have become so irresponsible with their money and train of thought. They had a couple on TV who were in constant debt despite them raking in over combined $120,000 a year. A guy like me only made $9,000 a year, but I was never in debt. i realised what most people in my age group didn't, which is that credit cards money is not your money, it's someone else's. Thus money you'll have to pay back eventually, and not worth the interest paying back when you could of avoided it. This is why so many people in college had a debt of at least $8,000 despite scholarships and parental financial support (which I also lacked, but had an aunt at least house me).

To further make the situation worse ... the same situation that led to our current economic woes was that we got drunk with buying power we didn't have. Companies raked in large sums of money by trying to keep people in debt, and it backfired. Also establishments started to stop accepting other forms of payment aside from cash and credit. That really ticked me off, because I avoided credit much like I did cigarettes and liquor, to avoid negative tendencies. I found checking to be much more safer, easier to maintain control of my financial situation, and lacking interest, actually I got paid for my checking with a tiny amount of interest so long as it was over $1,000. I also kept a separate savings account that wouldn't go into my hands, but instead my bank. When I needed money I'd withdraw the amount needed for the month, and transfer any amount needed for bills and tuition. I did this for a good number of years and was steadily reaching a point where I could buy a house within a few years with a decent loan. Of course that all fell through when I did something stupid myself, which was to support other people.

My point is that as a society, we moved into a direction of stupidity by becoming greedy, and glutenous. We let things get too easy, and out of hand. We followed a trend and didn't think for ourselves. Now a child would probably of done even worse, but they are children, they would of spent all the money in hand, much like many adults do. But at least they would of done it out of impulse, which is something many adults seem to have too much of too these days. I guess you can argue that too many adults never grew up.

[*zeo]

Today, it is not that kids are smarter than adults, its because adults have turned less intelligent.

Actually that isn't really a new phenomena, the average human intelligence does not reflect whether we make actually intelligent decisions all the time.

Even so called geniuses can make really dumb mistakes...

Really, you can go back to any period in history and you'll find people making dumb decisions on virtually everything at some point throughout their lives. And like the cartoon illustrates most never even realize it until it has been pointed out to them somehow.

It's easy to see other peoples flaws, not so easy to see our own.

After all, there is a reason why it is such an old saying to say, "To err is only human"

[*V Guyver]

There is a saying, that there is a fine line between a Genius and an idiot. I think that is true.

Thomas Edison was considered to a mentally "slow child" and failed his classes, his mother took him out of school in anger at the teacher. He thus lacked an education, though his mother did a fine job of raising him.

Edison invented many things we take for granted these days. But some of his ideas were a bit weird and outright stupid. Such as wanting to build concrete homes complete with concrete furniture, beds, pillows, chairs, photo frames... and even piano's. And he vastly underestimated everything about this venture, and was pretty stubborn about it too. Loosing money, he could only think to invest more, and when the enterprise would fail, he'd try to reinvent it for other use and repeat the same mistakes.

http://flyingmoose.org/truthfic/edison.htm

[durendal]

Ingenious things do come about from outrageous ideas. Also it is from mistakes that people learn to improve themselves. But there are exceptions to these kinds of situation. Sometimes people commit mistakes, that is fine, but if people commit mistakes over and over again and still fail to realize what went wrong, and even to the point that common sense is no longer common at all, then you really need to admit that there is something wrong there. I truly believe that common sense are becoming uncommon nowadays.

[*V Guyver]

What you just described is my little brother in a nutshell. And common sense as Voltaire once said "Common sense is not so common"

[Mirabilis]

Kids are generally not smarter than adults, but they do think differently and can come up with answers that adult mindsets would cause us to get wrong because of the way our minds have been trained to think.

So in a way you could argue that they are smarter in some aspects but not in a generally practical way.

I do too agree with you. as you and others have said, when people are young they dont quite have an understanding of things and there for it is easier for them to come up with answers that we ( older people) would normally discard as a wrong answer. It is not just how we are taught in school but the mind of how the society wants us to think. We are suppose to think certain ways and are programed to think that their are only right and wrong answers, so we tend to try to find the right answer were as a mere child can come up with the easiest solution to the problem. this does not mean that a child is SMARTER than older people, it means that they tend to think outside the box as you all have said. Remember at this point in their lives they still have active imaginations and think that movie and cartoon characters are alive and such.

Edited December 1, 2008 by Mirabilis

[*Obsidian Ice]

People are mistaking technical advantages with smarts. There seems to be a misconception that because kids can run rings around adults on computers, and various and sundry wonderful shiny gadgets that make most adults go 'WTF?', they must be smarter, while in fact, practical knowledge is dwindling away from the youth of today with horrifying speed. This can be easily seen in the tenuous grasp many younger people seem to have on the English language, even when it is supposed to be their mother tongue. Occasionally, reading things these 'young geniuses' have penned is equal to an exercise in mental gymnastics, trying to figure what they mean in relation to what they have written.

Typical example I have seen. 'hi, Im borred at hom with a broken leg. if anyone wants a beta raeder, i will be glad to do it.'

[*zeo]

Yes but a lot of that can be layed out to bad parenting and badly run school systems, not to mention societal issues.

For example there are two kids that have recently become MS Certified IT Professionals!

The first was in India, by a girl of age 9, and more recently. . .

8-Year-Old Macedonian Boy Becomes Youngest Microsoft-Certified IT Professional

I know quite a few kids who are really smart, but the way they are educated is just insane. Resulting in lack of attention, they are quick to get bored for example. Disrespect of their parents, thinking about things like sex before they are even in their teens, on and on with nothing to balance against it. Really, it's a wonder any kid can grow up normal anymore.

While in other nations simple tried and true methods still prevail, like the simple use of albacus to help teach math in Japan for example. The result is many kids by the time they are teens can do complex math in their head that many western kids need to use pocket calculators to do.

While the internet and text messaging has resulted in a short hand that is quickly corrupting the language as people become too lazy to think of proper grammar or even spelling.

Simply put, kids are the future, we as a society should start facing what we are doing to our young and start making some real changes for the better before we literally destroy the chances of the next generation. . .

[Tales]

Well this is something Toei has to deal with as well. My cousin can tell me about plot, development and all that s**t about an anime. He can also tell a good Rider series from another, and he can tell me about how Kuuga and Agito is better than Hibiki, Den-O or Kiva. He's only 8 - 9 years old.