There is now a striking correlation between levels of education and holding stupid, destructive ideas, between being highly credentialled and falling for every fashionable conspiracy theory, every tribalistic affliction, every online fad.
That long march through the institutions…..
In my version of your page, Tim, Ovo energy are exhorting me to electricity at ‘greener times’.
It is a case if “first world problems’ the wine quaffing midwit middle classes obsess with single use plastics or green energy.
I have it here where I live. I volunteer for a local society who strive to be sustainable and in their zeal are about to commit a huge act of vandalism on the listed building that they inhabit by installing ‘efficient’ eco friendly heating.
“…a striking correlation between levels of education and holding stupid, destructive ideas, between being highly credentialled and falling for every fashionable conspiracy theory, every tribalistic affliction, every online fad.”
If you ‘educate’ masses of people beyond the level of their intelligence, this is inevitable.
Define intelligence. Using a definition defined by the self defined intelligent may not be reliable.
Interesting point from the great Theophrastus.
I think reflecting on the ruinous impact of Blair/Brown over their 13 years in office I had them indictable on 100 plus counts of treason but the ‘expansion’ of the Universities (although suggested by ‘Major John’ it was largely implemented over the Blair period) has to be among the most calamitous decisions. The only thing I would say is that without it would we have the ‘Ragging on Ritchie’ category on this blog which has provided so many gems over the decade or so?
I have to say my favourite victims of the mind virus is the “LGBTQRS+-213 group for Palestine”. I hope their subs aren’t for any fixed period…
So, who’s going to put a stop to it?
Only now?
And there was me thinking that it has always been a matter of what you have been credentialled for, and how effective that education was.
Which in this case… is exactly about creating tribalistic dimwits who fall for every conspiracy, without a grain of any thought, let alone critical examination of actual reality.
But that’s never been a Long March. It’s been the exact purpose of centres of higher education since the dawn of humanity.
Anyone who actually amounted to anything has always had to lock horns with the Institutions of Learning.
The very best never attended them at all, or only reluctantly.
@Grikath
There is a school of thought that says if you need credentials to get well paid employment you can’t be much good.
When you go from credentialising 15% of the population to 50%, you are by definition credentialising 40% of the stupidest 85% of the population.
jgh – it may be worse than you say because I think you’re assuming that University (then) is comparable with Uni (today) which is sadly not the case.
TMB: Yah, I looked through my university’s scoring system and my “Degree Pass” from the 1980s would be a 2:2 today. And a few years ago, hankering for access to some equipment (and some paid time off), I investigated doing a Master’s. Everything was stuff I’d done *before* I went to university four decades ago!