Why are most of the adults so dumb?

Seems like the only adults who can really communicate with the kids are Chef and Jesus.

Cartman's Mom = robot Stan's Parents = dumb Kyle's Mom = gets offended too easily Officer = really stupid

In South Park, when you get older, you get dumber.

In article ,

The mistake that kids make, even as teenagers, is they make the mistake of thinking they know everything they need to know, even though they still have a lot to learn.

Why are we so naive as to think people stop making this mistake as adults?

Nick S Bensema wrote:

heres my theory on that

adults are just AS dumb as kids

because they feel that their experiences makes them wiser (that whole learn by mistake crap) i mean how many people say they will be more careful driving after they get in an accident only to get into another accident weeks later due to inattentive driving (my brother and my dad)

adults are just as naive as "children" whatever your definition of children may be

The only difference between men and boys are the price of their toys.

	Gary M.   ;^)

Gary M. wrote:

i totally agree back when i was in grade school i would get a woody off some cheap $10 toy

now its more like $75+

How can you possibly act that question? It's a cartoon. They're not real beings. Okay? Reality check...

Andy P. Jung wrote in article ...

Uh, I think he knew they weren't real and that they are cartoons. I guess your saying anone who asks why something happeded on SP needs a reality check? So, are there any smart adults in the cartoon? And to the first post: You say when people get older in SP they get dumber. I got a question? Who says they get dumber? Most of the kids aren't too smart either.

Rock (Who knows its a cartoon, but that doesn't mean their aren't questions we can ask.)

On 9 Jan 1998 03:06:59 GMT, "Andy P. Jung" offered this unto Shub-Internet:

I don't know about Chef and Jesus. Chef is usually to busy singing to actually provide useful information, although he does help out frequently. When was the last tiem Jesus ever told the kids anything? Two times they have called him: once he got cut off for Marty's Movie Reviews & the other he wouldn't answer the question.

The same reason that adults in Charlie Brown cartoons cannot be understood (kind of like Kenny).

Mr Garrison = gayrod Principal Victoria = pot addict the Mayor = I've_gotta_see_it_to_believe_it person

��� �hr�B

"Engelbert Humperdink was the first man on the moon who was the second?" -- Mr. Hat

���th ��rk R�Lɧ because it does!

www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Senate/1479 Pip's Pipperific Page!

G�T �H�ʧ� ��؃�������

Cartman's mother strikes me as being a mental case. Most of the time she acts like the good mother and lets him push her around and throw tantrums. But, when she wants something that he doesn't want, she can frighten him into doing what she wants. Plus, Eric is getting old enough to start wondering about all the rumors he hears about her. These cartoons stand on their own, but there seems to be a feeling of continuity built in.

Stan's parents are pretty oblivious to what goes on around them. It's a wonder that Stan isn't as wacked out as his sister due to this.

Kyle's mother has too much time on her hands and a husband who tells her what she can and can't do. The protests seem to be her only way of controlling anything.

Barbrady is a case unto himself. He seems to make disconnected connections. He gets the right answer to everything in his mind, then says something totally different.

Chef doesn't really communicate with the kids, though he obviously cares about them. He is off in his own little weird world which generally turns out to be the real thing in this cartoon universe. This is a guy who waits for the first aliens to visit Earth but doesn't want them to hang around for so long that he misses his favorite tv show. This is a guy who is a 'chef' at an elementary school and who thinks that hot sexy love songs are the answer to the world's ills (he could be right). I'm starting to think that Chef is my favorite character in "South Park".

Too serious? My bad.

Mickey

Disfunctional one and all. That's what makes this show so interesting - just like the Simpsons. That and all the outlandish topical humor. And, any show this irreligious definitely has my support. ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ To those who wish to punish others--or at least to see them punished, if the avengers are too cowardly to take matters in to their own hands-- the belief in a fiery, hideous hell appears to be a great source of comfort.

--"Steve Allen On The Bible, Religion & Morality"
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^

It's a classic theme that the world shared by young people is separate from that of adults, with concepts of understanding and friendship that the adult world cannot comprehend -- or at least a world that seems that way to the young. Some other examples are West Side Story, Rebel Without a Cause; also the comic strips Peanuts and Miss Peach, although Natalie Wood was never in those.

Bob A "Aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?

Obviously you people don't spend much time around adults. THEY ARE DUMB! They are being portrayed accurately on South Park.

Please enlighten us all: when is the magic age at which one's intelligence slips away? 17 years and 364 days? 20 years and 364 days? Or even -- getting *really* gerentological -- 29 years and 364 days?

Just curious. TIA. ;-)

@..[-travesty-]..@ wrote: <snip tech support stuff>

There is actually some truth to his rant actually. Older minds just aren't as apt to learn new things when compared to young minds. I also work in the tech support business. And, living in florida, the majority of our customers are elderly. I've known some of the people in the office to specifically ask if there were any children or grandchildren in the house at the time because the adult couldn't figure it out. Its a proven fact that the older you get, the more learning ability you learn. Up until the age of 13 children have a natural ability to learn other languages. They learn this natural ability after this. I'm sure that other stuff might go along with it.

[email] wrote:

Who says that is not directly related to that? For whatever reason they're not learning it, we do agree that they are not. And often when you can get any person to "push the button", they often don't do anything more than pushing the button. They do have something that tells them *not* to learn this. Weather its being too careful or what, I do not know. I just know it happens.

Thomas Hughes wrote:

Wrong, it does. Your aptness (is that a word?) to learn goes downhill with age. It's proven, for example, that teaching a language to a 9 year old is easier than to a 50 year old. Why do you think they're teaching Spanish in kindergarten (sp?) now (and yes, they ARE doing it, my mom's a teacher.) For instance, I can't teach my dad, no matter how hard I try, to execute 3 steps to run a desired program in Windows. Yet, I could go out and tell a 16 year old friend to do it, and he would have it in one or two tries. My dad, however, needs it written down, and has to do it a bunch of times before he gets it right.. then whenever he comes back a day later, it's back to square one. The higher the age, the less ability to learn. Personally, I think it has to do with mindset - when you're 50 years old, your mind is set in a certain way; how to try this, how to learn this, how to do this, and it's harder to change/adapt to new things after you've been locked into that pattern for 40 years. A 9 year old, on the other hand, has no previous mindset to hinder him, so everything taught is just accepted, and he doesn't have to fight it to learn it and accept it as a standard. Just my thoughts.

On Wed, 14 Jan 1998 23:40:24 -0500, Pegasus offered this unto Shub-Internet:

<snip>

I don't know about the mindset part, but everything else is exactly right. I had a day off from school today <let's hear it for snow that threatens to arrive but never does!> and I spent the majority of it with my grandfather installing TurboTax and trying to show him how to use his new computer. Running a program doesn't get much easier than hitting start, programs, turbotax and then turbotax again. Yet he still has to watch me do it a few times, write it down and then have me show him exactly what to do a few more times. Yet once he's in the program, he does fine.

As for the bit about mindsets, I think that once technology advances too far, a certain generation can no longer comprehend it. No matter how many times I try to explain Usenet to my mother, she can't get the concept. I try the bulletitn board analogy and she can't get past how the boards are connected. I dread the day when I'll no longer be able to understand technology.

Bob the Soul Crusher wrote:

The mindset part was my theory on why adults have trouble learning new concepts.. it wasn't stated as fact or anything, just my little take on it.

My dad has had the same mindset for about 35 years and I can teach him how to play Super Mario64 and Goldeneye! That proves that the older you get doesn't mean you get dumber. ��� �hr�B

"Engelbert Humperdink was the first man on the moon who was the second?" -- Mr. Hat

���th ��rk R�Lɧ because it does!

www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Senate/1479 Pip's Pipperific Page!

G�T �H�ʧ� ��؃�������

My 12 year old daughter gets it in one try. Not bragging, just agreeing with Peg.

The same with mine and a bunch of other old guys I know (or knew). Take piles of notes and STILL not know a single thing.

Is my daughter going to have the same trouble with me in 30 years when I keep screwing up my anti-gravity belt and the matter replicator?

The higher the age, the less ability to learn.

	[-]
		Actually, there have long been studies showing
	that the language learning area of our brains is active
	and at its most efficient from birth to about 12 years
	of age (which makes perfect sense since that's when we're
	busy learning how to communicate by language).  After that,
	activity begins to decrease along with the need, in most
	people. But the sooner you start teaching other languages,
	the better.

	[-]

	I believe that one gets old when one stops listening,
	watching & learning.  The mind atrophies and learning
	stops.  That's what makes you old, not years.

and Pegasus said: The mindset part was my theory on why adults have trouble learning new concepts.. it wasn't stated as fact or anything, just my little take on it.

	As a pushin' 50 year old, I reiterate... the mind stops
	when and if you stop using it.  It's up to you.

just della wrote:

So, you're saying a 50 year old could learn a language as easily as a 15 year old if he _really_ needed to learn it? Not an attack or anything, just a question of clarification.

Good point. I understand what you're saying, but see below.

and Pegasus said:

Well, let me ask you a question. I'm keeping my theory on mindset, and here's why. I mean, I could understand what you're saying, but I don't think it holds water. Check this out. If your theory is true, how is it that my dad can try his hardest to learn how to use a new computer program, but he just can't get it the marjority of the time? He's kept learning new things and using his mind, so his mind hasn't atrophied, so why can't he learn how to use Lotus Notes after I show him 3 times? If your theory is right, he should have it, no problem. But that's not the case.. I show him how to open a program 3 times, write it down, let him do it once, show him again, and then let him practice it a few times, and then when he comes back the next day, we have to start over. Your theory just doesn't hold water for that case, which I imagine in this day of 16 year old kids teaching their parents how to use a computer, is commonplace. I'm sticking with my theory of mindset. I understand your point, but it just doesn't hold up.

On Sun, 18 Jan 1998 13:58:11 -0500, Pegasus wrote:

[-]

	Not necessarily.  Two things:  1.  Language learning ability
	doesn't just shut off when you hit 12; it gradually declines
	as the need to learn language skills declines.  Logical, no?
	and 2.  For reasons we've yet to ascertain, not all people's
	brains are created equal.

	Nor does yours if this is your one and only example.  There
	are a number of reasons your dad (and many others in his age
	range) have such difficulty learning computer skills.  It's
	tedious to name them but as example; some people are good at
	math, technological aspects, science, etc.  Others have
	propensities for language, arts, people skills, mechanics, on
	and on.  You say he continues to learn things and use his mind
	and it hasn't atrophied.  To help me understand, can you cite
	a few examples of new things your father has learned lately?

	I am the youngest of most of my email friends and have, myself,
	been surprized at the numbers of oldsters out here in cyber
	space.  I think rather than adults being "so dumb," it's
	more a case of them being lazy or ornery.

	But I'm happy to hear more of your arguments but I'll need more
	than one instance, one example, one experience to be convinced.

Have you been peeking in our windows here? That's what my Popper does. He turns it on and just stares at it. When it won't automagically print his labels or whatever he want he calls me and tells me it's broken. Come to think of it that's what that old guy in my other message did. He'd turn it on (when he remembered how to) and stare and stare. "It's not doing anything. It must be broken". Please please shoot me dead on my 50th birthday!

The adults in SP are made stupid or 2-dimensional for the same reason that the Charlie Brown adults are; because the kids are the main show. Except for a few needed adult contacts like Chef, the adults are just window dressing, comedy relief or today's problem causer.

I would agree with loss of ability. I help people with their computers sometimes. I noticed that if the person is between 10 and 40 I only have to show them how to do something twice at the most. 50 years old or so maybe 4 times. Over 60 .....FORGET IT! I tried for 4 YEARS to teach one old guy (about 65?) things like how to insert a diskette into the drive and click on icons but Nooooooo! Every couple days he'd call me and tell me the computer is broken. I'd go over there and find out he had two disks jammed in the drive, the CD was in upside down or the monitor was off. One time he even flipped the power switch on and off a bunch of times real fast to "unstick the insides"

Right. That'll get the gears unstuck. Maybe the spark plugs are dirty.

My daughter (12) on the other hand...the day I bought this system she was showing me how to do things.

It's age; except for the rare exceptional old people who have kept their minds

Adults seem to lose their intelligence when their kids reach the age of 13 or so...then for (approx.) the next 12 years, they are dumb as clams and don't know anything. After the kids reach about age 25 (and I'm not to that point yet...just speculating), the adult intelligence seems to return at a fast rate.

	Gary M.   ;^)

Various young whipper-snappers babbled:

"My parents are so stupid, they shelled out thousands of dollars for this computer and another twenty dollars a month for my internet access so I can post messages saying how stupid they are! I can't wait until I get a job to support myself, buy my own food, car, gas, insurance, electricity, cable, medical care, and trash pickup. I just hope I can have some time to have fun before I get old and stupid and have ungrateful brats that can berate me for handing them everything."

Steve *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~**~ Humans are the only species to protect their stupid from natural selection

HEY!!! I'm a dirty little bastard, too! (Stan)