Introduction
This article explores the factors contributing to the collapse of society and why it’s crucial to make a change FAST.
It’s a controversial piece of writing, and I’d like to point out that I’m only 20 years old as of writing this piece, so this is not to be taken as a guide.
These points come from personal experiences as well as observations of today’s society, conversations with different people, analysing behaviour and body language, or just simply being a spectator rather than a player.
Schools and Higher Education
The barrier for entry at a local university is lower than ever; it reminds me of a quote from a George Carlin bit: “They lower the passing grades so more kids can pass. More kids pass, the school looks good, everybody’s happy, the IQ of the country slips another two or three points, and pretty soon all you’ll need to get into college is a fucking pencil. Got a pencil? Get the fuck in there; it’s physics.”
Schools want good scores, but the students wouldn’t be able to keep up with a strict curriculum; therefore, to maintain face and reputation, the schools are forced to lower their expectations. This will be broken down below and will make sense by the end of the article.
Most of my points will only touch on universities and their structures, but some can also be applied to secondary or high schools.
My Experiences
To prove my ideas right, for the second year of my course, I’ve attended a total of 2.5 days. 0.5? Yes, I walked out of a lecture that was so basic that a 10-year-old could explain it and get an A+ on a test. At the end of the year, I was able to get all Bs.
I do believe that this goes to show how unimportant and laughable the education system really is. If only more people spent time on self-improvement and studying, they could become their own professors. Rendering the higher education system useless.
Since I’ve spent more hours studying than doing nothing, I was able to create a system for learning that is merely impossible if one is so wrapped up in all the noise. I’m not saying that I’m not guilty of these. I watch Youtube shorts, I play video games, but the ratio is in balance. I study 5-10 hours a day and play 2-3, which I call balance. If I work a job, I stop gaming or at least reduce it, keeping work and education my only focus.
Let this be an introduction to my next point.
Attention Economy
Students cannot keep up due to the never-ending brain-rot content they consume. The more stimuli they get, the more they’ll crave. They’re addicts. The content that enters the brain takes away and lowers the attention span of one. How are kids expected to pay attention 8 hours a day, sit still, and look at a book if for the rest of the day the only form of stimuli they get is coming from a 6*4 inch screen?
With this, of course, their attitude changes. “Why do I need to do anything?”, “I just wanna have fun,” “Stop worrying so much.” These phrases are thrown around casually without any meaning—the very thing that has been taken away from these people.
Parents favour the ease of handing an iPad to their children over genuine care and attention. If not stopped in time, it will get worse. This has already been proven over the last 20 years. The negligence of parents, the oversaturated content, and the pressure from social media degrade one’s view of the world and narrow it down so that one will be as separated from the real world as possible.
Consumption is the only satisfaction apart from social validation; hence, real-world achievements and goals are diminished. Anyone who’s not immersed in this world is frowned upon and is called “boring.” The latter comes from experiences of my own.
Thinking time
When was the last time you spent at least 20 minutes in silence, doing nothing, just relaxing—and, god forbid, maybe even thinking about your life?
After a day of studying, can you recite the exact thing that you’ve studied for hours? If not, why?
Do you know anything about the world around you? I don’t mean events, matches, or some new album coming out. I mean news (more importantly, facts), changes in the world, and how they might affect you in the long run…
Underpaid and Incompetent Professors
This part will be controversial, so strap in…
Underpayment
Those professors who have lost or never even had a passion for their field might only be motivated by money. Once that is reduced to the bare minimum, their only hope is taken away. They become sour, vindictive, and uncaring. Even if they had a passion for their field and teaching, no one can expect a working man to keep calm and be happy whilst slaving away for nothing.
Not much more to add here; most of the issues stem from incompetency.
Incompetency
Most professors are lazy. Some use 5-year-old PowerPoint presentations, some teach irrelevant topics that are unrelated to the actual module, and some just don’t even know what they’re doing.
First, if a 5-year-old presentation is used for explaining a mathematical equation, it’s understandable since the math doesn’t change. But in a field like computer science, the fact that the TUTORIALS show 2 year old information (which is often misspelt and poorly explained) is not acceptable. Technology evolves day-by-day. Yet the universities teach year-old syntax and modules. I understand basic languages like C or Java might not change as much, but it would still be nice to update the PowerPoint so that it describes the latest versions and features of a software.
Professors not knowing what they’re doing is a HUGE issue. I myself had to send back 2-3 of my assignments because the professor didn’t understand my explanation that was of a higher level. I’m no genius, but the fact that a professor or a marker doesn’t mark an assignment properly should be a great red flag.
The causation of this can stem from two things. One, as I’ve mentioned it previously, is the pay. Underpaid staff are not motivated, which makes sense. Two is that the professor is so short on knowledge that if there’s a better explanation than what their own mind is able to comprehend, they’ll automatically mark it as wrong.
This most likely comes from the lack of interest that they have in the field or the fact that they don’t make as much money as they deserve. These professors are not trained by the university, and they most likely won’t train themselves because of the aforementioned issues. Given the lack of motivation and the fall in work ethic, most teachers (usually I don’t refer to them as professors since I don’t think they live up to the title of being one) don’t even teach. They read the PowerPoint slides and finish the lecture. If a genuine question arises from a student, they might just answer by saying, “Google it!”. Yes, I’ve heard that exact sentence come from these so-called “professors.”.
Professors should be vetted the same way as students are, and their pay should be increased!
Low IQ and Its Effects on Society
Hard Times
There’s a quote that I love and was in complete agreement with before understanding the world: “Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.”
Yet I don’t think it’s the case anymore. The quote suggests that in the future, once oppressed and degraded people will rise and make the world a better place as they have the resources due to being raised in harsh conditions.
They had a rough time growing up, and they want to change the future for the better. Really? How is that possible if the only incoming information these people get is coming from a screen full of brain-rot content and propaganda? The quote applies to a population of people who are part of society and are able to think for themselves and see the world for what it is…
If the people don’t wake up, the low attention spans, their underdeveloped brains, and the tumult of propaganda and oppression from governments will leave them blind to realising that we now live in “hard times.”. It would be Gen Z’s turn to be the “strong men,” but does it look like it will ever happen? Yeah, not really…
Eventually, this will lead to a civilisation of people who are content with the world they live in, hence altering the course of humanity for the worse.
Conclusion
There’s really one way to make things right. Which is to educate oneself and let go of all the distractions and empty content that is being shoved down the throat of BILLIONS. I can only suggest starting with reducing the noise. Week-by-week, you lower the dose of garbage that enters your brain. Start reading books of greats and pick up interests that will benefit you in the long run. Make sure you leave some space for fun; if you don’t, it will cause burnout.
If a change is not made, the western world will collapse, followed by Europe, and will be taken over by hostile powers.
Just read some books on warfare and history, and you’ll see how our current situation will play out! Namely, The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli, The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi, The Art of War by Sun Tzu, and Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. If read properly and with care, you’ll understand the world and embrace self-improvement to the fullest.