Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!ncis.llnl.gov!afit-ab!wbralick From: wbralick@afit-ab.arpa (William A. Bralick) Newsgroups: comp.edu Subject: tEEvEE (was : Re: Are Americans Intellectually Inferior?) Message-ID: <828@afit-ab.arpa> Date: 20 Jan 89 03:13:49 GMT References: <14.UUL1.3#913@acw.UUCP> <2085@scolex> <1179@uw-entropy.ms.washington.edu> <1932@buengc.BU.EDU> Reply-To: wbralick@blackbird.afit.af.mil (William A. Bralick) Distribution: na Organization: Air Force Institute of Technology; WPAFB, OH Lines: 49 In article <1932@buengc.BU.EDU> bph@buengc.bu.edu (Blair P. Houghton) writes: >In article <1179@uw-entropy.ms.washington.edu> charlie@mica.stat.washington.edu (Charlie Geyer) writes: >> >>Americans are intellectually inferior because they learn everything >>they know from TV. > >Can you tell who's been watching too much of the tube? > >The Boston globe ran an article this past Sunday where the authors took >every study they could find (a few hunnert...) of TV vs. intellect from >the past umpteen years, and summarized: > >TV doesn't hinder nor does it aid one's education, unless you're learning >the numbers and letters offa Sesame Street. > I am somehow extremely surprised that the results of this "study," published in the esteemed (and refereed) journal, _Boston Globe_, pander to the prejudices of the Globe's tube-head readership. Everyone *knows* that tEEvEE doesn't turn your brain to mush, it's educational. Personally, I am amazed at people who can view _Three's Company_ or a foo-bah game while they read Plato and derive great intellectual enlightenment from both. Of course tEEvEE hinders your education. How can you continue to educate yourself as an adult while that mindless, insulting drivel sucks up your attention? Watch people watch tEEvEE sometime, then, just for fun, estimate how many hours of your life you have spent tubing. When I did that, the figure worked out to be 30,000 hours. I might as well have been lying in a drunken stupor for 4.5 years (18 (waking) hour days). Perhaps the Globe's results might just be due to low expectations: Boston Globe Intelligence Test: Current events: 1. What did Vanna wear last night? 2. In which country is the District of Columbia located? "Gee, look," say the (ahem) researchers, "tubers and non-tubers both missed one question! tEEvEE must have no effect on intelligence!" Regards, -- Will Bralick : wbralick@afit-ab.arpa | If we desire to defeat the enemy, Air Force Institute of Technology, | we must proportion our efforts to | his powers of resistance. with disclaimer; use disclaimer; | - Carl von Clauswitz