Heard something profoundly disturbing today (Vanity)

Self | Today | Self

[DuncanWaring]

Was talking to a recently-retired computer-science professor today; he said in the last few years he's been seeing students showing up in college who have literally

Never.

Used.

A.

Screwdriver.

He has been teaching a higher-level class in automating control of a train setup.

Part of the project is to assemble a train car from a kit.

These kids have no idea how to do it.

[DuncanWaring]

They've spent every spare moment in their entire lives playing video games.

[mountn man]

I bet they can put a condom on a banana.

[GeorgiaDawg32]

did they want to go to a safe space to listen to calming music and color their little books?

[Kickass Conservative]

>>>I bet they can put a condom on a banana>>>

Without using their Hands.

[Pearls Before Swine]

People have been specializing for years. Some 30 years ago, I worked on a 3-D display at a college. One of the kids who programmed it up was very good—his code almost always worked the first time. But, he had never used a soldering iron.

[paintriot]

Neighbor kid(28yo) didn’t know what tool to use to unscrew a screw. Video gamer. Go figure.

[faithhopecharity]

lack of mechanical and manual skills is very serious indeed

so is the lack of reading, writing, arithmetic, critical thinking, analysis, and research skills

in the freshman college class today

you wouldn’t believe just how deficient many of them are
(and seriously lacking in motivation to learn or to achieve)

USA is in deep, deep doo-doo and it transcends our illegall alien Transformer in Chief

[eyeamok]

I have this exact conversation with my customers almost Daily!

Millennial’s, Dumber than Dirt, but some of the Proudest Morons you will ever meet.

[Blood of Tyrants]

When I went to college to get my electrical engineering degree, there were many kids there that had no idea how to use a multimeter.

[elpinta]

Started decades ago, ‘education’ system, ‘parenting’ and such.
We are indeed in trouble.

[wally_bert]

An ability that is far more prized by this warped society.

Doing something useful with one’s hands like building or fixing something is probably seen as some sort of micro aggression and assertion of privilege.

[ClearCase_guy]

I believe it.

Of course, the best computer science people probably build their own systems, which would involve at least some use of a screwdriver (and possibly much more if they mod the whole setup).

But a lot of “the elite” today have virtually no skills in the real world. They are bred to be Masters of the Universe. They don’t need skills.

[eyeamok]

you wouldn’t believe just how deficient many of them are

2 out of 3 according to the Dept of Edjewkashin

[discostu]

Meh. The modern world is disposable, screwdrivers are used to fix things, which we don’t do much of anymore. I probably go years between usages. Luckily, they ain’t that tough.

[super7man]

On a similar vein, I was a Scout leader for many years and often 11 and 12 yr. olds joined, who had never struck a match and had to learn.

It was always fun to watch a group of Tenderfoots (feet?) try and set up a tent for the first time. Sometimes it took 2 hours. By the second year it took less than 15 minutes.

[DuncanWaring]

There’s a big difference between “soldering iron” and “screwdriver”.

I use one on a near-daily basis; the other I hardly ever use (but I do have one).

[CGASMIA68]

I was a facilities guy for a bank after retiring from Bell.
One day I was helping the IT Geek put together a rack.Screwdriver and cresent wrench,no biggie.
All through the process he kept saying “Righty Tighty Lefty Lucy”.
I have never heard that before and asked him WTF is up with that.He told me its how he remembers how to tighten and loose nuts and bolts.

Unbelievable but he was the same guy the had all 3 UPS units plugged in to the same outlet in the server room.

[Chickensoup]

But, he had never used a soldering iron.

___________________

There is a whale of a difference between a soldiering iron and a screwdriver. I can’t solder but I can screw anything.

[vetvetdoug]

OTOH I have encountered some Mississippi farm kids that could break down a shotgun and put it back together as fast as I could. They also could trouble shoot old tractors like a licensed mechanic. It just depends on where one is in the world.

[centurion316]

During 8th Grade shop class, most of us chose a project to fabricate a letter opener. These were all based on the prototype known as a Bowie Knife, capable of disemboweling every soldier of General Santa Anna’s Army. Our shop class instructor thought of nothing of it, as this had been the most popular project for at least the last 20 years.