alt Hacker NewsIf there were stupid people back then and there are still stupid people now, wouldn't the interesting thing be to look at what's different?
If there were stupid people back then and there are still stupid people now, wouldn't the interesting thing be to look at what's different?
There are more people now, and all else being equal, there would likely be more stupid people as well, in absolute numbers. That might give someone the impression that things are going downhill.
Also, the article and book claim that people have read less classics than some time ago. But the same argument is even worse in reverse: people from some time ago had no clue about climate change, computers, women's rights, or AI. With all their smarts, they let this happen. How does that suggest that reading the classics is useful?