Is Britain becoming more stupider and or slash (/) dumberer?

[@Lee]

I do wonder sometimes if Britain is now full of idiots. GCSE/ A level grades are, last I heard, at a record high.

 

So why is it that in days gone by we used to be able to design, build, use and sell supersonic passenger planes?

Why does the RN buy aircraft carriers without planes to use it?

Why does it take 26 weeks to fix a pothole on lane two of the M3?

Why do people let politicians get away with so much?

How the **** did we let H&S regs rule us?

 

 

This is a half arsed rant as I've lost the intellect to make it full arsed* :(

 

 

 

 

*not sure if that should be 'more fuller arsed'.

[Toxicvrs]

H&S is a load of **** IMO

I do an evening motor vehicle engineering course and to go under a vehicle during practical we have to wear a hard hat and glasses! I'm sorry but I don't see how the hell a hard hat is going to help me if 1.5 tonnes of Skoda lands on me! Out here most farm tracks are better than single track roads! GCSE grades have got rather slack and easy over the last few years! I did mine last year and got straight B's and C's as long as you've read through course notes it's easy and IMO some subjects aren't difficult enough. As well as my generation have no ambition or just have wild dreams! (Don't mention a certain Fabia 1.8T) a lot of them need a reality check!

Just my opinion!

[grr666]

Leave it out Lee! Are you trying to make me self combust?

[FUBAR]

Leave it out Lee! Are you trying to make me self combust?

 

Might be the only way he can, since I saw he did his annual clearing out of his ash tray in the Fabia the other day. 

[@Lee]

Might be the only way he can, since I saw he did his annual clearing out of his ash tray in the Fabia the other day. 

yeah thankfully that's that emptied for another year. Probably time to vacuum the floor next :(

[Bian]

T.V is a fair barometer of how the country is doing i would say, and with the current slew of mindless, irresponsible, I want something for nothing oxygen wasters being paraded round it's no wonder many of the younger generations don't care any more. All they see is these idiots getting rewarded so why even try, I also agree with toxic that the gcse's don't seem to be a challenge it's all about the pass rate and not the quality of education on offer.

[Graeme B]

Remove all H&S warnings for 1 year, let the problem sort itself !

[vindaloo]

1) We built the planes the airlines (BAE/BOAC) asked for. Then they bought Boeings anyway as they were less durable but cheaper to run. The VC10 ended up running certain empire routes..... Oh, but those dried up too in the wake of Idi Amin etc.

 

2) Politicians and the economic realities of the banking crash. I still can't quite believe the complete bolox they've made of the decision though. Reminds me of the Chinooks ordered with no software, that needed complete avionics replacements before being sent overseas.... 6 months after they would have been handy to have.

 

3) Usually they do a good job fixing them quickly on the M'ways. Other than that, see economic downturn and council finances.

 

4) Pople don't let politicians get away with things. Their fellow politicians do..... until it becomes an unsupportable position. Then they turn on the weak ones.

 

5) A mutated bizzare combination of wanting to reduce risk coupled with ambulance chasing bull****.

[mender]

I prescribe avoiding the tabloids all week 

[seboni121]

Just sit in a corner of a darkened room until you die ! That's the only way

[GentleGiant]

The rot started with the "Comprehensive System"; having moved house in and out of the Grammar system as a child, I can tell you the Grammar system, even at secondary level, was MUCH tougher. The educational theorists got into power and decided that no child should fail, and that no child should be perceived as smarter or better than any other, so the bright kids got ignored and the dumb ones were made to feel smart.

 

Can anyone else here remember when the C.S.E was introduced?? THERE WAS NO FAIL, As long as you turned up and put your name on the exam paper you got a grade!!!!

 

At least back then, they were willing to admit the new exams were easy, the top C.S.E. score was the equivalent of a "C" at "O" level; the lowest passing grade at "O" level!!

[Auric Goldfinger]

Think I might start a " Days till the the pothole on the M3 gets mended " or " Days till the Aeroplane less carrier get some planes " thread

[Toxicvrs]

Think I might start a " Days till the the pothole on the M3 gets mended " or " Days till the Aeroplane less carrier get some planes " thread

Do the pothole one please

[Llanigraham]

I see the Daily Mail readers are alive and well.

 

Oh, and the title should be "more stupid"; there is no need for the er on the end.

[grr666]

I see the anal ranger is alive and well. Too busy picking fault (as usual) 

to spot the obvious play on words in the title. Here's a special message from Toxic

especially for you...

 

Do one... Please

[Aspman]

I do wonder sometimes if Britain is now full of idiots. GCSE/ A level grades are, last I heard, at a record high.

 

So why is it that in days gone by we used to be able to design, build, use and sell supersonic passenger planes?

Why does the RN buy aircraft carriers without planes to use it?

Why does it take 26 weeks to fix a pothole on lane two of the M3?

Why do people let politicians get away with so much?

How the **** did we let H&S regs rule us?

 

 

This is a half arsed rant as I've lost the intellect to make it full arsed* :(

 

 

 

 

*not sure if that should be 'more fuller arsed'.

 

Politics and politicians are teh answers to all your questions.

 

1. So why is it that in days gone by we used to be able to design, build, use and sell supersonic passenger planes?

   We still could, nae bother. The green lobby would should down anything new that uses more fuel than anything that currently exists.

   We spend all the money on other people so they can build big shiny sciencey things i.e. Indian space program

   You are a white Western opressor therefore you must live in misery and mud to attone for the sins of your forefathers.

    

2. Why does the RN buy aircraft carriers without planes to use it?

   Coz a politician needed a big project to lord over, needed to put some work to that area to secure jobs and votes and the details really don't matter. Anything can be sorted with the liberal application of other people's money. Lets just ignore the fact it would probably have been cheaper to pay off the workforce with a £2M redundancy each.

    

3. Why does it take 26 weeks to fix a pothole on lane two of the M3?

   Because some jobsworth has deemed that it't not a pothole until at least three zebra have fallen into it and a complaint is made in Hindi to the correct department, which is closed.

    

4. Why do people let politicians get away with so much?

   Coz they can. If you right the rules you're always right

    

5. How the **** did we let H&S regs rule us?

   Because if politicians force the population to defer every decision to a rule book written by them eventaull the population will  cease to take responsibility for themselves and obey the state without question.

 

Oh and the educations system; well that's easy, no politician wants to be in charge of any education system that does anything other than go up and no parent wants to see their kid do badly. So grades go up and no one inside the system complains.

 

A well founded education system will produce results that are broadly the same every year. You'll get some small variation up and down but not much.

 

Also note that politicians will rejiog the system every 10yr or so to discredit the system that came before.

Edited 16 September, 2014 by Aspman

[mender]

Has the weather changed or something?

 

Everyone's on a downer 

 

 

It's gorgeous out there today, mid September and t-shirt weather......enjoy  :sun:

[Toxicvrs]

I see the anal ranger is alive and well. Too busy picking fault (as usual)

to spot the obvious play on words in the title. Here's a special message from Toxic

especially for you...

Lovely day tis in Hereford

[Cooke]

The people who "run this country" don't actually know what it's like to earn a wage. It's always easy to spend other peoples money on ****

[@Lee]

I see the Daily Mail readers are alive and well.

 

Oh, and the title should be "more stupid"; there is no need for the er on the end.

there's no need for the 'erer' after dumb but I put that in as well

[Aspman]

Well that the most stupidest idea I've ever not never heard.

[Maieth]

Coming back to the people nit-picking about education systems and 'easy' GCSEs, I always have to smile when people pick fault with rising academic grades.

There is rightly in this country a constant drive to improve standards, both in teaching and learning. The accountability of teachers has risen massively in recent years, exams continue to be more stringent, and all schools are constantly working to achieve better results, so of course grades will rise. Educators are constantly improving their methods to help students learn more effectively, and students, even from a very early age, continue to learn better year on year. The shift is gradual, but the end result is the same, more and more students will achieve higher grades. 

When people talk about older examination systems being 'harder' they are partly right - achieving the same standards was more difficult, but that isn't because the expectations have dropped, it's because schools have found better methods for teaching the required skills and knowledge, the same standards are, therefore, easier to achieve as the students have been better prepared throughout their time in education.  The only time grades start to dip is when they have to be adjusted to match progression. e.g. an 'A' is supposed to be the level achieved by the top, lets say 10% of kids. If more students achieve that standard in a particular year, the bar has to be raised, so there might be fewer As for a few years until progress inevitably catches up.

We are, as a nation, becoming better educated, but, as others have stated, that does nothing to break down the ever-increasing barriers of politics and bureaucracy which, I can agree, get pretty bloody stupid sometimes.

[Llanigraham]

I see the anal ranger is alive and well. Too busy picking fault (as usual) 

to spot the obvious play on words in the title. Here's a special message from Toxic

especially for you...

 

Nice try Gary.

If you can't attack the argument attack the person.

[Sparkly]

Nice try Gary.

If you can't attack the argument attack the person.

 

There was an argument???

 

I'm sure most of us saw a minor insult followed by a smattering of pedantry.

 

Nope, just checked again, no argument that I can see.

[Aspman]