[Augustine23546]

I notice this every day and, frankly, am quite annoyed by it. I think three factors come to play here. First, so many things that used to take a conscious effort are now done automatically, by computers and other machines. Examples: knowing practical math vs. knowing which buttons to press on a calculator, cooking from scratch vs. heating up prepared foods in a microwave. (This may be why people don't identify themselves on the telephone anymore unless asked; they assume the other party has caller ID!) Second, people seem less aware of how their actions affect others. They see things solely in terms of how it is going to affect them. They don't even stop to think what the other person's reaction is going to be, unless they have very strong 'people skills' to begin with. Third, and this is a major paradigm shift from previous generations, being 'focused' and 'angular' is now prized; hence, you have people who know a lot about one thing, and may be very good at this one thing, but know very little about anything else. Computer programmers and professional athletes (some of them, anyway) are a case in point. Time was, being 'well-rounded' and having a basic instinct about pretty much anything in life was encouraged. There are very few 'men (and women) in full' anymore, i.e., people who have 'done it all.' And don't say 'there isn't any time,' because there is just as much time as there ever was. It's just a matter of setting one's priorities.

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Name : Augustine23546, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 42, City : Columbia, State : SC Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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