Gen Z dumber than their parents

"Gen Z is the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents.

"...our kids are less cognitively capable than we were at their age. Since we've been standardizing and measuring cognitive development since the late 1800s, every generation has outperformed their parents, and that's exactly what we want. We want sharper kids." 

"Across 80 countries, if you look at the data, once countries adopt digital technology widely in schools, performance goes down significantly. To the point where kids who use computers about five hours per day in school for learning purposes will score over two-thirds of a standard deviation less than kids who rarely or never touch tech at school," Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath reveals.    Source

Two-thirds of a standard deviation in IQ is 10 points. That is the IQ difference between the (historical) United States and Tanzania or Uganda or between Japan and Romania.

Emotion trumps thought

A subject that is very briefly touched upon in the linked article is that the Internet and "algorithms" reward emotional engagement to the extent that it is commonly thought that "feelings", if felt intensely enough, are adequate replacements for math, technical knowledge and...well...intelligence.

"I feel like that wall is thick enough."

"I feel like the concrete has had long enough to cure."

"My steet-smarts tells me that phosphate is used in such small amounts for water-treatment that it really isn't needed." 

I feel sorry for Gen Z. They have been told that they are the very brightest stars to ever have shone in the firmament and that they are the unstoppable vanguard of the future. They believed what their teachers and coaches and academic advisors told them. They really didn't want to hear "old people" telling them "If it sounds too good to be true, somebody is lying to you." 

Fine Art Tuesday

 

Ivan Shishkin born 1832 in eastern Russia and died in 1898 in Russia.

There are very few artists where you can throw a dart at a random collection of their work and the dart will hit a masterpiece. Shishkin is one of those artists. You can randomly choose anything he painted and it will look great on any wall in your house. Peder Mork Monsted is likely to be the only other artist who approaches Shishkin in this regard. 

Owls, microwaves and the inevitable

 

The owl outlined from a previous post for those who could not see it.

Microwaves

Our old one died yesterday. It had been telegraphing that it was unhappy. Fortunately, Mrs ERJ had suggested that I purchase one ahead of time. It was a small matter to unplug the old one and install the new. I added a label indicating that it was put into service on Feb 2, 2026. I am curious to see how long a microwave works.

Eight years ago, yesterday

My brother went into hospice. Tough times.

I got a call from the property

A tree blew over and is leaning across the road. The top of the tree was caught in the branches of the tree on the other side. 

I will call back and see if there is some place for me to park the truck. There is snow everywhere. Rust, rot, decay and gravity never sleep.

Child Endangerment

 

Many jurisdictions have legal codes that define an adult taking a child to an event or location that "a reasonable person" can identify as "hazardous" as a felony called "child endangerment".

So, if I took a child surfing in heavy weather, took a child to a rave or to midnight street racing, I would likely lose custody of that child even if the child was not injured.

Given prior events, "a reasonable person" would likely conclude that tear-gas will be deployed if your buddies are trying to breach the perimeter fence of a Federal facility.

In my universe, the parent(s) are guilty of putting that child in harms-way. Blaming ICE for doing their job is to turn the children into human shields.

Presented without comment

 

Start of the 2026 planting season

Many seeds require a period of cold, damp storage to break-down their dormancy requirements.

A typical sequence involves fully rehydrating the seeds with a twenty-four hour water soak. Since they are not metabolically active, there are no worries about "drowning" them in anaerobic conditions. Some types of seeds rehydrate better when soaked in warm or hot water.

Next, the seeds are combined with damp porous media that allows oxygen to reach the seeds and stored at 40F to 45F for sixty-to-ninety days.

It boggles the mind to think that May 1 is only 90 days (give or take a few) from today.

In addition to the acorns (Quercus rubra (Pennsylvania source), Q. macrocarpa (Missouri) and Q. macrocarpa x robur hybrids) and pecans (Kanza and Goosepond) I have in cold storage, I am rehydrating:

• Bayberry (seed source Maine). Will not tolerate shade, otherwise very accepting of poor "sites". One of the few sources of high quality wax in temperate plants. Has the ability to fix nitrogen when roots encounter appropriate bacteria. To be planted on Houghton Muck soil.
• European Gray Alder (seed source Hungary). Will not tolerate shade. Tolerant of wet sites. Durable wood. Second most catalogued wood in British antiquity artifacts. Stems are arrow-straight. Fixes nitrogen. To be planted on Houghton Muck.
• Eastern Redbud (seed source Wisconsin). Beautiful flowers. Will tolerate light shade. To be planted on west-facing 10% to 15% slope. Said to fix nitrogen.
• Black Locust (seed source Germany). Intolerant of wet soils and shade. Very durable wood. High biomass production. Thorny. Good honey tree. Twisted stems when not crowded. Suckers. Recovers quickly after cutting. Fixes nitrogen.

The links have pretty good descriptions of the species.

The picture in my head is to mold the treated seeds with clay (and maybe some bone meal) to make pellets that I can sling across the landscape with abandon.

Any leads on clumping bentonite or other appropriate clay will be much appreciated. 

Native species

Native range of Eastern Redbud

Native range of Northern Red Oak

Native range Bur Oak

Of all of the species listed, only the Eastern Redbud, Quercus rubra and Q. macrocarpa are considered "native" to Michigan. Pecan and persimmons are native to Indiana's Wabash River valley. Black Locust's native range is difficult to pin down but most "experts" concede that it is native to the northern-eastern half of the Ohio River valley. Some maps show Northern Bayberry being native as far west as Erie, Pennsylvania on the southern shore of Lake Erie

Still here

"Sunday is a day of rest".

I slept in until 6:00 a.m.

Mrs ERJ is still not fully recovered from the flu. I went to Mass today while she stayed home.

I took a nap once I got home.

Very little blog-worthy activity happened.

Bonus Images

Refrigerator Door Art. Quicksilver, age 3

Bur Oak twigs from a fire-ecology adapted strain