Something that really grinds my gears is the idea that Americans are getting dumber and dumber as the generations go on. This is simply not true. Our generation known as generation Y is easily the largest of any generation. We have seen catastrophic events such as 9/11, the Boston Bombings, and have witnessed some truly breathtaking events such as the election of the first minority president. We have grown more experienced as a nation, more tightly knit as a nation, and have grown stronger as a nation. The next couple of years will do a lot to define America’s role in the world. The impending energy and environmental crisis, the Arab spring, the technological boundary, and the increasing instability in North Korea are all events that will be altered by us. Fortunately for the American people our generation will be extremely beneficial to the success of our country.

A dramatic trend in the educational landscape that shows my point is the rapid, exponential decline in college acceptance rates. In 1989, the acceptance rate to Harvard University was 16.9%; which is a low number but compare it to 2013’s rate of 5.9% and the difference is shocking. The trend occurring at Harvard is happening in all other institutions in the country as an increasingly capable population is applying for a small amount of seats at various selective institutions of higher education. This growing rejection rate helps make other less prominent institutions become more desired as skilled applicants who get rejected from one school decide to attend a lesser known  school. The average SAT score for Swarthmore college in 1970 was a 1323 (two score) and in 2012 was a 1435, which is a huge difference when you consider the fact that the SAT is a scaled test. Based on the results of standardized tests, the new generation is growing smarter, and the acceptance rates of the elite schools reflect the growing competition in the applicant pool.

Fourty years ago, the computer did not exist. Humans relied on mail and the phone to communicate, which slowed down things considerably. In the digital age in which we live in, more and more can be accomplished in a smaller amount of time due to technological innovations. This is evident in the string of new computers, tablets, and smart phones all of which seem to change yearly and bring new improvements every time. The smartphone, the small device unfathomable by the older generation, allows people to communicate and do work on-the-go, saving lots of time and effort. The people who design and market these products today have more knowledge and experience compared to their predecessors, because although breakthroughs in technology happened in the 60’s and 70’s, they were much fewer in number.

The misconception that Americans are growing stupider is partly due to the increasing population. Since America has more people, we have a greater diversity of intelligence levels than people in previous generations. That said, the ratio of intelligent to unintelligent people has stayed consistent, and might actually be increasing. If we apply Darwin’s theory of evolution to Americans and utilize the assumption that intelligent people are more successful and usually have better futures than unintelligent people, we come to the conclusion that the smarter people are the ones who are staying alive and reproducing more. I think that being smart or dumb has a direct correlation with the environment you are raised in, and as the successful intelligent people bear children, they are raised in better environments and become smarter.

I believe that America is in good hands. As our population grows, certainly more dumb people are born, but the ratio of smart to dumb is essentially the same or increasing. As America heads into the new decade, the new generation Y will be important to the ensuring the vitality and success of our great nation.