I'm writing a review of Mark Bauerlein's The Dumbest Generation right now, which means I'm reading around on line to see what others--including Bauerlein himself--have to say about it. That led me to Nick Gillespie's commentary, which led in turn to clips of his sit-down with Bauerlein for Reason.tv. The first is a nice, compressed summary of Bauerlein's book, and is worth looking at if you are at all concerned about the poor literacy, numeracy, and general knowledge of contemporary American youth--especially if you suspect that immersion in social networking and various screen-based diversions play a role in reduced attention span and heightened insulation from the motivational embarrassments of felt ignorance. The second shows Bauerlein playing the home version of Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? (he is).

Enjoy.