The Triumph Of The Airheads and the Retreat from Commonsense

by Shelley Gare

This is an insightful, funny and scary new book on the dumbing down of life, language and everything. 'Not one of my 33 second-year university students had ever heard of Chairman Mao...' Letter to The Australian. 'It sold well because lots of people bought it.' Publisher Andrew Franklin. Ever felt as if someone's stolen your brain. numerous examples of idiocy, buffoonery in high places, 'famous' nobodies, decisions that defy all logic? The question is why? How come our world - yours and mine - has been taken over by morons? How come questions are answered by a 'whatever' shrug, or not answered at all... while you're put on hold? Multi-award-winning journalist Shelley Gare reveals the answers in her insightful, funny, and scary new book.

Genres: Nonfiction, Book Club

304 pages, paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Stephen Coates · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book about dumbing down, in politics, the media, education and business and the intersection of this dumbing down with celebrity culture (is celebrity culture new or dumber than it had always been?), post modernism and, the behavioural equivalent of kitsch and the lack of accountability and responsibility. Beyond its examination of the above, it contains some specific nuggets such as what teachers call "DJ parents" who earning good money and, having spent plenty on their child, are disappointed at the child’s failure to excel would like to be able to exchange this child for one that meets their expectations; and the post modernists who are determined that education be more about the "journey" through schooling than actually learning but expect their doctors etc to have been educated properly.

It was certainly an enjoyable read but it reads like a piece written hurriedly to meet a deadline with a string of topics and anecdotes as if put together after dumping the filing cabinet with less attention paid to linking them together and developing the theoretical framework on which the book appears to be based. She also expressed notes of caution about gay relations and marijuana as if the former were a matter of choice and if proposals to decriminalise the latter were equivalent to endorsement of its use. Nonetheless the book was not only easy to read, but easy to imagine what she might have had to say about the US presidency of Donald Trump and the Aboriginal victim culture although these might have required more serious effort than what went into this book.

[VeganMedusa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't agree with everything in this book (feminism and gender studies are pointless because there's still violence to women and a pay gap?) but a lot of it was entertaining and so true. Like all the stuff about management and consultancy - consultancy has a 30% success rate but is seen as an exact science and the businesses that fail are seen as exceptions. All the HR gobbledygook speak - the mission statements that have no bearing on reality, etc. And the airhead celebrity culture now, with children growing up wanting to be famous, not for doing something worthy but any way they can.
But the absolute worst case of airheadism for a booklover? Sydney City Library. Someone made the decision to move the library into new premises - a lovely old building. But unfortunately, the floor in the new building couldn't hold tall shelves full of books, so they made the shelves waist high, meaning that everyone has to bend over to look for books on the shelves. It also meant they had to get rid of half - yes HALF - their books. So librarians had to cull half the books - put them into storage or ship them off to branch libraries or just get rid of them.
But the good news is there was a lovely coffee bar with barista in the new building. :)
Aarrrgh!

[Cass · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was filled with so much interesting and relevant information that there's no room left over for air in my head!

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring. Flicked through most of it. Might have been good & relevant when it was 1st released.

[Greg Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent discussion of a modern phenomenon; well-researched and easily accessible to anyone with an open mind.

[Angelmae · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's one of those "funny but true" type books that's good for a laugh but hardly the stuff of major social improvement. Shelley is quite witty, definitely late Baby Boomer early Gen X approach to work and life. And yes she is probably right in many of her caustic observations of contemporary Australia (or even the "Western" world) in decline. Good light read for the most part. I enjoyed the back end, of the book as she points out the "managerialism" mentality that has taken over our workplaces and public institutions, a phenomenon that we can all see (if we were working before the advent of the MBA) but feel kind of helpless to stop. I had to laugh at the evolution from the crusty old "payroll guy" into the blond smug corporate HR Department.

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Social criticism. slightly tediuos, occasionally amusing.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Depressing but most of it true.