It's called COMMON SENSE...
It's to see Albert Einstein talk when I was seven and here magic words "Imagination Is More Important Than Knowledge"
It's knowing when brand new must-have fashion is a recycle of 11 years ago.
It's knowing when gigantic car manufacturers spend millions of dollars evaluating life-span of components versus exclusivity of replacement parts sourcing and the profit.
It's knowing the component recycling makes for far less profit. Look at the motherboard of any PC and tell me component substitution is not cost effective.
It's being aware of the fact that the USA's crude oil production is close to surpassing the high of 1970 with one exception. We now have ultra light grade crude that produces 8x more light ends than heavy West Texas Intermediate even with use of catalytic cracking. Yet the oil industry cries OPEC! Oil spike pricing! Saudi Arabia! Shortages! Russia! Iran! This is a real Jim Varney national showcase of Forrest Gumpism.
Yes I am obsolete. No one cares about how things work. Bad? Throw it out. Try sixteen different inferior variant clones before giving up and saying "That's Life" Why do brand name made-in-Europe (flagship) medicines cost 1/15th the price in Mexico?
Why are Wiha screwdrivers better than Snap-On at half the price with German labor costing twice as much?
And Foggy Bottom failed-lawyers have a drug sedated public mesmerized with the word "computer -SMART- -Genius- -IQ- -Automatic- -Set And Forget- -One Touch-
If a cash register does not register "Change Due" you have as much chance as a fart in a whirlwind that the cashier knows how to figure change from the bottom up without using a calculator.
People who are as you put it -dumbed down- pnichols, haven't got a CLUE as to go about troubleshooting. From their bank balance to how much time is left on a parking meter.
And I, me, MOI suffer for this every time I deal with Americans at my expense in the USA Professionals. Go to "PAIN DOCTOR" for hyaluronic acid injections to lubricate shoulder joints not a narcotic. Never heard of it they explained. It's been around 60 years. So they KNOWINGLY give me STEROIDS! A diabetic! I just took at 407 blood sugar reading (8 phone images for evidence) An Rx for an MRI. Where? I asked. They hadn't a clue. I told THEM Scripps hospital has MRI machines. They balked at FAXing an Rx to the hospital. The thought they could sleaze by having me drive 30 miles. This is insanity.