The Mindset List

The annual “Mindset List” from Beloit College has been released in time for the new school year. If you are unfamiliar with this annual treat, here’s an explanation from the school’s website:

Each August since 1998, Beloit College has released the Beloit College Mindset List, providing a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college this fall. Prepared by Beloit’s former Public Affairs Director Ron Nief and Keefer Professor of the Humanities Tom McBride, the list was originally created as a reminder to faculty to be aware of dated references. It quickly became an internationally monitored catalog of the changing worldview of each new college generation.

There are usually some gems in the list. Here are some highlights from the sixty items on this year’s list:

1. Eminem and LL Cool J could show up at parents’ weekend.

6. As their parents held them as infants, they may have wondered whether it was the baby or Windows 95 that had them more excited.

8. Having a chat has seldom involved talking.

11. They have known only two presidents.

14. Rites of passage have more to do with having their own cell phone and Skype accounts than with getting a driver’s license and car.

16. A tablet is no longer something you take in the morning.

40. They have never attended a concert in a smoke-filled arena.

42. There has never been a national maximum speed on U.S. highways.

54. Washington, D.C., tour buses have never been able to drive in front of the White House.

57. Their parents’ car CD player is soooooo ancient and embarrassing.

60. They have always known that there are “five hundred, twenty five thousand, six hundred minutes” in a year.

Read the rest here.