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Frizzy-haired, New York-based, Canadian author, Malcolm Gladwell has just released a new book that everyone is talking about. It's surely going to be a bestseller.

And perhaps that's partly because the main premise is very simple and easy to understand: even naturally talented people need practice to become really good at what they do.

That's pretty obvious isn't it? But sometimes the obvious has to be pointed out again and again and again.

And that's why I'm going to remind you now that 99% of the people who go around boosting Gen Y are just plain dumb.

Outrageous Claims

Listen to this claim that about Barack Obama’s victory. It's not only the best example yet of the growing influence of Generation Y in America and the world.

"Gen Y is smart, diverse, energized, socially and politically aware and able to use the Internet to do pretty much anything."

"Pretty much anything." What does that mean? Everything and nothing.

Well-Informed

You know what? I don't think the average person is well informed politically no matter how old they are. And I don't think they ever will be. You know why? It's too much work.

Look. If Gen Y is so busy being well informed, who's watching Access Hollywood? The old guys? The Boomers? Come on, look at the ads. They're not selling Depends.

A Deceptive Brand

And you know what? Gen Y isn't diverse either. When people talk about Gen Y they're only talking about middle class college educated people who plan on having careers.

And here's something else. When people talk about Gen Y they never tell you stories like this.

Queens University is one of Canada's top universities. It's across the lake from Rochester in the United States. Every September, they have a big homecoming party and a few thousand old students march around the football field during half time.

Drunken Brawl

But recently they had to cancel this event because the current students like to get drunk and wreck things. For instance, this past September, a customer at a fast-food restaurant was attacked and put into a coma. He woke up after a month but he's going to have permanent brain damage.

And this was really a Gen Y event because the Queens University students put out the word on Facebook that this is going to be a big drunken brawl and students came from all around to participate.

Now it's possible that the student who put that guy into a coma was "smart, diverse, energized, socially and politically aware and able to use the Internet to do pretty much anything." But he was also a goof. And he wasn't the only one.

In Conclusion

As history progresses, education is becoming more widespread. So does freedom spread in all sorts of relationships. Nevetheless, Gen Y is, in many ways, as ignorant and foolish as any other generation. In fact, they're almost as ignorant as their much-maligned parents, the baby boomers. But the boosters, they forget to mention that.