Are Americans Stupid? - Statistics, Studies and Research
Dmitri June 9th, 2007
We made a couple of posts concerning people’s perception of Americans around the world and the things American tourists do to enforce that perception. Now we come to the next part; are there any statistical data that gives any indication in favour of the world perception of Americans? The answer is yes, there is and I have compiled it right below, in this very article. Sources quoted, you can check them out for details on the studies and research methods.
USA scores the lowest in national average IQ among the developed countries of the world, at a national average score of 98. The data is obtained from IQ and Global Equality by Dr. Richard Lynn (professor of Psychology, University of Ulster, Northern Ireland) and Dr. Tatu Vanhanen (University of Tampere, Finland) who have done extensive research on the subject spanning several years. The national average IQ score of Americans at 98 is below 22 countries (including Switzerland, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, North Korea and China). The low Intelligence Quotient (IQ) score of United States puts the Americans at a lower intelligence level on an average as compared to the other industralised nations.
The mathematical skills and abilities to process mathematical problems put America on a weak spot. American high school students scored 483 in the test Program for International Student Assessment. The average scores of American students were way below those of top scoring countries like South Korea, Japan, Switzerland, Germany, Ireland, etc. all of whom scored between 503 and 544 (significantly higher than US scores). Mathematical skills, scientific temper and the ability to apply mathematical knowledge are essential in the present world and they are the roots of logical and scientific reasoning. If this becomes a weak point, a person’s ability to fare well in science, logical and anaytical thinking would suffer as well.
Another study as a special report by ABC showed that in scientific and mathematical skills, an average Belgian kid scored better than a skilled American. By age fifteen Americans fell behind 25 countries in this test. They scored worse than countries which spend much less in education. The report also states that in US, mediocrity is encouraged by monopoly of public school and opportunity based scholarships, which is hurting the academic ability of Americans when compared to the rest of the world. Yes, monopoly hurts because there is no competition to better oneself against, but when it comes to countries with lesser quality of education it says something. Those countries are not well off either but in spite of that they do better than US.
“American adults in general do not understand what molecules are (other than that they are really small). Fewer than a third can identify DNA as a key to heredity. Only about 10 percent know what radiation is. One adult American in five thinks the Sun revolves around the Earth, an idea science had abandoned by the 17th century.” This is an excerpt from an article by New York Times which did a study and survey of Americans to determine their awareness. Coming from a nation where half the schools do not teach the science of evolution, scientific outlook is discouraged and a lot of emphasis is laid on religious education, the results are hardly surprising.
Now with all these statistics and research data it is up to you, the reader to decide if Americans really deserve the ’stupid’ tag. As with any nation, there are always exceptions which means not all Americans fit these statistics. But a majority of Americans do which creates the average data at a lower level than the other countries.
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- Comments(470)
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I like this site! Well written and well spotted.
It will not be strange if Americans start crying foul because they have been PROVEN using FACTS. I like the way it is presented good job!.
I agree with a lot, except I am aware in many other countries the weaker students are place in tech schools so they aren’t competing. But why would you mention that?
@ericoak - I am unaware of such a trend. As far as I am aware, the industrailised countries have their best students opting for science and technology related fields. Which is a contrast to conservative United States, where science and technology are looked down upon and soft skill jobs like law and consultancy regain supreme. No wonder kids are mathematically weak and uninspired, there is hardly any incentive to do so.
You’re analysis of the data isn’t only totally absurd, it’s also extremely shallow as well, as it shows who really is lacking in intelligence. Of course, when it comes to IQ scores the USA’s scores are going to lag behind all much smaller and more homogenous countries, simply due to the fact that the USA takes in a much greater percentage of immigration from the third world than all other countries! It’s also going to cause a few other statistics to lag as well. Don’t quit your day job you ignoramus!
@ A Zionist
We do not mind normal criticisms from Americans on articles as dealing with touchy and sensitive topics like this one. I did not however, expect blatant insults and personal attacks, false accusations it speaks for itself what you are.
First, all the countries US lags behind in IQ scores are not homogenous and small nations. The PRC of China which scores seven points above US scores has a population of 1.3 billion which is about 4 times that of US. It has a heterogenous mixture of Hans, Tibetans, Mandarins and Russians which disputes your claim of homogenity as well.
Secondly, you made made an errorenous claim that the US takes a greater percentage of foreign immigration than all other countries. The countries with the largest percentage of immigration are UK, France and New Zealand. In France 85% of immigration is from African countries where low IQ rates prevail. While in US, citizens of foreign origin are mostly from high IQ countries like China and Japan which should give it America a boost against France or UK; but seeminly it doesnt. And it is no suprise that the lowest scorers among Americans are not among the immigrant citizens but among the non-immigrant Americans.
Most of the brilliant scientists, doctors and academics are of European or Asian origin despite the fact that these people move to US only when unable to find a satisfactory job in their competitive home countries. You should be thanking the immigrants rather than spreading hate based propaganda against them, it is because of them that your nation did not score at par with sub-Saharan countries.
As for your comments against Dmitri, I would like to clarify that he has a better and more comfortable job compared to what you might have. I can say this for sure as I do not expect a person with the level of your prejudice to be able to do as well as he does.
If you’re between 13 and 25, you should know the answer to every one of theses questions; otherwise, you are a complete and utter idiot raised by derisory, useless parents who deserve a good beating for allowing you to be educated by worthless teachers uncaring of your future.
Who is the Vice president of the United States?
Who is the Secretary of Defense?
Who is the Secretary of the State?
Who is the Attorney General of the United States?
Who is Jeb Bush?
What does the D.C. in Washington D.C. stand for?
What are the Fundamental Orders of 1639?
Where is Iraq?
Where is Afghanistan?
What did the president of Iran do to America before he ever became Iran’s president?
Where is Iran?
Where is the United Nations, who runs it, and is it a good thing?
How would you the reader like to hear the answers to those questions posed to college students in my own college classes? Better yet, why don’t I give you the answer I give back to the 22 year old idiots awaiting Bachelor’s degrees in Law, Social Services—that’s the most popular because it’s a crime to be white and rich, therefore students must be taught to feel guilty for being born white, rich, and attending a private University in a wealthy town; and are brainwashed into believing they must change white society to one of communistic equality where no one has more than anyone and welfare is a wonderful thing for blacks to live on for eternity. And there are the Political Science majors such as myself. Some are conservative and have known the answers to the questions above since they were two and could put sentences together; but others, God help us, think Dick Cheney’s father was Hollywood’s Dracula.
[...] Are Americans Stupid? This is an excerpt from an article by New York Times which did a study and survey of Americans to determine their awareness. Coming from a nation which does not teach the science of evolution, discourages a scientific outlook of the world and a lot of emphasis is laid on religious faith and education, the results are hardly surprising. Now with all these statistics and research data it is up to you, the reader to decide if Americans really deserve the ’stupid’ tag. As with any nation, there are always exceptions which means not all Americans fit these statistics. But a majority of Americans do which creates the average data at a lower level than the other countries. [...]
3 children of russian immigrants to the u.s decided to have fun at school. They got 3 piglets from the farm painted the #1 on one, the #2 on another and #4 on the last one, and freed them at school. Apart from causing total hysteria and havoc, the police and fire fighters spent 1 week searching for piglet #3!! After futile efforts the piglet was announced “missing”!! Another case, on my question, “who were the victors during ww 2?” most americans answered germany. I honestly dont know how this is possible. And everyone was so offended and i was given the “terrible” title of “nerd”. Nerd= anyone who has an IQ above 100, who can read more than 2 pages a day, who is interested in other things than just drinking, parties and prostitutes. American teenage translation!!
“3 children of russian immigrants to the u.s decided to have fun at school. They got 3 piglets from the farm painted the #1 on one, the #2 on another and #4 on the last one, and freed them at school. Apart from causing total hysteria and havoc, the police and fire fighters spent 1 week searching for piglet #3!! After futile efforts the piglet was announced “missing”!! Another case, on my question, “who were the victors during ww 2?” most americans answered germany. I honestly dont know how this is possible. And everyone was so offended and i was given the “terrible” title of “nerd”. Nerd= anyone who has an IQ above 100, who can read more than 2 pages a day, who is interested in other things than just drinking, parties and prostitutes. American teenage translation!!”
How would you know most americans answered Germany? Did you ask them all on your own?
don’t try to be a smart ass if you don’t know what your talking about. And by the way, Germany starts with an uppercase G. I’m an American teenager and i can assure you we don’t tell people who have an IQ above 100 nerds. And I know for a fact that most people read more than two pages a day. And no, not all americans are interested in drinking partying and prostitutes. And that is not an american teenage translation.
“Coming from a nation which does not teach the science of evolution, discourages a scientific outlook of the world and a lot of emphasis is laid on religious faith and education, the results are hardly surprising.”
oh please, im a high school student and that’s a bunch of bull. Evolution is being tought in schools, and so what if their is faith in schools. Its not like their is such a thing a seperation of church and state (for those of you who dont know, its in a letter written by Thomos Jefferson and he used a “wall of seperation”).
After reading this article I feel sad that this once great nation that was once regarded as a beacon of freedom and opportunity, is now scoring so low in IQ testing. Shouldn’t the promise of opportunity include higher education in one of the richest countries in the world? I am greatly concerned that the “fat stupid American” stereotype has been increasingly a topic of conversation worldwide.
Some of the comments here lash out at this article but never truly address the possible reasons behind it. Our entertainment is garbage, our food supply is full of chemicals, and you can make more money as a waiter than as a teacher, what can one expect when you add up all of these factors. It’s no wonder these stereotypes have become more prevalent.
Americans have lost more than their IQ rankings, Americans have lost their moral compass. Some Americans would rather confront this debate with rage and hatred in their hearts than discuss this issue intellectually with respect for other opinions even if they disagree. I suspect it is the insecurity that deep down there is truth to the stereotype that creates such intense emotions.
If we Americans are to change these scores we must begin with a paradigm shift in our hearts. We must not view those who would point out our shortcomings as the enemy, that is the same logic as killing the messenger. These are not failures which cannot be corrected but instead must be scene as the challenge of our generation. We need to take back control our bodies and minds and demand positive change by voting, informing others and being involved in political action. We must elevate the spirit of our fellow man if we are to deserve the prosperity this country has given us.
Well said my friend Jay. If we are to build a better world we cannot do it with an attitude of ‘nukes and bombs’. Americans can’t hope for peace while they remain woefully ignorant how the world works and their government bombs any country they don’t see eye to eye. There is no ‘evil’ country, it is just difference of ideas and diplomacy is the art of seeing things from different points of view. Americans lack in this diplomacy which is why Switzerland mediated for US in Iran Hostage Crisis and came out successfully while Americans faced a lot of casualties with their ‘bombs and guns’ approach to recue operation. American people must stop being so xenophobic and ignorant of the world and open up more to see how it really is. It isn’t a world of ‘God blessed Americans’ and ‘damn evil commies’.
@ Lisa Richards. Good test questions there, except “Is the United Nations a good thing?” is a question of opinion. Asking if ANYTHING is a good thing is a question of opinion no matter how obvious the answer might be, even as simple a question as “is it a good thing to breathe?” But I guess you can gauge intelligence on how a person answers the “is it good” question, but the important answer would be to the question “why is it (or not) a good thing?”
America teaches and tests everybody. Special Education students attend classes with regular Education students. In the mix are the non and emerging English speaking students. The statistics may show that we are stupid, but we teach our own and everybody elses regardless of their ability. England is the only other country that educates everyone. IQ is a number. I’ve taught plenty of idiots with high IQ’s. The stupid are those that sit on their high horses compiling statics, and believing that’s the whole story. Go solve a calculus problem and get back to me later.
I always see the world as one country,no borders, with people speaking different languages also with all different cultures respecting each other, understanding that no one is better than anybody else and justifying people who doesn’t have manners because the lack of opportunity in their education.
Probably because I was born and raised in a 3rd country (Peru), I am still asking myself how education can be more meaningful for my students? here in US, Spain or in Peru still looking for a good answer …. sometimes I answer with this crazy idea that the goverment need ignorants to continue taking advange and make whatever they want to do with out any kind of oposition.
I don’t know anything, I am still learning … I for sure I’ll continue until I found the answers to my questions.
Yeah, I agree for the most part, however, there are a few things that are skewed. Yes, Americans are ignorant for the most part and cannot think of anything that does not consist of themselves, but here is my reasoning behind that: world affairs do not affect them directly. For example, gas. Gas prices continue to go up, it is the reason for the war, yet all we do is complain and blame a polital party, but we are completely oblivious to the fact the more we drive around in our cars (because we hardly have any form of public transportation), the more the US relies on oil, and the more gas prices go up. See, we cannot think of anything but ourselves - we cannot possibly think that our excessive use in natural resouces is affecting the rest of the world.
School. Students today, take advantage of education. They go because they have to, not because the want to, and whether or not they pay attention…..I think you already know the answer to that. Also, teachers have a strict criteria on what they can and cannot teach. They cannot teach who the Prime Minister of Canada is because they are too busy teaching the nutshell of the entire world history - that’s right, teachers somehow have to teach over a thousand years of history in just a few weeks; most colleges have an entire course on one event in history. Perhaps we have a reason why we do not know everything. Oh, just so you know creationism AND evolution is taught in most schools. Choosing one over the other is extremely controversial and makes the headlines…..or maybe you guys did not know that and maybe you guys need to brush up on your US knowledge.
IG test: WHO TAKES THOSE?! In my entire life - even though it hasn’t been that long - i have never taken or ever known someone who has taken a legitimate IQ test. So I don’t know where you got this research or where “IQ and Global Equality” got their test subjusts, but they sure did not get it from a large sample. Oh, and I went to the link that is listed in the article and it sent me to wikipedia.com. You should know that wikipedia is NOT a credible source because anyone can change/add/delete information from it. So i suggest changing that link because right now i do not believe a word of it - IQ and Global Equality is a book, did YOU read it? Another thing about IQ Tests: they are very controversial here in the US because one cannot possibly measure an IQ. The more you take it, the better you get at it and you can take it one day and be a complete genius and then the next day and you are dumb as a post.
The Media: Sadly, not everyone watches/reads the news, so they would not know what is going on in the world and those who do read/watch can only know what is printed. The media does not print everything that is going on in the world. Lately, all we here about is Iraq and how political figures cause scandals - after awhile, we can only take but so much.
I personally blame the media because there are issues going in the world that they will not write about. Like child soldiers, I had no idea that that was going on and I had to learn about it through 3 young guys and not through the media.
our public schools are not allowed to teach creationism by the way, only evolution. American schools are actually very politically correct about not offending someone’s specific religious beliefs, etc. They actually tend to go kind of overboard in fact. It’s definately clear that students learning and actually retaining that information is a problem everywhere in the world, it takes a real dedication for all people to keep up with those kinds of things.
I actually wouldn’t mind having a real, intelligent discussion about these kinds of issues, bt it always ends up the american viewpoints being insulted back or our country just being mocked, which is quite annoying, and very easy to do with our position in the world.
Anyway, no offence or anything, but this does seem like pretty much an elitist website where your countries are perfect and ours is the horrible one, so i think we should all just show some respect and not be so hostile.
Aby, you obviously misread everything i wrote: I AM AGREEING THAT AMERICANS ARE IGNORANT, myself included. Do I wish I could learn more? Yes. My oil explaination was an example of how ignorant we areMost of the stuff I said, I was calling it as a see it. I don’t know ANYONE who has taken an IQ test and I asked many of them if they knew anyone and they said no as well. Did I ask everyone? No. Does that mean that I think IQ are useless? No. As for you not trusting a US government website, well, that is your opinion. Students are told by their teachers and professor NOT to use them in a credible paper. Does that mean student don not use them for background information? No. If Americans do not use/remember the stuff they are taught when they were in school - which they don’t, I admitted to us not taking advantage of education - it means that their profession does not require it. We have a phase “if you don’t use it, you lose it” and that is what has happened to most of us.
I was not disagreeing, but trying to explain some pitiful reasoning behind our ignorance. Just because I believe Americans are ignorant does not mean that I will not defend. Oh. and by the way I did go back to the wikipedia webpage and your country, the Czech Republic, has the same IQ as the US so I suggest you spending your time mocking the US and worry about your own country since you believe the US has such a low IQ.
Or are you Swiss and in that case your country is 3 points higher. I clearly do not know anything about IQ tests, but what is that one question more.
American schools by and large do not operate on a policy of marketisation. This is quite a stereotypically British policy in which schools compete in order to acquire league table places and more funding from the government. although it has its massive flaws it does in fact drive up standards. All countries around the world have faith schools in which their is inevitably a bias against teaching children scientific methodology and it would be ridiculous to believe that America is the only place where this does occur.
The American education system is based on ascribed status more than achieved status. Never before have i witnessed such an overtly unfair system in which one can “buy” places into top colleges OR get in because they’re particularly good at sports. Even in Britain such elitism exists but in substantially lesser numbers and is ALSO less BLATANT. In fact i am utterly appalled at the fact that one can gain a sports scholarship (some jock who can barely count to 10 taking the place of a gifted and intelligent individual) however this is a real and disturbing reality in America.
American culture is also inherently flawed. its focus is FAR too much in favour of entertainment in the form of overindulgence in foods, sports etc. Go to the Central Business District of any American settlement and there will be buffets as far as the eye can see ( i know since i went to some of these). The average American child is encouraged to worship the Lord and hate Muslims and be good at sport then they are to be curious. This is of course no surprise as once you arm a child with intelligence they start to question the idiotic and racist society that they find themselves in.
NOW at this point you probably think I’m some left wing European who hates America… well you’re half right. Let me tell you a short story to illustrate my point. My family and i were in the Louvre in France when we met and greeted a young American couple. We all spoke in English accents and said we were from Manchester. They seem puzzled and went “what Manchester New Hampshire (in america). In my mind this was a blatant demonstration of the insular mindset of the average American. The poor couple!!! they couldn’t fathom that there was in fact a world outside America.
For a developed country i am constantly struck by the xenophobic and islamophobic attitude of the average American. I strongly believe although that these statistics do have their flaws they can be easily explained by some analysis.Take the American political system and compare it to the British political system. Yes there is a gigantic difference. On the whole British politicians are well spoken/mannered intelligent and can actually hold an intellectual conversation which doesn’t reflect a deep rooted and racist bias.You actually get the feeling that these politicians actually got into Oxbridge on their own merit. On the other hand the American politician is usually a devout Christian who is ignorant of evolution (and the finer details of it for that matter) cannot even begin to describe how climate change occurred and is very happy to manipulate the crowd with some Christian jargon or some display of feminine emotion (Hilary Clinton I’m looking at you) and probably bought their way into Yale or Harvard.
OF COURSE you cannot just generalize based on these statistics but they do an excellent job in reinforcing what I have seen and experienced in the USA. In short, the American education system does not encourage competition (unless in some form of sport) pays lip service to evolution ( but the same old anti scientific bias can be seen if you hold a conversation with a young American child), is completely unmeritocratic, and in fact is actually there to reinforce and maintain the idiotic American world view. In fact these statistics come as no surprise. JUST IMAGINE if an American was in fact intelligent enough to challenge the establishment on intellectual grounds. It would mean the end of American civilization as we know it. Just imagine if instead of eating yourselves to death you actually worked (YES I SAID WORKED) for a place in college ( instead of letting some rich bigot bail you out) and if you actually STOPPED CARING about when Paris Hilton gets out of jail, you might have a higher standing in the view of developed European countries who now easily outstrip the average American in virtues such as tolerance,dilligence, awareness of world affairs and scientific curiosity.
I hardly mentioned anything about my countries, far less to claim any country is perfect. I hope people would show some respect and not attempt to put words into others’ mouths.
It is not only a problem of Americans, anyone with an opinion would get mocked in a discussion by someone who disagrees with them. If we can have a reasonable discussion without being abusive and insulting, we need to be resilient enough to withstand criticisms in the interests of free speech.
I didn’t see this as something that warrants a reply and hence I chose to ignore this part. I am not here to prove Americans ignorant because I honestly do not believe that every American is an ignorant moron. I rather think the article author Dmitri put together a few statistical data to emphasise that these statistics point towards the implication that a majority of Americans do come off as stupid when compared to other First World nations. I would rather have you honestly disagree with me than using general ‘icebreakers’ like ‘I agree’ to loosen up a discussion (if that is what you are hinting at).
Considering that IQ tests aren’t a part of any of the compulsory academic assessments, it would not be out of place that none of the people in your circle took them. It would be logistically impossible to take the IQ test of every single individual of a country with 300 million people. We can get fairly accurate results if we take 2000 people from different regions and backgrounds of the United States and extrapolate it to account for all the variances that one would come across the population of US.
I would trust a US government site to be as unbiased about the world as an Al Qaeda site would be about its ideals on suicide bombing. It has less to do with my personal opinions and more to do with the inherent bias in favour of their ideals. What would make a CIA site any more credible than an Al Qaeda site? Both these organisations are extremist groups that subscribe to their own self-righteous ideals and would break the law to the extent of extreme violence to achieve their ideals.
This is nothing but an attempt at a logical fallacy “Ad Hominem” on you part. It isn’t very accurate either, as I am as much a Czech as you are a Tibetan monk. In any case since Dr. Richard Lynn’s tests were based on English questions. It is expected of non-English countries to score slightly lower on verbal assesments than English countries, despite the corrective measures taken. This however does not constitute any lower level of intelligence for those countries, any more than your inability to do well on a Greek IQ test would indicate a sub-human intelligence for you.
To “A Zionist”:
No, USA does not take in more immigrants from the third world than all the other industrialized countries. Don’t start with a lot of bullshit to try to make you look like the good guys who suffers because you want to help out the third world. It’s just bullshit. I live in Sweden and we took in SO many more Iraqi refugees last year that even ONE town, called Södertälje, took in more Iraqi immigrants than the WHOLE of USA. Despite this USA does take in more refugees total, from all countries, but in proportion of the population of the country Sweden admitted a lot more. I mention this because the proportion is what matters int his discussion since, the statistics which we are discussing are based on proportion (percentage) so even though USA, in total, admits more immigrants (I’m not sure USA take in more immigrants from the third world, though, but form all of the world they do…) it wouldn’t matter since Sweden admits a bigger percentage of the country’s total population hence, the immigration to Sweden would effect Sweden’s statistics a lot more than the immigration to USA would effect their statistics. Besides, the immigrants USA lets in to their country are mostly pretty well educated, something which has contributed a lot to the so called “brain drain” of the third world, and would effect USA IQ-statistics in a positive way and not in a negative way as you’re implying. Sweden, however, take sin mostly uneducated poor immigrants and refugees (look at the links and you’ll see what I’m talking about. Especially the refugees from Iraq) If you don’t believe me I can give you some links to verify what I’m saying, unlike you, who just comes up with a lot of bullshit to make your country look better than it is. here’s an intelligent discussion. Anyone wants to join it? Or maybe it was just empty words which served to diminish the critique of USA on this post? Anyway, if you’ve, unlike our friend “A Zionist”, got something intelligent and valid to say on this topic, either you’re from USA, Sweden or whatever, don’t hesitate. Here are some links:
http://www.unhcr.se/Pdf/statistics/2007_Asylum_Report.pdf
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/27/opinion/27cohen.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
http://econ.worldbank.org/external/default/main?theSitePK=1572893&contentMDK=20665646&menuPK=1719317&pagePK=64168182&piPK=64168060
besides Sweden is not a homogeneous nation, about 2 million (out of 9 million) people have a foreign background.
Didnt we kick the crap out of, and save the ass of, several European countries, even tho we tried to stay out of WWII but Japan made the mistake of F**king with us (and look what happened)?
Or is the whole “holocaust” a big lie and the USA never bothered to save Germany, England, etc???
Maybe that means Europe is a bunch of lying little girls who cant handle their own past or current problems & needs to rely on a better country to save them???
While a majority of “current” america seems stupid (almost retarded) keep in mind some of us aren’t as “dumb” as you think and will quickly stomp red white & blue into your forehead.
I for one think the USA needs a good kick in the arse to wake itself up from the slacker attitude its come into. Anyone care to Nuke us???
I would like to see the IQ charts to see the placement of the country’s. because I wont to know Canada’s score. seeing how close we are to America.
another thing I would have to agree with some of these acquisitions. IQ test are questionable at best, I just don’t think there an accredit, way to test intelligentsias. I remember this one girl in my class got perfect scores all the time, but soon as she opened her mouth, wow. the thing is this girl was a whiz at studying, but she was one of the stupidest people I have ever meet and racist too. The girl didn’t have an original thought in her head, trust me this was the hole classes opinion.
oh ps we here in Canada, have this show were we ask them bogus questions like, the white rhinos, are going wild in Canada, so we passed a law to kill them off by using timbits (timbits are small donuts in Canada). Another of my favorers its we ask there opinion, of how prime minister poutine (poutine is Canadian French fries) has just won the elections.
@ Semperfi - LoL, here we have a angry redneck. USA saved the ass of Europe? Yeah, of coz, you always liberated the whole europe, the whole Asia, Iraq, Philippines and everyone should suck your balls, lol, whatever makes you feel better. The author is right, there is nothing that beats American stupidity.
It is my experience is that Yanks,
just don’t care . . . ignorance is bliss . . .
robban- usa’s immigrants are not well educated. There are some that are but 39% of our immigrants do not have a high school diploma. I also just read an article showing how on average american natives do much better on iq tests than immigrants. I have no doubt that sweden admitted more iraqis than us obviously but most of our immigrants are from latin america and most of those are from mexico - many are poor and very uneducated. Canada and the UK have also seen a substantial brain drain, but like america, there are also many native born scientists and other innovative intellectual people. Also, the only countries to get a higher percentage of immigrants than us were australia, canada, and new zealand.
anyway, i’m really not trying to start a fight here, just giving the simple truth. i don’t know why it is so important for some non-americans to try to “prove” how stupid or bad we are. most of us are against bush and the war in iraq- did you know that? Also, the stats show that america’s iq is the same as australia and it is also higher than many european countries, such as ireland. so how are we the worst scoring or the stupidest?
and i also agree with bryan, iq tests are basically complete bullshit, so why are we all up in arms waving these meaningless numbers at each other?
@ Ben
Can you please furnish us with a link to this article? Also, I think you’re getting stupidity confused with a lack of education.
@ SemperFi
It’s interesting that the terminology you used does not go well with the current disasters in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ignorance certainly is bliss. Are you actually a Marine or just blowing smoke? After all, it’s one thing to voice nationalistic sentiment, but a whole new ball game to make a reasonable point and you seem to be failing on both counts. The U.S. can barely govern weak nations like Iraq and Afghanistan, let alone “save” most of Europe. For the record, Russian actions turned the tide of World War II; we merely capitalized on these gains. I can provide a reference to anyone interested. As for the Japan comment, that one came to bite us in the @$$ in what became known as the Cold War. Clearly, the short-sighted attitude we displayed put (to date) seven explicit nuclear states—to hell with the formal definition in the NPT—and one threshold nuclear state, as opposed to one. Plus, the loss of civilian life was significant. Your comment that the U.S. is a better country is absurd. The standard of living in Europe is much higher. To put things in perspective, the cabs in some European countries are BMW—the UAE utilizes Mercedes for their cabs—as opposed to the Ford Crowns used in the U.S. I can offer more insight, but unfortunately, my time is rather limited today.
This is not the first time I have come across this topic. Unfortunately “facts are facts” and if it was an isolated incident where Americans score lower on their IQ’s or in mathematics, this would be a time to debate but it is not. So argue all you want…it wont change a damn thing and will not make the scores any higher. I think part of the problem is not just the education but the fact that a lot of Americans are lacking the will to learn. They do not feel the need to pick up an encyclopedia or read an educational book. This does NOT mean they are dumb, it has more to do with the society that they are living in. I wouldn’t go as far as saying that they are just interested in getting wasted and taking drugs (which someone has posted earlier) but I would say that ones they leave work or school all the want to do is entertain themselves. That’s normal except that to an average American that means watching a football game or reading a gossip magazines. To most people in other countries, a well written history book or even a math book is considered a form of entertainment as well. PART OF THE PROBLEM
Source: National Geographic
33% of respondents couldn’t pinpoint Louisiana on a map.
Fewer than three in 10 think it important to know the locations of countries in the news and just 14 percent believe speaking another language is a necessary skill.
Two-thirds didn’t know that the earthquake that killed 70,000 people in October 2005 occurred in Pakistan.
Six in 10 could not find Iraq on a map of the Middle East.
Forty-seven percent could not find the Indian subcontinent on a map of Asia.
Seventy-five percent were unable to locate Israel on a map of the Middle East.
Nearly three-quarters incorrectly named English as the most widely spoken native language.
Six in 10 did not know the border between North and South Korea is the most heavily fortified in the world.
Thirty percent thought the most heavily fortified border was between the United States and Mexico.
It is well-known fact that the youth of a nation is the nation’s future. American sociologists from the National Geographic Society decided to do a research to find what the future of the USA will be. And actually their findings were far from being promising.
More than 500 young American adults between the ages of 18 and 24 took part in the survey. They were asked geographical questions about the modern world. At the end of the test they demonstrate a limited understanding of the world beyond their country’s border. In this survey young Americans answered about half (54%) of all the questions correctly.
The results showed causes for concern. Here are the most evident examples of young Americans’ illiteracy.
Only 37% of young Americans can find Iraq on a map - though U.S. troops have been there since 2003.
6 in 10 young Americans don’t speak a foreign language fluently.
20% of young Americans think Sudan is in Asia. (It’s the largest country in Africa.)
48% of young Americans believe the majority population in India is Muslim. (It’s Hindu—by a landslide.)
Half of young Americans can’t find New York on a map.
Three-quarters cannot find Indonesia on a map – even after images of the tsunami and the damage it caused to this region of the world played prominently across television screens and in the pages of print media over many months in 2005.
The majority of the American young adults overestimate the total size of the US population and fail to understand how much larger the population of China is.
Three-quarters believe English is the most common spoken native language in the world, rather than Mandarin Chinese.
Only Two-thirds (67%) can find Louisiana on a US map and half (52%) can find Mississippi – leaving a third or more who cannot find these states, in spite of months of intensive media coverage of the 2005 hurricanes and their aftermath.
These results suggest that young people in the United States - the most recent graduates of our educational system - are unprepared for an increasingly global future. Far too many lack even the most basic skills for navigating the international economy or understanding the relationships among people and places that provide critical context for world events.
Source: National Geographic
http://www.vdare.com/rubenstein/051222_nd.htm
Bharat - there’s the website. this is only one of several sources supporting similar data also. read the whole article. enjoy.
Bharat- here’s another one. this source shows 31% of immigrant adults do not have a high school diploma. again, there are several sources on there. i also do think that the continental european schools are most likely better than the north american and british ones, especially with our current lacking governments, but this is a point to be made.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-11-28-immigrants_N.htm
I am an American working abroad. Reluctantly, I must agree with most points made in the article. I come in touch with many different cultures and I must say that ignorance among American kids is, unfortunately, rampant.
Thank you so much Semperfi….. you have flawlessly demonstrated the American condition which is “Americans bailed out the cowardly Europeans and we have lots of nukes therefore making us a great nation.. GOD BLESS AMERICA GOD BLESS AMERICA GOD BLESS AMERICA GOD BLESS AMERICA GOD BLESS AMERICA GOD BLESS AMERICA GOD BLESS AMERICA GOD BLESS AMERICA ( its quite saddening to realise that this is how Americans communicate)”. This therefore gives even the dullest American an unjustified superiority complex. Here’s a reality check: 1. your economy is in complete tatters- all China has to do to dig America’s grave is to ask for all its loans back ( although i can’t see this happening). 2. throughout history America has displayed itself as an extremely cowardly nation. Take WW1… America only joined when it was clear that it was no longer in their interests NOT TO retain its isolationist policy.. in short the USA only joined to conserve their own selfish interests. 3. The majority of all Americans are clinically obese… yes what a great a nation… a VERY GREAT nation (if you catch my drift). 4.America will not reign supreme in worldwide political affairs for much longer as the political might of China is set to rise exponentially in the following years 5. despite your military superiority.. you were stalemated by Vietnamese villagers (obviously much more intelligent than the average American… they used their brains and realised that the average dim USA soldier would be easily outsmarted by guerrilla warfare) 6. your president is by all standards an idiot and a disgrace… you know what they say.. a political leader is more often than not a good representative of the people. 7. the proficiency of the average American child in terms of mathematical and linguistic ability is now falling below Asian levels (it fell below western European levels A LOOOOONG time ago) according to a recent Gallup poll. 8. despite the idiotic fixation with patriotism that the average American possesses, your country has a very limited and superficial history ( LOL you only gained independance from the UK about 230 years ago) 9. most Europeans including myself ( to some extent) utterly deride and ridicule Americans now…. you are the PUNCHLINE of all the world’s jokes. 10. America really doesnt have a very good track record for human rights…… GUANTANAMO BAY… enough said.
Just as a sidebar, to set the record straight - ignorance is by far not limited to Americans. I was in a meeting with a gentleman from Scotland the other day and over lunch we chatted about travel. I mentioned I had spent most of last year in Bavaria. His astonishing comment was “Where is Bavaria”? It is like asking some hillbilly from the depths of Appalachia where California was. Even he would probably know.
@ neworleanian - For the average Scot, it is not a sign of ignorance if he is unable to tell where a quaint nondescript German state is. If I were to ask an average American over lunch, where Manaus or Maracaibo is, we would meet the same results.
You’re right neworleanian. No one (or i hope no one) is suggesting that Americans are uniquely stupid. HOWEVER they do display a complete disregard for political affairs or even general knowledge about other countries ( you’d think this type of knowledge would be necessary for the world’s foremost economic power… well apparently not.) and on average their aptitude in science and maths is disproportionately low with regards to the country’s wealth and ability to provide a better quality education.
Miloy04 - I agree with you. Generalizations are dangerous, but I will agree that average Americans display more ignorance about the rest of the world than average Europeans. I have worked and lived in a bunch of different countries around the world, therefore I can say that.
A well made point Aby. However even if you did not know that Bavaria was a German state, i would be surprised if one had absolutely no idea about even the general location of Bavaria
Generalisations are indeed extremely dangerous and potent tools for generating hatred. It is important to understand that not ALL Americans display these traits. However having said this there are observable patterns within American culture which i have witnessed first hand and have compared to European culture. I’ve noticed that Western Europeans usually have a much greater command of other languages (and a greater willingness to learn them) then Americans (and to some extent Britons). Quite amusingly i have also noticed how countries like France have such a low regard for American culture and their foreign policy in general.
The question “are Americans stupid” is very emotive and inflammatory. In its essence this question is MEANT to cause controversy… this is what sparks interesting and a varied debate. The answer to this question is not a simple yes or no. The question probes for a response which is well thought out and based on real experience and sound evidence. That’s why i find it highly annoying when the “American condition” is displayed so blatantly even in this blog. After hearing senseless lies about how America “bailed Europe out” and how America is therefore deserving of respect I am almost tempted to answer this question with a plain YES.
Hi Aby - sounds logical but your argument seems to undermine the whole point of this forum. If a Scotsman cannot be labeled ignorant for not knowing where Bavaria is, then - applying equal logic - the average American Joe cannot be labeled ignorant for not knowing what or where Manaus is. But that’s not what this forum is about, is it? I thought the whole point of this forum was to show that, on average, there are more ignorant people in America then there are in Europe. Maybe there needs to be a commond definition of “what is ignorance”?
I have to disagree here. On the contrary it will be virtually impossible and extremely dangerous to live a life without generalisation. When you visit a doctor, you generalise and trust that the doctor is going to treat you. You would not employ convicted paedophiles in schools because you generalise that a paedophile would sexually predate on children. One shouldn’t mistake generalisation with stereotypes.
I agree with that. Something that is already made clear in the article above, by Dmitri when he said, “there are always exceptions which means not all Americans fit these statistics”.
Something that can be found anywhere in Europe, not just Western Europe. Most Russians (I have met) for example, have a strong command over Russian plus French, German or their native ethnic languages.
The ‘culture’ and foreign policy of United States is in its early adolescence, with the same level of superficiality, angst and immaturity. This is the reason why American ‘pop’ culture finds so many takers among youngsters in the developing world, it represents what they want to live life as. For the average French who lives a better life than an American, there is no reason they would hold high regards for the US culture or foreign policy.
Agreed. Precise answers and political correctness rarely leave a room for a discussion.
I’m afraid you missed your own point and changed stance. You seemed to make the suggestion that a person’s intelligence can be judged just by their awareness of a non-descript state in a foreign country. Yet you bash me when I give you a taste of your own assumption.
Not really. If the point of this article is what you say it is, then it would have become an elitism of sorts. Rather I think, the aim of this article is to point out that Americans in general are far more intellectually deficient than they are supposed to be.
Generalisations in their broadest sense means forming patterns amongst groups of unique individuals. This in itself is very dangerous. We do generalise a lot in aspects of our lives. However these generalisations are ones of convenience. Humans couldn’t function if they couldn’t form some patterns about the world they occupy. On the other hand the context in which we are speaking prohibits the use of generalisations since this offer far too simplistic a view. For example it would be incorrect to state that in general Americans are stupid. In fact it would even be a pinch (although amongst Europeans and people who have been to the US would accept that this is mostly a fact) to say that Americans are less willing to learn other languages. This is why I stress that i have noticed this phenomenon and not that this phenomenon is in itself a fact.
The formation of stereotypes in itself is as a result of a generalisation that has been widely accepted. This generalisation then goes on to be amplified and overexaggarated leading to the formation of a stereotype. In this context the generalisation is made that on the whole Americans are either stupid or their culture is such that they do not lay heavy emphasis on educational enrichment and therefore appear ignorant. This generalisation is amplified into the form we see it today…. all Americans are stupid,ignorant neo conservative zealots who are totally unaware of world affairs. Most would agree that this is not true but in are liberal European anti American paradigm, it has been accepted as an accurate depiction of the average American.
However analysis of the statistics coupled with personal experience would inevitably lead most (even those using strict scientific methodology) to conclude that Americans are stupid. Instead i choose to believe and I also conclude that on average an American adult is far less academically orientated then any European equivalents. This comes as absolutely no surprise when American culture is studied in detail. Religious fanaticism ( which does bot by enlarge encourage scientific curiosity as being more important than the stalwart adherence to the dogmatic nature of the religion) coupled with the rise of an overabundance of cheap energy rich food, and with the heavy emphasis on sports and other forms of entertainment, academia is therefore given a lower priority and lower status. This is clearly shown by the negative connotations that arise from the “nerd” archetype in American culture who is socially awkward, perceived as overly interested in academics and gets the least attention from females.
Here’s a little something to make you all feel better…
Stupid people are EVERYWHERE, and they can be ANYBODY.
Last time I checked, there wasn’t a whole lot of common sense being used in the last few centuries, which is why we seem to keep wanting to blow each other up over whose God is bigger.
Just a thought…
i don’t know about the whole IQ thing, yes it is standard and such but there is much bias in IQ tests. Realistically IQs should be uniform and to suggest they are not would be saying certain races are “dumb” and others are superior, which is unture. I myself have taken two IQ tests when I was 13 I scored 154, at 16 I scored 146. That makes absolutely no sense.
as far as diversity, it is moot, but the U.S. is quite diverse, truly more so than most countries. Whites, which make up about 75% of the population are really just all Caucasians so you could be Ukrainian and be that same as an Italian.
btw, about china, Han makes up about 90% of the poulation so it may be big but no so diverse.
” @ ben - “Anyway, no offence or anything, but this does seem like pretty much an elitist website where your countries are perfect and ours is the horrible one, so i think we should all just show some respect and not be so hostile.”
I hardly mentioned anything about my countries, far less to claim any country is perfect. I hope people would show some respect and not attempt to put words into others’ mouths.”
True, i would like to point out though you only seem to criticize the U.S., I don’t really care but youd think you would spend more time talking of the problems of your home country as opposed the U.S.’s problems.
just putting out there, I don’t mind discussing Americas issues but there is a definite air of superiority. Lets discuss the fact that Europe’s Universities are lagging behind or the problems facing the European union right now.
I can not believe some of what people say!
First, the US does teach evolution in our schools. It has, at least in most schools, removed religion.
Second on IQ tests, I have taken many IQ tests and do believe there is validity there. I scored 132 on my last test, and have consistantly scored with in a few points of that on every IQ test I have ever taken.
The fact that we have so many immigrants does change the way you look at standardized testing in this country. You can not expect some one from another country to necessarily score well on American history.
We have 2 big problems with education in this country as I see it. Technology is being used by many incorrectly. It should be a tool to help us improve our lives, and in some cases make things easier. It is used as many to replace using their brain instead of as a tool, and is making us lazy. There is so much knowledge available but we tend to access the unimportant things while ignoring the significant. We also tend to take what we are told by the media and believe it instead of taking a little initiative and investigate it further.
Second is our school system. In some public schools academic achievement is very important and honored. In many though that is not the case. Many inner city schools that have students from mainly lower income families are under staffed, over crowded, and under funded. These are the students that we tend to have lower expectations for. Less is expected of them, and so many make it through with out the knowledge they should have. These students have the abilities to be more, but the effort is not there to promote more. People will say that standardized testing is racially or culturally biased, and is not fair. That is sadly true. If it is standard, then it should be what is being taught across the board to all schools, and all students. Because of the sorry state of our education that just isn’t happening.
@Sophocles this isn’t elitism at all. We accept that our countries have major problems. However since America is such a powerful country, the problems that it has are of more concern since they have more of an influence then let’s say problems that Britain has. (although they do have a minor influence). The fact that as you put it “European universities are lagging behind” is an unsubstantiated red herring. Even if they were lagging behind, what effect does this have on world affairs? On the other hand, the fact that the average American has a very limited awareness of countries outside the US is very influential and very dangerous as it means they are more susceptible to government propaganda (making the average citizen easier to pacify and more likely to endorse the actions of the government, which they otherwise wouldn’t if they perhaps knew for themselves what the issues were) as they are very unlikely to have experienced first hand the mannerisms of other people. this problem has manifested itself in a multitude of ways which I am sure you are all aware of.
I agree very much with the last comment by miloy04. Ignorance in the hands of people who do have the power to elect just about any yo-yo as Commander-in-Chief, who controls perhaps the most powerful military in the world, sounds very, very scary. Sort of like the Third Reich, doesn’t it?
This is a very well researched and thought provoking article.. You have rightly pointed out that Americans have a lower IQ than any other “Developed” country. Now the question is, why do Americans have a lower average IQ?
What I am about to say is extremely politically incorrect. It is likely to upset many readers. However that does not make it any less true.
Average IQ varies by race.
East Asians centers around 106
Whites, about 100
Blacks about 85 in the U.S. and 70 in sub-Saharan Africa.
Source- http://www.news-medical.net/?id=9530
America has the highest Black population of all the “Developed” countries mentioned.
wow, that was really racist.
i would also like to ask why my posts take forever to come up. I know you have to “moderate” them but it seems like i post and they dont show up till 2 or 3 weeks later and some of mine still dont show.
I would like to say to miley that U.S. universities are generally higher ranked internationally than European Universities, much for the same reason that European Public schools are better. Funding and organization. American schools often get more money from private funds and trusts and can ask for higher tuition with public universities still getting money from the state. and if you think this fact is an unsubstantiated red herring…? look at most lists of the worlds best 10 or 50 universities and you’ll see that U.S. universities make up a majority of the schools listed.
I would like to expand on Sophocles’ comment above. I did my university studies both in the U.S. as well as in Europe. From my experience, I see a greater spread in academic standards among American universities than among European ones. Among American universities there are some top-notch ones, but also some very piss-poor ones. From what I saw in German schools for instance, they were much closer to one another in terms of academic standards. You take schools like Stanford or Harvard and they will be hard to match. But take an average American university and compare it to an average European university….
I am an American, and I agree that many Americans seem stupid. I am not sure if it is really stupidity, though. The ones that stand out - the masses - the sheep in the mainstream are the ones that give the few of us who are intelligent a bad name. These people are just not ‘thinkers.’ Also, the issue of immigration may impact the test scores, as the tests are often ethnically, culturally and class biased. It is not that stupidity itself is the problem, it is the ignorance and accompanying arrogance that cause problems. Generally, though, we should admit that people are stupid. The people posting on this site are in the minority. You all need to see “Idiocracy” by Mike Judge - here the natural consequence of stupid people indiscriminately reproducing results in the dilution of the gene-pool.
As an American who periodically studies and lives abroad, yes, I’ve seen the Stupid American Tourist phenomenon, and been embarrassed by it. I’ve also been frustrated by the ignorance and insulated thinking of people back home. Much of what I want to do in my career centers around the benefits of international experience and connections for Americans–maybe we can wise up a bit.
“A lot of what Americans get from the people of the world is what they have earned for the past sixty years or so.”
This is where I have to disagree. Bigotry against a group is still bigotry, whether it’s “yee-haw, bomb the Muslims” American prejudice, or polite and rational-sounding European prejudice. It cannot be justified, and is actually much more disappointing to hear coming from the so-called “more intelligent”.
I should not ever have to pay for the actions of someone else, even if they are from my country. Sadly, I have, on many occasions. And yet I still pursue an international life and encourage other Americans to do the same, because in the long run, we need this more than we need to worry about bigots on either side of the Atlantic.
Believe me, if you treat guests to your country like crap, and then insinuate that they “deserve” it because of where they are from, you are making yourself appear ignorant and regressive, and embarrassing your country.
Yes it’s true that the majority of Americans are stupid (among other things). However, Americans also produce many extremely gifted minds. The sad thing is that America cares more about investing in destruction then education. The reign at the top is over. I’ve done quite a lot of traveling and I can assure anyone that the average European is a lot more knowledgeable then the average American. Unless, of course, you consider knowing all about “American Idol” to equate intelligence. We Americans are addicts for everything and we are allergic to moderation. This has been and continues to be our downfall. Personally, I’m trying to emigrate to Europe. Anyone have any ideas on obtaining a visa. P.S. We (America) elected the most ignorant leader in the history of the world… TWICE!!! If that doesn’t define ignorance I don’t know what does.
>Another case, on my question, “who were the victors during ww 2?” most
>americans answered germany. I honestly dont know how this is possible.
It helps to understand it if you understand the relationship between European industrialists, American industrialists, fascism (the corporate state) as a general form of government versus the specifics of German Nazi rule. And the history of the CIA and the Bush family.
But in a lot of ways it’s not unreasonable to say the fascists lost the battle (and a charismatic though insane leader) but ultimately won the war.
I mean, be honest - look at the changes the neocon dynasty (Bush/Reagan/Clinton/Bush) has made in American law. Are these changes towards fascism or away from fascism?
Returning to the race/IQ concept…
Are we to assume, therefore, that the Netherlands, with an average IQ of 107, has an exceptional percentage of Asians in their society? greater than the 12%, as the percentage of black Americans is? I think not. It appears that a number of people above are trying to use race as some kind of excuse for having a relatively low IQ.
Also, I’m sick of Americans claiming they ’saved Europe’ during WWII. The Russians, if anyone, take that title, and the majority of American military resource went toward the war in south east Asia, not Europe, and there are a number of factors that meant that Europes liberation was possible, not the overwhelming force of American arms as many American antionals would have everyone else believe. If the RAF fell would D-Day or anything wimilar have happened? No
what are you talking about?
really, your statement made absolutely no sense at all.
[...] The big reason this bothers me has to do with the nature of the illustration ( a racial caricature) and the response of all the white pundits I have seen on TV today (Gee guys, what’s the big deal? It’s funny, if you’re smart enough to get it!). Because, you know, Americans are smart. [...]
Hi all,
First of all I would like to point out that ignorance and stupidity is NOT the same thing, because the former is due to lack of knowledge and the latter due to lack of intelligence. Americans IMHO are therefore not stupid, but suffering from an educational system that has yet to experience the consequences of not investing enough effort and money in schools.
Another, far more personal opinion of mine based on what I read and hear in American media, is that politicians and people in power seem to be able to hide their real intentions or mistakes behind propaganda and patriotism, without the possibility for the average man to question it. Tags like ‘neo-con’ and ‘liberal media’ are often used to blatantly silence what the other side has to say. The result is normal voters who let themselves be guided by careless or strategic propaganda and discretion.
I would like to express my optimism in this case, because I believe that when enough pressure has gathered American intellectuals will take measures, ignorance simply can’t last forever.
I am an American teenager and I have gone to public schools and charter schools. I have to say that it is the fault of the public schools and the religious fanatics who run them. I know many would disagree but we all have to be very careful not to hurt peoples feelings so things have to be evened out, such as the whole evolution thing. Also in public schools they have special needs kids in the classes with us. Now isn’t that great motivation? You’re as smart as a special needs kid, and that’s not even the sped classes. On another point, people from the military, or family members of military people, should be discarded as Americans. Look at Semper Fi, all he has the ability to do is look at a past war, which has absolutely NOTHING to do with intelligence. We didn’t save anyone during WWII Germany would have fallen whether or not we helped, and you should thank Europe because we wouldn’t even be a country without Frances aid during our Revolutionary war. I would just like for foreigners to step back and see us Americans that try to understand other countries culture and try to keep up with as much news coming from the outside as we can, not just look at the fat American standing in front.
After living in the USA for 9 years, I found that Americans are not only stupid, but egotistical, bigots, ultra-religious (if you can name anything that’s negative, that’s probably a good fit for 70 to 89% of your average Americans) Here’s what I found out/experienced:
1)I was born in Hong Kong and was 15 when I came to USA. First day of school, some Americans asked where I was from, I said Hong Kong and some “smart”-ass just busted out teaching the others it is in Japan) I even heard from some dumb-ass saying China is part of Japan). Some even asked if I know Bruce Lee or not as if he’s the most powerful person from Hong Kong.
2)A girl from my driver’s education class even asked if I speak Hong Kong well … I was surprised at the level of stupidity of an American high school student..needless to say I ended up explaining my background and language to her.
3)American News media is full of political propaganda, always saying how great their government is and that they bring stability to other countries. They recently said that Russia must not invade Georgia, but wait here’s the fun part, as we recalled the USA did the same not once but twice in this century in two different places.
In my final conclusion, I would like to say America… Land full of controversies where ultra-conservative-religious-Non Catholic/Orthodox- Southern Christians-racists run free to breed and educate a generation of self-centered non-scientific/mathematically challenge fake-sport ( NASCAR, NFL etc.) watching steroid-doping couch-potatoes.
@ Everybody who feels that Americans are being derided in complete ignorance of the behaviour of other people in other countries. AND @ everybody who’s prepared to admit that despite this, American culture does have some crucial flaws.
Prejudice against just the Americans for displaying the traits that they do (or perceived as showing) is as ignorant as the average American is being portrayed in this post. However the purpose of this discussion ( despite its provocative name) is to bring out into the open the cultural traits that exist amongst Americans and tho subsequently evaluate the degree to which they are credible.
On a slight tangent… American universities are of a very high standard but if you look at the top ten in the world… the same British universities rear their ugly ( or depending on your viewpoint) most welcome heads at the forefront of education… i.e Oxford,Cambridge UCL, Imperial etc.
IT STILL STANDS that according to the most recent Gallup polls that 53% of Americans are creationist and believe that the world was created 6000 years ago. (on a side note, such a belief is equivalent to believing that from New York to San Fransisco is shorter than a cricket pitch; in terms of proportion of course.) How can you truly expect a culture that rears such beliefs to be progressive compared to other European countries? This is not to say that people are not entitled to their beliefs or that Christianity as a faith is defunct, its just that such beliefs have a nasty habit of causing self righteousness a lack of scientific curiosity, deep rooted suspicion and fear of those with different beliefs (to the point of causing violence), sectarianism,ignorance and therefore stagnation and intolerance. In such conditions one cannot suspect or even hope that such beliefs encourage a culture of intellectualism and skepticism (two things that are crucial in the appropriate scrutinisation of any government body)…. Most would describe what i have said as indicating the stupidity of the American people but this is obviously to crude and simplistic.
HOWEVER the beliefs I’ve described do lead to events that can be regarded as stupid or as lethally stupid. For example Christian governments in America, have resisted vaccination programs against HPV ( Human papillomavirus) which caused the deaths of 5000 women a year due to the fact it can cause cervical cancer simply because the presence of such a virus acts as a “good deterrent against premarital sex”. Bear in mind that this virus infects almost half the American population as well. EVEN WORSE Reginald Finger an evangelical member of the Centres Disease Control advisory committee on immunisation practises (at this point you may question why an evangelist is on such a committee and how this reflects American culture) is marked as saying that if a HIV vaccine was formulated he would consider opposing it ( even though it kills millions per year) since it is also such a good deterrent against premarital sex… If that isnt stupid then what is !!!!!!!!!
Europeans may therefore (and rightly so in most cases) may be mystified by American culture and American people in general and make rash statements like Americans are stupid. But buried within this statement is a reflection of the average European’s disbelief and abhorrence in and towards American culture ie, overeating, the overly large influence of the media, the large focus on celebrity, a distinct atmosphere of anti- intellectualism when there is a potential conflict with religious belief, a wholesale lack of awareness and lack of interest in world affairs, an education system that in some cases promotes sport of academia and so on. At this point it is important to stress that such traits are present in most countries but not to SUCH A DEGREE.
It is my personal belief that Americans are not stupid ( since “stupid” is an overly narrow term and is itself a stupid term when it is used in this context.
Actually I agree. “stupid” isn’t a very defined term, but let’s not be too fussy about the details, and get on with the crux of the argument, shall we?
If America has the best universities in the world, why does it produce the worst students? That is a question that must be answered. Also, someone mentioned an excuse about taking in Third-World citizenry. Excuse me, they could be more hardworking for all you know. Their culture is extremely different from the American popular culture of which “slacking” is a nation-wide social phenomenon for American students.
Perhaps more statistics could be used to prove the case - for example, American spending PER CAPITA for Education as compared to, say, Belgian spending. However, I am of the opinion that the average American is getting less aware by the generation, relatively speaking, to various other developed nations. The question that has to be asked is - why the regression? America used to be at the forefront of scientific development!
The answer is that the Americans have perhaps gotten too used to being able to ride out school without any effort put in, because they could always get loans and then start working life, because that’s what every other College student was doing. America was a land of possibilities with the strongest GDP. Perhaps when the PRC or Russian Federation takes greater shares of the global economic pie will the Americans finally look up in horror and think perhaps their way of education should be changed.
In essence, Americans are stupid, not only because of low national average IQs, but because they refuse to finally start working. That’s just my view, though, so please don’t overly criticize it (:
[...] actually convinced people that they were the right folksy folks for the job. Are you serious? How fucking stupid are these people being polled? Are the pollsters only reaching the inbred freaks who stay at home [...]
First and foremost I wholly disavow the concept of IQ testing, it is antiquated and not comprehensive and there is fluidity in scores, e.g. a score can either increase or decrease at different intervals in one’s lifetime. That being said, I essentially agree that the average American is an obese, reactionary, ignorant, xenophobic, “God-fearing” racist rube who couldn’t even tell you what the square root of 9 is, the names of the seven continents or name even one justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. They would be hard pressed to even recall the name of the British Prime Minister. This nation’s citizenry is invariably purposefully “dummed down” so that it can be dominated by the custodians of the military industrial complex to perpetuate their hegemony on American power. Mind you, there are extraordinarily intelligent and wise people in the US as there are everywhere, but as a collective, we are an absolute disgrace. Which reminds me of a joke a Bulgarian friend of mine once told me, “What do you call someone who can speak three languages: trilingual, two languages? bilingual, one language: American. Although the lack of foreign language aptitude is the failure of the school system itself, in most school districts, foreign languages aren’t taught until a student is roughly 13 years old. By that point, neurologically, you are beyond the critical mass for language attainment which is far more ripe around 3 to 6. Children soak up language effortlessly. I was fortunate enough to surround myself with native Spanish speakers (and take courses and read Spanish newspapers) so I have near fluent proficiency. Moreover, continuing my rant, the celebrity culture has to go, it is absurd, peurile and irrational. We have a nation full of 40 year old 14 year olds. It is humiliating. But the celebrity culture and fascination with sports (w/o sounding too much like a paranoid conspiracy theorist) are all part of the plan, to distract and maintain a docile, ignorant populace. The rulers of this country saw the dystopia in Brave New World as a template and implemented it with amazing precision.
A note on evolution: It is most certainly taught in public schools but it is under increasing attack. Unfortunately, the educational and political system has been hijacked by a cabal of religious crazies who think it is more plausible that the Earth/Universe is 6,000 years old. Truly frightening.
I hope American presidential candidates and the whole administration will someday search the web, res., have a look at TV, to see that a lot of (not all!!!) Americans are stupid indeed, but even worse, boast-about itheir stupidity, e.g., on impudent and stupid web sites. Most recent example is daffydonkey.com expressivly and in a unbelievably sassy way enabling Americans to admit being idiots by blowing as much money as possible senselessly, and the biggest idiots will become famous and superstars. And millions will join someday. This is what I hate, this collaboration of requested (!) stupidity and promise to become famous due to it. Americans are stupid, but millions of foreigners are as well. But especially the mass media in America have to take the blame, for they want Americans to show-off stupidity and to be proud of it. It doesn´t matter if Bush is current president, or if Obama or McCain wins the current race. Main issue is that America wins and stays world´s No. 1 country, and this is only possible with smart men and women. From my point of view, it was wise to make America´s system of education as well as the mass media´s power, program (Internet porn, sitcoms, talk shows, etc.), and propaganda to dumb down the American people, kids especially, the main topic of race for presidency. If the top dogs of US politics don´t, and if the coming president doesn´t change anything, all the world will laugh at America´s voluntarily proved stupidity.
This article in many respects brings out the worst traits in all of us. Firstly nationalistic pride is an awful emotive tool to regress to when defending an argument, so well done to Aby for managing to steer clear of temptation when the opportunity to denigrate must have been tempting. Some posts on this site are brilliant and revert back to the crux of the debate- why does America persist to have this negative image in the eyes of the world at large. Again I reiterate the fact that the article makes it explicitly clear that the generalisation does not blanketly cover every US citizen.
I willingly concede that where I live there is a fair amount to ‘stupidity’ abound, I attribute this more to my intolerance for stupidity than to actual low intelligence. However self deprecation is not just something I do to avoid an argument; I know that there are stupid people all over the world. I think the key thing to focus on is the fact that it’s a travesty that a country that believes itself to be the best (and it may be) should fail its own people. This web site may be elitist, Americans more than any other people should respect free speech. Arguing against elitism would be to denigrate yourselves, and I am sure you are not trying to imply you are inferior. Some of the American posts clearly show that a few of you are in the same elitist strata. Sadly it’s the travelled Americans, and that is an interesting phenomena, that show a measured response and welcome debate. These people are the ones that illustrate that you have intelligent people. Those that denigrate your country are as daft as those that rebut their arguments by reference to “saving our asses in WWII”. This last point is so insanely stupid that really if we go back enough Americans should thank the French for helping emancipate yourselves from the British. Such arguments not only digress from the point made in the article they miss the point. The irony is that there is a huge gulf between the loquacity of the arguments that come from foreign posters; their command of English not only is superior to most of the American bloggers, but mine as well. I am a native English speaker thus I find it amazing that people from All over the world speak English, and better than most whose mother tongue the language is.
@Sophocles_V “True, i would like to point out though you only seem to criticize the U.S., I don’t really care but youd think you would spend more time talking of the problems of your home country as opposed the U.S.’s problems.”
Punctuation used correctly may solve my confusion, however I think you miss the point of the debate. Firstly its not trying to denigrate the USA merely highlight the disparity between where the USA ranks in relationship to its means (i.e wealth and status). I am sure you will agree that the best country in the world should afford its people the best education, and the most powerful country in the world owes it to its people to educate them about the world in which they are primus inter pares. You cannot assume to want to better a world the majority of the population does not know, care to know or actually even care about. Yes our countries have many problems, some worse than the US, the difference being that a failed EU constitution for example has not diminished, literacy rates, universal health and intelligence.
@ Virgiomonkey: “My advice: If you’re going to take constant pot shots at Americans for being stupid (See, you cannot do this with blacks, right?), don’t pretend that you’re the tolerant person that you say you are.”
I think I owe it to you to highlight a simple fact that attacking a race or ethnicity is very different from categorising a nation state. A modern industrialised country often has the characteristic of being multicultural, therefore by definition if you were to call the British stupid, you would imply not just the Caucasian (Whether English, Scottish, Northern Irish, Welsh; or naturalised people Russian, Polish, Albanian etc) but also Asian (both oriental and the sub-continent), African (Afro-Caribbean and African) and any other colour you can think of as stupid. Whether the poster is tolerant or not they show a nuance for understanding the differences you fail to grasp nor does intolerance diminish intelligence. Intellegence does not always counter balance sound judgement. The fact that you take the argument to the level of race in many ways is indicative of the point being highlighted. As Dr. Miller highlights in the New York Times article- lowered intelligence can affect a persons reasoning; clearly this statement is a classic case in point. Please be under no misconception, I think Africa (or the “blacks”you point out) are denigrated, If I was to say that Africa is has the highest proportion of despots, killing their own people- I would not be denigrating a Continent but stating a fact. For the record I am intolerant, I hate-nay abhor stupidity, rudeness, bigots, fundamentalists of all casts and the French. I also have a degree, a masters and working towards a PHD. Essentially my intolerance has nothing to do with my intelligence. Also while we are on the point Toleration as an ideal is rubbish it means to put up with, often it has a threshold which when passed people become intolerant. It’s a silly ideal and trying to show America is intelligent because people do not denigrate blacks is as effective as solving an Algebraic equation by chewing bubble gum. Also might I suggest you come to terms with your issues with people of greater melatonin. This example tells more about you than you imagine. White Black, Hispanic or Chinese, if they are American they are American. That’s how we perceive people here maybe you have other standards please let me know.
@ Vrgiomonkey : ”Next, it is only natural that Europeans can speak 2+ languages. Look at where you’re living! For example, you can hop on the chunnel in England and be in the next country in no time and even visit several countries in a day.”
I grew up in China, my mum is Zambian, and Father British. I learnt to speak Mandarin, and Later French, I also learnt Albanian on account of my girlfriend. Add that to that English and a bit of Cantonese. I assure you France and China have no proximity and the drive takes over twelve hours. Geographic location plays no part in ones desire to learn. Out of respect to the country I lived in I was educated in Mandarin, I learnt my mothers tongue through my mum and English from my father. Middle school was French and Albanian a personal choice. America’s geographic isolation can only be used to cure so many ills before it wears thin. Ironically some of the crass attitudes and comments posted here are a testament to the fact that even if the country was to improve their intelligence scores on average the rest of the world would still probably think you’re arrogant. It saddens me to think a country full of so much promise can be reviled for so much while doing so little.
@ Virgiomonkey: “Americans cannot afford to travel AS MUCH. We aren’t as rich as the stereotypes proclaim. Plane tickets to go abroad? Thousands of dollars. Plus, we have the least amount of vacation time compared to the rest of the world.”
Firstly let me reassure you that most of us do not think you are rich, we think you are exploitative. Contrary to what you may believe our travel costs are extremely high as well. Even if people do not travel the percentage of the American population that does not bother even getting a passport is alarming. People around here tend to get their passports in the optimism that they may get to travel. It’s not about incomes, travelling etc. Some of the countries the other bloggers have used as examples have large populations that do not travel, China being the best example of these. But it’s the fact that people aspire to travel and that they see education not just local knowledge but worldly knowledge as the source of opportunity. Americans give the impression that they need nothing and no one other than themselves. We live in an interconnected world that really has moved on, currencies, languages, and trade have no borders. Wanting to learn more about the world is intellectually rewarding, if more Americans travelled then we would be exposed to bright members of the nation cancelling out the stereotypical ‘dumb’ tourist. It would also allow Americans to better understand the anxieties and issues that affect the rest of the world which would go a long way to diminish the sense of arrogance people ascribe to your nation. It’s sad but hubris is the tragedy that keeps America stagnant. Intellectually, materially and socially you have not reached your epoch. It will not help to delude yourselves that you have. That’s is what this is about, you have the ability to abolish poverty and illiteracy, just give up on sending people to the moon and fighting ‘enemies’. Do a quick calculation work out what the war on Iraq has cost, then work out how much universal health care and abolishing poverty would cost. Think about what you would do with the change. A nation is not judged just by how it treats its friends but also by how its treats its own subjects. You owe it to yourselves to be the best individually, not just in nationalistic symbolism.
@ Ben: “I don’t know why it is so important for some non-americans to try to “prove” how stupid or bad we are. most of us are against bush and the war in iraq- did you know that?”
The point is not to prove Americans are stupid, these incessant claims are fallacious. As for knowing most Americans are against the war, the fact is that the majority of people think that the war was not worth it, this is a retrospective position. It does not mean that you were against it at the time. But what this has to do with the fact that America has one of the lowest intelligence levels in the industrialised world I do not know. I do not like my representative in government, nor did I support the war before it was launched or now. I also hate brussel sprouts. Why the latter comment? Well in essence my comment about brussel sprouts is as relevant to this discussion as you comment about supporting the war and hating Bush. Hell I have family that live in Georgia visiting them is painful, they are so insular and apathetic because the rest of the world holds no interest to them as they do not see the point. They limit themselves by limiting what they know. Its not just a broken education system, it’s individual determination, and the idea of the perfectibility of man that America seems to have lost. Hell I hate Bush he represents mediocrity in what I think is a great nation. Most of us critics do note hate America we are upset that it is not the country it aspired to be.
@ Britoc: “LoL, here we have a angry redneck. USA saved the ass of Europe? Yeah, of coz, you always liberated the whole europe, the whole Asia, Iraq, Philippines and everyone should suck your balls, lol, whatever makes you feel better. The author is right, there is nothing that beats American stupidity.”
The saving grace for Americans is that this blog shows that imbeciles are abound in the whole world. This comment is not representative of the article. American stupidity as Britoc claims is counter productive and sadly leads to knee jerk reactions that are vitriolic and bigoted. Don’t take heart to when people cannot spell ‘because’ or uses text speech such as lol. If anything this should make you feel better as it illustrates the fact that your popular culture, and influences permeate throughout the world.
America was a country that spawned revolutions, for a time prominent thinkers such as Descartes flocked there to analyse your constitutionalism and government processes. Things that were emulated globally. Truman’s 14 point address would lead to the ideal of self determination of nations and decolonisation; the optimism that was about after 1990 was infectious and Americas stewardship anticipated. There was optimism and a dynamism, this however has changed drastically and fast. It seems as though success has bought with it complacency that beggars belief. Never before has there been a Country as rich or powerful, which spends so little on its own people. I have news papers from everywhere in the world downstairs – the vendor stocks them because the market is such that we want to have information that is global, but also free of special interest bias in electronic media. Less than 50% of the American people have read a newspaper. Its not Americas failing that this debate is primarily about, its about the absurdity of such a basic failing. Intelligence I admit is a subjective term, and the title of this article hardly inspires good feelings if you are American, but it should be judged on its substantive content not the emotions the title evokes. Realistically what this article wants to convey is that unless America pulls its socks up, it will find that it will not be able to compete internationally; where people are becoming more worldly as the world shrinks around us thanks to globalisational processes (American lead) and also as the rest of the world gets richer and more ambitious. But in an environment where we are becoming increasingly co-dependant and equally competitive, America needs to pull up its entire nation not just offer those that can afford it the best education. Many of you are right we should take the log out of our eyes before we take the splinters out of yours; it is shocking none the less to see that America has such a low score in an important area of its social fabric. If any of you fear the mediocrity of the people that represent you now then imagine how upset you will be in the knowledge of the mediocrity to come. Its unacceptable, and its tragic in a country of its calibre. That is what this is about.
@ Eric. I find you analysis of the posts on this blog insightful and clearly. well thought out. However I would add that the culture of anti-intellectualism which occurs in some parts of America is truly alarming and contributes to the ignorance and intolerance which leads to the label of “stupid”. In my opinion, the shear notion of intelligent design being taught as a SCIENTIFIC THEORY exemplifies the problem. “Science” in this context isn’t seen as a robust and pragmatic system based around the framework of empiricism and the principle of falsification ( so wonderfully outlined by Popper) but it it seen as a system through which a religious discourse can gain credibility by having the label of “scientific” and herein lies the problem.
As a Briton following the events of the American elections and comparing and contrasting with the system in Britain has been fascinating and also extremely worrying. The American political elite believe that the american “masses” or “proles” are sufficiently easy to manipulate that installing a woman as a running mate who by enlarge does not have a great deal of political acumen and in some ways is morally bankrupt, ie the hypocrisy and inherent contradiction in her dominionist doctrine ( which states that America should be ruled by Christian law) and having a daughter who is unmarried and has had a baby at 17 (personally this doesn’t bother me in the slightest since i am not so inclined) which ironically, is worthy of the punishment of death by stoning in biblical times. It is a strongly held belief of mine that if a woman was installed in the same position in British politics, people would be puzzled by people’s fascination (if there was any in the first place) with a female running mate. They would be more likely to ask questions such as “what is her political experience” instead of “what is it like to be a hockey mom”. I do understand that there are a significant number of people in America who are politically minded but I cannot help but feel that the majority are too easily cajoled by superficial statements like McCain’s blindingly obvious analysis: It is more important to be an American than a Republican. I was stunned by the applause that such a simplistic statement received. One would hope or even require that any president puts the nation before contentions within their party and [dare i say it] one would hope that the average American could realise that all Republicans are by definition Americans and so any statement that suggests otherwise is ridiculous. In effect this statement is so moot and self evident that it has perversely won wide acclaim as showing great political foresight.
This may come across as emotive but i feel i must state this. The war on terror instigated by Bush and instilled in the malleable mind of the average American is highly reminiscent of the Orwellian concept of “Doublethink” in 1984 in which people mold their logical and rational common sense views in order to adhere to a political ideology which is in direct contradiction to their systems of rationality. Just think…. what is the difference between using terms like war on terror and using other terms like “Alliance with Happiness”. AND YET… the American people could not get enough of it. To them the war on terror was a rational and more worryingly a legitimate war. In such circumstances, one must question the cognitive faculties of such people but as i have reiterated in this blog, taking such a stance is too simplistic and does your own intelligence a disservice.
The American people can be described as being immunised against influences from outside of America and also against political activism. The vaccine is a heavy dose of religious dogma coupled with what i cynically believe to be a purposeful distraction ie. celebrity culture and of course a high concentration of biased media saturation. Combine this vaccine with the almost irrational patriotism that sometimes occurs in America and you have a vaccine that protects against even the most pervasive and provocative of world affairs. This analysis is far too simple. There is and must be an intellectual elite within America. What do they do?… How do they exercise power?. The answer is that the intellectual elite within America is marginalized and often met with intense hostility in the school environment and so the mature intellectual elite find themselves house in intellectual havens or universities. The rest of the intellectual elite seemed to have realised from early on that effecting change within America cannot be done on intellectual grounds. An intellectual must in short be insidious. They must tell the Average American what they want to hear. A delightful example of this is when Hilary Clinton ( perhaps not the best example of an intellectual but can be regarded so, relatively speaking) stated that she would obliterate Iran if they invaded israel. In actuality doing such a thing would be grossly barbaric and undiplomatic AND YET her supporters ( fueled with patriotic zeal) squealed and yelped with joy while i stared at the television screen blankly.. realising that the world’s foremost power is composed of people who are so blind to the reality and complexity of world politics that they feel that comments such as the one mae by Hilary Clinton are acceptable. “Obliteration” appeals to them as it would to a fan watching the Terminator series. This is wondefully expressed by the “America won WW2″ paradigm that still has not been put to sleep despite its horrible inaccuracies.
Perhaps this blog is elitist. Perhaps the elites within this blog are so maladjusted by self righteous liberalism and quasi-progressivism, that they have in effect become the stupid and intolerant Americans that they so despise. I of course disagree. It is my strongly held belief that American society is regressing culturally and is in effect causing a superficial and illusory “good vs evil” polarisation on the world stage. It is also important to add that the “stupidity” of the average American is not important. America comprises an elite which is perfectly capable of sustaining itself and has the sufficient intellectual capacity to govern itself and also to sustain and indulge the “ignorance” of the average American.. in effect America rises and falls on the backs of an extreme minority who with their connections and intelligence can dominate. What is worrying is that the average American is so successfully subjugated that when matters of political significance do arise… the “masses” do not have sufficient knowledge or coordination to counter them and in effect the basis of democracy is removed and we have a pseudo democracy in which the only role in which people can ever hope to adopt is to vote for a president who in later years will ensure that this is the only significant decision that they make.
Well, if these statistics are right then theres a reason behind why its true. Theres probably several reasons behind the decline in U.S IQ. My personal opinion is that I think we focus to much on other countries then ourselves. Like developing the Military more and more to either attack or defend a country or w/e we do when it comes to foreign policy. Our leaders need to focus more on developing the American people than spending money on useless programs and furthering ourselves into debt. Assuming the economy doesn’t crash before we can do this.
Help! I’m a 138 IQ in a 98 IQ Country!
This is something I’ve known for years. It is painful to deal with so many low functioning people every day; and lonely as well. There aren’t many people to carry on a conversation with.
What I find funny is that the large majority of people(Americans) who say America is the greatest country in the world, have usually never been anywhere else! Ofcourse, almost all of us beleive our own countries to be best. I also feel this way for the most part, however, I keep this to myself . This nationalism is one of the reasons countries are able to function properly. The United States has some of the greatest Universities in the world, but it also has the worst public school system out of that of all modern industrialized countries. I saw one American earlier mention how in most European countries, students who are not academically fit to attend higher education opt for trade schools instead. Although I beleive this is true to some extent, it does not explain why many Americans have such a degree of stupidity when it comes to their veiw of the world and the U.S. foreign policy.
I can honestly say I have met stupid people from China, Meixco, Argentina,Japan,Canada,France,Germany,Great Britain,The Netherlands,Sweden,Austriala,New Zealand, Russia, etc.,
but the difference between these people, and idiotic Americans I have had the pleasure of meeting, is that these people were not University. Although is may partially be becuase America has a schooling system in which any dumb chump can attend a lower-grade college(or a higher-grade one with enough money), I think it may more likely be due to the fact that our schools do such a shitty job at teaching us the history and politics of the world. I must admit, I was also neive about the world until I realized that I had to learn about the world on my own becuase school was giving me such a narrow-minded and obscure view of it all. I was ignorant until I traveled, dumbfounded of world events until I decided to enroll myself in political science, international relations and history classes. My point is that our schooling system does not do a good enough job at teaching us these things and if we have interest in them, we have to take them up as hobbies ourselves, where by what I have seen when traveling, most other countries do an extremely good job at teaching their students about world events. Case-in-point is when I was in Germany this summer and a German girl could name almost all 50 U.S. states and I could barely name 7 of their German counterparts.
One positive thing about the American schooling systems is that everyone has pretty much an equal chance at higher-education if they so choose. While I was a foreign exchange student in China, I learned that only a very few students are able to attend even highschool. Most highschools are private(unless in one of a few cities that offers otherwise) and the cost of attending one is outrageous. Although the students who attend Universities there could easily outsmart any American student, the ratio of college graduates to total population is extremely low compared to that of the U.S. and the majority of students who can’t attend highschool are stuck with some medial labor job.
Like many have said, I hope the American government cans stop spending money bullying and policing the world and spend more money domestically on things like better educational programs. In my opinion, the United States was the intellectual capital of the 20th century! Scholars, scientists, philosiphers and great-minds from all over the world ventured here, but as we move into the 21st century, I see can see why the world’s view of America is so bad. Don’t get me wrong, I love it here. It is one of the most diverse places in the world with a population made up of imigrants from all over the world. More languages are spoken here than anywhere else. The problem is that this acceptance of others and open-mindedness is spread out disproportionatly throughout our country and mainly focused in a few small areas.
I am sorry for the rant, I just wanted to give more of a pros/cons answer neither for, nor against any of your views. Although we may not all agree with each other, obviously none of us are “stupid” if we are engaged in a conversation such as this and are sharing and learning from eachothers viewpoints. Peace
I was thinking, and I realized that a probable reason why Americans are “stupid” is not becuase their IQ(which even when low, does not restrain you from knowing abou the world), but becuase are media and people in charge want us to be stupid. I was thinking about the book 1984, and in a way I feel like the politicians, meida and other elite give us garbage information that is hard to understand and really makes no sense. This is why most Americans don’t know the U.S. foreign policy on specific issues or why Americans don’t know the political views of their favorite presidential candidate! We are taught to think subcounciously about who we would rather be friends with or “hang-out” with rather than base our opinions of the ideology of the candidates. While I was watching the debates last nigh, I realized that both of the candidates really where not explaining their views much. It was mainly them telling stories about “how I went to such and such and did such and such, so I know better”. No opinions with a factual base to back them up, just non-sense and meaningless words that make it dificult to understand what their views are and who would really be a better candidate. Maybe this is irrelevant to this conversation, but I just thought that maybe Americans aren’t “stupid” in the sense of IQ, but stupid in the sense of general knowledge of the world becuase of our media and what they show on T.V. and news. (example, last time I watched the local news there was a story about a guy that only eats big-macs or some bull**** like that, what does any of that have to do with world news and how does any of that affect my life personally???) Just an afterthought. Thanks
@ Mike. A double coincidence. I was also thinking about 1984 and i too watched the debate. It mostly took the format Obama: generic comment about economic regulation McCain: generic comment establishing a causal link between political experience and suitability for president. Obama: generic comment linking McCain to Bush McCain:sarcastically disabusing Obama’s statements about him. Obama: makes a common sense point which doesn’t provide a massive amount of insight McCain: tries to convey himself as a renegade. Towards the end of the debate, the discussion degenerated into an emotive ploy. McCain: having served in Vietnam…… Obama: having a Kenyan father……. What was revealed however was how much the two candidates knew about each other’s policy.
I too also believe that the American people are stultified to quite a degree. A deadly cocktail of religious fervour, political ignorance and general intolerance. However I must disagree with you about the nature of the debate. I found the discussion between the two candidates far more civil,substantiated and intellectual than any other of the speeches made to the clueless “masses”. Although neither candidate seemed to have much of an in depth knowledge of economic issues or foreign policy ( or maybe they did and they were just being cautious) thus showing that politics at this level is less about expertise and more about vision, charisma and leadership….SIGH.
@Miloy04. I was laughing while reading your post. Finally, someone who understands me and where I am coming from!” I found the discussion between the two candidates far more civil,substantiated and intellectual than any other of the speeches made to the clueless “masses”. ” I guess I can agree with you. As I am writing this I just overheard a story on the news about how Governor schwarzenegger vetod a bill to “give people tickets for driving with dogs in their laps”. I’m dead serious. This is the kind of utter sh*t we have for news over here… Cheers man.
Hi,
I don’t know any facts nor statistics about the subject. Also, I don’t support discriminating people but most of the times stereotypes are true. I just want to share a personal experience. I have spent a month in the US meeting people. 95% of the people I met were completely stupid. For example, they did not know were Europe is! Some of them thought that Europe was a country!! Many people thought that Cyprus (the island I come from) is a state of America!! (No, they did not confuse it with Cypress-Texas)
The other 5% were geniuses. I was impressed with their knowledge on world history, geography, languages, they even knew Greek mythology!
The impression I have, from this month I spent there, is that there are many completely stupid people and very few smart people. There is no middle class!
I just wanted to share that:D
I knew things were looking bleak in America, but this is just ridiculous. Give them time; they’re still a fairly new country compared to some. I just hope they wake up before it is too late.
The triumph of the stupid, under-educated, religious fanatics: this is the sad reality of living in many areas of the United States. I am not convinced that this degree of stupidity is a recent problem. Sure, the founding fathers may have been insightful and intelligent, but the average American probably was not. Many original European Americans were not well educated - they were mostly family farmers or hunters. As other developed nations progressed by offering competitive educational opportunities and disregarding the archaic and bigotrous ideas of organized religion, much of America held onto its original heritage.
It is often difficult for me to understand how stupid many of my fellow Americans are, but I am shocked time and time again when I visit my extended family. They reside in a rural farm town where educational and cultural activities are seriously lacking. To see a movie in a theater, one must drive 4 hours. To get to a real city (population 500,000+) they must drive 11-15 hours. The people in these towns, despite having internet access, are out of touch with the “elitist” educated world. Not only are they out of touch with open-minded, educated people, they also tend to think of them as “snooty” and “gay.” The most satisfying activity available to the people in these small towns involves attending a fundamentalist church, similar to those documented in “Jesus Camp.” These people have a very small world view, and very limited ability to relate to anything outside of their normal life. Their brain-washing begins at birth, and most in these towns are taught to take the words of the Bible literally (and they never, of course, question any of the contradictions), to accept Creationism over evolution, and to question (or hold contempt for) anything outside of their idea of holy and/or righteous. Most of them have never met a Muslim, but have been conditioned by the media to fear them and hate them. So many of the young boys in these small towns look forward to enlisting and heading off to Iraq to “defend America’s freedom.” To them, apparently, the Bible commandment “thou shall not kill” applies only to fellow Christians. These people are easily influenced by the media, by fundamentalist religion, and right-wing fear tactics. I don’t see this changing anytime soon. I would like to see how test scores differ between white rural residents and white city/suburban residents.
I know others here have touched on race and immigrant test scores. While not politically correct, it is true that black people test much lower than asians and whites in the USA. But the reason for this is not clear, and could be due to poor prenatal care and/or drug use during pregnancy, malnutrition during childhood, lack of educated involved parents, poverty, etc. It is well-documented that all of these problems exist in many black families in the US. And, of course, even intelligent immigrants could hypothetically test low on an English IQ test due to language limitations.
I am a Scientist, so most of my co-workers are intelligent, well-educated, cosmopolitan, and open-minded. Outside of work, my closest friends hold PhDs and are well-versed in world issues. I live in a big city where people are constantly in touch with educational opportunities, cultural events, and diversity. So, I realize that there are many intelligent Americans and I see there is some hope for our country. I think a major hurdle for the US is the enormous gap between the educated “elite” and those who take pride in being average, blindly patriotic, and unwilling to admit the US could be better off any other way.
Eloquently stated, Gia.
The book “Deer Hunting with Jesus” really gets town to the nitty gritty of what your post is about.
The fundamental problem is a lack of education among a large percentage of the American population - without the knowledge to critically think, a large number of Americans (often in rural areas of the Midwest and South) easily fall prey to religious extremism of the type the Christian Right preaches.
And what about the communities they live in? Not a few of these people are blue-collar workers living below the poverty line, yet fancy themselves “the middle class” because even if they live in a trailer, well they still got a big-screen flat panel TV and a Sony Playstation.
When a visit to the fundamentalist church and a game of darts at the local watering hole is your highlight of the week, (along with maybe taking a spin on your dirtbike) you know you don’t have much going for you.
Americans need more education, and not of the kind that is taught at home.
They also need to scale back on the narcissism (I need to vote for a candidate who’s just like me, read, “dumb as I am”) but again that’s tied to education. If you have a coherent grasp of international affairs and U.S. history, you can understand that it’s OK to elect somebody more intelligent than average to the office of the President - in fact, it just may do more good than harm.
America wastes a lot and gives too little. All that land! That abundance of resources! Wasted on Americans.
Even the smartest elites of America are dumb enough to screw themselves up and everyone else too. With all that technology it’s a big surprise Americans don’t know much about the rest of the world. They have proven time and again that they are extremely ignorant of other cultures. The Internet is not just for porn!
Gia, good analysis.
Bidy,
Your “analysis” of Americans is rather xenophobic on your part. While I am no fan of my government, certainly I realize that not all Americans are dumb and ignorant of other cultures. Many Americans are brilliant, and many are rather dumb.
As for being ignorant of other cultures…nearly 47 million people — about 1-in-5 U.S. residents — age 5 and older, reported regularly speaking a foreign language at home in 2000, according to the Census Bureau…28 million Spanish speakers, 2 million Chinese speakers, 1.6 million French speakers, 1.4 million German speakers, 1.2 million Tagalog speakers, etc. And not all of these people are immigrants.
In my household, we speak English, German, and Russian. I was born in the US, and German was passed down to me from my great great grandmother who moved to the States from Switzerland. My husband’s parents moved to the States from Russia, and he speaks Russian fluently as do our children. My children attend a Russian immersion school, and many of my friends’ children attend Spanish, Chinese, and French immersion schools. My family is not the only exception. Many many Americans know about other cultures. But many many also do not.
If you read my other post above, you might get more insight as to why many Americans are dumb. But the stereotype certainly does not apply to all Americans.
oh and Gia
the reason inner city blacks score lower is because the ‘culture’ (i would call it a mass produced character flaw package) that is drilled into them, one generation after another… the kids born into this environment never have a chance—- a brilliant mind is a brilliant mind whether the kid is educated or not, so instead of focusing on his education, he learns better more efficient ways around the authorities and how to best play the victim (race card) when he gets caught…. and his horrid scores he gets in school gets mixed in with the rest…. and he get labeled an idiot when thats the last thing he is….
read the Criticism section- kind of invalidates this whole assertion.. interviewing in a developmentally disabled school? LMAO!!!!…… besides look at some of the nations further down the list!!!… Russia?? they don’t come to mind when i think of stupid….something is dreadfully wrong that chart…
one thing.. I went to a small rural high school and out of a class of 315 kids in the class of 1987, i placed 68th GPA wise. now to put this in perspective i was IQ tested several times by Social Services (i was adopted out and sent years as a ward of state ( Washington) they came up with scores ranging form 123 to 127. Now i know there were MANY brighter kids in my class than me, several were far below me in academic scoring, but in raw intelligence, pure problem solving they would have stomped me bad.
If you’ve ever been to Alabama or Tennessee you would understand what is bringing the average down. People on the left coast are, in general, pretty smart. So, if you left out the confederate states our statistics would be up there with and above the rest of the industrialized (American spelling) nations.
Although I will admit, I am sometime embarrassed to be an American –caus there are some really stupid ones out there.
Talk to people in Memphis, Tennessee. That courier company has their headquarters there. You talk to them FedEx people –they are a bunch of bugger-pickin, knuckle dragin, inbreed, red-neck hillbillies. Those folks at Fedex really bring the score down.
Behave yourselves americans and notice that everyone here who possess different native language than english is writing especially for you,people who have so many difficulties with learning process,if you are stupid or not that have been proved on this topic and person what will go through this hell to make an conclusion about you deserves a golden medal.My personal opinion is that your society and country is responsible for this low iq rate,soon jews will try to eliminate you all to take control of your land and create new federation,if i were you i would be more careful in the future because maybe Hitler was right about Zionists
A very good read Gia, I couldn’t agree more. Bidy on the otherhand… You sound just as ignorant as those you are refering to. You’ve obviously been taught to hate or atleast dislike America and Americans since you were a child(or you are still a child), and cannot rationally think for yourself. It’s to bad. I met alot of kind and intelegent people from Singapore and you are tarnishing their good image.
I know that while there are some smart americans who really are ver very smart, the majority of americans are plainly put, unbelievably stupid. They are the ones that blindly follow thei political parties without analyzing their actual positions and hat they can do for them. They are the ones who are super-racist caling Obama a muslim because his middle name is Hussein, and wanting to wipe ou all muslims. They are the ones, who know absolutely nothing about the world their country runs. The smart ones howeve, are the ones that help move our world forward. One point I’d like to bring up is that many americans talk about bringing jobs back to america. For the next 100 years that will never happen, for they do not understand the stranglehold china has on America, and that CHina has some of the cheapest paid workers in the world, while american unions continue to demand for very high payments. Until Americans start being a bit more liberal, an actually trying to learn stuff, and analyzing carefully before coming to conclusions, they are doomed. Sadly, we here up in Canada are slowly falling prey to the dirty politics and policies of the south…
Well look whom they elected twice ! and the result of all the financial mess
A correction to Kat s’ comment .. …”The stupid are those that sit on their high horses compiling statics” … PS: it’s not compiling statics it’s compiling statistics
The only reason of the financial crysis is the over-liberal financial situation on wall street leading to the fall of stock prices thus bringing prices up and lowering the quality of life. Do you know who started the crises? No? Well it was the US economy alias George Bush and co. And now the same person that got us into deep, well brown supstance is orginazing a series of INTERNATIONAL summits on the crysis trying to bail him self out and making it look like this problem has been started elsewhere, and the us public belives him. Another proof of American blind/mindles/brain-washed following. And yes so what if there is a lot of national and racial minorities- shouldn’t they have the same education as the “other” americans?
Gia, you may be eloquent in your writings but not very accurate.. do you know that approximately 75% of the US population lives in metropolitan areas? Also there is nowhere in the US where one is 4 hours away from a movie theater or 11 hours away from a metro area of 500000 people. Besides if you live in a metro area of just 100000 people you would have access to just about any cultural venue available except big time orchestras or performing theatre. You sound good but you are mostly opinionated !
Frank,
I am well aware of the statistics you supply. Keep in mind that 25% of the population could easily bring down the average IQ of the US population along with the other factors I noted (non-native English speakers, minority groups, poverty). I never implied that the majority of the US population lived in rural areas. And, by European standards, most of our suburbs would not qualify as a metro areas, but rather villages.
Additionally, there are a few states with a population barely above 500,000 people, and people living in these very minimally populated states live very far from a real city. And, yes, some of them live without movie theatres nearby.
In any case, yes, I am often opinionated and judgemental against idiots. I just can’t help it.
Here are some more reasons the US population may be stupid:
http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/main.htm
Yes, conspiracy theories galore, but maybe some truth to them?
I’m from Nashville and I’m black, and I am far from stupid. Anyway, one big problem here in America is that people are too comfortable with being ignorant. They don’t care to learn about other cultures or anything that doesn’t directly affect them. I’m not talking about every single American, but a large portion. I actually believe that the American elite prefer it this way. The less educated the people are, the least likely they are to question things. Give them religion and entertain them with nonsense, and the majority of them are happy. For the most part, this society has taken on a lazy mentality and I witness it everywhere. I get frustrated talking with so many people because they are stupid (not to insult them, but to be honest) and they don’t care. I have always been interested in people from around the world, so that alone gave me a need at a young age to educate myself about what’s going on. Many Americans just need to wake up.
@Sick
Couldn’t have said it better. I see alot of open minded and intellegent people on websites such as this one, the problem is I rarely meet people in my day to day life that are such. I know what you’re saying. I feel like it is simply looked down upon to question our government and society. An example of this is how the word “Socialist” has a very bad conotation here in America for absolutely no reason. “Communism” is also frowned upon. The point is, no one is educated enough to even know what these ideologies are and what these words imply. If someone questions our governments economic capitalism for instance, they are called “socialists” or “communist” like its a bad thing(which it can be in some cases, but is in no way entitled to be wrong). If you question our governments foreign policy you are labeled as “unpatriotic”. Americans are being outsmarted by word play in their own language! I truly believe Americans just need to travel more, wait, not travel in the American sense of the word. They need to LIVE in another country for an extended period of time so they can experience other points of view, ideology and cultures with which they can compare their own…
all I can say is; mate, this is exactly the information i needed to put some bigheaded arrogant americans i know to place.
no offence but there’s something wrong with some yanks actually believing America IS the best place ever.
seriously.. its, by far, nothing close to best.
americans can be terribly ignorant and narrow-minded even about other americans. for example, white americans seem to have absolutely no idea that the black and brown experience in america is vastly different from theirs. recently, a study found that white americans have absolutely no clue about the real burdens carried by black people in this country — burdens like having less earning power and worse health outcomes, all other factors held constant, than white americans. perhaps some have been made aware of these disparities through media coverage of the aftermath of hurricane katrina. however, i have found that many white americans, when presented with events, ideas or perspectives that cannot be related to their own personal experiences, will simply dismiss or otherwise invalidate those events, ideas or perspectives.
apparently there is a habit among americans to be self-referential. perhaps we all default to relating new information to our own experiences at first pass. but it seems to me that americans tend to get stuck there, and their lack of inquisitiveness and poor education (and yes, sometimes just plain stubbornness and laziness) prevent them from even considering the the possibility that there may be more than one way to experience life in the united states or any other place in the world.
and recall after 9/11 the question on (white) american lips: why do they hate us so? i always wanted to respond by saying, go ask a cherokee, a native hawaiian, a pilipino, a descendant of slaves — they will tell you that america isn’t always the hero riding on a white horse to save the day. sometimes, they come with dollar signs in their eyes and corruption in their hearts…but this history, the history of american empire and expansionism, is not taught in schools. instead, american parents lament the ban against prayer in schools and advocate for creationism…
certainly other countries have had to contend with the challenges of a heterogeneous population. but in the US, divisions along race/ethnicity are saddled with the additional baggage of past power struggles that subordinated black and brown people to white americans. for all the huffing and puffing about immigration, most americans have not made the connection between US foreign policy and who immigrates to this country, documented or not. the groups that come to this country in the greatest numbers are from countries that the US has interfered with in the past, with disasterous results: mexico, el salvador, honduras, the philippines, vietnam. it’s amazing that a people so wedded to their traditions is so terribly ignorant of their own history of interference in other countries’ affairs.
this is all to say that none of what was originally presented on this site is not surprising, given that americans are ignorant and poor-educated about their own history. and the consequences of american ignorance are evident in US foreign policy, which over the last eight years has alienated much of the rest of the world. how could it be expected that they would even be aware of the histories of the world beyond their borders?
btw, sick, i hear you. i’m a smart brown girl and i’ve had to work twice as hard to be taken half as seriously. and despite having immigrated from a former US colony and having lived in the US since childhood, i don’t think that i’ll ever be regarded as a “real” american.
Here are a few facts:
There is a difference between Knowledge and intelligence.
You can read as many books as you want if you do not posses the mental abilities to process informations and use them thereafter it is uselss.
Moreover what is important is not education itself but what you are taught.
There is a difference between what you need to learn,and what governments want you to learn.
You can be an incredible moron but nkow a lot of things. On the other hand you can be incredibly clever but ignorant.
Many Americans don’t ask themselves the good questions,and know very little about the rest of the world because they are tauhgt not to!
If you make more money by staying in the dark than seing the sun what will you do?
In a country in which money prevails most people will choose the 1st solution.
The American populace has a chance to vindicate itself (in light of voting Bush in twice) in the upcoming elections……
Yes, America. Finally.
@ neworleanian - you missed the point. The author is not saying that everyone in America is stupid and everyone else isn;t. He was saying that from various research sources, it appears the AVERAGE in the US is lower than the AVERAGE in other countries.
Anyone can always come up with an isolated experience. I was in Lowell, MA (That’s in America in case there are any Scot’s reading - only joking!!!!). I was asked by a local where I came from. I replied “UK”. Their response was “The Ukraine?”
As the author said “Now with all these statistics and research data it is up to you, the reader to decide if Americans really deserve the ’stupid’ tag. As with any nation, there are always exceptions which means not all Americans fit these statistics. But a majority of Americans do which creates the average data at a lower level than the other countries.”
Just as he said, that not all Americans fit the tag, you can look at it the other way. Not all the individuals in other nations are less ’stupid’. By comparing individuals you can ‘prove’ anything. For example, I can compare Stephen Hawking (British) to Sarah “Africa is a country” Palin (US) - what does that prove?
good website rlly enjoyed the confinmation that its not just most of the americans i have met (i have met smart ones but its about a 1:29 ratio of smart to dumb in the one’s i have met)
and as a reply to the earlier comment
‘After reading this article I feel sad that this once great nation that was once regarded as a beacon of freedom and opportunity, is now scoring so low in IQ testing. Shouldn’t the promise of opportunity include higher education in one of the richest countries in the world?’
on other developed contries america hasn’t been seen as beakon of hope in a long time, with the citizens of britan the most common thoughts about america are allong the lines of 2 year old with a shotgun
-Quando Omini Flunkus Moritari-
The americans are fed with the most absurd propaganda by their leaders (like bush), to all americans that believe the things that Bush or for example cnn tell you, I am very sorry for you. Dont believe the half of what they tell you about the war in iraq or the “evil counrys” (there is no such thing!!!)… and also dont believe what they tell you about the muslims!!!!! many americans think that all muslims are terrorists……NOT TRUE!!!!!!!
I would think there would be some bells ringing among the americans if the whole other world hates them!!
america is foolish,
we dont pay attention to warnings of other countries that are trying to hurt us and then we put people in office that say one thing but do another,
too many voters that are copying what other s doo and not think themselves,and wayyyy tooo much pride in this country that we think were the best, and we arnt,
No wonder other countries laugh at us and mock us its our own fault, and we have to change or it;ll be tooo late for change,
I am an American, and I feel the IQ statistical information is probably quite correct (with the exception of maybe China — due to the Chinese Authorities and their censorship policies). The underlying reason for the low US IQ stats is the American educational system. IQ tests are related directly to culture and actual education. The US educational system has to educate everyone equally (or attempt to) and this bogs down the system. In a single US classroom a teacher will have one student who is a visual learner, one who is a special needs student, one who suffers from hyperactivity disorder and their approved lesson plan must cater to all of them and ensure all are keeping pace. So the extremely smart kids who want to learn are held back by the ones who either don’t take education seriously or those who simply have learning problems.
Many of the previous comments under this article have concluded that Americans are stupid because they are a country full of intolerant people who are ignorant when it comes to the rest of the world. While I do believe that many Americans suffer from a lack of insight/knowledge when it comes to the rest of the world, I feel this has to do with Geography more than anything else. The average person in Europe will know much more about the rest of the world (about countries, current events, etc) but this is because you have your hands in it. Sure France knows all about what is happening in West African countries right now because they have been involved in Africa for hundreds of years. Not to mention the EU. All of the countries in Europe are linked together in one way or another either geographically or economically, so of course they know what is going on with each other and it has a direct impact on the lives of all those living in Europe. Tell me what the current issues in West Africa have to do with the the average day to day life of a factory worker in Gary, IN?
Please also keep in mind when talking about this that the US has a major issue with immigration right now. Millions of people are coming into this country illegally and the majority of them don’t speak English. The Children of those Immigrants will certainly be able to attend the US public school system and their IQ stats will be thrown in the mix. Even though they may not even speak English (the language the test will be given in).
Also responding to a previous comment: The majority of immigrants coming into the US are coming from Mexico (not China and Japan as was asserted by a previous user comment). You can find this info from census.gov if you are interested. Mexico has a low IQ average due to their poor economic situation and the Children who begin their education in Mexico are the same ones ending up taking an IQ test in the US a few years later.
Also if you look at the actual numbers (see link in article) the US IQ is the same as Australia and the same as or on-par with the rest of Europe (you need to look at the info for yourself).
I agree with this partially, being an American that means something is wrong, but some of these statistics are fake, I’m only in high school and pretty much all people I know can Identify molecules and all fellow students (That I know of) can Identify the U.S. on the map.
I do know many people who just don’t get things no matter how many times you explain it to them, in fact when it comes to history and geography, I have to admit I do have trouble, but I can still point out America, and when given an unlabeled map name all of the states.
Maybe Americans are a bit dumber than other nations on average, but not nearly as extreme as the sterotypes would make you think (Although the fat reputation is, unfortunately, true with 1/4 of people being obese).
I do not think of myself as being the average American, and the fact that I am proud of this is something sad and needs to be fixed, on the other hand I do not believe staged statistics and exagurated (
the US is really uneducated, but that doesn’t mean everyone there is too. personally I dislike the usa because they think they’re so great, way too much of nationalism. they’re more nationalist than the nazis were. the other thing is, USA loves to interfere with other countries’s business.
Hey Mieszkol, you believing Nazi bullshit is much more ignorant than Americans believing everything FoxNews says. As for Americans being ignorant, it’s true, we are very ignorant. But we are also isolated on the other side of the world. Do you think Canadiens and Mexicans are any less ignorant than Americans. If the US was in Central Europe bordering 7 other countries with unique cultures and languages we’d be far less ignorant. The IQ argument is also ridiculous. IQ is genetic, criticize the country the stupid peoples ancestors came from not the country that they live in now. America attracts many stupid people from foreign country’s but there are many smart americans. As for our culture being flawed, Other countries criticize us that we only care about sports and movies and Mcdonalds. Guess what, American films are popular in every country i’ve ever been too, as is American Music, Clothes, and Food. And people say sports are everthing in US schools. Athletes in Europe and Latin America completely drop school for a chance of going pro, and European soccer fans are a bunch of lunatics. Every culture has stupid lowlives, and the US might even have the most, but not all americans are stupid. As a High School senior applying to the top university’s, I am positive that there are many bright people in this country.
I agree with most of it, it is well-known but Im a little surprised that you would not go further and wonder why are Americans underperforming in these tests?
My view is that it is obviously a general problem of disorganized and unequal public services that can’t make sure that american kids get a common solid education. Moreover I would like to add that all your examples are related to sciences which is very partial, to me (I have been living in the US for 3 years), the worse is a complete lack of knowledge about human sciences such as history, languages (very few americans I have met, even “educated”, spoke and wrote their language properly) or philosophy…..it seems that any abstract thinking is sort of banned and that what prevents theses guys from seeing the absurdity of thier isolationsit self-promoted position of “leader”. Leader is what I’d like to ask?
I don’t think Americans are stupid. It’s just that they are ignorant and that does not equate to stupidty. I found some of them to be bigots and have lack of respect for others’ cultures. The weird thing is sometimes a foreigner can tell more of what’s happening in the US than an American can. If you go to any engineering schools across the US or go the any technical conferences, the sights of a non-immigrant American is a rarity. The percentage of foreign professors or foreign students in comparison to their American counterparts in any American universities for engineering and sciences is really high. That shows that there is a lack of interest in the field of science and technology among American students.
To the Americans who argued about this article irrationally, this only shows your ignorance and immaturity to the world. Further strengthen the conclusion of the article.
yes, they are, my experience with penpals (urghhhh, worst you can get is americans) and this video proves it
http://sorisomail.com/email/446/americanos-nao-sao-estupidos.html
@Carla Carrinho
Yes, Americans can be stupid and ignorant, but that video(which I am so tired of hearing about) does not prove anything. I just looked on youtube and found the same kind of video using Europeans as the scapegoat instead, but I don’t post it here because:
1. I don’t want to offend anyone
2. I know that it is only a couple of people and not a good representation of Europeans
3. I’ve actually been to Europe and know that a good majority of Europeans are smart and friendly people
4. Any video can be edited to only show one side of things
5. A video doesn’t prove anything
O.k. where the hell did these people go to school? I can’t even comprehend not knowing some of these things that my fellow Americans don’t. I also feel rather special seeing as I am one of those few who know what D.N.A. and radiation are. Really, I just read that most Americans don’t know where Finland is and 37% can’t find the U.S. on a map even when it’s labeled. I am so ashamed yet also proud of myself…then I realize being the smartest moron is nothing to be proud of. This really clears things up for me though because I now know why Sarah Palin has been so successful throughout her life.
I think that Americans are not really “stupid” they just don’t really care…..through school I have had classes on geography and I can say that I know the conitinents and for the most part some of the islands. I just think that education and being smart in America is not really a priority. For our last president was a complete idiot…..Other countries have different values and calling someone “stupid” because they scored low on the IQ test is absurd. Point being that Americans are lazy. We see school as something that we have to do rather than needing it.
Although I’m enjoying this forum, I can’t help but notice that even though there are some obviously educated and intelligent submissions here there is a surprising number of you who believe that higher education=higher IQ. Also at some point, (I have yet to peruse all of the submissions) someone introduced the term ignorant and everyone jumped on that term, using it to mean uneducated, or low IQ. It does not. (Look up the definition) Anyone, including myself, should feel much better being called ignorant, rather than being labeled as uneducated, stupid or having a low IQ. It seems to me that if we used the proper term to describe the proper condition without all the mix-ups fewer persons would be getting so upset with others.
Has anyone considered the difference in the geographical size and location of the United States as compared with the smaller European countries that have two, three or more bordering countries that speak different languages and have different political agendas? The limited time I traveled in Europe, I became familiar with french, Italian, and Russian customs, just while I was in France! Several of you mentioned that many Europeans speak more than one language. Good for you. I only speak one fluently and sometimes not very well. But those of you who’s second language is Latin are the ones that I respect the most. If you’ve ever studied Latin you’ll know why I feel that way. I have never had the need to speak Chinese or Russian, and at this point in my life I’m somewhat sure I will never have a need too. But, Latin is a language that can be used everyday. In my experience, I’ve discovered that most young people should work on speaking one language properly before starting another.
If an American falls asleep on a train in America and does not wake up for 3 or 4 days, he’s probably still going to be in somewhere in America. If you were to do that in Europe, Africa, and most of Asia, you better have a valid passport. I live and travel all over the United States year-round on business and anyone who works for me will tell you that I don’t have much tolerance for incompetence, or ignorance. But I also didn’t expect the Oregonians, (People from the state of Oregon, northwest U.S.A.), who I recently worked with, to know, for example, the specific license requirements to become a contractor, or the legal age of consent in the state of Florida, 3000 miles away on the southeast corner of the country. America is made up of fifty different states, (very different, in some cases) and is the most, (or close to the most) ethnically diverse country in the world. If an American doesn’t know that Glasgow is north of London, that’s lack of education and ignorance, but you won’t find that question on an IQ exam. And that certainly doesn’t make him stupid.
Someone mentioned that they didn’t know anyone who took an IQ exam. American Mensa will accept more than 200 different tests for admission, including LSAT, and SAT/ACT. Most Americans who have attended school in this country in the past 50 years has taken a standardized test that included questions taken directly from the Standard IQ exam.
You can assess this next bit of information however you like. It seems evident that a lot of people submitting to this forum, get their information from the media. The American media is the most corrupt institution in this country. It is owned and controlled by the extremely rich. The American media will print any item or find proof of any outrageous claim imaginable if the price is right. Make sure you check the source of your statistics.
America is in the final stages of a civilization. This country bulldozed through the first 5 stages and we aren’t showing any sign of slowing down and correcting our mistakes to keep us from continuing to bulldoze through the final 2. We are a country in a terrible economic state, our education system has all but fallen apart. Our arrogance has made us blind to the the fact that our political leaders make decisions purely for their own benefit, and that of their political party. Not for the benefit of the American people or the people in the countries where we have influence or affect. The majority of these submissions are people stating the obvious. Arguing about it serves no purpose. Understanding and admitting we have problems is not admitting defeat. It’s the first step in making positive change.
People, people… far more distressing than the sobering statistics on America’s state of education is the desire on the part of so many Europeans and liberal Americans to stereotype and expound their subtle (and often not so subtle) hatred of the common American.
I have lived in America most of my life (both blue and red states), as well as London, Madrid, and Australia. I hope I can bring a somewhat balanced perspective.
Life in America, as with any other country, is different from life in Europe– no doubt about it. Europeans value certain aspects of life more (secular education, international awareness, high culture) than most other people in the world (Americans included). Americans value certain aspects of life more (hard work and the pursuit of financial success, pursuing happiness even at the expense of knowledge, and a more democratic culture) than much of the rest of the world. But we are not talking about absolute goods here. We are talking about a European system of values versus a North American system of values. It shouldn’t be surprising then to find that American liberals often value the European way of life (deriding their home country and longing to lounge in the cafes of Paris), whereas American conservatives value the North American life. Europe does have a very high quality of life– if you have a certain value system.
Being able to work only 35 hours a week, enjoy sipping lattes over discussions of the classic philosophers, and take free public transportation to get their is awesome, of course. But, for some quality of life is: the “sky-is-the-limit” hope and optimism that comes with a more capitalistic economy, Hollywood and rock/pop music at its best (Godfather and Zeppelin) and worst (Jerry Spring and Spears), and the ability to hit the open road and explore virtually empty roads meandering through majestic mountain scenery. To enjoy some goods, others must be sacrificed. Of course, I am over simplifying all of the cultural differences here. But, as both a firm believer in Christianity AND evolution/science, if I HAVE to choose, I prefer the Christian lifestyle to the secular-liberal one. Unfortunately, we can’t have it all.
Now, why then can’t we just all accept these differences, allow people to move freely to the land that most appropriately matches their values, and hug around a campfire? Why does anyone in Sweden care about whether creationism vs. evolution is being taught at high schools in West Virginia any more than I care if children in Bangalore are learning about reincarnation and eating too much curry?
The answer to this question is where America fundamentally needs to change. The reason we can’t all just live in peace is because we have forced the world to care about our actions. Somewhat like clumsy children, we fuddled our way in to World War II and then found our selves almost alone when the dust settled to carry the torch for Western Civilization. Given, the rest of Europe soon arose from the ashes, but the quiet little republic of dustbowl farmers and county fairs would have to take on the role as world leader. We were never meant to be here. Let’s become the republic we were meant to be, get out of the rest of the world (the savings alone would make it able for us to eliminate every form of non-business tax). And, best of all, we could live our lives without hearing everyone criticize our culture and way of life. Any country would look this bad if constantly put under the microscope.
Now, having put forth this argument, I am curious to hear from non-Americans. Would you prefer that America stay as it is domestically, but just pull out of the world militarily and just keep on trading like Japan or Germany do now? Or would you prefer us to remain the de facto leaders of the world and try to make it so that our domestic habits are as benign as possible for the rest of the world?
@ Dmitri
Science and technology jobs are not “looked down upon”. If you are a scientist or an engineer, you will be on a higher income and social plane than a pizza delivery boy or a call centre agent. However, scientists and engineers are considered mediocre professionals as compared to management or law. One of the reason Americans companies have become so unproductive these days is because more people are engaged in the management of a company rather than doing anything actually productive.
I think the major reason why born-and-bred Americans avoid science and technology is because of the ‘nerdiness’ associated with it (it is mostly people of foreign origin who populate the tech. or med. schools). According to the class heirarchy in American high schools, people of a higher intellect are branded “nerds” and “geeks” which puts them in the bottom rung of the social ladder. Hence, a lot of intelligent Americans avoid an avid interest in the hard sciences, leading to a general anti-intellectualism in the country. (Anti-Intellectualism in America is characterised by a mild distaste of high cultures and a belief that anyone with a cultured lifestyle is being an ‘pseudo-intellectual’.)
I would just like to remind all of the people that claim that iq tests are related to education and culture. IQ test compare the subjects mental age to his/her biological age and consist of tasks strictly tied with inteligence and inteligence training( yes, that is correct, knowlage is a diferent thing( you develop your knowlage via for example reading)). For example the tasks could be: to count moving objects, speed calculation, recognising an optical illusion etc. So please stop saying that americans score low entirely becouse of the education sistem, the government, or the president( i’m not saying that they didn’t play a minor role in it). Respect
Oh, yes. One more thing. I personaly don’t belive americans are stupid( however, i’ve never been to the US), but their youth might destroy the country. Their awearness should be raised a bit. Reaspect again
Well, in a big country like America, you only need a few smart people to run the country for the rest. That’s the self-perpetuating tragedy.
(@Aaron
Dioksiribonukleinic acetat is spelled DNA, not D.N.A. at least that what i was tought in sevent grade)
I was just wondering is there a reason for a european to come and live in the U.S.?
I have read much of this thread and just wanted to agree with much of what I have read, but first here is an example of the real/modern world that US needs to understand; I am Swedish, I am listening to a film in Afrikaans, writing this in English and listening to my Brazilian girlfriend shout at me in Portuguese (can’t understand a word she is saying but she shouts alot!!). The famous reticence of Americans to learn languages is just a symptom of the homogenous nature of American culture, ie Starbucks and McDonalds.
I think we cannot under estimate just how much the ignorance of Americans is a purposeful product of their culture, it is not an unintended side effect, for example, most of the world is socialist in political principals, yet the word socialist in US is a dirty word. If the masses of USA were taught logical principles and critical thinking this could not happen. Many surveys show that an overwhelming number of americans are in favour of a european style health service and yet this never enters the political debate as it is called socialised medicine and therefore a-priori a bad thing. Interestingly although surveys show Americans want a euro-style health service, the same surveys show that most americans feel they are in the minority in wanting this! This brings in the media.
Have you ever watched american television news? It is shocking (genuinely shocking), it like watching a ‘reality show’ where the ‘reality’ is actually reality!! So that the population is de-sensitised into seeing war as just big bright explosions where no real discussion follows, the Israeli 40 year terriorism of Palestine is a good example. Israeli attacks killing hundreds and destroying thousands are big and bright (ie good and mindless), Palestinian attacks killing tens are old fashioned (ie dirty and personal) This combined with no real discussion of the back ground of the troubles is obviously going to lead to an extremely ignorant viewpoint.
Will add more later…the shouting is getting louder!!!
Hey Ivan,
It depends what you are looking for out of life. I think every place on the planet has its advantages. Some countries have just had such bad luck that living a good life is nearly impossible (Iraq, Somalia, Congo). But in almost every part of the United States and Europe (as well as Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and even most Latin American countries), there is plenty of opportunity to make a happy life for yourself. So, whether you want to move to the United States is a matter of personal preference.
If you are, say, from Russia, and you long for tropical breezes and Latin culture, but want to stay in the developed world, you should move to Miami. If you are in Kansas and want nothing more than to go to art galleries and people-watch at cafes, you should move to Paris. America is a hugely diverse land that has a lot to offer, and you will be able to find a place that almost perfectly suits your lifestyle preferences (same with Europe).
Also, if you are young and ambitious, America does have better employment prospects for young people, and it is much easier to start your own business here, own a house, and have a lot for pretty cheap.
I think there are reasons to move almost anywhere, but I think, overall, America and Europe offer something for everyone.
Stereotypes are truly terrible.I’m a kid in the US. I’ve seen what the people are like here. It is pretty bad. Sometimes. Not all of the US citizens are stupid. We’ve had smart people here before. Though the country is in a bit of a crisis.
Now, why then can’t we just all accept these differences, allow people to move freely to the land that most appropriately matches their values, and hug around a campfire? Why does anyone in Sweden care about whether creationism vs. evolution—-Why can’t we all get along—
Get along; The answer to that question is actually straight forward, here in Sweden and Europe generally we care what US thinks because it sits on top of the Neo-liberal world pyramid. Here in Sweden we have the first ring wing (US style) powerful government for over twenty and they are horrible, an absolute disaster and their ideas come from US. Now of course theyu will be voted out next election (I hope) but you can do a lot of damage in four years. You can find powerful people with ring wing US capitalistic ideas all over the world introducing ideas that are antithetical to the left wing ideals most of us here hold so dearly and were paid for in the blood of earlier generations. We can see the destruction of working class standards of living, the increase in levels of debts, the by-passing of union standards, the end of free education etc or public services etc etc.
Now are the people of US to blame for swedes voting right wing? No of course not, but as these ideas come flooding out america, un-checked by badly educated and badly informed americans, we see our cultures having to pay the price.
If americans want to work 70 hours a week, spend their lives in debt, go broke so they can have an operation, fear getting the train because it runs no where near where they live and spend their time talking about Brittany Spears, well good for them; if they want to pretend that creationism has any basis whatsoever in science, they are mad, but its up to them; however We fear that these un-checked stupidities will influence our cultures if US citizens do these things.
And this is exactly why America wages war on every country they are afraid of; xenophobia.
David, there are many of us that want socialized health care, or what the pc over here like to call universal. As for working 70hrs a week or waiting for a bus that’s no where near where we need to be, etc…nothing is perfect. I’d love to have the opportunities and freedoms that Europeans have…and the culture, but we all have to remember that the US is relatively young and although, we should have done our history homework and learned from all the European countries mistakes, sometimes one just has to make them themselves for it’s the only way to learn some things. Keep that in mind.
We’re not all ignorant. Eventually I’ll know more than English but I didn’t have the privilege of having it taught to me while I was young. And, since you’re educated, you know that after a certain age it becomes much harder linguistically speaking. We do our best, those of us who care. I’m sure there are ignorant Europeans. They’re scattered about on this huge little world.
Like I said. Here’s data by state.
http://manyeyes.alphaworks.ibm.com/manyeyes/visualizations/89ade5ae117638d201118bce925904a6/comments/8b46405cdda211dd9b2c000255111976
Averages:
NY - 97
MA - 101
CA - 87 (22% of California population is comprised of immigrants with little or no schooling)
Let’s also not for get the fact that standardized IQ tests have a deviation of 15 points. With all of the innovation that comes out of the US, I find it hard to believe that we could have lower IQ’s than the countries in Europe… Wait.. What’s has the European nations given the world again? How has Europe changes the lives of the people around the world. Penicillin right? Linux (which is a reverse engineered version of Unix)? The wheel? It’s not the automobile. Or Electricity… What has Sweden ever done for the world other then make cheese? Yup, I can sound just as ignorant as this website. But you know why that is… I’m just a stupid fat lazy American. One who makes a shit load of money, has a giant heated pool. A 52in Samsung series 7 HDTV. and a really really nice BMW. Oh, and an IQ of 132.
Stephanie, don’t apologize for the US. The opinions voiced here are not the opinions of the world. Just a few people using American technology to voice their unhappiness that they themselves do not have what we have.
@ Anom - “With all of the innovation that comes out of the US, I find it hard to believe that we could have lower IQ’s than the countries in Europe…”
If you call stealing or modifying ideas from other countries and patenting it as ‘innovation’…
@ Anom - “What’s has the European nations given the world again? How has Europe changes the lives of the people around the world. Penicillin right?”
About everything worth having today, including the very technology (WWW) that you use to make this comment with. The electricity that you use to run your computer with is a wonder of European ingenuity.
@ Anom - ” Penicillin right?”
Penicillin was invented by Sir Alexander Fleming, a British doctor.
@ Anom - “The wheel? It’s not the automobile.”
Europeans call it ‘car’, not automobile. I am sure Americans impress themselves by hiding behind a modified terminology and claiming an ‘invention’, but the first self-propelled vehicle (or automobile as you call it) was invented by Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot, a French inventor. Contrary to popular (read stupid) American beliefs, Henry Ford didn’t invent the car.
@ Anom - “Or Electricity…”
The first observations of electricity was done by Thales of Miletus, a Greek during the BC era. The first electric generator was built by Otto von Guericke, a German scientist. Michael Faraday, a British FRS is known as the “father of electricity” as it was his efforts that made electricity as a viable form of enegy.
@ Anom - “What has Sweden ever done for the world other then make cheese?”
Sweden has more per-capita inventions to its credit that Americans ever do and ever will. The average Swedish has a quality of life which few Americans can dream of. The products made by Swedish multi-nationals (which are numerous) are a lot better than those made by American companies, even at the same price level. Even the Nobel Prize which American academics desperately crave for and judge their worth on, is offered by a Swedish institute. Your statement about Sweden is not only a sign of your excessive ignorance, but reeks to typical American jingoism. What have Americans ever done for the world except fatten people with McDonalds and produce the largest number of child predators in the globe?
@ Anom - “One who makes a shit load of money, has a giant heated pool. A 52in Samsung series 7 HDTV. and a really really nice BMW. Oh, and an IQ of 132.”
Oh, the irony! You are boasting about your material possessions with products of Korean (Samsung) and German (BMW) manufacturers. What happened, can’t Americans with 132 IQ find something American to make jingoist rants about?
@ Anom - “Just a few people using American technology to voice their unhappiness that they themselves do not have what we have.”
I am using the World Wide Web, a technology developed by CERN, Switzerland. My laptop is made in China by Sony Vaio, a Japanese company. The browser is Opera (Netherlands) based on the OS Novell OpenSUSE (Germany). I am as unhappy about not having your material possessions as you are unhappy at not having a mini Uzi or a Sony Vaio.
Oh, and one more thing. It is ironic the way you decide that someone who doesn’t have a 52″ TV or a BMW is automatically unhappier than someone who does. What is it with Americans, that they equate happiness with material goods and violence with sex? Moreover, if Americans like you hate being branded stupid, you need to stop being so loud with your stupidity. The excesses of ignorance in your comment did no help here.
I think it is rather arrogant to assume you are better than another person because you know who the secretary of state is and they don’t. Am I defending Americans who don’t bother to find this stuff out? Not really. Some people’s lack of knowledge on world events or even common sense is worrying…even pitiful. That is why we should be helping them rather than poking fun, bashing American culture or feeling superior. (Especially for fellow Americans…instead of wallowing in self-loathing why don’t you try explaining a concept to someone who doesn’t understand something or correcting a person who said something incorrectly.) I am proud to be Mexican-American. I have nothing to be ashamed of. I had a good education and I try to help others instead of sitting around poking fun of them. You should try it sometime.
I like your attitude Michelle
I think the usa “elite” rather keeps his people ignorant, as the church did centuries ago. A bunch of ignorants are easier to manipulate than a well educated people-
Aside of that the USA seem to be run by the
jewish minority which since thw census of 1952 ( 6 mil) has not grown by one singe birth !?
yet they are the majority in the US government.Media business,Bank and financial
institutions, and I have never met an american who did not work for a jew, and I met many…
I think a lot of Amercans are racists that is a problem.
I have met quite a few Americans and one thing they don’t like is if you call them stupid or anything for that matter. In England we like to take the poke fun at ourselves and most of the time we don’t get upset.
Now the reason most Americans don’t travel much is due to its size, why would you need to travel when you have so much on your own door step?
@ Michelle - “I had a good education and I try to help others instead of sitting around poking fun of them. You should try it sometime.”
Michelle, it is very difficult to handle stupid Americans who are self-satisfied egomaniacs, let alone attempt to ‘help’ them. I have had experience dealing with this sort both offline and online, only to end up getting annoyed and exasperated. Since we have better things to do than being a cultural missionarity to an arrogant and savage breed of people, we just make others among us aware of what a typical American is like and move on. This helps others like us avoid the same pitfalls if they come across a similar American.
Just so that the not-so-bright Americans understand, being stupid is not a global calamity. Stay stupid and don’t bother others, no one will care. It is only when these stupid people start to believe that ways are better than everyone else and try to convert others to be like them using force or fraud, that their stupidity becomes an annoyance/concern.
@ Tallen Lu - “I think a lot of Amercans are racists that is a problem.”
You are right. A lot of Americans do not openly express their racist sentiments because of their fear of the law or public ridicule. All that anti-racism laws helped in US is to drive racism into the closet, like homosexuality in an Islamic country. Institutional racism and subtle public expression of racist sentiments have replaced the burning, lynching or extra-judicial prosection of non-WASP minorities. A little provocation or anonymity (like online blogs) does bring out this side of Americans, often followed with an inclusionary remark to ‘mask’ or ‘water down’ their vehemently racist remark.
so as far as the American is concerned, IQ is crap as I have stated above.
There is a worrying trend in the decline in science and tech education, unless corrected it will have a negative effect the US competitiveness in the future and it’s ability to innovative.
but lets not forget the US is the most innovative country in the world, science and tech has been dominated by it. Real intelligence has many qualities as I explained above it is not based on how when you regurgitate like a parrot, not based on academic intelligence
Innovation and creativity are the most critical factors of greatness. THEY SAID America was on its last legs in the late 80’s saying, how japan will become number one and own America. Quoting those crap IQ figures and higher educational levels etc.
But the USA did not decline, it was japan, because japan could not innovate were the USA could.
THIS IS THE REAL CRITICAL STAT
Study: US workers are world’s most productive
By Bradley S. Klapper, Associated Press | September 3, 2007
GENEVA - American workers stay longer in the office, at the factory, or on the farm than their counterparts in Europe and most other rich nations, and they produce more per person over the year.
They also get more done per hour than everyone but the Norwegians, according to a UN report that said the United States “leads the world in labor productivity.” The report was released in Geneva today, which is Labor Day in the United States.
The average US worker produces $63,885 of wealth per year, more than their counterparts in all other countries, the International Labor Organization said in its report. Ireland comes in second at $55,986, followed by Luxembourg at $55,641, Belgium at $55,235, and France at $54,609.
The productivity figure is found by dividing the country’s gross domestic product by the number of people employed. The UN report is based on 2006 figures for many countries, or the most recent available.
Only part of the US productivity growth, which has outpaced that of many other developed economies, can be explained by the longer hours Americans are putting in, the ILO said.
The United States, according to the report, also beats all 27 nations in the European Union, Japan, and Switzerland in the amount of wealth created per hour of work - a second key measure of productivity.
Norway, which is not an EU member, generates the most output per working hour, $37.99, a figure inflated by the country’s billions of dollars in oil exports and high prices for goods at home. The United States is second at $35.63, about a half dollar ahead of third-place France.
Seven years ago, French workers produced over a dollar more on average than their American counterparts. The country led the United States in hourly productivity from 1994 to 2003.
The US employee put in an average 1,804 hours of work in 2006, the report said. That compared with 1,407.1 hours for the Norwegian worker and 1,564.4 for the French.
It pales, however, in comparison with the annual hours worked per person in Asia, where seven economies - South Korea, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, and Thailand - surpassed 2,200 average hours per worker. But those countries had lower productivity rates.
America’s increased productivity “has to do with the ICT (information and communication technologies) revolution, with the way the US organizes companies, with the high level of competition in the country, with the extension of trade and investment abroad,” said Jose Manuel Salazar, the ILO’s head of employment.
The ILO report warned that the widening of the gap between leaders such as the US and poorer nations has been even more dramatic.
Laborers from regions such as southeast Asia, Latin
America, and the Middle East have the potential to create more wealth but are being held back by a lack of investment in training, equipment and technology, the agency said.
In sub-Saharan Africa, workers are only about one-twelfth as productive as those in developed countries, the report said.
Nick - Two things come to mind. Firstly the Japanese economy collapsed in the late 90’s for many reason, just as the world economy is collapsing now. A debt bubble, forced re-valuation of asian currencies, ruthless privatisation. To imply that the Japanese economy collapsed, like the world economy now, because of a lack of innovation is utter nonsense. Here is a thought experiment, name three NEW technologies invented by the private sector since 1955, I don’t mean adaptations like ipods from computers but actually NEW technologies, if innovation is meaningful within capitalism you should be able to name 100’s, but try naming three.
Secondly, I don’t know if you mean it but there is an implication in what you write about the stats on productivity. It is this; the people of the world should aim to be as productive as possible. Why? Why should people here in Sweden work as hard as those in Asia? Do you not think that productivity is linked to exploitation? Would the people of Asia not prefer to work less hard, have more holidays, better welfare? Are we working for the capitalists now? New Zealand has a pretty good standard of living, more in line with western europe than USA. Is that not something to celebrate?
Let’s not forget the other stuff about Americans; generosity of spirit, resoluteness of purpose, clarity of vision, embrace of altruism. That’s what makes us, in the final analysis, so much better than the rest of the world. Really! Oh, and I forgot one of our best qualities — we’re so remarkably untainted with any of that relativist, confused, cowardly Europeanishness!
Fucking pussies.
If we are so stupid how is it then we’re responsible for more pharmaceutical, electronic, agricultural and medical advances today than the rest of the world put together? Yeah, you people are fucking geniuses. You couldn’t find your own assholes without a US-made roadmap.
What is your source for US being responsible for more pharmaceutical, electronic, agricultural and medical advances today than the rest of the world put together?
Is producing stuff the only thing that matters?
I put some interesting points on this discussion up an I have seen them removed by a liberal git.
I shall not waste any more time hear, like a true liberal he does not believe in freedom of speech.
SO MY ADVICE FOR ANYONE ELSE WHO BOTHERS TO PUT UP A DECENT AGRUMENT THAT IS NOT LIBERAL, DON’T BOTHER BECAUSE ABY IS A JOKE.
THIS POST WILL BE REMOVED IN 5 HOURS.
SOME AMERICANS ALWAYS MAKE FUN OF OTHER COUNTIES.
SOMETIMES THE GOVERMENT BLOCKS THE TRUTH FROM THE PEOPLE.
Nick - That’s unfortunate I would be interested in reading what you wrote.
I have also had the same problems as Nick, that my arguments have not been alowed.
Average Euro IQ is less the 1% higher then USA IQ according to his own references. Just simple mathmatics to figure it out. If that gives anyone the right to call the other stupid then we are all morally deprived.
@ Nick and Robert: It is probably the spam filter at work. Check if you have made double posts, swearwords or linked to a spam site. If its all clear, email Aby to ask what the problem might be. I have had to deal with this problem once, when my double posts wouldn’t appear.
So yeah I have to disagree. This refers to Americans as being unintellligiant, which is true. But stupidty is not measured by intelligiance, because intelligiance is learned where as being smart has a lot to do with common sense. I myself am an American and trust me I am not stupid nor unitelligent. I may be only 13 but I have already surpassed people my own age in my country and other countries. I have started my own self studies on diseases such as schizophrenia, OCD, and manic depressive disorder. Not two mention my three year study of WWII I have even brought up theories of my own to contradict others beliefs on Hitler. I have also all ready been asked to take my ACT test and SAT test. I don’t find myself unintelligent but as i said intelligence is learned. Since, America’s school system is not as efficient as other countries most kids are not like me and don’t take it upon themselves to learn all that they can, and believe it or not we do have competions here and it puts a lot of stress on kids. Many are brought up in a family that has a set criteria for their children and are often treated like failures when they don’t reach it. After a while they give up and feel no need to try in school because of the thought that they won’t make it anyway. My uncle is a very intelligent man but he is as stupid as they come I told him, as I’m saying now, that you can’t measure how smart you are by looking at your intelligence. I really hope that America ups their schooling because I would love to catch up to the countries that beleve that your intellgiance is what tells if your smart. Truthfully anyone who beleves this needs to look deeper, believing everything you read gets you nowhere. Also, many people don’t see this but maybe there are some people here that are stupid but everyone has their own stupid peolpe it can’t be stopped.
REPOSTING- (I wrote this before I actually looked up the difference between IQs, so part of this arguement is mute.)
The USA is enslaved to itself. I believe you give the leaders to much credit when you say they purposefully keep the nation in ignorance. They aren’t that able, nor evil (I hope). Most americans are taught from birth that material possession is the key way to express ones worth in society(case in example @anom) . That coupled with ultra-capitalism creates debt in the middle and lower economic tiers of society. Which is continually widening the gab of wealth and poverty. Since a lower percentage of the population is becoming wealthier and a larger population incurring an ever growing debt, americans are creating an ever enlarging pyramid cast system. This is also the reason for poor immigrates, needed to bulster the bottom ranks of the pyramid. Povierty is one of the key factors in a lower IQ, and unfortunately many americans live a lower standard of life then many europeans (@nick even though americans have the highest production per capita does not mean it is evenly distributed).
America does recieve many very educated immigrants from various countries, though they are far less in numbers then the poor. There is simply not as much room available higher up on the pyramid as below.
As to europeans calling americans stupid, think about it this way. If you were born an american you most likely would have a lower I.Q. (not you, the other readers!) then you do now. Would that make you stupid or undeveloped?
I studied and worked in europe for 7 years, and I often miss the intellectual abundance of the middle class there. Where one can speak openly and is respected for creativity and cognitive abilities. Having said that I also easily noticed the growing popular idiology especially amoung the 18-30 range of anti-american sentiment, even though when asked why they thought that way they were lacking in any indepth reasoning. Of course I was always an exception to these people since I could out reason them, but I will refuse to call them stupid. To create a false generalization is hurtful, spiteful, hateful, and just plain bigotry.
Besides a few I.Q. points is a relatively small intelligence difference, so stop mentally masturbating about how ingeneous you are.
Facts I aquired first hand while hosting a quiz for 4 years at an international student gathering at the University of Leipzig, Germany (where Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz wrote many of his theories):
This is by no account a very accurate study, but only 25-30% of the europeans were able to answer correctly where the EU parliament is held. Even less could answer where the EU court of justice was located.
I held this quiz once a week for 4 years, and asked these questions many times among others because I thought it was amusing that they were able to answer where the equivelent US institutions were with a much higher percentage, but not their own. The point though is that numbers can be thrown around to try and make oneself feel superior, but it is in this forum only for self propaganda. As I suppose everything I wrote for myself. (hmm hipocrite)
By in large things need to change in the world to sustain all of us, the US may be the larger key at the moment but it does not meam everyone else is guilt free.
I wonder where you got your statistical information regarding IQ. I am a third year college student and have never taken an Intelligence Quotient test, neither do I know anyone who has been asked to take one. I have considered taking one to be admitted to MENSA, but with all of the standardized testing required in this country I don’t believe it is necessary for the average American.
I find it very hard to believe so many Americans think the Sun revolves around the Earth or what DNA is. Even my eight year old knows what a molecule is, and an atom, and the basics of the periodic table.
Evolution is taught in schools. Faith is not. Religion is touched on in school, many religions are. Evolution is given a dominent place in all science courses I have taken in my lifetime.
I do admit, our youth are not applying theirselves or striving for high achievement like Americans have in the past and it is sad. I am dissapointed how low the dreams of the local teens where I live are and I’m sure their reluctance to apply themselves damages their intelligence but surely the statistics you have mentioned are not accurate.
well stated well done wot a blog, well said !
FACTS - facts lool facts for us to throw them at their faces xD
Americans may be less smart, but the “smart people” come to the U.S. to study and stay here to get great jobs. Why do you think most scientific and engineering professions are made up of foreigners?
I don’t know about relative IQ, but I tend to have much more interesting conversations with people when I’m outside America. Perhaps this is because Americans in general take so little interest in anything that doesn’t directly benefit them. In other words Americans are generally quite boring and predictable, and I think functional, habitual levels of intelligence (as opposed to intrinsic) must have a lot to do with it.
It is worth bearing in mind that the current test of artificial computer intelligence is to simply talk to the machine, does the conversation feel human or not. Well, outside of America conversation feels more ‘human’, at least to me.
@Johnny - cuz u guys are dumb
“..smart, but the “smart people” come to the U.S. to study and stay here to get great jobs. Why do you think most scientific and engineering professions are made up of foreigners?”
That could be because most Americans are too dim to even understand what ’science’ or ‘engineering’ really means, so foreigners see a big market of fools where their skills will be much highly rated. In my personal experience and the experiences of my friends, it is a lot easier to get into a top grade American university for science and engineering as compared to Europe or Asia where is is far more competitive.
Firstly note that “stupid” is an attention grabbing headline. Don’t get hung up on that word. The sentiment is clear enough.
Secondly there are all kinds of problems with IQ tests.
Thirdly there are good generalisations about Americans as well. For example they are friendly up-front people.
With those caveats out the way, I think the evidence is in. The majority of Americans are ignorant of the world - particularly in science, geography and other cultures. A great many of them appear to have poorly developed skills of critical thinking, rationalisation and intellectual curiosity.
The science and high technology innovations in American are more and more dominated by people not born in America.
It is possible that those things are linked to the educational system. However I think there is evidence that it is at least partly a product of their culture.
It seems incontrovertible that the majority of Americans are not even interested in world events or how other people perceive the world.
I am from New Zealand. The nearest country is over 2000km away. We have a culture of travelling to other countries at a young age. I do not accept that intellectual curiosity is an accident of geography if you live in a developed country.
If you didn’t believe it before, the experience of Iraq should have highlighted it to you that American people are very easily lead into war.
Now all of this would not matter except that the USA is the only superpower and it has forced it’s will on so many other countries since WWII.
I think the question is not “are American’s stupid?”. I think the question is can American interference with the world be contained so that their easily led population doesn’t create too much suffering to other people?
@ Captain V. “About everything worth having today, including the very technology (WWW) that you use to make this comment with. The electricity that you use to run your computer with is a wonder of European ingenuity I am using the World Wide Web, a technology developed by CERN, Switzerland. My laptop is made in China by Sony Vaio, a Japanese company”
Here is a quick list of American innovations as it relates to computer science:
-American George Stiblitz is credited with inventing the Digital computer in 1937.
-Fiberglass was invented at Owens Corning in 1938
-The transistor was invented at Bell Labs in 1947 and is considered the fundamental building block of all electronics.
-American Reynold Johnson invented the Hard disk drive in 1955.
-American Jack Kilby invented the integrated circut in 1958.
-The computer mouse was invented by American Doug Englebart in 1963
-Plasma Display was invented at the University of Illinois in 1964.
-American Ted Nelson created hypertext in 1965
-The Compact Disc was invented by American James Russell in 1965.
-The Laser Printer was invented at Xerox in 1969
-Researchers at Corning Glass invented the optical fiber in 1970.
-The first PC was invented by American John Blankenbaker in 1970.
-American Ray Tomlinson invented email in 1971.
-American David Noble invented the floppy disc in 1971.
-American Ted Hoff invented the microprocessor in 1971.
-American James Ferguson invented Liquid Crystal Display in 1971.
-C programming language was invented by American Dennis Ritchie in 1972.
-American Gary Kildal invented the operating system in 1974.
-IBM created the first commercially available laptop in 1975.
-Graphic user interface was invented at Xerox in 1981.
-The modern internet was invented at the United States National Science Foundation in 1983, opened to commerical interests in 1985, and subsequently developed into the world wide web in 1992 by CERN who used the concept of hypertext(which was invented by American Ted Nelson in 1965). The early forms of the internet date back to other American inventors in the 1950’s and 1960’s
Even Blogging was invented by American Dr. Glenn Bary in 1993.
@ Sean -
Take electricity out of the equation and all the above ‘inventions’ fall into nothing (like multiplying 9334532412373 by zero). American inventions mean nothing without the backbone created by the timeless European contributions to humanity like the inventions of electricity, genetics, antibiotics, modern medicine, space exploration, etc.
You’ll also notice that EVERY SINGLE American ‘invention’ you specified above are comercially viable consumer products, the concepts and theories of which already existed long before they have been brought into material existence by venture capitalists. Theis breaks Anom’s argument to shards, since on a ‘giving to the world’ basis, Europeans gave far more to the world with their inventions that Americans ever did (or ever bothered themselves with).
I wouldn’t even bother pointing out the levels of fallacy and chest thumping in the argument you defended, since you obviously overlooked them or didn’t recognise any (perhaps because boasting of wealth and material goods as a hallmark of their intelligence is a ‘normal’ thing in America).
As a grade 9 teacher in Michigan, I can tell you that most most my students that immigrated to the United States with their families, are definetly “sharper” than most the kids that were born around these parts. I don’t want to limit myself to a subject as Math, or Science (trust me we are really behind when compared to 3rd world countries), it’s an “overall sharper”, they just get it, without having to draw pizzas to get them to understand fractions (one silly example). It’s just a really sad when you have a board full of pizza drawings and the kids still don’t get it, while I have to suspend some immigrant kid for laughing his ass off at the pizzas, because he thinks it’s raw stupidity. (even though I agree with him/her I cannot/will allow anyone to laugh at another students learning difficulties).
To make things worst when I invite the parents to the “parent-teacher” meetings, I always have the parents of the immigrant kids comming (both mother and father), the american parents don’t really want to show up unless I specifically request them to show up (because their kid is having difficulties).
The types of questions the immigrant parents are asking are actually academic related, (will they cover derivatives, limits, this semester or next, will they have a review class before the exam, can I allocate some 1on1 time with their students if they need to review a certain chapter) while the American parents tend to ask about the cafeteria menu, and the sport activities offered after school, or organize what snacks to bring for next parent-teacher meeting, and that is unfair to send their daughters home if they are wearing short skirts (believe me it is really awfull when you ask a youg lady to go home and change because her underwear are showing when she sits down, and the whole class turns into a circus).
Last but not least, the immigrant kids are much more respectful towards the teacher of the class, while most American kids tend to be impolite towards the teacher (i know it’s the cool thing to do, but it really does push a teacher away from the kids that tend to be problamatic, and sadly there are the kids that tend to need the most 1 on 1 time.).
I am really sad to see this. Blaming the schools is really a small fraction of what is happening, please believe me, alot of it starts with the discipline a kid picks up during his younger years at home.
The Problem with america is all the new technology for kids. I’m 15 years old and live in the United States. Most Teenagers in my school get less then 7 hours of sleep each night. When there in school they are usually text messaging one another and not paying attention. Presdient Obama wants to increase school time and the amount of time we attend school. Really all he has to do is crack down on schools and stop kids from having ther phones out in class! There is’nt much of a punishment to have your phone taken away by a teacher or another faculty member. Teacher, shcools and parents need to make sure that teenagers get the right amount of sleep and actually pay attention in school. Also authority has been undermined in recent generations. Getting in trouble with the law seems to be allowed by todays teens. More and more teens are drinking alcohol and taking drugs. Many parents don’t know the signs of it and should become aware of it. The prevention of drug abuse needs to be stepped up as well as laws about buying and allowing teens to drink alcohol and use tobacco to need to be more punishable. The turn around will not be quick but the future depends on the present.
Just some comments on Europeans and their supposed knowledge of the rest of the world:
1) Most Euros I have met can’t tell the difference between a Canadian and an American. They lump us all together and call us Americans. The Mexicans are totally forgotten or lumped in with South America (I have actually had Euros tell me this is because the culture of Mexico is more like South America than North America????????)
2) Of the multilingual Euros I have met, not one spoke a non-European language. I think the “willingness to learn other languages” that the Europeans speak of translates into “Euros will learn the languages of their own continent so they can talk to one another, but don’t ask them to learn Chinese or some African language because they really aren’t interested and have no need to.”
3) Europeans need to learn that Europe is NOT more diverse than anywhere else. Countries like the US, Canada and Australia have been melting pot countries for a long time; whereas, mass immigration to Europe is really only fairly new and started after WWII. That means we have been taking in people from all over the world far longer than our Euro cousins. Maybe waking up and realizing this will help our Euro cousins understand why a lot of immigrants to European countries don’t assimilate? After all, how can you expect others to follow your ways if you don’t have a history of following theirs?
As I said, just a few comments. No doubt, I’ll get crucified by the Euros for them. And on Easter too. How fitting!
By the way, I wonder how many Europeans are aware that China had a truly advanced, sophisticated society looongg before the Euros did (in other words, while the Euros were still living in caves and grunting as a language).
Now that China is fast becoming a superpower, it will be interesting to see how many “European” inventions/innovations were actually stolen from the Far East.
@Captain V.
“@ Anom - “With all of the innovation that comes out of the US, I find it hard to believe that we could have lower IQ’s than the countries in Europe…”
If you call stealing or modifying ideas from other countries and patenting it as ‘innovation’…”
Transmission Control Protocols were initially developed in 1973 by American computer scientist Vinton Cerf as part of a project sponsored by the United States Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) and directed by American engineer Robert Kahn. AKA Internet
The Internet began as a computer network of ARPA (ARPAnet) that linked computer networks at several universities and research laboratories in the United States. The World Wide Web was developed in 1989 by English computer scientist Timothy Berners-Lee for the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).
Americans have many inventions ranging from PONG- first video game Nolan Bushnell
to The Artificial Heart- Dr. Robert Jarvik in 1982
This was one of the most annoying conversations I was forced to have in Europe about who invented what. It always reminds me of jocks trying to measure their manhood to see who is more a man. I always disliked those conversations because I have not invented anything myself.
Also @Captain V. you cannot say something is an invention to one person then when proven it was not an European invention just discredit it as only being a product of electricity and mathematical theories developed of course by the Europeans. With that line of argument the first human to count and use critical thinking invented everything. Whom was probably a species predating homosapiens.
An invention is the creation of a new configuration, composition of matter, device, or process. Some inventions are based on pre-existing models or ideas. Other inventions are radical breakthroughs which may extend the boundaries of human knowledge or experience.
Throughout history the epicenter of creative ingenuity has shifted to different regions. I do see a definite change in where that focus point is at the moment, one of the reasons I studied physics in the EU. To deny that America was not a focus point for many years in history and still has at least a lingering effect from that is only achievable through self denial of the facts which is one of the roots of racism.
The original premise by Captain V that American inventions were built on the back of fundamental European theories/discoveries is a correct one. The only problem is he attempts to use this premise to detract from the magnitude of the American inventions which is misguided.
America operates due to the actions of a highly intelligent elite academic/politicalmilitary class of people. The argument that America has some of the foremost universities in the world or that it put man on the moon and therefore cannot contain a mass of people who are politically ignorant is absurd. Like Britain, America is suffering from a crisis concerning the decreasing popularity of science courses (they were unpopular by default). Therefore a very large proportion of undergraduates in science/mathematics courses at top American universities are actually foreign thus negating the original premise that having top universities means having a well educated populace (generally speaking).
Nobody is denying that a great deal of enterprise and innovation has come for America but equally one cannot deny the morally bankrupt self interested acts America has committed as well (Vietnam-particularly the My lai massacre and of course- The Iraq War) and the hypocrisy of such conflicts (especially since in the past America supported Saddam Hussein despite being fully aware of the fact that he was a dictator)
Although there has been undertones of European arrogance in this forum it cannot be denied that most if not all european states and members have an unrivalled political and cultural tolerance and a broad and measured political understanding and awareness. To put it crudely vice presidential candidates such as Palin and politicians such as George Bush Jr would have been laughed of the proverbial political stage if their equivalents had ever seriously ran for office in any European country. However, America has been vindicated in some respects as a result of voting in Obama who may not be the saviour that everybody is painting him as, but is a well read intellectual with a seemingly measured foreign policy that does not seem to have overwhelming hints of self interest (like the Bush administration did). He seems like just the person to change the international political view of America and also to alleviate America’s domestic problems as well.
WOW!! A very old blog but interesting. I would like to comment on a few things that are clear from the comments and articles. I must first say that I am from America but at the same time earning my PhD in Psychology.
1st. The facts are clear that citizens from the USA are weak in the physical sciences. I have read about it in cognitive psychology and through other classes. This is because the USA is a conservative country that teaches citizens to value politics, power, ideals, and money. The downside to it is the physical science industry gets dominated by immigrants from Japan, Europe, India, and a few middle eastern countries. Physics, calculus, and trigonometry are taught early in these countries while in the USA those classes are reserved mostly for college. Although there are some available in high school levels.
2nd. The comments from most of these Americans already reveals what has been discovered in psychology. Americans have a pride in their country and even if science proves it wrong they don’t accept the facts. It correlates to being an isolated country. A majority of Americans have never been outside of their country so a sense of xenophobia and one sided perspective exists. The Americans that do get to travel abroad learn a new sense of what the world is like. I being one of them have traveled and lived in many countries.
3rd. Not all people are dumb. Every country has their good share of poorly educated and highly educated. People should not feel ashamed that their country ranks low in some way or another. That is a sign for change to occur and to fix a broken system that has failed its citizens.
4th. Many Americans are still recovering from a cold war mentality. The cold war mentality has taught Americans to hate communism, pride in nationalism, and hate towards people that oppose them. In is simple terms ignorant prideful nationalism. This makes people very political and idealists.
5th. Conservatism reigns strong in the US culture. Media censors things such as females breasts, buttocks, and beeps out words considered foul. European countries have moved beyond taboos that have shown to have no effect on mentality. Homosexuals in America still have a hard time being accepted by others in the USA. This is due to the religiousness of Christianity still prevalent in conservative parts of America.
The USA is not a bad place and the people are not bad either. The problem is the system that still exists and how US citizens are still disconnected from the rest of the world. Reform is a hard process to accomplish in the American system because idealists and conservatism does not allow it. One major problem that exists in the younger generation in America is narcissism. Narcissistic mindset doe not contribute to change so it will still be a challenging task for America to rise up in the physical sciences arena. Good day and to the people that disagree, “Let us agree to disagree” but you can be more mature rather than just name calling.
@ Man From USA
You know what - well done - I am glad to see you approached the topic from a political view - I never though of it this way and the fact that you defended your points very well i have to admit so far you have one of the strongest arguments here…
The more I think about the Cold-War-Propaganda mentality that you mentioned, the more it all makes sence.
give it 2 or 3 more generations.. maybe we’ll be in a better spot
What has saved America in the last couple of decades are the “brain drain” immigrants from countries like China and India. However, that’s all changing. There is now a “reverse brain drain.” That’s bad news for the U.S. These immigrants would have stayed after doing their grad work in the U.S. but are getting a better deal abroad. I also believe that once Americans have been here for several generations the work ethic suffers. The first generation works hard and becomes successful, the second generation takes advantage of the first generation’s hard work, and the third generation is lazy and feels entitled to everything.
i just have a question… Why “americans”???? there are many other countries in that continent and they are called, mexicans, canadians etc etc etc so why americans???? people in france never say “im european” right?? anybody gets my point??
I don’t have to distract anyone, facts do it good enough without the need for distractions. A magnitude of ‘American’ inventions are actually done by European nurtured brains who migrated to United States for monetary/political/social reasons. Be it Einstein, Tesla, Coanda or even Bell for that matter. These people are as much a testimonial of American brilliance as a US-numbered Toyota Prius is of American innovation.
Wow. I never actually believed in the ’stupid American’ stereotype, until now. Do you think I would score higher on tests if I had been raised in a European country? Would I be smarter?
@rene
People that live in the United States Of America are refered to Americans (it’s sad that you don’t see the connection, because it’s the only country that contains America in its full name)
Please correct me if I am wrong. I dont know specific continent named America. I do know 2 continents; North America and South America.
I am glad to see one of our European cousins ask this type of question (ironic, considering the topic of the blog).
In the states these types of questions are followed by ‘I don’t get it guys’ and maybe the sound of a bubble pop, comming from a pink buble gum, that you chew with your mouth open.
hope you got the looks :o) or rich daddy
Title could use a some euphenism =P. As an Asian myself, i am capable of speaking 3 different languages fluently (Cantonese, Mandarin and English). I disagree with Alex upon Asians uncapable of speaking 3 languages. Living in Hong kong, it is crucial to recognize the English language and is essential to learn, write and speak. These keys are great factors in finding high employment. In Hong kong, a great number of people have already achieved basic English communication skills. Visiting Hong kong would be easy for American travellers if they were to come.
Wow, I had a long post there. Anyway
back to the media thing. In the U.S. we love our movies and t.v. shows…So do other countries I’m sure, but I feel that we are more into than anybody. I come home, after being dulled to death at school to watch my favorite show or to get on my computer and look up other things I’m interested in.
Television has educational shows, that are for the most part not political….and in my opinion, my favorite kind hahah. I watch the Discovery Channel, so does my family. My sister said that one day she mentioned a show, and her friends were like “You WATCH the Discovery Channel?”
They thought it was nerdy. I was surprised by that, because I figured lots of people would enjoy it. I watch t.v. too much, and probably spend too much time on the computer, but there are lots of things to learn…but if some people aren’t even watching those, or were not even familiar with anorexia or autism…I think “Wow, what are they watching or learning then?”. It could be they read books, and although that’s a good activity, I don’t think many read anything other than fiction.
To that person, Lisa Richards who said they knew facts like the “Secretary of Defense”, I quote again, since they were 2…Well, I knew about psychological diseases and facts about nature about ten years ahead of when my classmates learned without even realizing until my teacher brought it up and they never heard of it! That shows again, that it’s not that people are dumb, if no one emphasizes enough in school, they will rarely learn it outside of the class, it depends on what you’re already interested in or what you happen to watch on t.v.. My mom watched Lifetime alot…THAT’S how I somehow learned psychological diseases, over-dramatic, fictitious t.v. movies and shows haha–but of course, the Discovery Channel. Lisa was right on some things….but I think they were being a little pompous. I will voluntarily admit that even thought there are times where I can look more knowledgeable on something or brag, I’m for the most part a dumbass
I love talking…so I will add again. There are many students who exceptionally well despite the fact I can’t understand squat. But again, I’m not trying to speak on behalf of everyone here. But I have an attitude toward political and historical facts that I suggest others may have too, because of the way we are taught.
I am a Russian immigrant. I have lived in the US for 14 years.
First I looked at Americans up considering it was such a developed and wealthy country which is true. Apparently this wealth has been created by this people. They must’ve been smart, educated, hard working and honest to be able creating this wealth, I thought. The reality was shocking. It was very difficult to find such ignorant and stupid person in Russia which American nation consists of. However stupidity itself is not a sin, but in combination with their arrogance makes Americans ugliest nation in the world in my view. Not terrorists, but American lazyness and arrogance will destroy this country pretty soon. NO DOUBT.
In response to Alex, we have educated, intelligent people in this country but unfortunately, we don’t have enough of them. Too many fall between the cracks of our educational system and learn little about the world. Russia knows a lot about the U.S., but how many Americans know about Russia? They don’t know and they don’t care. All they know is about the U.S. and that’s all.
I wonder if there is data regarding the percentage of foreign intellectuals in the US.
One could say that the results where cherry picked from a handful of people, or another person could say that American’s being stupid is precisely the desired result. You see the United States government and large corporations don’t want people who can think for themselves, they want good obedient slaves who can be easily distracted, mislead, and conned into doing just about anything. The big companies who own the United States definitely do not want informed, intelligent, free thinking individuals. So we are bombarded with pointless media on the television, irrelevant news stories, and a biased view on the rest of the world. Then you look at our food supply which seems to get worse and worse everyday, the grocery stores are packed with garbage with absolutely no nutritional value and the healthy food is priced outside of the range of many. So when you have all these factors working against us, is it no wonder we are so dumb?
This article is dead on. I am an American and down here in the thick of it…real thick. Higher evolved species prioritize intelligence, whereas Americans value muscle and attitude. Muscle determines rank amongst the males of the tribe and attitude amongst the females. Americans also have selective memory regarding their history, opting to frame their past wars more favorably and completely justified. I usually refer to the U.S. as stag-nation because of its penchant for remaining stuck in a Waltons episode. Progressive countries (western Europe) have moved on to legalized marijuana, government health coverage, banning firearms and embracing medical advancements. Dr. Sanjay Gupta (CNN) recently commented on cannabis and cited no adverse effects and touted its benefits for alleviating nausia. On health care, I lived in Japan for 4 years and saw firsthand that private/public partnerships do in fact work….for the patients and the doctors, but not for the health insurance and drug company tycoons. And the argument that law-abiding citizens should be allowed to own guns assumes that the number of law-breaking citizens has suddenly peaked and been capped, and so everyone has been accounted for and there is no need to worry that one of these ‘carrying’ law-abiding ones will ever cross the picket line. And finally, all these heresy, witchcraft, and dogma followers (the religious) should not be given access to any advancements that come from stem cell research, chemotherapy or any other scientific advancements. As I said, America does not value intelligence (Ford F150) and in fact, casts it as being elitist (Al Gore) and arrogant. I just wish some of these progressive European countries would come in with the U.N. and save us critically thinking Americans from the element that subscribes to Harley Davidson, NASCAR, christianity, terrorism and socialism paranoia…a k a…r e d n e c k w h i t e t ra s h !
ha ha
this article is very interesting and true…
i m working with U.S Forces …in afg.
i find this article true…….they are using latest technology like lapis ,cellphone but they dont know how to operate these things ….if some problem occur …..came running to us……………
Lets see. You have basic reading and math in COLLEGES. Basic anything should NOT be in a college nor should it be anywhere near High School. You have college students who think Canada is a state that borders on PA. Don’t bother asking any of them when did the USA invade Canada and did we win that war [which btw was one of the shortest wars in history back in 1812 when they kicked the collective butts of the USA and sent them back across the boarder to the USA to be ingnored in US History for all time. And yes my ancestors arrived here on both sides in the late 1600s and early 1700s] You have college students who state to a teacher “I don’t read anything outside of class. If I don’t get it in class, I don’t get it.” and has not the brains to understand this is not asserting his rights but putting him in the light of someone who prob cannot read. You have people typing simple things on the internet under comment boards who cannot spell the simple words nor construct a simple sentence. Nor are they typos. They just can’t speak American let alone English and they are Americans not naturalized. It’s nice to hold a conversation with someone from Europe or Asia or any other because you don’t have to explain Whatever 101 to them and they do understand logic. A good business college will tell their students to LEARN CHINESE because they are going to be the rulers of the business world and a force to deal with. Meanwhile we try to claim a past which sadly is past and see no reason to change. Sort of like the drunk guy who lives in the trailer outside town and gets drunk every weekend and yells how great a baseball player he was in High School even tho he’s now 30 and his beer gut stops running. That’s the Good ole Bubba… I mean USA.
My comments are tempered by the fact that I’ve never visited America, although one day I hope too. I have worked and studied with many American people, however.
“Stupid” is a subjective term, but America now influences so much of the world it is only right that its’ citizens should be more aware of it and be more open to other points of view. That’s the reality, regardless of whether the US wanted to be in this position or not.
Hark back to 1995. What was the US (and the western world) bombarded with? The OJ Simpson trial and not much else. Sure it was shocking, (and I’m not going to open another can of worms here) but it’s wrong when a country knows more about the habits of OJ, poor old Nicole and Kato f***ing Kalin and hardly anything about the fact that most of Eastern Europe was tearing itself apart in along and bloody civil war, or the aftermath of Rwanda.
I actually heard a celebrity say “so who cares what’s happening anywhere else” when they were reminded that other things were going on. I’m not mentioning names because of the problems of litigation.
Any country with such a large influence over the world should be more aware and accepting of it, and let it influence their decision making process a lot more.
America fascinates me. It’s done some great things, but so has every other country, don’t you think?
I don’t hate Americans. I don’t hate anyone. But I do hate ignorance, because it is dangerous.
That’s it.
I’m a South African, and like most young South Africans, we travel abroad on work permits to LEARN about their cultures and earn some money seeing that our currency is so poor( and have a good time). I spent two years in England working as a barman in a pub near Gatwick Airport. While clearing a table, a group of american women came in and I seated them. After taking their drinks order, the one lady asked me why I looked so excited. I told her that I was South African, and that I would be leaving England soon to be with my family again. As the evening progressed, and I was serving their food, one of the ladies asked me what my country is like, so I stood around the table, telling them about the town where I’m from, and that the landscape is very similiar to Arizona. One of the questions asked, was ” What do you eat in South Africa “, to which I replied we eat the same food she would find in any other country, and that my favourite is a braai ( similiar to a barbeque, but instead of grilling a few burger patties & hot dogs on a gas grill, we grill steaks, lamb & pork chops over an open flame ), to which I SWEAR ( THIS IS NOT A JOKE ), as she is slicing through her very rare sirloin steak, ” I could never go to a country where they kill animals”.
WTF??????
I must say, I totally agree. I just graduated from high school 2 months ago, and while we do know a little about other countries, it is only because the state I live in (Minnesota) requires us to take a world geography class. However, it is very dumbed down. People still manage to fail it all because they choose to cheat rather than doing five minutes of work. They also decided that they didn’t care because they had no desire to go to these places, therefore they didn’t matter. It happens to be easy stuff like reading a page in a book about stuff a third grader could understand. Even living in a state that is supposed to be the “smartest,” people are still very ignorant. They hate Mexicans, Canadians, English, French, Germans, Africans, Asians, homosexuals. Yeah, f** still flies in my town. These things are particularly evident when foreign exchange students are around. Our German exchange student was asked at least 30 times if she was a Nazi. She also implied that she could do her homework in her sleep. She was even taking honor classes!
Personally, I am far from an honor student, but I know more about other countries than most people who are. For the most part, all I know about other countries I had to learn about on my own. How else would I know about a relatively unknown country like Australia? (Just kidding, for the most part.) Since there are very few Australians in our TV shows and movies (the only exception that I know of is Jesse Spencer on House), they are usually seen by most people as living in the desert and wrangling kangaroos and alligators. A certain “greatest rapper alive” has admitted that he wouldn’t know a koala if he saw one. We also assume that all stereotypes about people from other countries are true. For instance, we think that all English people are gay and they only like things like tea, poetry, and Shakespeare. That’s almost polite compared to what most of us think Africans and Asians are like. I haven’t believed in stereotypes since I was 11, and that was almost half a lifetime ago. I can’t wait to finish college so I can get the hell out of this craphole we call a country.
There are very many people out there stereotyping Americans, labeling them as ’stupid, arrogant, fat, lazy’, when more than half of them have never been to America. America may have a lame (if not useless) government, it doesn’t mean the people are like that as well.
I am an American, and I am not very proud of my nation. We hide behind a curtain of ‘freedom’. Our economy is failing and our government isn’t much of a help either. I appreciate the new president, Obama, with his goals of change, but so far everything seems the same to me.
For those of you out there who call Americans ’stupid, arrogant, fat, lazy, etc.’, think about what you are saying. You are stereotyping everyone in America, as if one person represents the whole country. American’s have been interviewed before, asked simple questions, which they fail to answer correctly, and therefore ‘every’ American is stupid. However, those are city people that were questioned. I admit they are arrogant and too much into looks and beauty, but that’s because most of them have never been in the back-country where all the hard work is done, and American education isn’t as pristene as most claim it to be, so don’t blame people for not knowing that there is also a country called Georgia. I live in Alaska, and I have a very different view on the world and America than most Americans. I don’t take pride in our military, economy, or government, and this is coming from a 15 year old.
So for all of you who ‘hate’ Americans, remember that whatever you call us, it’s only because you don’t know Americans for who they really are (get to know one for instance). Most people in the world only view Americans by what the media has labeled them, and those people take pride from such lowly means as to call Americans stupid.
A Zionist states American immigrants are from China and Japan? The US has been favoring developing countries such as Mexico, Central and South America and others for years. The U.S. is definitely pulled down by its multiracial flavor. To state China is a melting pot is a joke. China is one of the most race specific nations on earth and it will be to their advantage providing unified and self self rewarding goals.
If you want to know why Americans are in this state, consider that Woodrow Wilson engaged the Rockefeller Foundation to create a two-tier education system. The second tier (public education) was intended not educate students to prepare them for college or business, but create better workers. Here is actual text from Rockefeller himself, endorsed by Wilson.
“In our dream…people yield themselves with perfect docility to our molding hands. The present educational conventions [intellectual and character education] fade from our minds, and unhampered by tradition we work our own good will upon a grateful and responsive folk. We shall not try to make these people or any of their children into philosophers or men of learning or men of science. We have not to raise up from among them authors, educators, poets or men of letters. We shall not search for embryo great artists, painters, musicians, nor lawyers, doctors, preachers, politicians, statesmen, of whom we have ample supply. The task we set before ourselves is very simple…we will organize children…and teach them to do in a perfect way the things their fathers and mothers are doing in an imperfect way.” - John D. Rockefeller’s General Education Board, Occasional Letter Number One (1906)
This is why public education sucks in America…it is engineered that way. But now that there are no jobs, it works just as well to encourage the body politic to remain ignorant and accept ideological and mythical explanations for the understanding of the world.
Americans of public education system, ask yourselves this:
Was I taught how to write a resume or fill out an application?
Or was I taught how to write business plan?
(In your answer lies the truth.)
Well
Not all Americans are stupid.
What is stupid? it is the perception created by humans.
But if someone wants to do things in different way, might be illogical sometimes…but that doesnt mean stupid.
USA have highest no. of patents filed. Top companies are located in USA. If you see number their industries are most creative and innovative.
Well ration wise smaller nation might chip ahead of them but still they are ones who created revolution. Most of the nations taking pride have sprung due to recent revival. Until 1990s USA was one of very few innovative economies. Even Japan started in 80s.
Its senseless to things against USA.
If you wana say things then of course their interference in world politics is bullshit. Thats the biggest mistake they made.
Russians were never enemy of USA…. USA should have never allied with Europeans..it was the biggest mistake they made in world wars…..if USA had stayed out it might not just be quantitatively best economy but also qualitively and politically….
Europeans are like cheap sluts..keeps fighting of centuries….its sad USA got dragged into all the crap with Russians and Middle east….It was all European problem they tried to solve….
Britain played smart game by dragging in USA…now Britain have pulled out of most of the things…and stupid americans still fighting……other than this I see no reason of USA being stupid
It’s mostly the education system, children believe that they won’t need it, then end up realzing on down the road that they were wrong.We are also extemely lazy. I’m only 14, so I can sort of give an inside opinion to this topic.
@ A S your comments are interesting but make a few sweeping assumptions . Innovative companies do rely on innovative personnel; but these personnel are usually the minority who run or organise the company. The assumption that all members of top companies are “top” people is suspect.
I found it quite amusing/scary about how you thought it inappropriate to get involved in “world politics” e.g World War 2 to the point where your opinions seem retrograde and more suited to the isolationist ideology that was around 70+ years ago. Even if WW2 began as a European war it had worldwide consequences and I therefore see no reason why America should not have intervened. I can understand your point if we’re talking about more recent conflicts which took place within the Cold War or the “War on Terror” but I simply cannot accept that America was not justified in intervening in WW2 or the war that preceded it.
If you a truly unaware of the scale of ignorance,intolerance and the general stranglehold that conservatism and religious fundamentalism have on the general American population then you either live in a place where this is not the case or you’re willfully ignorant on the subject.
Not all Americans are stupid. This is an obvious point. However for a country as technologically advanced as America [and of such political and economic significance], its education system is woefully inadequate and the general population seems to be blissfully unaware of events outside of America.
Man From USA - right on and bingo.
The way Americans see the outside world, and their own world for that matter, is framed by some weird lingering attachment to Cold War thinking. “US v THEM”, and the like. I have lost many friends by just being on the opposite side of the fence with regard to political or religious debates.
I really do find myself living in an increasingly ignorant society in the US. The downturn is not necessarily from a lack of education, though. I went through the same public education system as every other American, but somehow, I managed to learn 4 languages besides English and get a Master of International Affairs. I understand science and physics, I am an atheist. What makes me different? I consider alternatives. I ask questions. I do not trust authority, nor do I believe there is such a thing as an ultimate ‘truth.’ So many here, based on their beliefs, are willing to say ‘no’ to science because of what they believe. Apparently, the two cannot be combined.
I really could go on and on forever, and if I wasn’t hyped up on caffeine, it would likely be more coherent. Anyway, the bottom line is this: many Americans are quite happy being ignorant. They were never given the real tools of learning - questioning, skepticism, and critical analysis. That’s where the US lags behind.
As someone who as lived and taught in the US for over 15 years I have seen first-hand the level of mediocrity that pervades the US educational system. Outside of graduate school, the US educational system from early grade school through undergraduate is woefully inept. The curriculum is held hostage by politics and religious fanatics - creationism IS taught under the guise of “Intelligent Design”. Most American children are not taught history or geography as a matter of course and the standard of education of freshmen entering university is laughable. The UK A-level system was ranked as being on par with a US undergraduate degree 10 years ago. When I taught undergraduates starting 12 years ago they almost always couldn’t determine when to use “their”, “there” or “they’re” properly - you even see it in some posts above. I still firmly believe that the notion of the “ignorant” American is an unfair one - the simple truth is that the vast majority of Americans are simply uneducated and this feeds into a sense of being insular. The American post-war intellectual heritage was built on European immigration. That has now long since faded.
Oh man…
The statistic about the sun revolving around the Earth? It is interesting people make fun of the US for that, since I believe 21% of Europeans believe that while “only” 18% of Americans do….
About scientists and doctors and engineers getting more respect in Europe…I live in Switzerland, where the wages are quite high. I make 130,000 CHF/year. With my degree in the United States, I would likely make over 150,000 USD/year, possibly 250,000/year in New York or California. The amount one is paid is often a good determination of the respect one obtains.
America has a higher percentage of people with a graduate-level degree than any other nation in the world.
About 30 or so American universities puts Europe’s and the rest of the world’s universities to shame. Unless you go to Oxford, Cambridge, University of Zurich, Munich University, University of Paris, and possibly Imperial college or Heidelberg University, you would be laughed at trying to get a job in the United States.
I am 16 year old American Citizen. I have seen first hand certain actions mentioned above. However, not all of us are “ignorant,” in fact my friends and I all score in the top percentile of our classes. I don’t agree with certain remarks made about “immigrants” lowering the national IQ average, in fact, I have a few friends that are immigrants from Mexico, and I admit, even I was impressed by their knowledge in American History and the English Language. We are headstrong, and know what we have planned for our lives. I personally have contacted the Director of Undergraduate Studies at Oxford, and we discussed certain opportunities available in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics(PPE). I plan to become a lawyer, and later go into politics. This may contradict what I stated above, but I must say it….1 in every 5 Americans believe that the Sun revolves around the Earth. It sad really, but I am glad that I am not acquainted with anyone on that mental level.
I may be beating what is possibly a dead horse, but 2cents here or there never killed anyone. That Im aware of at least. I am currently 18 years old and feel I have experienced first hand the typecast ignorance that has been placed on American people. I sadly do have friends that believe saddam hussien and osama bin laden are the same people or that voting is “something you do because you aren’t busy enough in your scene”. They’re decent enough people, but are as dull as they come. Having been born in 91′ and grown up all around the rise of ‘urban rap culture’ I believe pop-culture coupled with a very underfunded and unmotivated education system has bred some of the most idiotic, impetous, and stupidity wracked kids I have ever met. I’m not sure if they would fail in finding their home country on a globe, but I am still disappointed at their chief concerns in life. From my perspective, a huge portion of youths concerns rank thusly, 1.party- drink, smoke, binge, or spend exhorbit amounts of money on hooka cafes. 2. sex. If it isn’t linked to, or results in sex, they dont want any part in it. 3. petty psychological validation- they form addictions fast and have no concept of “too much of a good thing can be bad”. They dress in the ways of their idols (lil wayne, 50cent or whatever thug, crime, and stupidity advocating person that impresses them the most), have no common sense as far as education, or future endeavors go. To top it all off, the philosophy of “if its hard, then It can’t be worth doing” is pretty heavily ingrained into youth culture. I cant play holier than thou. I like to drink beer, in moderation, play video games, in moderation, and have a good time while releasing stress with the buds. But I also like to read, research topics of personal interest, and am a huge physical fitness junky. I’m set to join the army (hold your flames euros; college, finances, and a love of my country are the main factors in this choice), under an 11x ranger contract. Not to shoot people, not to hurt anyone, but stand guard for my Nation. Most youth eventually realize the folly of sedentary party lifestyles far too late and end up becoming vermin. Poverty stricken people of our nation. Whats worse is they go from mostly middle to upper middle class familys to slums because of their core values and the presedence education took in thier lives. From my point of view as a young man in America- Educate, and motivate if you want to improve the overall infrastructure. But recent trends in politics seems to not want educated masses, or open minded citizens. If the USA had that in good supply maybe certain wars wouldnt have taken place and maybe the constitution wouldnt be as heavily violated as it is today. I’m an American 18 yearold. I know where Russia, Ukraine, France, Kenya, Spain, Egypt, Somalia, Azerbaijan, and many more countries reside on a map or globe. I know that Zimbabwe used to be Rhodesia and why. The Civil war was NOT fought for slavery as it’s chief catalyst. Not all islamic people are violent extremists, nor are all christians fair and loving (actually many people who are as rotten as they come claim christianity in my area), Not ALL Americans are stupid, fat, angry drones. Not all Euros are multilingual geniuses, that are stewards of multinationalism, love, peace, and all that is right. Not everything is as it seems, and not all sterotypes fully adhere to the group they define. I know just as many Americans who are fluent in multiple languages NOT of their continent. They are also educated, well read, and most importantly in my opinion, motivated. Ive met my fair share of German, Aussie, and Brit tourists *(they love the mountains in my home state as much as I do) who were loud, annoying, egomanical, selfish, abhrasively nationalistic, and all of what they said to me considered, quite stupid and ignorant. On the flip side of that coin I’ve met just as many polite, and intelligent ones. IQ? During multiple psyche evals given to me through my early youth, I’ve been given many IQ tests, each as different from the other as were the scores. I personally don’t find them to be all that enlightening. My brother is apparently 87iq, but is so mechanically gifted it is sometimes scary what he can take apart, fix, put back together, and remember the process. It’s getting him work and he’s using the skill to pursue education. Would I call him stupid? Hell no. Would the above blog and its data? Probably. Whos IQs were they taking anyway? Which test? How was the data averaged and gathered? Just some questions that hit me while reading the blog. Religious climate in this country is also pretty awful too, I’d contribute it to many many problems America is facing. As far as WW2, would europe be liberated without USA’s help? Maybe, but everything west and north of germany would have been effectively steamrolled into submission and would have been waiting for Russia’s Red Army, but wouldnt that place anything USSR liberated as a warsaw pact nation? Things didnt turn out so good in the end for eastern europe and warsaw pact nations. Try and belittle the USA’s help in the war to the Red Devils Airborne or…….France. and one peice of faith from an American youth. America has, time and again been able to stand up and prove its worth. I think when all is said and done, America will stand up and again prove its worth. Just hopefully not before things get any worse.
Watch this video…
sums up alot of things about Americans
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww
Aby, if you could help in putting up this video right up on the top of this thread. Or at least let the link be here.
Please watch it folks…its amazing.
i love this article. even the posts by aby. they’re well-articulated and it reflects how insightful and worldly she is. as for the americans who are offended, well dont be. accept your shortcomings as a country. have some humility and just realise that you’re only as great as how the other nations regard you to be.
Greetings,
my dear Zionist, IQ of the third world is not lower, the cultural level is the problem. Your educational system is the worst among the first world. Although you receive lots of inmigrants every day, like we European do, that´s not a problem for you, since you are a country made of inmigrants: european, asiatics, latin american, african, etc. Do not talk about migrancy, because the only real americans are the native americans (cherokees, apaches, etc). That´s why you are the first country wich has invented new races: latin, italia, irish, white american, etc. There are 5 races, only five. But due to your willing of keeping your heritage, nowadays you are still saying things like that: I´m irish american, italian america, I´m half chinese half whatever, and now you want to blame inmigrants for your problem: too many burgers, too much stupid american tv, too many manipulation on your news. Iraq, Afganistan, Vietnam, Nicaragua, Bin Laden, and so on. They make you belive, you are the first nation of teh world and according to that you are the cops of the world. Iraq=petrol, Afganistan= Rusian the main door from Rusia to the petrol, Bin Laden= ex CIA agent, etc, etc etc
You are the unique country whose students are not able to place your own states in a map.
A S,
I watched the video and all the air from my lungs jetted out past my lips (how do you spell that?). Any way I am very (should I say “very” because either you are or you aren’t but a long time ago I noticed that other people clamming to be like me trying to make me believe it was true, forceing myself to seperate myself from them I began to say very) observant. I don’t need parents or the media to tell me people are stupid, I know it, I observe this for myself (which makes me evil and a smart ass where I come from), and of course any (and I can’t say brain here either for to many reasons) intelligent being (and lets relate this in such a way that all the stupid people will believe it) can recall the basic word problems from elementary school and realize that this article is not takeing into account all the millions of (traitors, political monkeys) imagrants into this small scale world domination experiment and all the countless variables between this country and the others. It’s a stupid question answered poorly there by propetuating the stupid nature of stupid people.
Of course I do also have to keep in mind that our host “abytheliberal” is quite possibly leaveing an open ended thought for us to debate and other wise stimulate our own thoughts on the message presented here.
Obviously there are a lot of Americans replying to this that do not like what has been said, but the article does seem to be correct as far as checking out the facts go. To be fair, however, all the Americans I have met (both in UK and when I visited the US) seemed to be clever enough people and certainly didn’t come across as ignorant at all.
However… I did not exactly ask them serious questions about either religion or science.
I find Americans to be very friendly BUT a little arrogant, thinking that the US is the best country in the world - it isn’t. Neither is the UK, if you think I have patriotic tendencies (I certainly do not).
The US should stop thinking about wars in other countries and spend some of that money on an improved education system. Also… Obama wants to bring in a health plan and the majority seem against it, that is typical American “greed is good” culture, as most people who pay medical insurance don’t want to pay a little more to help those less fortunate.
The US seem to have a dilemma - a constant fight between the right thing to do and their materialistic nature.
Sorry if my views upset anyone, but they are just my observations - generally I like people from the US, but they have a lot of growing up to do. It is difficult to dislike children.
I must apologise to all Americans who happen to be out there reading these topics, we must never forget that Americans, like most other people, are needed. They are needed for entertainment, target practice, setting the standards for international IQ’s, providing weapons to middle east countries, spreading mass panic at airports (although Muslims helped), and last but equal to all else - providing easy girls to fuck!
we take in 100,000 calls per 30 minute interval and the main reason for calling, mr. know-it-all-about-computer-science-graduate from the united states of uncle sam cant connect to the internet but when asked to reset the TCP/IP they’d ask “what’s that?” and they complain that we are taking their jobs, they’ve gotta be kiddin?
I don’t care why, but I know that my countrymen are not only stupid, they are incredibly narcissistic too.
The arrogance is fierce, and it will prevent Americans from ever becoming “un-stupid” because they all think they “know-it-all.”
While I am in absolute accordance with the idea that Americans are, in general, quite ignorant and fairly stupid . . . I must ask, how many of you who sent your criticisms have spent substantial time within it’s borders and interacted with it’s people?
For those who have, your opinions are highly respected by me. For those who haven’t, well, basing your opinions on the mere words of others is nearly as ignorant as the very thing you are deriding.
EVERYBODY, ARE YOU NORMAL ?!?!?!
People that live in USA are not AMERICANS, America is a continent and please don’t assault the other countries that exist in that continent by this name. Let us call the people from USA, USAricans. They don’t own the whole continent (although, I bet they would like to).
Now since we have established that USAricans are not as smart as some other people, let us make war in the USA. This is what they do to people from other countries that have different opinions from them or are in some other way different from USAricans. Writing this on English and not on my own language (as the rest of the non-USAricans) just proves how much we have adapted to this ONE ARROGANT NATION who just doesn’t respect other cultures…well of course they will be stupid…
USAricans don’t respect differences of any kind, and difference is necessary for evolution. So, as you can see, they already started de-evolving
I’m a 16 years old and currently a senior… I must admit, some of my classmates in regular classes doesn’t even know the meaning of D.C. in Washington D.C.
They don’t know much about the US constitution and the branches of the government
In California, we have CSF (California Scholarship Federation). Which, students are joining (if they have good grades) in order to graduate in “gold” cap and gown, apparently some of my classmates doesn’t even know this. I have a friend that believed that Iran is in a continent called “Middle East” even though i keep insisting that Iran is in Asia.
During summer school, one of the student in my class asked what the spelling of “sebaceous gland” (gland that secretes waxy oil (sebum) to lubricate the skin) to our teacher. Teacher said it spelled S-I-R-B-A-C-O-U-S. Sadly, the teacher was once a principal of a nearby high school..
We have seniors that haven’t even passed the CAHSEE during their sophomore year.. which is 7th grade Math and English.
Some people doesn’t even know the usage difference between “then” and “than”
I’ve heard students that used “more taller” instead of just “taller”.
American, here.
I enjoyed reading this post, Aby. I also enjoyed reading the comments posted by fellow readers. I will definitely check out more of your site.
Truth be told, America is filled with people who care for nothing but themselves. I hate people like that. Some of these people are smart, and some of them are stupid, but in the end, they destroy America and the rest of the world for all of us. Selfishness and greed are the sources of society’s decay.
As for intelligence, no joke we’re headed quickly downhill. 9 out of every 10 people I meet regularly views corporate media-produced entertainment. This is no exaggeration. Whether it’s the latest episode of “The O.C.” or this evening’s “Entertainment Tonight”, the fact remains that these television shows are produced by corporate big-wigs who don’t care about us in the least. Come on, live the American dream. Spend hours in front of the television watching makeup-laden actors depicting unrealistic situations. Stuff yourself full of Lays(R) potato chips (hell, their slogan is “Bet you can’t eat just one”) and sip your Coca-Cola(R). Watch those commercials. Look at all the cool stuff you can buy!
It’s all about the money over here in America. Advertisers, marketers, companies, products. They’re all out to make money. And Americans are more than happy to eat it up!
No one honestly gives a damn that there is hydrogenated oils and preservatives in the food you eat. Honestly, the corporation doesn’t give a rat’s ass. Only when they lose significant profits will they change their ways. The media networks don’t care that they promote violence to children. So long as Disney makes a cute, innocent website for their latest children’s show, parents don’t care who owns what network, in the end. The automobile industry doesn’t care if your car disintegrates while you are driving 85 MPH down the freeway. So long as they meet all the laws and can put the new “4-Star Crash Test Rating” logo on their next commercial, they’re happy. But that’s okay, because the new Ford Mustang is so cool…
I could rant on and on about America and how much the idiocy in this country pisses me off. But I’ll stop here and just say, thanks, Aby, for a good post.
To the person who said “no country is evil”. The world is evil, the reason behind the holy wars is because of those two conflicting religions. I guess there are many dumb Americans, but there are also smart Americans. True, many other countries are alot smarter than america. I am originally from New Zealand, born there, and had my education there. When i came to america, i found the education to be alot more competitive (alot more homework, alot more, onto the work thing as appose to just chill <–new zealand) yet New Zealand is still smarter than America…
America is not a continent. North America and South America are continents. America is a country, but formally, the united states of america.
They are call americans because of the abbvreviation of United States of America, but that’s a good point , because in Spain we don’t say we are European because there are more countries in this continent.Here in Spain We even call them north-americans or ‘estadounidenses’(Spanish word that would be something like United Staters into English ). Spain uses the Word ‘Castellano’ (Castilian) for the Spanish spoken in Spain because of The Castilla-León or Castilla-La Mancha regions(where the Spainsh language comes from. However when we say the word Spanish, it could be Spanish spoken in South,North, Central America or Spain(Europe). In short, the word Spanish describes the general language spoken in countries independly of the continent. is the same as American English and British English( English for both countries and then the respectively name for describe where are they spoken) We call the Spanish spoken in both sides of America the ‘Latin-Spanish’ but we only keep ‘Castilian’ for the Spanish spoken in Spain.
We both Spanish and ‘American-Spanish’ hate the accents because they prefer their ‘español-latino’ and we the ‘castellano’. Castellano = British English (original languages speakers) and Latin-Spanish= American English(variant of languages). It may be boring for some people but I personally think that it is interesting because US people confuse Latin-American with Spanish and we speak differently(apart from been in differents continents), of course in Spain we speak better because is the orginal country speaking Spanish ,is just like British people speak better than US people. Anyway nobody speak bad languages just differently okay!
Quote:
“Kim Chen UNITED STATES on 23 Oct 2009 at 3:24 am
America is not a continent. North America and South America are continents. America is a country, but formally, the united states of america.”
Thanks for making a GREAT example of why the world thinks you are stupid.
Just for you to know, and before someone urgently sends you back to junior high:
AMERICA is a continent. Divided politically in regions: North, Central and South, but geographically AMERICA IS THE ONE BIG CONTINENT located on the Occidental Hemisphere.
There is NO such thing as the North American Continent!
There is NO such thing as a country called America!
For Pity’s Sake! Is that the kind of education you get in schools?
The only reason you call yourselves “americans” is to make things easier as you probably CAN’T come up with something more accurate to describe yourselfs to the world.
So you do what you best do and try to take it all for yourselves!
No wonder why nobody likes you…
The world would be so much better if people started looking up to Europe instead of that idiotic country of yours.
Hey Joseba,
So, when totalitarianism in some form or another comes creeping back into Europe and your home, we can go ahead and just not care less if you get slaughtered? Seems to me we’ve just been “used” by our “friends” again. But don’t worry - while we may not be the brightest bulb on the tree, we certainly can learn that the many crosses that decorate Normandy and other places will not be repeated yet again, but will certainly be augmented with yours. Cheers!
I assume you are discussing the World War 2, in which case I might suggest you a lesson in history. By history, I mean things with happened in the past, not “CNN/CIA/Fox News Guide to Why America is the Greatest Nation”.
If you kept your noses out of Europe or any country, there would have been no Third Reichstag and by effect, no World War 2. Americans are like a viral parasite to the world, wherever in the world they manage to politically/militarily interfere, the nation gets infected by an incurable cycle of conflicts and political instability.
GM, IBM and Ford funded the Nazis in hope of containment of socialism sweeping Europe. Result - 50 million people dead in World War 2.
The Reagan administration funded and trained Mujahideen to overthrow the pro-Russian People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan. Result - birth of global Islamic terrorism.
The CIA funded African UNITA rebels against Socialist African governments. Result - birth of genodical conflicts in Central Africa culminating in the Rwandan genocide.
So please, do the world a favour. When it comes to politics or military, keep your hands to yourself. When you do business, do it like the Chinese - just business. No poltical or military interference.
I would have thought making billions of dollars profit off Europe during and after the World War 2 would have been enough. Apparently not. The infinitesimal American greed still makes them feel Europe owes them something.
P.S: I hope the language is simple enough and sentences short enough for you to understand.
USA is the type of hero that creates predators to prey on victims and later help the victims by superficially antagonises the predator.What a super hero!
USA is both a police and mafia.
“So, when totalitarianism in some form or another comes creeping back into Europe and your home, we can go ahead and just not care less if you get slaughtered? Seems to me we’ve just been “used” by our “friends” again. But don’t worry - while we may not be the brightest bulb on the tree, we certainly can learn that the many crosses that decorate Normandy and other places will not be repeated yet again, but will certainly be augmented with yours.”
it was in americas intrest to stop the germans in ww1 and ww2 and to do it after the great powers exserted their energy on each other
at the end of world war 2 out of the victorious big 3 (Soviets, English, Americans) the americans suffered the least amount of casualties numerically and in percentage (in comparison in the entire population) the soviets suffered many times more than the other 2 combined, the english and its very large empire also suffered a huge loss of human life
this also applies to the pacific ally of china who like the soviets suffered a huge amount of casualties
the list unfortunetly goes on and on
the americans role in ww2 (especially in the early stages) were more in the providement of aid and to counteract against the japanese threat
why i do not doubt the american heroism during ww2 and all the soildiers who died in normandy and the pacific (allies AND axis) should be reambered, the english and the russians fought for their own survival and a late entry by the american power can’t compensate for the loss of life that could have been avoided if the americans came sooner.
mm on 06 Aug 2009 at 10:40 am
A Zionist states American immigrants are from China and Japan? The US has been favoring developing countries such as Mexico, Central and South America and others for years. The U.S. is definitely pulled down by its multiracial flavor. To state China is a melting pot is a joke. China is one of the most race specific nations on earth and it will be to their advantage providing unified and self self rewarding goals.
Your ability to prove that Americans are stupid is astounding. Claiming that your multiculturalism is the reason for you low I.Q is incredibly racist, countries like Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand and Canada have a more culturally diverse society and still have a higher I.Q rating then America. I would also like to know what a self self rewarding goal is?
@ Semperfi + everyone, but moslty semperfi for stating [even if he didnt mean it that way, however that is what he did put down] that America takes sole credit in winning world war II
Hey heres a statement followed by a simple question,
First of all, semperfi, The way I understand it is that Canada fought just as hard or even harder in WWII, in the european part of the war. my facts are a little fuzzy in that part and i have no idea if canada even fought against japan, however i do know this. I Have NEVER met another canadian [whose family has lived in Canada for enougth time] who has not said [when asked about it] that their grandparent, or parent, or even themself [given their age] fought in WWII.
Now my questions: As i previousley stated my facts are a little fuzzy: A) Who played a bigger role in WWII, US or Canada
B) What was Canadas greatest victory in the European portion of the war,
what was the United states greatest victory?
C) Did Canada ever enter full scale war with japan or was it just america with canada standing by, if so what role did canada play
I know these questions seem a little out of place, but i figure that the best place to ask them would be in a thread where there is already some hostility between nations, this way i can get the answers from the point of view of any of the different people that choose to answer. i can then fit them together and take out the facts, leaving behind the garbage that may appear due to a post that does not intend to [but may appear to] attack The united states of americas credibility in one of the biggest [if not most well known] wars in the history of the world
The results are hardly surprising….Americans are DUMB! The dumbest people I have ever met (and I travel a lot). I think it is the government’s fault; they shelter the people as if they are children, most Americans have no idea what is going on around the world all they know is what’s on sale….Sad!
To think this great country had so many amazing smart people once and today… Obesity & Stupidity and it is a very Religious state so can we really blame them? aren’t we the products of our surroundings? Sad!
to lisa richards>
how can you say worthless teachers? Did it ever occur to you that studying is the student’s responsibility? U.S. gives too much freedom to these young people without responsibility. Most American students have no respect for teachers or other authorities. What do you want for the teachers to do? stay late to give tutorials to students who do not care about education?! They have not realized how lucky they are to get free education, they don’t give value to it. It is a parent’s responsibility as well to encourage their children to learn and study. It is not a sole responsibility of the teacher! Shame!
Very amusing article! As a tourist, I must say this is very true! Most of them are stupid boor with loud obnoxious behavior, dwindling morals and a brain as little as the smallest fish on earth. Sometimes they look at you so weird as if you came from planet Pluto when you pronounce and use words differently. As if they are so smart using this lazy accent, saying “you is a tourist”. Great! How stupid can you be not to master your own language when you can’t even speak any other language as an excuse for that?!
Brandon, believe me.. they are flooding! High school graduates can’t even spell detention?!
Was my last post too inflammatory? I really thought it was in good taste. Why hasn’t it been posted?
I can just paraphrase it, if you like.
I am speaking directly to all critics of America, and Americans alike:
Instead of beating a dead horse, and continuing to nitpick at the issues in America, lets use our collective brainpower to figure out Constructive Solutions. That means EVERYONE.
I simply believe that continuing to critique (on both sides) goes past the “elevated pretense of observation for the greater good” which many of you pretend to have, and has begun sliding into self-indulgent emasculation of a perceived inferior. If you are of as high moral and intellectual calibre as you say, then I challenge you to offer solutions. Truly, if the issues of America are so impacting as to garner your stern scrutiny, then perhaps you can enlighten us as to what you are doing to fix these issues.
In short, the time has come to stop complaining and start acting.
Americans Are Just Not Aware Of What’s Happening.. But Im A Bit Shocked About The Sun Case..
Americans Face It.. I Google “Smartest Country” American Yahoo Answers Say USA And All The Countries They Know.. Probably 6 And They Ignore Smart Countries Like.. Israel, Finland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand And Countries That They Didn’t Know Existed.. Dear America.. Look At Some World History And Learn About What Didn’t Happen Last Night On American Idol Or Who Khloe married.. And You Don’t Even Know About Your Own Country
Alex your comment shows the insularity of your country. The rest of the world is constantly making suggestions to US, sometimes through institutions and sometimes by individuals, americans either ignore, don’t care or never hear of them. Maybe you should try reading some international newspapers.
One certainly thing is that people from US don’t know anything about other countries, you can ask them what country begins with a ‘u’ and they may answer ‘Utah’ lol. Their knowledge in geography is awful, even Mc Kein demostrated it on a meeting with Barack Obama when he talked about Spain as if we were located in South America. That is crazy, he just moved us from a continent to another continent. They think that Spain is a republic and we aren’t , we have a parliamentary monarchy, we have a king and a queen but the power of the government is on hands of the president of the government. Moreover, I have heard about people in the States that doesn’t know what currency has got the UK. Some people on a interview in a urban street answered Isabel II’s money lmao. When a journalist asked some people : What country do you think have problems at the present? They answered: I think this country ….. because I think things are not right over there. They said several countries without having any idea of the situation they currently have lmao.
I would like to point that they think they are the best country in the world and I would like to tell them that Scandinavian Countries are a step ahead from the US. Being the first largest economy in the world doesn’t mean having everything better because sanity in USA is a shit compare with any country inside the European Union. Their values in school: being the most popular, the best dressed girl ,etc. I just agree the American Dream , this value is okay and not superficial.
In addition, I would like people from USA to stop saying that Spain is a poor country (actually we are the 8th largest economy in the world, we are richer than Canada and even the 5th largest economy in Europe), and also that many countries in the world are third world countries. First at all, we aren’t less thant the Uk, France or Germany, what you find there you will find in our country. Many people from the States say don’t go to Spain, you better go to France or Germany that are rich countries. About third world countries’ term, this expression is used by the whole world but It was created by americans , there is just a world and no a first or third world, it is stupid to use these terms is like discriminating people and laughing about others that aren’t as fortunately as us.
Finally I would like to share with everybody from the USA that people in Spain aren’t mixed or black okay, we are caucasian people(we are located in Europe), except from immigrants living here. You always confuse us with people from South America and they even aren’t all mixed in South America . If there are white people on America is because Spanish,British and French descendants okay.
Hahaha
It’s all fun and games for you internationals, but when you are at a time of conflict, and your civilians are getting fucked. You will call and the great U.S.A.
So in the classic American way like we said back in “1776″. Take you analysis and “go fuck yourself.”
@ Ivan
I doubt such a data would exist, as it is not in US interests to aggregate one. Most of the intellectuals that Americans pride on are from Europe or Asia (Eg. Einstein, Bell, Coanda). On the other hand, most of the self-styled pseudo-intellectual ‘experts’ are 100% American (Eg. John Gray or Ann Coulter).
@ Alex
We are doing nothing to fix your problems and we won’t. It is your problem and if you don’t want to pay heed to our suggestions, then fix it yourself. If you choose to remain foolish and are obnoxiously loud about it, then we will point out your folly and making a mockery of it.
@ dave
Exactly. I don’t think people like Alex actually care about solutions. They simply want to put down down people who express criticism or dissent of American attitudes or policy. What solution could anyone offer, if Americans do the diplomatic equivalent of putting their fingers in their ears and shout “la-la-la-la-la-la..”?
@ U.S.A. vs. them
We never had to call US for help in over 1200 years of our existence as a nation. We are a very self-sufficient people. However, I understand that Americans came begging for our help during the 1979 Iranian Hostage crisis, after their military attempts to sort out the crisis fell flat on its face. Keep out the swearwords, if you don’t want to find a reason to complain about your comments getting ‘censored’.
Dear ‘U.S.A. vs. them’,
When any country inside the European Union needs help ,it won’t call the great U.S.A okay, we don’t need any help from your country, we’ll perfectly handle by ourself, When USA be in danger, you will call European countries, didn’t you USA need help from Italy,Spain,France and many other countries in Afganistan some months ago? You even got angered because Spain didn’t want to send tank troops, it is supposed you can handle by your own.
You talk about international, you sir better start studying more languages , it is quite embarrising for you people to speake only one language when we Europeans almost speak 3 or 4.
I’m as kind as to remain you that UK, Spain,France etc already were countries with a lot of beautiful castles when USA was just land without anything , we had our respective language when over there it was spoken what lol ? The USA was built by ‘THE KINGDOM OF SPAIN’ AND ‘THE KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN’ and we all never depend on you. Whenever we need technology we have Chinese one, we need army we have our, your sanity a completely shit, education well I think you learn everything you need on TV lol, etc!
People worldwide think of USA people to be stupid and let me tell you that you constantly demostrate their theories, I think you should try to change their mind. I have personally tried to think that you aren’t. I have many friends in USA from differents states and sometimes I can’t believe the things the say to me, it’s like they have a grave lack of culture.
@Dave:
How does it show MY insularity? I am perfectly aware of the “suggestions” of which you speak. All global level policy institutions and departments of state levy “suggestions” to other countries. They do so benignly via diplomatic relations or surreptitiously via trade embargoes and inflammatory public addresses.
However, the sheer amount of such transactions is far to large for even a student of policy and global law to follow. Additionally, there is a lot of interference/background noise caused by self interested political agendas, private interest, and negative sentiment. In communications, we call this Signal to Noise ratio. It is IMPOSSIBLE that every Swedish interest (or even American) has the best interest for America in mind. It is up to policy makers to filter out the negative “noise” from the positive “signal.” Which if you study policy… IS A HUGE, AND TRICKY TASK.
For example, “Invest more in education NOW, and immediately cut military spending,” may seem like a wise idea coming from the Swedish department of state, but in reality could be detrimental to American Industry. It would take time to reallocate resources from military industry to say, environmental industry (all the workers would have to be re-educated, machinery and factories have to be scrapped and repurposed). So the hastiness of that suggestion may seem positive, but may have negative effects. If you haven’t studied Macroeconomics, I suggest you do so. If you have, then you know what I’m talking about.
I agree that many people are not aware of such high-level transactions. By people, I am talking about the average GLOBAL citizen. In my travel experience, the average Brit, Spaniard, and American are just about equally clueless in these fields. But let me qualify that THIS IS MY EXPERIENCE. Just as yours might differ because of either positive or negative experiences within a culture. YOUR EXPERIENCE, and mine do not render you the right to pass judgment on an entire culture, given our limited scope of experience. Instead, if you value your judgment so, you should give positive advice for the segment of the population which you deem needs help. Is that so hard? Is it that hard for you to say something like, “I think Americans should switch Educational funding away from Property Tax funding, and shift it towards a National Tax?” Because that is what you should be saying.
By the way, I read El Mundo, Al Jazeera Spanish/English, BBC, The Washington Post, The Economist, and The New York Times. I think my spread of news is quite “varied.” I agree, I am not the norm. But I should ask you to phrase particular comments like this:
“If you haven’t already studied Macroeconomics, I suggest you do so. If you have then you know what I’m talking about. .”
Instead of like this:
“You probably should study Macroeconomics, your comments reveal the lack of High Tier education in your country.”
In the end, all I want is suggestions from you! If you can’t provide them, then stop tempering your criticism with your spite. “You are all insular” is a spiteful value judgment. “Americans could benefit from more global policy education,” is a positive quality judgment. See the difference?
Arguing about which country is the stupidest is pointless because there are so many bigger problems that the world is facing right now. I am a dual-nationality teenager who goes to an international hugh school in the UK, and I can honestly say that the americans that I know (including my own family members) are no more ignorant or bigoted than people of any other nationality that I have come across. In fact, some of my American friends are the smartest, most open-minded people I know, including one who has spent her entire life in Houston, Texas. Of course some Americans are less than brilliant, and of course the government has serious to sort out, but making negative generalizations and pointing fingers-whether in defense or accusation-can only lead to more hate and conflict.
Lol, this is posted over a year ago, with the argument going strong.
I’d like to agree with this post, and yes most americans are ignorant and dumb (thankfully where I’m from, it’s generally not the case).
However, I disagree with some of the points above in the post and comments.
1)Being an Asian American, I don’t have parents who like me spending all my time on the TV/computer/game consoles. Hence I was completely ignorant (save for the broad descriptions) of the Sumatra Tsunami, Hurricanes hitting the US hard, and the war in Iraq. So not knowing most of the stuff their may not be due to idiocy, just ignorance.
2)IQ tests aren’t accurate. Enough said, since they test your intelligence in some areas but leave others untouched.
3)Like someone said, stupid isn’t a defined term. It fluctuates, adjusting to the intelligence of everyone. Americans are probably not stupid…. just incredibly ignorant.
4)Ignorance is just natural, everybody is ignorant to something depending on their experiences plus people make a lot of stupid assumptions. So don’t make fun of someone just because they haven’t heard of something you have.
These are also based on my opinions/experiences/etc.
And try to cool down the discussion. We’re not trying to prove anything here, just debating.
Alex - Blimey!! ok I managed to wade my way through your verbose response and I’m still not sure what you want me to say (could be my english though).
I am glad that you read lots of international newspapers, that of course is great.
However my initial point was that most americans however have no in interest in hearing any other non-american view points, even the americans I know who live in Europe have something akin to a reflex twitch if you try to talk to them about USA.
Take as an example universal health care. Of course it doesn’t really matter to those who already have it, whether USA adopts it, but I have followed the debate in USA and there has been almost no input from americans on what happens in western europe, except in the most right wing of media, where what is portrayed is so satistically rare as to be irrelvant (ie someone somewhere get misdiagnosed in the british NHS and has the wrong operation). No it would be obvious to use what has happened in western europe as the cornerstone of debate because we all have a form of universal healthcare and some ARE better than others and they are all different.
Now it occurs to me that the lack of discussion of the european experience in US media maybe because of rightwing prejudice, or other factors, or it may be simply that americans do not like to discuss America within any framework except a completely american one.
We can also see this in other areas, the obvious one would be the issue over Iranian nuclear plants, but I am sure there can be found many, many others.
I have been living in The United States for 19 years. During that time I have witnessed and I have been part of many “Polish jokes”.One day at work my co-workers decided to poke fun at ma nationality so I said them : “If one of you will show me Poland on the map you can have your fun….guess what out of 12 people there wasn’t even one that came close.Since then I haven’t heard any more “Polish jokes”
In a way I feel sorry for them 
The freedom to be stupid or intelligent is what makes me proud to be an American. If my kid doesn’t what to learn, that is his right as a free person. We are all Gods children and we are free to believe in what ever we like no matter what people think about us. God Bless America, land of the free, home of the brave!
Its difficult to really compare, how “intellgent” people different countries are, by comparing IQs or educational standards. since those are defined by men so the defined measurements are always subjective.
Personally I like Amricans, their open and positive spirit. However since the Clinton era ended I was shocked about several discussions that were took place like the recent discussion about health care for the less priviliged. One can have the view to prefer private health care and have different opinions versus the own presidents model of a public model. But a society that allows the critics of the health insurance plans to defame the president as fascist for his strive to help less privileged people to stay alive looks not really advanced.
And when I learned that the american people allows private banks to own the Federal Reserve - it seems they like to have the dog watch the sausage provisions.
Careless funny people
The ignorance of America is scary. I just met an American who said claimed Europe is a country. BWAHAHAHA! I rest my case!
I live in the USA and I’m 15 years old, and I want to live in another country for one simple reason.
Intelligence is a bad trait here.
Since a young age, I was quite bright. In 5th grade, and I.Q. test showed that my IQ was 138. But, here’s what happened.
My school refused to move me up a grade because of the “all students are equal” bullshit.
The elementary school I went to had ZERO gifted-ed classes, despite having GREAT special ed programs.
When I opted for honors math in middle school, I was horrified to discover they didn’t actually teach a concept before giving us work. For example, the teacher would tell us we were doing algebra one day, tell us to turn to our book and do the problems, AND THEN tell us how to do them. If I already know how to do them, why am I in class? Isn’t school supposed to be to learn, and honors classes to learn faster, with more advanced concepts?
And then, the coup de grace- a study revealed that Gifted-ed programs get 10% of the funding that special-ed programs get. Now, I support special ed, but gifted-ed deserves as much funding. The people who can help this country the most are being let down by the country. And, if that wasn’t bad enough, in Nevada, someone finally started a school for people who have high IQ’S. When there is a school for people with special musical of physical talents, no one says anything. But when this school opened, people immediately called it elitist.
This is why I want to live somewhere else, where my skills can be appreciated. But I’m not sure I even WANT to use my skills anymore. I have a hard time with the idea of helping humanity when all it ever did for me was have the adults act apathetic and the children act cruelly, with bullying and harassment.
I would rather flip burgers than help people right now. It sounds terrible, but it’s true.
In this thread, butt hurt Americans complaining about their intelligence (or lack thereof)
I live in America and unfortunately, this is true, especially in the south. That isn’t to say that there are no smart Americans, because I know a few brilliant people, and my father is a well respected scientist. But many people are ignorant because they are too lazy to learn, and the educational system is horrible. It’s a very sad fact.
I hate my country and this is why.
thank you for writing this so i can show it to my class and say that this is the reason why i see this country as stupid. not everyone but majority. and to whoever wrote that we take many from third world countries, we also take many from industrious countries as well. my teacher is from japan and i have a teacher from britain.
I have spoken with Americans and most have very little understanding about the outside world but often there attitude is if any country disagrees with them then they will distroy them as they are bigger and stronger!
I’ve interacted with Americans on a daily basis for about 12 years and I wouldn’t say they’re stupid but I think its pretty understandable why they appear that way.
Confrontations, Americans have an almost child like retaliatory nature when faced with any kind of criticism or percieved threat.
They react instantly without thought and often just by repeating the insult back at whoever said it. They don’t address whats said, only try to confront and discredit who said it (as if one person making a sweeping statement spelling something wrong is a counter argument to an entire nation being less intelligent) - thats just an example.
In England people are taught to ‘be the bigger person’ something that seems non existant among Americans. English people will quietly think about what was said until they have a reply that both addresses the original topic and shows who is right and wrong in the debate. In long debates with Americans the original topic is usually completely discarded after the first or second reply.
There’s also a difference in that admitting when you make a mistake or a wrong in America is a sign of defeat they usually think it discredits an entire topic when it could just be one point in a debate that was wrong. In England admitting when you’re wrong is another part of ‘being the bigger person’.
On top of that basic way of dealing with things theres a huge difference in what they value compared with what others value. Americans place a much higher value on money and material items and hardly any value on intellect or self improvment which goes hand in hand with being unable to admit when they are wrong. They seem to view anyone who trys to learn anything or better themselves as stuck up and pompous.
Their mindset doesn’t do them any favours globally, the typical American seems to think they won every war, including ones they weren’t even in, there are American made films of famous conflicts where the Americans win and in reality they weren’t even in it.They seem to think they invented everything which is one of the biggest problems they have. They have some really odd stereotypes of English people, specifically the one about bad teeth, which they seem to have gotten from the Austin Powers films and now embrace religiously as another ‘defense’ against any comment made about them by English people.
Well…where to start. This is the most interesting thread ive been to for well ages.
Firstly, i’m going to agree with the topic of the sentence and say that SOME americans are stupid but not all. I mean you have your individuals who are smarter than the US IQ average and some who well are quiet not that smart. We can’t all agree what we read and hear on the news. I meet smart and some very uninteligent people everyday and I live in Australia. I do believe that most Americans are under educated in places around the world and most are very loud and obnoxious. I have talked to some people from America and the first things they think about is Uluru, Kangaroo’s, koala’s, barbeques and that we all live in the outback and that its hot all the time. Well most people that read that I would hope that you think of something else than those because I’m not happy with people, mostly Americans, sterotyping Australia.
So to sum it all up, I think that Americans are under educated but are not stupid.
This post: Two years still going strong!!! Whoot hoot! The perception of Americans being stupid have been going on for quite a while yet the US still hasn’t done much about it. Pathetic.
that’s true that US gave europe a big help handling with the enemy during WWII, and we should respect that because they have lost many so we could keep ours alive, but if US guys where a bit more intelligent they wouldn’t go to war each time someone spits on their shoes. a normal person would slap the “spliter” an american grab the rifle and shoots. lol is this normal? one spits, they send a thousand or two to “rifle” him. wt.f.. XD
the point is: they should be educated from “root” to live in this world, not in “apocalypse” land. (21st century people with stone age killer/survivel instincts)
you can have a proof right here, just have a look at these forum, for each no US guy posting, there appears three or four US “riflemans” to overrun the others. these looks funny lol, but is the reality.
with this comment I do not have any intention to offend nobody, i’m only trying to explain how the world (most of) looks at US. but i think the root of the problem are not american people per si, but those on the white house. but that is other subject.
PS: but if you want to easily find REAL american natives that are intelligent (for sure) and wise, search for indians and their descendants. they are the real americans. but that situation happens in many countrys (US, Australia, New Zealand…).
@Alex:
I concur with your statement. I am of the same age range as you, as well as being labelled with the gift/burden of an I.Q., of over 130.
I wish I were as well-rounded in my readings as you. I am quite envious.
And @everyone else:
I wonder what the author of this article was thinking not to include Einstein. Although he had a relatively low I.Q., score; he was clearly one of the most intelligent men of his time.
In this series of paragraphs, I adress solely the issue of general American intelligence.
It is true that knowledge is scorned in America’s youth culture. I attend an International Baccalaureate high school program, and the tables have shifted infinitesimally. I presume that as time goes on, the tables shall continue to shift.
Even so I was woefully unprepared for my schooling. Attending a National Blue Ribbon Middle School and having membership to a gifted program since the third grade did quite little (I do not say this to boast, merely to point out the differences between the international and national schoolings. Please do not misconstrue my words.).
The quality of education in America, is less of the problem in my area.
The issues that I observed were not caused by underqualified teachers. It was the newer generation’s unwillingness to respect their elders and peers, to laze about like sloths. They outnumbered the adults, and thus our capabilities to absorb more knowledge grew frustrated as our time resource grew more emaciated. The teachers often bemoaned that they had given up on the class.
I hope now to catch up with the rest of my international peers, but articles like these often frustrate my aspirations.
I am from a lower middle class family. My mother was the only one of her six siblings to graduate college, from a far less-than-desirable background. I believe anyone, not only members of a certain country, can benefit themselves and rise above circumstances, such as ones mentioned in my previous paragraphs, etc. It depends on attitude and morality. I wonder what is supposedly different between my country others.
Someday I will earn enough to travel. When I do I will look to see if non-Americans are any different than their counterparts. If not I will be sorely disappointed in you all.
In truth I am ashamed of my country’s corruption, but I wonder: What is it that allows any of you to point the finger at my country and overlook your own?
***Please do not overlook the fact that I am sorely under-educated in this matter and only wished to share observations and opinions of mine. I would love to hear feedback, but do believe that I am not striving to be insulting, nationalist, racist, etc., in any form. Thank you.
@Alex:
I thought of this while offline after submitting my post. Understand that you are not alone in the frustration you have against the American populace, however leaving will not solve anything. You are perhaps then making it worse. As much as you don’t want to use your skills to help people, as it would seem that you do not believe that it would make a difference; it is this attitude that helped America gain such a reputation in the first place.
@Everyone else:
I thought of a few other things, while I was away.
This article is two years old, yet we still speak of it. We criticize and condemn each other. I have yet too hear as many solutions as complaints. What does that say about human intelligence as a whole?
Are we going to view a whole people group through a series of two-year-old statistics? People are more than that. You and I should and would know, yes? Have we evolved so little to still behold individuals through country-affiliated lenses? Where has this led us in the past?
And although this is not an excuse for being ignorant of foreign politics, can any of you tell me (without cheating) where all of our states are?
If the following is true…
Asia (plus the Middle East)17,212,000 Sq. Miles (44,579,000 Sq. Km)
Africa 11,608,000 Sq. Miles (30,065,000 Sq. Km)
North America 9,365,000 Sq. Miles (24,256,000 Sq. Km)
South America 6,880,000 Sq. Miles (17,819,000 Sq. Km)
Antarctica 5,100,000 Sq. Miles (13,209,000 Sq. Km)
Europe 3,837,000 Sq. Miles (9,938,000 Sq. Km)
Australia (plus Oceania)2,968,000 Sq. Miles (7,687,000 Sq. Km)
Should any of you (other than natives to Africa and Asia) criticize us in the geography department?
Anyway, how would you all define intelligence? Dictionary.com alone has eight definitions, portraying how multi-faceted the brain can be. Think about that before making crude comments about American mental facilities.
(Although I still hold to be true my earlier observations.)
Lastly: Does leading an efficiently productive, contentedly happy, “good” life require intelligence? What does?
@Nofal: That is very also very true. Thank you for reminding us.
Well I’m from Greece in America for 6 months, I can tell that the kids here have a lack of education in science and mathematics.Of course i can find better Greeks at a ton of stuff but these are two different countries, in Greece now there are riots going on against the government (which is ridiculous) but nobody eats propaganda up like the U.S. if we had the same leaders i bet they would be assassinated in a split-second.
The thing about the U.S. is people have way to much money simple as that, I think that we have to see Europe’s immigrants in America and how easily they get all the good spots, yes America is a brain drain. By all means i don’t think Americans are stupid! If i said that i would be stupid! America dug its grave up already and it’s not gonna be the best country in the next five years but that isn’t the point of the conversation so don’t mention it I think the only way to motivate the Americans to study! Even if that means no ice-cream for Jimmy or even not getting him the new car he wants for New Year’s Eve. As the economy worsens i only hope the U.S. gets out of all this propaganda and nationalism and start paying attention to education.
Of course the article didn’t dwell on domestic or lifestyle situations.
I’m well aware that I’ve no room to say anything, being an American highschool student with ADD and below average math scores.
American children/teens live on fast food. That’s no good for the mind is it? Oh, but why mention stress? We’re kids, we have no stress in the world, do we?
Forgive me for lacking the sense to clarify this, but the fever is currently frying my brain.
We’re not doing so hot right now. Sure. But we weren’t born stupid.
Enviroment has alot to do with it.
Yup. I’m American.
You picked that up from the name.
I don’t do anything. Just sit on my butt all day, bathing in self pity and stupidity.
But I’ve got the greatest plan.
When I get older, I’m gonna sell all my stuff and move to England.
There, I’ll open up a Barber Shop, slit people’s bloody throats, then bake them into pies, with my pie baking suitor.
That’s what the English do, right?
Oh wait… No… They just go around with sticks shouting “Blimey!”
I agree with the last post. I don’t think Americans are stupid. I think they just aren’t motivated enough to take school/education seriously. I think that all rich countries (Canada included) get complacent when good jobs are plentiful. Kids that grow up with wealthy parents always have that to fall back on and they just don’t work hard enough or put enough attention into there studies. The developing countries are more desperate and hungrier, and they are going to keep kicking our butts until we (Canada, US etc.) get motivated enough to compete. And in today’s information/technological economy it’s all about math/science and technological skills and we give up or quit too easily.
Well presented and sadly true.
Americans are plain stupid. That’s why, it needs a Kenyan with Malaysian links to lead it. Or rather, it’s such a stupid country that a Kenyan like me can end up leading it!
I am quite content with all these comments that are filled with bias, ignorance, and a lack of any true logical or cognitive processing– which apparently the American populace as a whole lacks. I also love how a country with 306 million is compared statistically to European countries that have much smaller populations. If you honestly believe the majority of American citizens are stupid and lazy, I pity you, but love you at the same time. It’s people like you who remind me there are uneducated and uninformed people all over the world. We’re hard working people, trying to live the best we can. Trying to label us as “stupid” to enhance your view of your country or make you feel better really shows who the ignorant ones are. At least here in the US we don’t hate Europe– and most of us want to visit and have friendly relations. However when you sign onto the internet only to be called stupid, self-centered, and fat, those feelings begin to change. Then the Europeans complain that Americans don’t travel enough– don’t know enough about other cultures. Perhaps you, Europe, should start looking at who you are, your skewed past, and your general population. Perhaps you could start shedding some light onto your predisposed hatred and biased nature against Americans. The odds are unlikely, and until then I’ll continue to point out your flawed logic.
@StupidAmerican:
- “I am quite content with all these comments that are filled with bias, ignorance, and a lack of any true logical or cognitive processing– which apparently the American populace as a whole lacks.”
“I am quite content…”The rest of your post (hell, the rest of your sentence) clearly shows your DIScontent with this blog’s comments. Contradicting oneself at the start of a rebuttal is generally a bad idea. “…a lack of any true logical or cognitive processing…” What is that even supposed to mean? You get an “E” for effort, but an “I” for incoherence.
- “If you honestly believe the majority of American citizens are stupid and lazy, I pity you, but love you at the same time. It’s people like you who remind me there are uneducated and uninformed people all over the world.”
“…I pity you, but love you at the same time.” Condescending AND uuber dramatic! LOL “It’s people like you who remind me there are uneducated and uninformed people all over the world.” That ad hominem attack and does nothing whatsoever to prove your counter argument: that the majority of Americans are not “stupid.” Of course there are ignorant people the world over, but that’s irrelevant.
- “Trying to label us as “stupid” to enhance your view of your country or make you feel better really shows who the ignorant ones are.” Another pointless ad hominem.
- “At least here in the US we don’t hate Europe…” Straw man. Next!
- “However when you sign onto the internet only to be called stupid, self-centered, and fat, those feelings begin to change.” Well if one critical blog is enough to dissuade you from traveling to Europe, then that adds more fuel to the original fire, no?
- “Perhaps you, Europe, should start looking at who you are, your skewed past, and your general population.” It’s always easier to throw the ball back into the other people’s court, isn’t it? However it’s not up to the European posters to defend themselves against vague charges of of a “skewed past” and to critique their own populations; it’s up to you, as an American who takes umbrage with this thread, to present some evidence (or at least give credible reasons) as to why what others are saying is wrong. “Well FU too!” doesn’t cut it.
- “until then I’ll continue to point out your flawed logic.” And until then, I’ll continue to point out yours
Oh, and as a born and bred American I empathize with your annoyance, even though I find your expression of it rife with flaws. I’m too tired right now, but I’d be interested to see the methodologies used in the “statistics, studies and research” that shows how dumb this country is, since how you reach a conclusion is at least as important as the conclusion itself. The one about average Belgian kids beating out above average Americans comes from a John Stossel report - not exactly the most reputable guy in reporting. Unfortunately my own anecdotal evidence is pretty dismal. Outside of major cities and tier 1 or 2 college towns, thinking is just not valued in this country. The hyper capitalistic culture we live in puts a huge premium on looks, wealth, “lifestyle,” an aggressively outgoing personality - not wisdom. And why would it? Critical thinkers don’t religiously follow trends and buy tons of crap that they don’t need just because the billboard says it’ll make them cool/get them laid/fill the hole in their heart, etc. Critical thinkers also know more about how the world outside their front doorstep works, demand evidence instead of empty rhetoric, and aren’t as easy to hoodwink, so they’re not as desirable as constituents of a plutocratic republic as sheep. It’s sad: workers’ rights are eroding, the gap between rich and poor is at its largest since the Gilded Age, national debt is in the trillions, the government can legally spy on/lock up anyone for any reason (habeas corpus is in the trash) with the Patriot Act, we’re in TWO unwinnable wars…and people are too busy popping Prozac and watching propaganda TV to even care. Americans are not stupid by nature - it’s the toxic culture poisoning most of us that’s the problem.
The ugly truth…YES, americans are really stupit (not all of them ofc, but most of them are).
The answer is YES.
The most salient thing to me seems to be that, in the IQ study cited, what I think is the author’s country (Russia) scores lower than the United States.
Beyond that, I think much of the assessment behind the data is way off base. There’s some truth to America’s conservatism leading to its lackluster results, but I believe it has more to do with rampant poverty, and less to do with religion. The author first blames the monopoly of the American “public” school system, and then blames the fact that so many Americans go to religious schools. As far as I know, American public schools and religious schools are completely different. So which one is it?
In Western Europe, we do not have the levels of poverty seen in the United States, and hence (I believe) the general population is better educated. While this is a direct result of a more left-wing attitude in Western Europe, it does not support all the political “pot-shots” made by the author (nor those of commenters). It would, however, be interesting to see some data adjusted for income (there would be many ways of doing that), as I see it as being unfair to condemn poorer countries to being “stupid”. Dmitri’s own country might do a bit better under such an assessment — it might even beat America.
Due to America’s state of being abused by the undercurrents of those selfish elitists, America’s image have been tarnished continuously.Once ago,everyone expressed great interest for USA but now,USA is regarded as the headquarter of hyper capitalistic terrorism because of the USA’s extreme propaganda that likes to paint anyone as a terrorist, bias FOX News,
rich-taxing-the-poor through government bailout of coorporations with questionable integrity records and American-centric chauvinistic culture.
A few quick questions. All the major US media companies have a section on world news on their websites. These sections generally incorporate news on US actions in countries where the US has a particlular interest. Typically Iraq, Afghanistan, Cuba, Mexico, and North Korea. Does anyone know, firstly why this is called world news, and secondly why US media companies do not report world news? With a country made up allmost entirely of recent immigrants, would the US population not be interested in what’s happening in their contries of origin? Most of the rest of the developed world’s medi agencies seems to section there world news by continent, why does the US differ?
Anti-Americanism is always peculiar to me. Now I’m an American, but I hate my country and its people and wish I could leave. You might think this would allow me to fit right in with the anti-american rhetoric presented in articles and comments like the ones here. But I find the overwhelming vast majority of anti-americanism to be what I call “bottom-up” anti-americanism. The dumb hick living in the broke state that weighs 400 pounds and voted for bush in every election and has an IQ of 84 is not an American, he’s a peasant. Of everyone living in America I would classify a select few as being actual Americans, here’s an easy tip: the people that actually benefited (greatly) from the iraq and afghanistan invasions and occupations are actual Americans. Everyone else is a brain washed peasant.
And yet the brainwashed peasant is the target of most anti-americanism. How delightfully counter productive. While the peasant’s math courses are cut much to your enthusiastic amusement, a government contractor just made 500 million dollars and bought four castles in your european nation of choice. Keep calling out the peasants on their idiocy though I’m sure they’ll get the picture any day now.
Let’s see. Are Americans stupid? Well, as a whole, of course they are. If you cannot tell, than perhaps you are among the less intelligent.
George Bush got the SCOTUS to stop the vote in 2000. He then talked Americans into invading Iraq. He then won reelection! In 2008, someone about 2 steps up from a ‘cartoon character’, named Palin, actually won the Rep. nomination for VP. Folks like these would not last 2 minutes in any other industrial country unless it was for comedy acts.
No for all the Americans like myself who get offended by this, please be reminded that people in other countries can be stupid also (but I don’t think you would like to go up against them any time soon, head to head!).
We have multimillionaires with brain damage like Beck and Limbaugh convincing people here to fight against progressivism in favor of worshiping elite multinational corporate and financial interests. Fox News is still considered a real network somehow. Obama is to the far RIGHT of Nixon in terms of policies and they call him a commie! Wow… we ship out all our jobs, give tax breaks to those who do it, and then blame US workers and unions when the big plan fails miserably leaving us in dire straits. Amazing!
Politics aside… how about religion? Talk about lunatics? Travel across America and you will think Elmer Gantry was an understatement 50 years ago. I think there are some people in the deep south who still haven’t developed “thumbs”… paging Mr. Darwin!?!
Anyway… are you smarter than a 5th grader? The fact that such a show exists is enough. Ha… And to any other American here who thinks I am full of crap and they take offense… you are probably stupid! If you can name all the judges on American Idol, but not the Supreme Court, shut your hole and go to the library and quit embarrassing me and others here any further please!
Why? Why do all these countries think we aren’t as bright as they are? What did we ever do to you for you to think of us as ignorant and stupid?
Hey! First i want to apologize for my crappy english, this was one of my biggest problems in school, great at maths, biology, history, etc., bad at english, latin and french …
I read about half the comments above, then i lost interest because they started to repeat themselves, so im sorry if anyone alrdy mentioned what I’m going to say.
I believe, that the us gouvernment doesn’t want the averrage american to know and understand too much about history, because they would start to question the methods of their gouvernment by learning the tactics and methods of old gouvernments (even ancient ones) in other countries.
There are several historical events or location, that come to mind:
For an example, although sport is a great deal in nearly every country around the world, nowhere it is praised nearly religous as in the US. It’s like in Rom, 2000 Years ago, give the folks fun and distraction in the colosseum and they will not ask for your wrongdoings.
It’s the same with old Bismarck, the german “Reichspräsident” (Prime Minister), working for Wilhelm I (known as prussian king): You’ve got problems in your own society, your countries politic sucks? Give the Folks another place to concentrate on. Bismarck (or morelikely Wilhelm, im not sure about that at this moment) therefor started his race for a “Platz an der Sonne” (place where the sun shines, meaning to colonize countries in africa, china, etc.). Now we got a similiar situation in the US: Our healthsystem sucks? start bombing some other countries, make a few quick victories and higher the moral of our people with it. Well, that this didn’t work out right is somehow proven by now…
If the Americans would know too much about not only there, but the general history, the us gouvernment couldn’t control them anylonger like a sheppard does with his sheep.
Especially we (germans) are reminded nearly each day, how important it is to know about the mistakes of past generation and to learn from them, so that we will never do them again. Where is the point of living a life, if you just do the same dumb things, the people who came befor you alrdy did (World War I + II come to mind). It was Hitlers propaganda machine, turning history around, teaching wrong facts to the public, which resolved in the killing of millions and millions of men. Turning history around alrdy has proven itself to be deadly, ignoring it could be even more dangerous.
Everything stated above is true. Americans aren’t very intelligent. Once I overheard two high school students duscusing the location of France. They didn’t know it’s located In Eurpope. What was even more unsettling was that they didn’t know Paris was In France.
HAHA, excuse me and forgive me for not commenting directly but… ahahahah Americans have an average IQ of 98 ? lool thats athe average line for their use of the word - retarded - ahahahah.
And whats with this khasidic freak? ”A Zionist”, No ones insulting you , ahaaaa, well after reading your comments i have this to say:
1 First off, a jew kick started the invention of the nuclear bomb, his name was emmm… szilard leo i beleive.
2 A jew backstabbed Jesus
3 Many jews controll the senat in the US, so you guys think you have the right to be exremely defendant and always think your some victim,,, haha
4 You guys control an incredible amount of banks in the world, lol one of the biggest ones in america, what else…
5 Oh, your people are harrasing constantly a small, unfortunate people through occupation and wars.
YOU sir, have NO right to shout out that ANYONE is throwing ANY blatant INSULTS at anyone! Especially you, No one cares for you i assure you… THIEF! a racist one by research of Zionism, and a fake one too!
So please go bang your head on that ridiculous wall of yours, and read your Ridiculous Book until your back snaps.
A message of love and friendship from an Arab.
Oh, i almost forgot, Americans are least caring and intelligent people by fact, simply becouse a majority of them go to public schools, and take MC questions which i think are for 5 year old children.
THIEF give back THEIR LAND- u know who im talking about!!! Zionist superiority complex -.- AND your NOT the victim!
I would disagree that Americans are stupid. What I would say is that a lot of Americans are ignorant, and the further south and into impoverished areas you go the more ignorant they become. As Carlo eloquently points out (in very good English) that is because the American government wants them to be ignorant. An ignorant uneducated population is easy to control, through propaganda and the media. Many people around the would say that Western media is propaganda.
Some of my best friends are American and they are among the most intelligent people I know but these Americans have had the wherewithal or luck to have travelled widely and they have seen the wider world outside the bubble that is the continental US.
An American teacher I met while travelling in Peru told me that at the start of every year of teaching his 7th grade class (age 12 -13) he sets a simple test. He asks all the kids to name as many of the States of the US and their capitals. Sadly some cannot name more than 3 or 4 and 100% of the time the kids that do best are immigrants. He also told me that because he likes to travel and has visited countries such as Cuba and Venezuela he is labelled a “Commie, Hippie or subversive”
The typical youth culture in the US tends to idolise those kids that are good at sport (The football Jock who gets the cute blond cheerleaders) and ridicules those that study, read books or do not fit into societies norms. If you read or try academically you are labelled a Nerd, Geek, Dork. (The spotty computer geek who plays Dungeons and Dragons and has never had a girlfriend) I suppose it’s human nature to fear what you don’t understand and so the shallow and idiotic masses continually bully and poke fun and the less ‘cool’ kids. So in order to fit in kids who may have otherwise excelled at school do not try, because they want to fit in. This problem can often turn deadly in a society where a teenager can buy semi automatic weapons and enough ammunition to start a small war. So you get an incident like the Columbine massacre. I am not saying the Dylan Klebold and Erik Harris were likely to excel at school but they were often bullied and ridiculed by their peers and I would doubt they would have done the same if they had grown up in a more inclusive society.
The dumbing down of society is not only an American problem, but happening all over the English speaking world. The population of the UK while considerably more worldly wise than those across the Atlantic are also becoming increasing uneducated. There have been many studies and experts agree that School exams now are far easier than they were 20 years ago. Some have said that those who passed with a C in 1990 would be have gained an A in an exam taken today.
Among industrialised nations in other parts of Europe and Asia things are generally different, those that don’t try and learn are the social outcasts and those that try to better themselves academically are respected. If you walk down a city street in Holland, Austria or Italy and see a group of teenagers you don’t have to fear that you are going to be given verbal abuse or attacked, you would a likely get in many parts of England. Kids in Continental Europe seem to be more respectful of their elders. Many people in the UK believe that discipline has broken down because corporal punishment is no longer allowed in schools. But In other parts of Europe Corporal punishment was abolished long before it was in the UK. Societies problems begin in the home, uneducated, ignorant people will tend to have uneducated ignorant children. And so the cycle continues.
My wife once said that there are smart people and stupid people all over the world and 80% are stupid. She is probably right and the trick is to do something about it and try to encourage the ignorant to learn more about other cultures and then maybe we wouldn’t need to have these discussions.
Havelock Vetinari.
I would have to say yes, we are pretty stupid. I’m dumber than a rock, yet most people I’ve encountered are even dumber than I am, which is pretty sad.
What makes it worse is that we *think* we are smart. Americans have absolutely no self awareness at all. If you’re an idiot and you at least recognize that you’re an idiot, you can take steps to improve yourself. But Americans, we are dangerous–we’re stupid as hell but we think we know everything.
I really enjoy the cries of injustice for “White America” here the most. People like that are the ones making America look bad, because the country remains divided under it’s own bullshit “everyone is equal” policy.
It was mentioned that a huge problem in America is that a person can buy their way into colleges with sports achievements, which is something that is projected through media as the only way that someone who is not “white and rich” can achieve otherwise. I don’t think other countries purvey anywhere near as much of an idea that fame is the way to a good life. Keeping people striving for a low point maintains a balance of ignorance.
If education was available to everyone, people would be more intelligent here in the states, but then they would probably focus on other things in life, like creating a useful business, planning for a future by investing in themselves, but they wouldn’t be as easy to control - and that is something I believe some people want. People are kept distracted, and with low chances of opportunity for growth in most areas, young men and women turn into more meat to feed the Capitol-Imperialist War Machine.
Oh God America..I laughed so much at some of the posts above. Many were Americans complaining about the content of this post…
‘You’re analysis of the data isn’t only totally absurd, it’s also extremely shallow as well, as it shows who really is lacking in intelligence.’ If you’re trying to stand up for your people’s intelligence, learn some grammar. You’re means you are.
I agree with this article. I have encountered many Americans who are either completely ignorant about anything happening in the rest of the world, or just don’t want to know. No I have not interviewed every American, for those of you who think this is an argument, and just because I have an IQ over 100 does not mean I’m a nerd.
Go back to your superficial little lives. Btw, I’m 15 and I can spell better than half of you Americans posting here.
I’m a Protestant African-American of 14 years, with the majority of my ancestors from the Southern U.S., a place that is apparently littered with genetic trash. As I read all of these comments, I can’t help but think that many of the teens I know, having no clue what Manchester, England is or where England is located on the globe, fit your descriptions. I also can’t help feel that some of these comments about intelligence versus knowledge really don’t get to the deep of our problem. As a country, I don’t think American society holds extreme convictions that Americans are better than everybody else or that other nations don’t matter. I think our problem is that as Americans in both policy and culture, we oversimplify foreign affairs. The problem is that most Americans do not leave the U.S., most Americans are used to foreigners learning OUR ways, and U.S. citizens don’t have a cosmopolitan outlook on the world.
Oh yeah, the stereo-typical G.I. Joe who barely made it through the state university or community college is probably stupid, but I hope Americans who want to learn will not look from the European perspective of “stupid americans” and think that of themselves.
perhaps the reason the American IQ has fallen lower than the world average is a backlash of the amount of freedom it’s citizens are given. Culturally, the country is so open to any lifestyle, career choice, political preferences or any other choices; it is becoming increasingly evident, that stupidity is morphing from being viewed as a reprehensible condition…to being viewed as a choice. And as American culture dictates, all lifestyle choices must be respected and left alone.
It’s not that Americans lack the capacity to excel academically with the rest of the world, but they have created an unfixable paradox which makes it impossible for them to help themselves. sad really, the good part…it will never really affect their success as a nation in comparison to the rest. They’ll still always be the richest, the most powerful, and most importantly…the most dangerous.
Americans are truely stupid! I cant seem to understand why they cant understand simple instructions written in english when its their language. in addition to that, they are very demanding and even though they know that they’re in the wrong position, they would always use the excuse “Custmers are always right” just to cover up their silly excuses!
I’m not quite sure why other Americans are seemingly lacking intellectually. Most [American] teenagers generally take a relaxed take on school. Make fun of it, not take it seriously. I am not one of those, I would like to think that I am fairly intellectual. It bothers me to see my own country doing so…poorly when it comes to international competition. America celebrates the “celebs” who often do brash and inconcieveable action. Very rarely are the teachers, the artists (true artists), or writers celebrated at all. It is disturbing to see that even with me doing as well as I can, at least legitamently trying to do well, how my peers will refuse to follow suit…
It’s a good thing to see that SOME Americans are not as ignorant as MOST of them are. Not many Americans can even tell where Iraq is located. I think that before you invaded ANY country, it’s better to at least get your people to know where their love ones are going. Education is very important in my perspective and that people with good educational backgrounds should be cherished. In Asia, whether in Japan, S. Korea, China or even Thailand, people study their ass off just to make sure that they will get a good pay for their jobs. Still you Americans treat the academics as nerds! Yeah right, the world revolves around the United States of America but it won’t hurt just to be more aware of what is going on around them. This reminds me of Galileo’s times when people are not so open minded and do not want to know anything new. Please don’t forget you can not stand alone in this world. It is true that everyone has to suck your balls in the past decades but since the subprime crisis, the world learns that relying solely on USA is not such a good idea. Now US dollars are not the only god in international monetary marget anymore.
Also I once read a topic on how we could reduce global warming by reducing meat consumption, and guess what? The replies from American were: “Global Warming is hoax! It is a political game that the scientists are playing” or “Global warming is something the scientists invented to sell their products”
I just can’t believe what these people are saying! While the rest of the globe are trying to svae our race from the untimely doom, the Americans (who produces the most CO2 and other greenhouse gases) are not helping! You have got some of the brightest scientists living next door, yet you still saying that all this is a hoax?!
Also, you should thank the immigrants coming to your nation. If not for Albert Einstein who migrated from Germany, your nation wouldn’t have even defeated Japan! So please stop blaming them for your own ignorance and stupidity! America was once a British colony too, so everyone who is white there was, at a certain time, an immigrant, except for the native Indians who are now living a harsh life in your rural areas.
Your country left nothing but ruins whereever you go. Think of Vietnam, Korea, Iraq and Afganistan, you ruined their lives and these nations has to stand up on it’s own effort. Yeah, you donated millions of dollars for them, but what if your home was burnt and someone just give you a paycheck, what would you feel? The arts and the buildings your ancestors created and all you get was a paycheck! Money can not buy everything.
Lastly, I do not say that Europeans or Asian are not stupid. But at least we are more aware of what is going on around us. And that America really does need some serious help. I think that before going out saying “I’m the World’s Freakin Hero” you should try saving yourself first be fore trying to help anyone.
PS. I’m really grateful that some American acknowledge what is happening around them. And sorry for the crappy grammar and spelling, I sucked at English :p
I’m an American, been around since 1954 and I can persoanlly vouch for the fact that most Americans are dumb as a rock. Frankly, it’s embarassing. What’s more, many of my idiotic countrymen are proud that they’re stupid. It’s like a badge of honor.
I really want to know where all this anti Americanism comes from? Do any of you people think the world would be better off if it was the US and not the USSR that collapsed at the end of the cold war? Do you think people would be better off if the US didn’t exist or kept to itself?
All you Europeans would be under Nazi Germany if it wasn’t for the US. And those of you from anywhere near Japan would surely be under their rule. We have liberated more people than any nation in history and by any estimate are the most benevolent superpower in history.
It just sickens me that the writer of this post as well as just about all liberals in Europe and the US make it one of their guidelines to bash the US whenever possible.
Regarding the material, I could use the same statistics to claim that African Americans were inferior to white Americans. But that would be inaccurate because it does not take into account the other 90% of the picture. In the US, our school system is sadly lacking despite all the funding. Our education system is in bad need of reform. So Americans are not “stupid” as seems to be so popular, but the importance of school is not pushed as much as it should be and the standards for education are low resulting in the stats you have provided.
SGT.Dela..and just to balance your post lets not forget all the suffering America has brought to the world.And as for Europe half of it ended up under the control of Stalin,a guy it could be argued was far worse than Hitler if you want to judge it by dead bodies and raped women. And the USA was happy to give him everything he wanted.America is all about self interest lets not fool ourselves into thinking its all about benevolence.And why are Americans regarded as stupid by many?.Well all Americans are certainly not stupid,but there are a large segment that are loud mouthed, aggressive, and arrogant and they do make quite an impression when they go abroad and thus create a negative view of all Americans in the minds of foreign peoples.I guess its just that the intelligent polite Americans dont draw so much attention to themselves and so dont get noticed so much.
So this article is definitely the beginning of something AWESOME. As a resident of the United States, I could just sit here and refute plain FACTS, but that would be entirely futile.
I’m actually doing a project titled “The Decline of America,” and I WILL be using this article in my research and of course citing it. I wish we Americans would realize how completely sheltered we actually are. I was talking with my friend about this the other day, and we noticed that many citizens from other countries know who our president is, and even the location our capital, but hardly anyone from the USA that knows the name of the Prime Minister of Great Britain, or even the president of Mexico! Honestly! We are so hidden under a shell here. We don’t understand, nor can we comprehend, what happens outside of our borders. Jay Leno once roamed about the streets of New York City and asked people simple questions, and hardly anyone knew who wrote the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. AUTOBIOGRAPHY I tell you! So, that brings me back to my research topic. For my AP Language and Composition class, I will be conducting a research project in the hopes of making my peers aware of the critical position Americans are in today.
In addition to my post, and some others, above, I would like to add that I am 17 years old and surrounded by the most apathetic, ignorant morons the world holds. Also, not all Americans are this way. Many of my friends retain the ability to distinguish between “your and you’re” and “there, their, they’re.” All Americans shouldn’t be under the stereotype of stupidity… but, truthfully, many Americans fall under the generalization. I hope to spread my intellectual abilities to many Americans my age, or around my age, to hopefully spark an age of awareness and maybe COMPASSION! I’m sick of all others my age following propaganda, celebrities, and worst of all, taking all they have for granted. Like education, for example. Many of my peers pride themselves in receiving failing grades and ditching class. How awesome will they be when they leave high school and end up flipping burgers at McDonald’s? Only time will tell.
SGT DELA
I think it is quite ironic that the flag that is next to your name is from Vietnam, which was one of the locations where America tried to foist it’s opinions on another country by force. It was all in the name of fighting the God Damn Commies. In the end it didn’t work, the Commies took over but only after 3 to 4 million Vietnamese from both sides, 1.5 to 2 million Laotians / Cambodians, and 58,159 US. soldiers were killed. And for what? Vietnam is still Communist and would probably have long ditched Communism if America had not interfered in the first place. It’s actually a very vibrant place these days and the local people show surprisingly little animosity to the country that brought them so much pain and suffering.
Sgt Dela, Please don’t think that I am anti American, far from it I have many American friends and I am grateful for the sacrifice that so many young American men made in the second World War to get rid of one of the world’s biggest despots. Without America, Europe would have been under Nazi oppression for a lot longer. But this does not give America the right to do as it damn well pleases. I am against any regime that oppresses its own people and you my friend, if you are an American living in America, are living in an oppressive regime. One that is controlled by big business, banking cartels, religious nut jobs and propped up by the most paranoid and well funded military in the world.
And if you believe you truly have freedom of speech in America, just walk down the street in any American city and shout Allah Akbar. Let’s see how long before you a wearing an orange jumpsuit and enjoying an indefinite stay in Guantanamo bay.
To all those ignorant Americans out there I have this to say, try and learn a bit about the rest of the world, read some books and try and use a bit of independent thought rather than what is thrust down your throats by the AOL / Time / Warner propaganda machine. Hey even better, if you have the means why not go and visit some other countries and learn about their cultures. Travelling truly does broaden the mind.
To all the Arrogant loud mouthed Americans who give the good people of their country a bad name, remember when you are talking you are not learning anything. Try listening for a change.
I think that the issue here is ignorance, not necessarily an inherent national stupidity, but I do have to agree. I am a biology teacher at an American public high school, and I must say that the system by which we operate here is just atrocious. It has become an assembly line for learning, and any children that fall above or below the bell curve are almost completely ignored, in favor of increased productivity, homogeneity and the almighty dollar. Myself and my colleagues have been actively discouraged from spending too much time assisting struggling students during the months we prepare for standardized testing (yes, I said MONTHS!!). In the words of our Principal, “Would you rather have a few students fail miserably or most students fail slightly?” What now? How are we justifying ignoring *any* of our students in favor of points on an exam?! I think that our children are getting lost through the cracks, and their parents were, and one day their children will be. We perpetuate a vicious cycle in this country, and hold our children to mediocre standards. We value the *appearance* of an education in this country, not an actual education, unfortunately.
I don’t take it as a personal affront to ourselves and our children that others label us as “stupid” (although I would look for a better term…), but instead shift my focus onto exactly *why* we are so far behind. Because for all her faults, I dearly love this country of mine, and want to see her provide the framework for future generations to thrive.
To Distressed Miss
You are obviously an intelligent American woman who understands exactly where the problem is far better than any outsider who labels all Americans as Stupid. I for one think the problem is predominantly cultural and is caused by the media driven society that you live in. The same problem is evident in the UK though to a lesser extent than America. I feel that this is not because of Brits being any more intelligent than Americans but more because we are in close proximity to Europe and fact that at one time Britain had the biggest Empire in the world. We had to know about other cultures and where they were in the world because we needed to subjugate them and steal their natural resources.
There has been a steady “dumbing down” of the population over the last 25 years. (I hate that phrase, Dumb means you are unable to speak not that you are stupid) As I said in one of my posts above “there have been many studies and experts agree that School exams now are far easier than they were 20 years ago. Some have said that those who passed with a C in 1990 would be have gained an A in an exam taken today.”
The question should not be are Americans, British or anyone else for that matter ignorant, but what can we do about it? You as a teacher you are perfectly placed to do something about it. You are in the position where you have the opportunity to mould young minds and try and change the attitudes of those you teach. As a kid I moved around a lot and I actually went to 9 different schools (not including University) during the course of my education. Among them was a British Military Preparatory school and an American Fundamentalist Christian Missionary school. I have been taught by many teachers and I have forgotten a lot of them but a few stand out as being exceptional. One particular Maths teacher and one Chemistry teacher because they were particularly good. My Chemistry teacher was an inspiration, he was totally enthusiastic about his subject and this enthusiasm rubbed off on his pupils. You didn’t learn because he told to, you learned because if you didn’t you felt you had let him down. The Maths teacher was also a great teacher and I can honestly say that if it had not been for her I would not have been to University and I would not have had the excellent job or lifestyle I have today. I struggled all the way through school because I was dyslexic, a fact that was not identified until after I left University. My maths teacher did extra classes for those who wanted it, in the afternoon on her own time. This was not because she was paid to do it but because she wanted to help those who needed extra help. I was not given the option, I was told “I WOULD BE AT THE CLASS.” I am incredibly grateful to her and other teachers like her who didn’t give up on me even though I was at the bottom of the class. It is quite Ironic that I now work in a job that requires me to use Mathematics every single day.
I understand that you are dissuaded by the powers that be from providing too much assistance to the underachievers but if you don’t help them then who will? It won’t be easy and you will not be able to help everyone, but you can aim to be one of those exceptional teachers who inspires by example and enthusiasm. Then maybe in the years to come one of your pupils will be writing on a forum telling others about how their Biology teacher inspired them to get over their learning difficulties and later how they went on to excel. You never know maybe one of your pupils may go on to cure cancer.
Was it not George Bush who instigated the policy of “no child being left behind”? If a man of such obviously low intelligence and model of ignorance like G. W. Bush recognizes the need to help such kids then there’s hope for the rest of American society.
Go on D.M. be an inspiration to your kids and encourage your colleagues to do the same.
I’ve replied to both Henry, anti bush, and to havelock but the moderators have denied both of my attempts at posting where I actually rebutted any claims that America has any more innocent blood on their hands than any given Western European country, China, Japan, Russia, etc.
I think many of you actually need to study what lead to and happened during the American involvement in Vietnam because the word defeat is used far too lightly when our military was never bested in any significant battle.
Anti-bush, like most 17 year old kids you think you know everything (or for that matter much at all), and you dont, end of story.
Henry, your like I said before Britain has caused far more suffering than the US not to mention the entire problem in the middle east including Israel.
To the education argument I do agree that US education is lacking because the society isn’t putting education at the priority it should be (4 day school weeks!!! are you kidding me?).
For any of you wondering why my flag was once Vietnam and now the US, its because I do a lot of traveling and enjoy seeing and learning from other cultures.
Hey were getting an active intelligent debate going here. It’s a shame the world leaders would not do the same thing more often.
@ Dela I am not questioning the prowess of the American military in a stand up fight. There are few armies in the world that can hope to win against the technological supremacy of the American military. What I am questioning are the motives of the American Government in going into Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan among others. Yes Britain did a huge amount of harm in its colonialist past. The results of the British policy of carving up the world can be directly seen in many of the problems in Africa today. I have seen these problems first hand because I lived for almost 20 years in East Africa. Britain was not the only one who was at it, the French, Belgians, Portuguese, Italians, Dutch and Germans were equally guilty.
However this was a long time in the past and I would hope that we could move on from the colonial past and using military might to gain control of natural resources. America seems to be engaged in a pseudo colonial grab for resources. If we can’t get the oil through buying off a foreign dictator, we’ll send the military in and replace him with a sympathetic puppet.
But this is all in the realms of a different discussion. The question was why are Americans in general perceived as stupid, loud and arrogant by the rest of the world? The foreign policy of the American government has a lot to do with it and the fact that many Americans resort to using four letter words when anyone dares to level any form of criticism at America or Americans. The standard response by many Americans when criticised by Europeans is to come back with with “If it wasn’t for America you’d still be under Nazi rule, so shut the f*** up” This is hardly intelligent discourse and only helps reinforce the stereotype.
Dela my comment about getting out there and doing some travelling was not specifically directed at you but more as a general comment to everyone who has never been outside the borders of the US. Mind you it was probably wishful thinking on my part that those sort of people would be reading this kind of post.
As far as your comments directed at Anti-Bush, he seems more articulate than many people twice his age and the fact that he is young and open minded means that he has plenty of time to get out there and gain some experience. The very fact that he has an open mind and an opinion puts him a long way ahead of some of his apathetic peers.
@Anti Bush your comments are clearly driven by a lot of anger but you need be careful about coming across as arrogant. The fact that so many of your peers seem to be wrapped up in celebrity, believe the propaganda and don’t care if they get poor grades shows that they are just another victim of the system. Instead of criticising them you could try to get some of them to change their opinion. Will a lot of them end up working menial jobs, probably, but maybe you could get some of them out of their lethargy.
Content Removed
I am afraid Mr. Dela, our commenting policy does not permit flamebaiting or insults against any other commenters. Please repost your comments, without the insults. - Captain Sasha
To Dela
Me again without federation in the title. I’m not self-righteous for being annoyed… look the word up sometime. I am also a girl. You have interesting debates, by the way. And I am quite open-minded, so don’t assume that you know a person’s personality from a simple post… actually sounds like you should open your mind a little, pal. You have no idea who I am. So please refrain from making mislead assumptions. Thanks.
Cap Sasha, I apologize if anything I said was taken as an open insult. As far as flamebaiting, in a heavily sided forum such as this it is understandable that a contrary opinion could be seen as that.
What I meant to say was that I think it is quite obvious that this particular post is more a matter of opinion using an argument ad hominem, which in turn has allowed anyone with a negative view of the US to simply declare an entire nationality to be “stupid.”
Let me just remind everyone that the US is far more diverse than most other countries, and as far as the IQ test the different ethnic groups have a broader range of success for whatever reason. Perhaps the test inadvertently gives a given race a better chance at scoring high since the largely “white” population in many European countries has roughly the same IQ score as American whites.
I must almost remind you that these shallow arguments are the same ones that “proved” white superiority, so their credibility is severely weak.
The IQ stats that I’m looking at right now (wikipedia) actually show the US at the same level as western European countries (plus or minus one point), with many Asian countries several points ahead of both of us (does that give them the right to consider us “stupid?”)
To Anti-bush, you are correct I do not know you, and any assumption I made of your character or knowledge was based off your comments. You may want to open your mind a little more to certain subjects (policies as well as Presidents) and you can really earn the title liberal regardless of whether your bias is left or right. Remember “Only a fool knows everything. A wise man knows how little he knows.”
If this post was meant to put into question the average Americans knowledge of other countries then I agree that it is lacking. In the US our news stations and history classes teach us about what happened in the US. Many other countries learn about their country as well as the US because of the status of the US as the worlds superpower. News in Vietnam for example covers a few local matters then what is going on in the US. Any “ignorance” that Americans have can easily be attributed to this.
The issue was not your opinion, but a direct personal attack against “The Anti bush person”.
You are wrong once again, Mr. Dela. Most countries of the world have so much history and culture of their own that they can’t afford to make exceptions for US. If the US is covered, it is only in the context of the World Wars or any historic tysts their country had with the US. Apart from that, the US history isn’t even touched. In my ten years of general schooling, the US came up only in the context of World Wars and Cold War, along with all the other countries involved. Contary to what your system makes you believe, there is no “American Special” in history education around the globe.
In any case, the American knowledge (or lack of it) about the world isn’t what makes them stupid. It is just a symptom of it. The actual stupidity comes from their general lack of intellectual curiosity, their S-factor thinking style and their tendency to speak authoritatively on subjects they have not an iota of awareness about. You can’t blame schools or the government for that.
I’m not wrong, you’re just unwilling to accept anything other than the American stereotype. The stats i’ve seen show that the US is at the same level as western European countries. And as I said in my post that wasn’t posted, you speak very “authoritatively” for a person that doesn’t live in the US or much of the rest of the world where you claim to know what goes on.
@ Dela
Stereotypes exist because they have a basis in reality. They usually apply for the majority of the group that is stereotyped. Without stereotypes, it will be impossible to interact with people other than your own.
You don’t have to live in a country to understand it. A pragmatic observation and study of the people of that country gives you a good insight into their minds and behaviour. There is nothing bad about speaking authoritatively if you have an authority on the subject.
If you have made any comment and it doesn’t appear, wait for sometime and repost. That way, you’d be sure that your post was indeed successful.
Yeah, I thinks it isn`t just a rumour.
The most part of American nation don`t read books and almost stoped any brain activity.
the only reason i think that americans are stupid is about sport ,escpecally when they are calling the real football soccer and they are calling the other game i dont its name but lets put a name on it like what about eggball yeah they are calling eggball football that is so stupid and they think that football ,in america as in soccer is for girls but it isnt,in football players are using alot of skills and communictaion and in eggball only fat people can play it not every kind of person
Americans don’t know anything about the world, haven’t you noticed it yet?
They call Spanish to everybody in South America that speak Spanish language, OK Spanish is the language although it is also used for nationality, but a Spanish or a Spaniard is only from Spain. Explanation: Spa-niards, Spa-nish, Spa-in. An Engl-ish is from Engl-and, quite easy to understand. You Americans, Canadians, Australians and so on, speak English lets see Americ-ans, Canad-ians Austral-ians, Engl-ish huh you aren’t English, that means you weren’t born in England.
Another very funny thing is that people in USA think that Spaniards are mixed race or have dark skin, WTF! Have Italians, French, Portugueses, Irish, British dark skin or mixed skin? Spanish/Spaniards are Europeans. I’m not racist and I am not against black people or mixed people but I don’t want people to believe something that isn’t true. Is everybody in South America mixed, no, there are white people over there as well.
You Americans also think that Spain is a poor country, what some people say ‘a third world country’, we are the 9th largest economy in the world and the 5th in Europe, if Spain is poor then Germany, UK, France, Italy and lots of countries in Europe are poor as well, we are richer than Canada, yeah your neighbour. You know Canada isn’t poor, then just think that Spain with its mall size is richer than it.
You also thing that Spain is in South America, but how can this be possible? We discovered America along with UK and in low scale France, Portugal, etc that continents includes what now are countries in South and Central America, Caribbean and some parts of your country, for example, Florida, California, Colorado, San Francisco, Arizona, Texas and so on. With this I want to say that Spain is in Europe, Europe discovered America, do you get this?
Lets continue with other things.
USA donates Andorra billions of dollars thinking that Andorra is a poor country located in Africa. search on youtube.
People from USA in the streets are asked: what currency does UK have? Answer from Americans citizens’ answer: Elizabeth Queen’s money.
They are asked: a country that starts with the ‘U’?
American citizens’ answer: UTOPIA. hahah
They were asked: what country is in troubles right now?
American citizens’ answer: Korea, they are in troubles right know because of their attitude.
I once said to an American that I was from Spain. He asked: but you are from Spain, Spain?
I wonder how many SpainS he knew! lol
Americans think that people outside their country doesn’t have books, maps, electricity, internet and the things they have in USA.
Example:
American: Hey what’s up? Where are you from?
Cape Verde: Hi, fine. I’m from Cape Verde.
American: Where is that?
Cape Verde: Africa.
American: mmm, why do you have internet?
Cape: I don’t understand, can you explain yourself?
American: I mean, if you are from Africa, how can you have Internet, Africa is poor. Do you live in a house?
Cape Verde: mmm, I can’t understand why you think that.
Another example:
American: Hi, where are you from?
Mexican: I’m from Mexico.
American: Cool, you make delicious tacoes.
Mexica: Thanks.
American: One question, why do you have white skin and blue eyes? You are Mexican!
Mexican: (didn’t reply)
American: Hi, where are from?
Spaniard: (only said nationality) I’m Spanish.
American: Ah, Mexico ok!
Spaniard: No, Spain, in Europe.
American: Really?
Spaniard: Yes.
American: Sorry.
Spaniard: It doesn’t matter, you are not the first one who has made that mistake.
American: I love the tacoes you make in Spain, they are my favourite food.
Spaniard: Tacoes are from Mexico, we are the country of Paella.
Another example:
Georgian: Hi, I’m Georgian, where are you from?
American: Hi, I’m American and I see you are American as well.
Georgia: No, I’m from Georgia, a country located in Europe (Euro-Asia) but we consider ourselves Europeans and not Asians, our country has territory in both continents, Europe and Asia.
American: I see!
Another example:
TV news
Mc Cain is asked if he would meat José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Prime Minister of Spain.
Mc Cain answers: I will meet my enemies if I have to, I will face them and fight if it is required. (he confused Spain’s Prime Minister Zapatero with a South American Prime Minister, maybe Hugo Chávez lol. After that when Obama became president of USA he had to meet with Spain’s Prime Minister to talk about the missunderstood).
Seriously, USA has grave problems in Education, they don’t know anything about the world.
Appart from what I have put statistics say that Americans have low IQ compared to the Europeans and yes in Europe there are airheads but Americans are the olympic winners in this.
Note: I haven’t used a translator then if you find a mistake while reading, just think English isn’t my tongue language.
If people from USA get angry because of my comments, I sincerely don’t care, I just say the truth and what I have experienced! ;D
@Javier
You realize that snippet of information you cited regarding the US donating money to Andorra is fake right? It came from The Onion - a satire “news” website. Yes, Americans are capable of humor too. Shocking, isn’t it?
Americans are no more or less stupid than the British, the Australians or anybody else. Everybody has become more and more stupid since about 1980. Reforms to education, political correctness and other social chnages have had a dramatic and negative effect on western society. I am old enough to know what I’m talking about. Even NASA says that the expertise of the sixties will never be matched because the scientists and technicians these days actually know less about their chosen fields because they rely so much on computer technology to do the hard work.
americans ARE stupid everyone knows that. europeans never look at WHY theyre so stupid. watch this video, it might give you some clue as to why the united states has such a stupefying slope with its educational system.
Americans are ignorant and stupid I hate almost every one of them they think they have the best army and the most nukes but their shit fighters they lost a war against a bunch of farmers who were armed with nothing but a couple of spades and forks and I don’t think they have the most nukes Britain does so yes they are thick as shit and fat and stuck up if it was up to me id start a war with America not with nukes just guns and jets then we would see how amazing those burger bummers are. Even Hitler said that if you was to take a German left lieutenant and the British army we could take over the world
To “I’m British” - please no, no, no! For a start how can you possibly hate “almost every” American when you haven’t met anywhere near that number, besides all that shows is your ignorance. As for losing a war against a bunch of farmers armed with spades and forks, erm well that kind of shows nothing but your ignorance too. Then there is the statement that Britain has more nukes than the US. Lmfao. Ignorance again.
There are a lot of stupid Americans - quite possibly a higher percentage of them than stupid people from other countries, but I would hazard a guess that the UK isn’t too far behind.
It seems to me that the most cultured intelligent people are from the European mainland, who are generally multi-lingual and do not rely on people talkiing to them in their own language all the time. Yes English is the dominant language, but is that an excuse for the English to get too lazy to learn other languages. I wish the UK would tighten its alliances with Europe and weren’t quite so up the US’s bum to be truthful. We could learn a lot from our friends in Europe.
The way you see Americans is very much the way people in Europe see the British, except not quite so vitriolic simply because they are generally nicer people who do not look down on us, they just look at us as being what we are; ignorant.
America is exactly like ancient Sparta except more obese
@Miguel
So when you Americans call Spanish to everybody in South America who speak Spanish and you say that Spaniards are mixed skin people like some people who live in South America.
When you say that Spain is a third world country. (by the way, only insane people who think about it) xD.
When you say that UK uses American money.
Humour or just ignorance? lol
Only 2 things are infinite, the human stupidity and the universe.
¡Europa puede que esté llena de ignorantes, pero vamos que en Estados Unidos los hay para regalar!
Greetings!
@ a zionist
A zionist and an ignorant, a perfect and natural match. Besides, look who’s talking. It is because of your ilk Americans are dumped down, and FYI homogeneity has zero to do with IQ score, after all, you and your ilk should know that, or do you?
NOT all but unfortunately most americans are stupid they watch too many police chases and the jerry springer show
I am from America. Personally, I attended a public school. The quality is very low. I had a few good teachers that cared, but those were limited by limitations and standards.
@Miloy04
I am not going to defend the lack of academic quality here in the US, in regards to many of my fellow citizens, however, I spent a great deal of time in the UK and I seen some students that the UK system is producing lately and they scare me as well. Furthermore, the UK has had a illiteracy rate that has hovered around 15% for the last decade. Americans do not have a monopoly on ignorance.
Most Americans are stupid because of the media and they will believe anything they see. But regardless there is stupid people all over the world.
Funny, almost all of the posts written defending american intelligence are written by people from the US. Makes you think…
Americans are stupid because of lack of intellectual curiosity and a tendency to dismiss facts out of hand simply because those facts do not match up with their ideology or politics. For example, I mentioned to someone no great power has won in Afghanistan. He said we are not trying to control or occupy the nation but to fight Al Qaeda and The Taliban. I tried to explain the facts but he said I did not have the facts. Well, I’m afraid I do. AQ is not in Afghanistan; most likely, bin Laden and his henchmen would either be in Pakistan or he may have returned to his homeland. Two, it does not matter what Americans think, the various Afghan tribes and locals perceive foreign forces as occupiers that have overstayed their welcome, given the initial mission was to neutralize bin Laden but that turned out to be a lie; a ruse to go into Iraq. Furthermore, many Americans are either ignorant of or do not wish to confront fact that there has been interest in an Afghan pipeline that would transmit Caspian Sea oil and that this interest has existed for some time. They also ignore fact that the Taliban has always been secondary; they simply gave AQ a place to operate but they did not take part in 9-11 attacks and that much of the modern Taliban are simply disaffected Pashtun tribesmen whose livelihoods have been adversely affected by U.S. policy; Taliban is a LOCAL movement, with their own agendas and aims and that the U.S was never serious about AQ because the many chances they had to deal with bin Laden, they ignored or backed away from (Michael Scheuer; Delta Force officer known only as Dalton Fury)
Congressman Ron Paul made a speech about how the CIA drives much foreign policy. Well, the bumper sticker patriot brigade came out in force calling him a traitor, a racist, a kook, etc; ignoring FACTS that the CIA:
-Engineered the overthrow of two democratically elected Latin American governments-Arbenz in Guatemala and Allende in Chile, under the guise of anti-communism but in reality benefitted multi-national corporations such as United Fruit and American Copper
-Ran a front company called Air America which reportedly was involved in transporting heroin from Asia into U.S.
-The CIA helped engineer the rise to power of a violent Iraqi nationalist group, the Ba’ath Party, in 1963. They overthrew the regime of Abd al-Karim Qasim, an Army officer who deposed monarchy and became prime minister. One of the key party members was an ambitious and violent functionary named Saddam Hussein. The rest is history. Like Iran in 1953, the chief issue was Qasim’s nationalization of British company owned interests
-Ignored drug smuggling between U.S. and Latin America because several parties involved were funneling money to U.S. backed anti-communist rebels in Nicaragua(Gary Webb: Dark Alliance)
Americans want to believe in the simplicity of God, flag and apple pie. They never want to accept that their government is not much different from the top management of a corporation or the leadership of organized crime; agendas, interests, money, power, cost control, etc. They have little understanding of the world or of history beyond middle and high school civics, which barely touch the surface.
More than 50% of Americans can name a character on THE SIMPSONS yet only 25% can actually articulate ALL freedoms under First Amendment: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/01/politics/main1356854.shtml
This is why Americans are perceived as dumb. They are ignorant of their own history; exist in a bubble or are insulated from facts and analysis that shows U.S. is not always on the side of Truth, Justice or Liberty; retreat into slogan/soundbite filled cocoons when faced with facts and cannot fathom that there is a vast world beyond their small towns or megaloplises; bumper stickers and super-malls.
Sorry but I must agree with this poll.
Are Americans stupid?
Is the Pop Catholic?
“So, when totalitarianism in some form or another comes creeping back into Europe and your home, we can go ahead and just not care less if you get slaughtered? Seems to me we’ve just been “used” by our “friends” again. But don’t worry - while we may not be the brightest bulb on the tree, we certainly can learn that the many crosses that decorate Normandy and other places will not be repeated yet again, but will certainly be augmented with yours.”
IN WW2, It was the U$A government who wanted to fight against the nazi forces, not the people and that only when they felt threatened. And it wasn’t U$A who saved us, soldiers in Stalingrad fought enough brave to defeat the nazi army as in other European countries while you were dropping atomic bombs killing thousands of innocent people in the name of what? Were all these Japanese who died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki the enemies of your “brave” and “fair” nation? So, study the real history and get some proper information. Eating McDonalds all the time, being passive to every junk they offer you and laughing at Santa Claus isn’t that much constructive.
You state that you saved us from what? Ever heard about the KKK, and other white supremacists, murderers who reside there.
As George Carlin has stated “U$A is a nation obsessed by law and security”. War against terror? I really wonder, is there any worse act of terrorism than the war itself? More people die every year in U$A because of police brutality rather than terrorism. More people die every year there from viruses and flues than terrorism. You can also count more deaths because some people cannot afford even for the basic health care. Ever heard about the word solidarity? Or maybe the media have brainwashed you so much so the only think you do in your life is “buy, consume, enjoy”. Ever spend any second of your life reading some books? Just only for curiosity you know!!!
So, with all the troubles you have in your society (junk food full of antibiotics, one of the worst health and education system of the world, no good transports, need more?), the least you have to think shoud be terrorism.
No, I don’t think that all the U$A people are stupid, but damn hell, there are more than we can think.
It is not fair to label Americans as stupid. Of course the right word would be ignorant.
As we know stupidity and ignorance are two different words. When we make these assumptions people who are ignorant and do not know the facts become defensive and will shut up and not want to learn. It is the responsibility of the parents to make sure that their child is getting the education that they deserve.
We have left it up to the country to teach our children, and of course that is unfair. In the U.S. they put to much importance on testing and not enough importance on learning. Do not get me wrong I know that testing is important, yet I think learning is the most important!
Thank You!
The 2 biggest issues I see in the US, is excuses and entitlement.
No one is willing to work hard and do the right thing anymore, instead it is all about entitlement and excuses. Just looking over the comments here, and giving extra attention to each comment with a US flag next to it, will show it.
I will admit to having slight anger when first reading the article… but honestly, its the same as ’shooting the messenger’. Yes, we need to address these problems. No, foaming at the mouth isn’t the solution.
After having read through the majority of these posts illustrating such an abysmal lack of English grammatical and othographical expertise it doesn’t surprise me in the least that the areas of this world which are subject to the influence of the USA on such matters as economics, politics, education, religion, to name but a few, are beset by problems.
Sorry about the typo (othographical) - should be orthographical.
Labelling all Americans as stupid… it just stupid. Study Noamh Chomsky Noam Chomsky who talks about the media and the way they manipulate the masses and you will understand more. It is like you have a bad tree and you cut the branches but the problem is the roots. Don’t blame the people if the system has failed.
But was it not the people that chose the government to set up the failed system for themselves? And all their leaders are all overly religious and are all suffering from extreme paranoia of others. From my understanding, US is a democracy, right? Those paranoid leaders did not came from a coup, the US citizens chose them, thus you can not really blame the system or the government alone, everyone is the cause for the failure. If the system are so terrible then why did the US citizens did not chose the person who could change that? I expected US to have more to it than nukes and stupid foreign affair policies.
I agree…although there are many smart and intelligent Americans. It really depends on the area. Just looking at the comments here…observe the arrogance of some of the people here labeled with the US flag.
These are facts, it’s true. Alot of America is not very smart; but also a big part is quite intelligent. It all depends.
@Paul
The what so called “democracy” is flawed. The voting system is a con. Big business own everything, the banks rule the world. Politicians are nothing more but puppets. If you think that this sort of “democracy” is so great, then why there is no difference between Republicans and Democrats or between let’s call it centre-left, centre-right in another country? If the elections would have the power to change something they would not be legal. It is the people who need to take the situation in their hands which does not happen there, but why? A lot of brainwashing from the corporate media system? That’s why I said study Noam Chomsky if you want to understand how the media manipulate the masses. What the media want? People easier controllable who do not want anything more from their lives except to “buy, consume, enjoy” (which in fact means “buy, consume, die”). No dreams, no plans, no ability to discriminate things but reliable servants of this socio-political status quo.
“First of all I would like to point out that ignorance and stupidity is NOT the same thing, because the former is due to lack of knowledge and the latter due to lack of intelligence.”
Thank you, Corellian. I whole heartedly agree. While the topic title uses the word ‘Stupid’ most of the people who have posted use ‘ignorant.’ Either your terminology is incorrect and you don’t quite understand the difference (ironic all things considered), or we are all really talking about ignorance. If the latter is the case, then I think the claws that have been bared in this discussion should be retracted before someone gets slightly offended (too late on my end, unfortunately.)
Some of the things you guys have said though are quite rude, demeaning and highly prejudice (others are well informed and meant for the displaying of data only, don’t get me wrong now) and I see no difference in saying things like “All Americans are so stupid and fat and awful!” with saying something like “All Africans live in mud huts and wear loin-cloths!” While a good deal of Americans ARE indeed stupid and/or fat and/or awful, and a good deal of Africans live in mud huts (though I’m fairly certain not that many wear loin-cloths nowadays due to the amount of modern cities) these comments both, to me at least, feel racist. And yes, I am fully aware that the term ‘racist’ isn’t being used properly, due to the fact that ‘American’ is not a race, but cut me some slack, you get what I mean and I can’t think of another word suitable without it being too vague.
Now, I don’t keep up with politics of my own country, or others (yes, yes, I know, I’m playing up a stereotype somewhere out there, cry me a river), or the IQ statistics, or any of that sort of stuff. What’s about to be said is completely my own speculation and is based only on my own logic. As we all should know here logic can be bent by perception, so I’m prrooobbbabbbly trying to cut myself some slack for I am still a student. 8th grade as of this coming school year, actually. (Just figured that little tidbit would prove interesting to you guys. I consider myself intelligent, so I am interested to see how I fair compared to the average 8th grader from your country; please do let me know if you feel like it. I’m genuinely curious about this… Not that it’s relevant.)
ANYWAYS, as I was saying before, I blame the government for our ignorance; both the portion that is real and the portion that is merely speculation (Ha, don’t we all?) I believe that each child has the potential to be however intelligent and well informed that they are taught to be, unless they have some sort of disability. Makes sense and is a fairly simple sentiment, correct? However in America, the fundamentals are not taught properly! The primary grades are not given enough attention but they are the most important for they establish the building blocks needed to understand other, more complicated and specialized subjects. Sure, we have great funding and all, but I’m fairly certain that the schools who host higher grades (ie. High Schools, Universities) receive most of the fundings given out. Correct me if I’m wrong. This is merely an assumption of mine, piled from little bits of logic and observations I have made all coming together to create an incomplete puzzle, so don’t quote me on it… Unless you’re quoting me to point out how I’m wrong in a rude and somewhat humiliating manner. That seems to be popular on the internet.
On another note, you guys are practically begging Americans to get defensive and touchy with the topic title alone, sheesh.
And on yet ANOTHER note, why do we, and the rest of the world call ourselves America? That’d be like Japan declaring themselves Asia all of a sudden and rolling with it because nobody really cared either way. That’s kind of silly if you ask me…
I found out the other day that Americans think Brits have bad teeth - apparently - which I thought was funny (and true in some respects - we aren’t generally a nation of flossers!). I’d never describe an entire nation as stupid or ignorant. However, that particular perception of Americans (however unfair) is not entirely unfounded. The phrase “Only in America” is understood by most Brits I’d say, and it comes from watching TV shows like Jerry Springer and Maury, documentaries about rather “dedicated” religious groups… oh… and Americans on YouTube (look up YouLoveMolly’s video about “converting an Indian to Christianity” - she might be fake, but people like her don’t help much). I guess the way the United States treats other nations has a big part to play in this debate; especially for intellectuals or those who are interested in current affairs (watch some documentaries on http://www.sprword.com). Plus, the existence of political figures like Sarah Palin (blimey!), religious fanatics like the Phelps-Roper family and so on just add to the stigma - these people wouldn’t last long in Britain or many other parts of Europe. BUT HEY, I’ve come across plenty of smart, well-informed Americans correcting both foreign and domestic ignorance on discussion sites and forums on the net. There were some intimidatingly clever Americans at my university. It’s a shame these folk don’t get much chance to influence mainstream politics or media. I have faith that the US has lots of intellectual potential, but that it just doesn’t sell products or gain votes - so it doesn’t get the attention it deserves. America’s about selling what sells. Britain’s full of stupid/ignorant people - I was talking to a few of them down the pub about an hour or so ago! But for various reasons, we don’t get branded quite the same way.
Just an additional comment to Gabrielle (comment prior to mine). If you are in fact 8th grade (which, according to google, makes you about 12 years’ old - excuse my British ignorance please), I would like to commend you for commenting so eloquently and say how refreshing it is to read an intelligent opinion, not only from an American (lol), but from someone your age. If you go into politics, which I think you ought to consider, I think you’ll get a great deal of support from thinking people in the States and abroad. Keep it up.
-Whodrawstheborders-
Ah yes, the teeth thing. A stereotype that I can’t help but notice when watching BBC America. It’s a good thing you guys don’t judge your celebrities because they didn’t want braces!
Nah, I’m just kidding. That, like many others for all countries, is the mostly unfounded perception of an outsider who’s never actually been to Britain.
Oh thank you. Actually, our 8th grade over here in the states is the equivalent to your Grade 9, I do believe, but you were close with the age grouping. Most likely this has to do with the presence of kindergarten in mainstream public schooling as an actual grade over here in the U.S., and not preschool for the gifted. Or, at least I think that’s why. Please excuse my ignorance on this topic as well. My knowledge of the specifics of other countries is poor, though I do love British television…
And that was completely off-topic.
———–
From my experience, however short and limited it may be due to certain restrictions based on my age, the ignorance (and overall arrogance) of Americans compared to other countries is quite pronounced. The arrogance thing, however, is so prevalent in our society that we don’t consider it arrogance, but rather how everybody acts. We have this tendency to think the rest of the developed world is exactly like us, and judging from the internet this isn’t true at all.
Now then, before the other Americans reading this topic call foul on me because I’m using the term ‘we’ so flippantly without a regard to the ever present exception and the fact that individuals do exist, even in our brainwas-…. Ahem, /always changing/ culture (courtesy of blindly following the media, my lovelies), I use ‘we’ for the general ease of the word. As much as the internet loves to bash us, there are plenty of intelligent, mannerly, and well-informed Americans out there. Not all of us are bad, and not all of us are good, but every culture in the entirety of the world is like that. I’m sorely tempted to make a forum (is that what this is? I’m unfamiliar with the website.) opposite of this to discuss both the good and the bad of Western society in general and not just America. That would attract many bashers, and many overtly patriotic people who would list ‘Good = *insert name of country*, Bad = N/A” but it would be a nice break from focusing on the negative as most of the educated people of this topic are.
With that little disclaimer of sorts said (I’m not a fan of offending people), I shall continue, this time though, I think I’ll list off some defense over why we’re NOT as bad as we’re made out to be, instead of what I have been doing; making excuses.
Many people judge the U.S on their past intolerance to other races, and the atrocious acts we’ve committed towards anything we deemed different. Well, I’d first like to say that this horrible xenophobia is no longer a large factor in our society. There will always be a few yes, just like in any society, but they cannot help it if they are raised with a whip in their hand by the older generations, who are more prone to racism/homophobia/sexism. We are a young country who still need to learn, and while we’re learning we will of course make mistakes and blunder our way through life. Generally when you rise to power so quickly it is MUCH easier to fall just as quickly. Look at… Rome, for example.
But can you really judge a person for their ancestors mistakes? I do not look at a modern German person and automatically assume they are a Nazi, so I do not feel it fair that one of the reasons people feel the need for Anti-Americanism is because of the fact that slavery lasted as long as it did in our country, or The Trail of Tears. What’s done is done, and as much as I’d like to change it, I can’t. The actions of my forefathers, if anything, set an example as to why they cannot be done again and help is grow.
And I suddenly realized the reason why we NEED the opinions of outsiders. At the time, these acts seemed necessary, but they weren’t, and they never will be. I think… Maybe, that these topics are important, to draw the attention of the fact that most of the world holds contempt for us to the American public.
This should serve as reason enough to believe that ALL types of people are here for a reason, whether to unite a group, or better it. We all fit into a certain place, even us annoying, ignorant, Americans.
Was…. That all relevant to this topic? Has it yet to take the ‘I hate Americans’ turn? I know it’s going to eventually, that’s inevitable, but I’m not sure if my words were wasted or not at the current moment. No matter. MY POINT HAS BEEN MADE. Kind of…. Ish. ^^;
I am an 18 year old american. I have to agree with non americans on our stupidity. Have an IQ of 161 and get absolutely furious with my country. Allow me to shed some light on our youth’s mentality. Intelligence is SEVERELY looked down upon and in most cases humiliating. Sports and PE reign supreme and the media’s definition of someone your age is not only something to strive for, but is expected and those not conforming are relentlessly ridiculed and for most intents and purposes considered outcasts, unworthy of any sort of recognition.
Gabrielle
8th grade?!?! woah!
proves Americans aren’t stupid
I literally burst into laughter when I read that one in five Americans believed the sun revolved around the earth.
Better than Dane Cook.
Gabrielle really do made some point there.
Having kindergarten as an actual grade is a good thing, my country did that as well. And I can do basic multiplication since I was pre-schooled, so in my perspective, it’s a good thing. And many have already talked on how ignorance and stupidity is not the same thing, I must say that stupidity is caused from mainly ignorance, along with some other factors. America has one of the best internet and communication services. News and recent global matters would spread very quickly, even faster that it would in Asia! Still, as some has suggested, 1 in every 5 Americans still does not know what is going on beyond their very own border and Canada. If you are eager to learn, nothing would come in your way, especially in the US, since Americans always says that US is the land of “FREEDOM”, who would want to stop you when you could sue their ass off? I did not learn all the global issues from school classes too, but instead I utilize the internet to read and listen to various news story from many news provider, yes ,including ABC news and Fox News also. People WILL become stupid if they do not yearn to learn.What if US has the best schoolng system in the world but with most of the students not wanting to learn, how could you force them to be intelligent? Thus, ignorance is the cause for stupidity.
I do understand that it is normal for a country to make mistakes, but I think at least you should do it in your own backyard not on someone else’s garden who live several thousand miles away from you own lawn. Don’t just create a mess and leave, implying that “We won, let’s go home.” And when Amer*c*n made mistakes, some of them are so happy and proud that their country made that mistakes.
And I think the Roman Republic lasted about 500 years, and the Roman Empire last roughly 500 (Western Roman) and 1500 years (Eastern Roman). So add them up we have 1000 years for Western Roman Emp. And 2000 years for Eastern Roman Emp. (Correct me if I’m wrong:) )
But I agree with point that anything that rise up too fast, will fall just as fast as it rose. (For example the Mongol Emp.)
I agree there are many smart Americans, and I have known many of the friendly ones. So I wish my comments to go directly to those stupid, ignorant and still think that they are a patriotic Americans when they know nothing at all about their homeland except McDonald and and sports.
Very nice said Gabrielle, you’re way over the average on this one. I still couldn’t belive I’m reading a serious reply with useful insights from someone from the 8th grade!
But still please correct me if I’m wrong in any info and/or personal perspective I’ve given.
-Dan-
Yes, that did make me chuckle too… I’m fairly certain that it’s wrong though…. Seriously. I can ask all of my friends what they think and surely each one them would say the Earth revolved around the sun, and we live in an area that is considered stupid by America’s standards. *shudders*
-Everyone-
And now I feel like I mentioned my age for attention. XD; I may have, but it was a subconscious desire, if anything.
Ahem… Back onto the soap box I go… Except this time, I’m not typing a novel. It’s 6 in the morning right now, and I haven’t gone to sleep yet. D;
As Chris said, there is some stigma attached to those who are considered to be of above average intelligence, but he or she seems to be over exaggerating a bit… I know plenty of intelligent people who are ‘popular’ in society, just as I know plenty who are made out to be outcasts, but you have to remember that intelligence is rarely the only reason people are dubbed as ‘freaks.’ Generally, they tend to be odd and have obscure interests that make them difficult to relate to on a personal level. I myself am fairly outgoing, and have never suffered this problem so I can’t really relate, but bullying isn’t a big problem in The States. I really don’t think we prey on those who are smarter than the general public, and if we do then it’s strictly the juvenile past time of children or extremely immature adults.
… Or maybe I just live in a really friendly area, yeah?
I find that my people lack motivation. The reasons for this lack of motivation are subjective and not especially important, I don’t think, but it’s there. There is a lack of motivation to exercise, a lack of motivation to eat healthily, a lack of motivation to learn, a lack of motivation to utilize intelligence, etc. We’re lazy, and given most stuff on a silver platter, figuratively speaking. Everything in America is so… Convenient. And standards for academics are low, while standards for physical beauty are high and unrealistic which results in a public with low self-esteem and will, only adding to the loss of will.
I may have been a little off with comparing America to the empire of Rome, but you get my point. Both were young (Rome only when compared to other countries), both were super powers, and while America hasn’t crashed from becoming too big (haha, see what I did there? *gigglegigglesnort*) yet, I have a feeling we’re following in its footsteps. Soon all that will be left of us is a city in Italy, barely a fragment of what we once were…. Or… Or something like that.
I really don’t have much else to say seeing as how I agree with most of what was said by Paul (even if I’m pretty sure he was arguing with me). With that said, my opinion on the matter probably isn’t all that clear… Yes, the ignorance in America is quite large (again with the fat jokes), but there are genuinely smart people here trying to improve the opinions the rest of the world has of us. I’m just here to argue both sides with someone, because it’s a good way to pass time. I probably would have done so in this post, had I gotten a good night’s rest. xD;;
People in the US and in other countries choose to be stupid and have always done so. However, we have more capacity to learn more and be more informed with all of the forms of media and technology. What happens?
*Our TV and radio airwaves are hijacked by faceless, unaccountable corporations.
*The Internet is being eyed by huge corporations looking to hijack it as well.
*Cable television has been forced upon us and presented as a “choice” with the illusion of Verizon, DishTV, Comcast, Cox, etc. when in reality, cable TV was formed to provide TV to those that lived in remote areas far from TV signals. TV was free and commercials were made to pay for the shows. Now, we have to pay for TV and now 10 minutes more of commercials. It makes no sense.
We have a choice to become more educated and more informed. Here’s how:
1. Read quality information from different sources and synthesize the information.
2. Become proficient in world languages, read sources from other countries and speak with people from those cultures and gain new perspectives.
3. Watch and support public television donating money whenever you can.
4. Resist further privatization of our TV, radio and Internet media.
5. Thank your public institutions and leaders that speak for the people and reject the deadbeat parasites that are in the pockets of the big corporations.
WE HAVE A CHOICE: WE THE PEOPLE OR WE THE “SHEEPLE”
Good post Joe.
It’s nice to see that this article is still being commented on, since it’s an important issue that the entire world faces, based purely on the United States’ significance in global affairs. The question is, do we deserve to have so much say in what goes on, when, to deal with the ever-surmounting number of problems we all face, we choose the option to throw bombs and Bibles at them until those “godless brown people” leave us alone?
I live here, and I can attest that a large portion of our citizenry, companies, and even websites nearly sicken me with their level of general and specific ignorance and focus on primarily worthless endeavors, including our obsession with cell phones and celebrities, while most other countries place greater importance in their academic programs and basic understanding of foreign cultures.
I will defend the United States for being a land of opportunity for those who work for it, and a much preferable home to some of the wastelands in the world (Haiti for example, which never seems to catch a break), but it is just as much a land of opportunity for the dangerously closed-minded, and whoever the big media companies deem marketable and good with a voice modifier. I will not defend our intelligence, because I have, for the most part, not seen a lot of evidence of it. My fellow Americans can call me what they will, but I’m tired of being attached to this stereotype and there’s too much truth behind it to just hope it will get better.
Teach your kids, read, use the internet for something other than porn and funny emails. I have faith in this country, even if it’s been eroded by what I’ve seen in just the past 10 years.
Americans have no sense of the world whatsoever, that is clear from all Americans I have ever met.
Let me give you a few examples. In Florida, stuck in a lift with an American couple who upon hearing my Irish accent, immediately went into a rant about ‘Omg why isn’t your hair red, is it true they have leprechuns over there, Joe get me a photo with her!’ You may be thinking, once off, happened to me a few times. Another person who got talking to me was even more ridiculous. ‘Dubblinn, is that some weird European slang?’ ‘No just our MAIN CAPITAL CITY THANK YOU.’ You know what annoyed me the most though? Talking to an online American friend, I mentioned that I’d gone to the local mosque as part of a religion school trip, perfectly normal here. She near recoiled in horror, asking me if I was ‘okay’. I would’ve slapped her if the Atlantic wasn’t in the way.
In conclusion. I do worry that said above people represent a country that is capable of destroying the world a 100 times over.
If this web site is found then the americans are really stupid.
this is a top result in google. just to let u all kno. So, is what the article stating true or not? The U.S.A. is a vast country filled with lots of things, and is an iconic image in the world. Is it an evil iconic symbol or good? You decide. But, U.S.A…. is where the world looks to whether they need a villian or a hero. In world war 1 and 2, they helped win the war for freedom, but now they are deemed devils and warmongers for their actions recently. I don’t really know what I am talking about, but don’t you all agree, that life is beautiful? Sorry for getting sidetracked.
More Dumb Things *Some* Americans Believe
1. We are an arrogant People
2. We need this Crises
3. Tax credits or cuts do not help the economy
4. The wealthy should pay for your ssocial programs
5. It’s Bush’s fault
6. The Tea Party is racist
7. The Governement is here to help
8. Obamacare is actual reform instead 34 million customers for Insurance
companies
Tree, I’m sorry you had the displeasure of interacting with a few bad examples.
Please give the country of almost 300 million another chance.
Seems you’ve had some bad luck with chance encounters and selecting friends.
Don’t despair; there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!
Sorry forgot the link! Oh and it’s 13 not 15. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Development_Index
You have to remember that America has many poverty stricken areas with mass amounts of people that is comparable to third world countries(Oakland, Detroit). There is also many areas with very intelligent people as well(Petaluma, Berkely).
As an American, I think I would agree than our good citizens here leave something to be desired in the way of an education in comparison to the rest of the world (and that situation is NOT improving).
But “One adult American in five thinks the Sun revolves around the Earth?”
I’ve lived in 3 very different sections of America; the conservative bible-belt, the moderate north-east and progressive California - and I’ve never met even one person who thinks this.
Sounds like this ’study’ is a bit suspect, to me…
I have spent alot of time in the UK and in Hungary and I have come across some very stupid people in both of those places. In fact, if one looks at some of the newspapers that are hugely popular such as The Sun, that is certainly not something that reflects a cultured and highly intelligent population. Of course, one cannot judge a population on that alone but alot of the judging against the USA is on that superficial level. With regard to racism and bigotry, Europe far excels in that category than the USA especially compared to a big city such as Los Angeles-my home town. There is no way a black man would be president in England or Austria for example if one wants to measure intelligence on that level which has been done here. The fact is that American universities are rated the best in the world and much of this is due to research performed by the professors which by the way are mostly educated and raised in the USA. Are many Americans ignorant of the world with regard to history, geography, -yes but from my experience no more ignorant than many people I have met in Europe. One huge reason for our ignorance in history and geography is our geographical isolation from Europe in particular. Im rambling, so Ill stop here.
yeah americans are full-tard. Australia is the best, this is why
1. Gary ablett jnr and snr
2. hot ladies
3. killer bands
4. hot ladies
5. afl
6. we work hard
7. us blokes on average are pretty damm good looking (every aussie looks like hugh jackman and sam worthington and has a six pack)
8. we know the war on terror is so full of lies and holes you can use the CIA and NSA’s intelligence documents to strain your spaghetti
9.the geelong football club
10. our history is pretty shitty and dark, but at least we know it
I think Australia should give america kyle sanderlands in return for george clooney and lebron james (he can be full forward when mooney retires)
If anyone writes back with an insult i will have made my point, but i guess I am the only one that gets it
I completely agree with this web site. It is difficult for a person with mathematical and science based reasoning to succeed socially in America. So what would be the reason for this?
I have one good example;
I was raised in a Christian home where I never had the opportunity to learn about evolution as a child. My school never taught it to me! This is OUTRAGEOUS! With the most basic and most fundamental question of all time “where did we come from” being forced under the garb of a priest, how could anyone succeed? America is too religions. I am an Engineering student in America. I love this country, but I do not love the 90% who are driving the secularism out. Our founders where British intelligentsia, this is the only reason we have done so well. With presidents like Bush and people like Palin running, we are doomed.
I personally believe…that umm… american citizens can’t locate their own country on a map…because…umm… they don’t have maps !! Our educational system should look up to systems of some AFRICAN countries , such as IRAQ ….
just kidding , yes people they are stupid, don’t get fooled , and the most iritating thing is that they think they are the smartest and know everything … I would like to see an american who can tell me WHAT croatia is, not where, but WHAT. they don’t know shit.
Americans are generally stupid because of political politics/religion. Religious people decide to be so overwhelmingly close-minded to EVERYTHING, and it’s annoying.
Also, if you rallied up 100 Christians and 100 Atheists, I can guarantee that the Atheists would get the better test scores.
Point: Christians drag us down.
Anyways,
It’s because most of the immigrants who come here are so uneducated, and they can’t really go to school or anything, so they stay that way and drag us down.
The article dosnt offend me. The US was founded by clear thinking intellectuals, but has always had a very strong antiintellectualism. Thus, reading and learning are not valued and this shows up in tests such as IQ scores.
just accept the fact that USA is proven to be stupid
stuped americans hhhahahahhahahah they realy suck. so comercial rotten and self amaized country, they just suck money from other countries to grow in such a huge country. but all americans once were europen emigrants like it or not, U all americans have your ruts in europe.And what u become pumpking heads buhahbahuahbuhabhhabaiahahjb buhahahaha
“I completely agree with this web site. It is difficult for a person with mathematical and science based reasoning to succeed socially in America. So what would be the reason for this?
I have one good example;
I was raised in a Christian home where I never had the opportunity to learn about evolution as a child. My school never taught it to me! This is OUTRAGEOUS! With the most basic and most fundamental question of all time “where did we come from” being forced under the garb of a priest, how could anyone succeed? America is too religions. I am an Engineering student in America. I love this country, but I do not love the 90% who are driving the secularism out. Our founders where British intelligentsia, this is the only reason we have done so well. With presidents like Bush and people like Palin running, we are doomed.” Michael from USA
All you guys are seeing is what stupid mainstreem media is telling you. See what the other side has to say. Watch Glenn Beck and listen to Rush Limbaugh and compare it to MSNBC. You see bias and spin you can’t believe on MSNBC.
I said this before and will say it again!!
Immigrants are not responsible for your stupidity, they helped you. The scientists in the Manhattan Projects were immigrants, Einstein was immigrant, all you WHITE people were immigrants from EUROPE!!
Or maybe you don’t even know what Manhattan Project was??
Iraq and Afganistan are not godless brown people, they share the same god as you do. Islam and Christianity have the same GOD, just with different names!! Buddhism, in fact, do not have any so we have no higher entity to be used as excuses for wars.
American Universities rated best?? Look at the students there; most of them are not Americans but from India, China and Europe!!
Poverty is not the main problems either, India is much worse!! Still, I believed that Indian students are better at calculation than some rich American students!!
Still America is a good source of stupid people that I can make fun of everyday!!
I’m USAn, and I feel like I’m trapped in a country of utter madness. The government is absolutely insane and any vote I make will continue to support the insanity one way or another. I love learning and knowledge, but the education system is very uninvolving, unmotivating, and impersonal. I don’t watch TV, I don’t follow sports or celebrity culture, I rarely go to the movies, I don’t Twitter or use Facebook, I don’t have my cell phone in my face every other minute, I don’t smother myself in alcohol and loud music. Congenial intellectual or intimate conversation is my idea of a good time.
The cultural environment here is quite alienating, and the government and educational establishments are jokes. It’s painful to have to play down one’s intellect in order to avoid coming across as an “elitist”, and to encounter resistance to knowledge and betterment everywhere one turns. Perhaps this is my punishment for being born here. I do wonder, however, if emigration would really be a solution.
Aside from feeling the need to rant a little… I would kindly ask everyone to acknowledge that there ARE Americans who are not complete idiots, and they’re about as happy with their government and (most of their) fellow Americans as the rest of the world seems to be.
Wow, look at the Americans attacking each other. The discussion has completely fallen off track from the original premise of this discussion. I am not worried (too much) as their vast ineptitude will result in the eventual annihilation of themselves by their peers. (for you Americans out there, that means your families and friends). Good luck with the new millennium…you are going to need it.
I am a permanent resident of the US for a year now, and german. I had the strange experience that I became really “proud” (or, more precisely :relieved), that I was not born in the US and had the opportunity of enjoying education (and helth care, by the way) in germany. Why was that?
It was because I heard a lot of really stupid (or rather : uneducated) comments and remarks from US citizens about topics like history, politics et al.
I met a lot of really smart people, too.
But my impression is that being opinionated is seen as a good thing in the US, and that becomes a problem when applied to stupid people. If a smart pereson is opinionated, fine. If somebody is oppinionated about a topic he doesn´t know anything about, its a problem.
Some examples of conversations I had:
US-citizen : I really love germany , because Freud came from there
Me: Well, Freud was born in czech and lived in Austria….
US-citizen: Yeah, but Austria essentially is part of germany to me..
ME: Well, that´s what Hitler always said, too…
Sigh……….
I am actually an American citizen living abroad. I am a certified teacher. At the current time I choose not to work in the United States due to what I have seen in terms of their education system; both the non-rigorous instruction and the ‘piss-poor’ compensation for educated instructors.
However the case may be - we do have statistics, and it is not a big secret that Americans lag in math. Don’t ask them because the ones who lag in math probably have other mental deficiencies. What I am interested in here is as follows:
(In defense) In looking up the demographic groups which these statistics were taken - although I would ascertain that if they are university-backed then ethics were sufficient.
(In the name of progression) So may I urge American legislature to not become a Romanesque military state by dumbing down instruction (or making it unaffordable/unavailable) and hence limiting access to quality instruction and see what others are doing it and at least placate the world by following suit.
(In Irony) My girlfriend and I are working in each other cultures based upon what our specialties are - these were dictated by our respective education systems - yes, her’s relies more upon math. She’s the analytical, I’m the creative one, unquote.
(With all due respect and cultural values)
I had a colleague who recently insulted the entire population of the country which we reside with her demeaning comments about intelligence. Wow, and I thought that you could be racist at work. Subsequently, I sided on the local belligerent and feel that it is what we value and the perpetuation of (quality) knowledge that we should focus on. Furthermore, my idealist tendencies tell me that if people care about something then they will focus on that thing (and this has multiple meanings).
Kendi iyi bak.
My personal opinion for this matter is that American people are needed to be stupid. Not all of them of course. It is much easier to persuade and use a person with no ability to critically think and take decisions. Why do you think the latest American presidents are completely “stupid”. They used the power of persuasion to make people vote for them.
I hate to say it but Europe is not in a much better road than of America’s. The whole U.N concept is gradually failing. The next superpower will be Asia. Japan is technologically advanced and China economically stable.
And to all rednecks out there which believe that nuking is the solving of everything, you should know that the next time a nuke is dropped ANYWHERE on earth a WW3 is likely to break. In that horrible case not even your “blessed by God” country will not be safe by the hell of war. Hearing people talking casually about nuking makes me sick. Try to put yourselves in someones else shoes for a change I guarantee it will change your lives.
I think Americans get a bad wrap, every nation has its morons, just America may have a disproportionate amount.
I am British, but i live in Canada and am soon to move to Australia. As a British citizen, i do not drink tea and eat crumpets, i don’t actually like crumpets, but its a stereotype, the stupid American is also a stereotype.
As previously mentioned, I live in Canada, i have never been asked if i live in an Igloo by an American, but we up in Canada love to make fun of Americans. My school went to a Model United Nations at Princeton and made a video where they asked Americans questions about Canada. Obviously for the 30 or so people shown, there were more omitted responses that were correct answers, but people would make these videos if there wasn’t a guarantee of a few hilariously trite answers.
Americans are not all that stupid, I am Bi-polar in my feelings towards Americans, i find myself liking them, and then i talk to a Yank that is convinced America is the Dogs bollocks, the best thing since sliced bread, the be all end all of awesome, then the disdainful arrogance of this American makes me hate the whole country. It just goes to show, i think that America is a country of opposites.
One final thing, the American Dream, America is the only country in the world with a ‘dream’. Why? Because the rest of the world is awake. And for the record, the American dream shouldn’t be ‘Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness’ it should be to move to Canada, its an ego shrinking event, plus we don’t that dream, we have Life (state funded health care), Liberty (representation by Population parliamentary system) and we don’t need to pursue happiness, we already have it, we smoke more weed than the US, we have snow sports, Hockey, social security and the best Back yard in the world, just Google image Lake Louise
Thanks for the good laughs!
I’ve been reading the posts from 2008 - they are quite hilarious.
The human race as a whole is not stupid. While there may be “stupid” people, it is because of their lack of education and lack of opportunity.
Here’s something you people NOT from America may want to know.
There are ghettos in America. These are places where a portion of the minorities (mainly black people) live. The U.S. government has, for the most part, ignored these ghettos. The people living in these areas are full of gangs, violence, rape - you name it, they’ve got it. The education there is absolutely horrid; students may be learning pre-algebra as a senior in high school. We, as a community, need to come together and fix this issue.
Americans are not stupid. You can not judge a society based on what you see on the news or your experience with a couple of people. Most of these comments have made me laugh out loud. LOL (sorry, had to get that off my chest)
Politicians make me ANGRY; they are the ones who plague America. The two political parties make it almost like a game. “Blah, blah, blah party is racist.” “Blah, blah, blah party is full of commie bastards!”
The one thing that made me LOL more than anything “We have to pass the bill to find out what’s in it.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoE1R-xH5To
I suppose we are stupid for having political leaders like her in office…
Like… How does someone like her get to such a position… I am baffled.
its funny, ive read most of the coments and judging by the american coments most of them do not wish to accept this embarising part that makes it evan more worse
im from a country that has its social problems and when a person from another country says to me “dude your country sucks because blablabla” as a non american i will answer “yes your right”, as an american i woulded answer “no your not right because blablabla” and te blablabla are bullshit reasons like most of the reasons in the american coments above.
why cant you guys just accept the truth geez…its not the end of the world, your country aint better then mine or russia or australia etc. your country is good like all the other country on the planet we all have your goods and bads, if you dont accept that no wonder why we call you guys idiots
US WAS FOUNDED BY CONVICTS AND CRIMINALS,THE HUMAN SCRAPS OF EUROPE JUST LIKE AUSTRALIA. THERE IS NOTHING NOBLE ABOUT YOU !
Why are Americans (in particular broadcasters) promoting the incorrect usage of the definite and indefinite articles in English. It appears that it’s ok to say, e.g., “thu Earth”, “thu oil”, “thu other” - and many more examples. I’ve even heard a CNN presenter come out with “a egg”……!!! It’s not only the American broadcasters/presenters/anchors who are guilty of this seemingly contrived “dumbing down” of the English language, the Brits are doing it too!!
They sound like children learning to talk. Anyone know why this is happening?
Hello all,
I am one of these dumb Americans that you all speak of. I have for too long in my life “just gotten by” in school. It is unfortunate and I regret it, and am now a senior in college. Reading all of this has been very enlightening, lots of my professors have always told me that “Americans are stupid!” I never understood their reasoning. You all explained it a little better. So thank you all for your input on what we Americans have been doing wrong. This site might not have covered everything wrong with America, but it got allot of it out there. Actually allot of the input was wrong also, but nothing is perfect. Thank you all for taking the time to worry about us, it makes me feel honored.
I am sorry we have been letting the world down, you all expect more out of us I know. lately I have been despaired on how I will make my way in life, but generations before me had allot to worry about too, and they didn’t give up. So my oath I give to you all: I will try to do right to the world, and do everything I can for my country that I love so dear. I will not give up on America, so you others please don’t either.
P.S. I would really like to go and drink tea and chat with an Englishman, if you have any ideas on how I could accomplish this someday when I get over there, feel free to tell me. I know it’s a stereo type, I don’t want to offend. But hot tea has always fascinated me. I live in Arizona and we don’t have allot of hot tea, and not very often is it any good!
Hey there American Timm! you sound kinda cute! I’m from cail we should hang out sometime! or better yet we should make some good lookin babies! yeeeehhaa!
I’m British and I’ve lived in the US for 8 years - in three different states during that time.
I want to say first of all that Americans have many huge positive qualities. I genuinely mean that.
However, unfortunately, a strong impression which will last with me when I leave is that the vast majority aren’t very good at doing anything complex that requires attention to detail. They really don’t seem to be able to handle the intellectual complexity. I don’t like to say stupid, it could be un-educated. But I can guarantee that we have learned we have to triple check everything that Americans are involved with because making mistakes is totally normal. In our experience, the huge majority of tasks involving administration (things like phone company, internet, tax, driving, shopping, etc.) or health and safety (safe driving, electrical faults, etc. etc.) or whatever end up in near chaos because they seem to just not be able to handle the details involved. Lots of British visitors have commented it’s like watching kids trying to do it. I know that’s really harsh, but we really have learned to just live with it now. Obviously British organisations aren’t perfect and do make mistakes, but at the risk of annoying Americans on here, I can promise you that they are nowhere near as sloppy.
So the thing that terrifies me is that such an inept group of people is left alone with all those nukes…. Stories like this
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12295554
don’t surprise me in the slightest because, like I say, that level of incompetence is normal here, but this kind of thing is worrying!
But if you can live with all that, it really is a lovely country.
Before I begin, let me apologize if I echo any conclusions that have already been met. I simply grew tired of separating pride-laden blabbering from intelligent conversation.
“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.”
Einstein came to that conclusion, so I feel fairly safe in agreeing with those of you who also have. Knowledge and imagination, or creativity, are not one in the same, but that fact does not diminish the importance of their relationship to one another. Knowledge holds the tools to articulate our most complex thoughts. Access to theories and processes leading to world changing scientific and mathematical conclusions in educational systems should not be overlooked or considered unimportant. Consider them stronger foundations for faster advancement in thought. Rapid exposure to the knowledge gained from past intelligence breeds more intelligent people. In this regard, the United States is truly at an extreme disadvantage. I say this as an American who has given the current condition of the country a large amount of thought and endless worry.
Please forgive this frustrated rant, and absolutely feel free to disagree with or enlighten me if you have any information that contradicts any of my following or previous sentiments.
Poor education is just one part of a corrupt and crippled system. Our best and brightest are more likely to be found working jobs well beneath their worth and living in their parents’ basements in an attempt to pay off massive amounts of student loans than they are to be found taking an IQ test of any sort. I think that apart from lacking education, or access to affordable higher education, Americans have also lost another thing which often proves to be far more valuable: motivation. Our government no longer represents us, our middle class is nearing suffocation while our wealthy squander their resources away on meaningless displays of what they perceive to be status symbols and icons of power, and the average American is simply, in a word, depressed.
The United States of America is not the country it once used to be. But I am not ashamed to be an American. I also do not believe for a second that we are stupid or incapable of complex thought, as others have stated and attempted to prove with their own small handfuls of experience. I am only frustrated and saddened for myself and my neighbors, and I hope change comes swiftly.
-SadAmerican
Thank you all for reminding me why I hate humans. Just because Americans are stupid doesn’t make you smart.
I am in agreement with the article, though I wonder why the average American intelligence level is so important to so many people. According to these graphs and charts, America is a nation of imbeciles, which is not true. Countless American folk have been shunned by other countries because of these findings, and have now applied this statistic of stupidity to all of us. I am an American citizen, born American. I have met several people originating from other countries and nations who are much more engaging and interesting in their word choice, and in general, much nicer to speak to. However, when I tell them that I am an American, there is an immediate negative response that is quite offensive to me. Simpler language is used to compensate my supposed lack of intelligence, and I am given the stink eye for being a war mongering red white and blue striped American. It’s quite terrible, and I’ve taken to saying I originate from somewhere else to keep from losing new friends. Being fifteen and a sophomore in high school, I feel as though I will never escape from this stereotypical look down the nose at all Americans. Why? Why is the average IQ of a nation full of immigrants from Europe, Asia, and Africa so important?
And, by the way, I apologize for our nasty tourists who don’t respect foreign culture or social traditions. We do have the worst of those.
Timm - the tea is overrated and besides I understand that your lot like throwing it in the sea.
I love all the dumb americans commenting, they are trying to sound smart. This is why the stereotype is what it is. They dont realise how dumb they sound even without their stupid hick town accents. The things they say are so cute!!!!
Thanks for reading this eh, appreciate it very much!
Love to all!
Hi Everyone, I think the Americans are not ready to think . They would not think about something they don’t know . As you all know, thoughts are the root cause of all the achievements as well as bad things. I think their culture tampers their growth. Their youth are more and more concerned about dating, etc… This culture has been adopted by the other countries too. The reason is to improve the satisfaction rate and to reduce attrition in the case of corporate sector. Almost all of them are not like this, intelligent are very much intelligent and the those who are not ready to learn will not learn anything. The ratio of intelligent is very low compared to that of the other part. Improve yourself otherwise all Indians would grab the Job of an American. Globalization is a major threat for America, all companies are trying to outsource their Job, so learn well and earn your bread …
Thanks,
Sudheesh.
I’m so bloody fed up with hearing Americans say “right now”. Americans cannot utter a sentence which does not contain this annoying phrase.
I guess America could change by choosing a better president, creating a better educational systems and adopt a whole new set of foreign policies. And also, pls lower your “American Pride”, the only thing you can be proud of is that American students get less score than Belgian and Singaporean students when doing the same set of exam.
Not to mention the largest GDP with LARGEST amount of DEBT on Earth, mostly borrowing from China. US is SO COOL!
This test is erronous, as china has been caught discounting test scores from rural areas.
Mostly Urbanized countries like Japan, and western Europe, and China discounting its own countryside are going to score higher than the whole of the united states which is still, acre for acre, largely rural. Worldwide Rural persons are generally known to have a lower IQ than city dwellers on average.
Furthermore we see less meaningful statistical analysis(we see a few Americans have science problems, but we don’t see statistics from a control population, like maybe Germany, Japan, or another ‘developed’ nation.)
Then we see a political solution, which ironically is not practiced in any of the “smarter” nations”.
I agree our education system needs to be de-prussianized. A topic just about no political group, not even the fringe wants to touch. But education does not correlate to IQ, which is a measurement of aptitude for learning. Its also been said that IQ is largely obsolete in this year 21st century.
Well, my apologies for not stating that the exam I’m talking about is the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study Exam (TIMSS Exam) which has nothing to do with the IQ exam. Americans should just stop blaming everything on the government, parents and teachers should also do something to encourage their children to learn. Comparing the GDP per capita of many top scoring countries; Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, UK, France and many other developing countries, with exception to Singapore, their GDP per capita is lower than the US(according to the CIA World Factbook) Education is not about money and the number of people. It’s about the the children’s eagerness to learn and the accessibility to the educational facilities. I guess the nearly $9 billion budget couldn’t do a damn thing to improve the US educational system.
A little more fun fact: US GDP - US National Debt = $-3 billion
You guys are BROKE!!
yea we are stupid, and broke, yet so powerful. hmmm.. I wonder how we did that one.
I am an american that is actually not stupid, but with those around me having a lack of geographical knowledge and trouble with daily and basic problems (First world problems, heh) I feel like I am surrounded by morons all of the time.
@ Navita:
Americans are a living testimony to the quote, “Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.”
@Navita
Are you really certain that your country is all high and mighty? I sure you must be proud to get Bin Laden killed, cause you should be prepare for another 9/11 from Al Qaeda soon. LOL You WERE powerful because you didn’t get your dirty hands in WW2 from the beginning. Beating the crap out of Hitler when he’s already weak from fighting UK, France and USSR at the same time, how noble….. Try messing MORE with North Korea, Burma, or Taiwan and you’ll learn who’s the new boss around here.
@Navita
Ah, the old “well if we’re so , how come we’re so ” routine.
Admittedly, kudos to you for introducing it in a much more subtle and less mouth-foamingly lunatic way than most of your compatriots do usually.
OK, now listen. America got to be No. 1 in the 20th century for the following reasons, which have nothing to do with the home-grown products of its culture, or their “exceptionalism”:
1. You were sitting on a *continent* chock full of untapped mineral, oil, raw material and agricultural wealth. A clinically brain-dead population could have made it big on that lot.
2. Because of your geographical isolation from, and studious non-involvement in, the biggest and most destructive World War in human history, you had the advantage of spending the whole of the following 20 years having unrestricted access to material productivity whilst all your competition in Europe and Japan had to further waste resources literally re-building roads, buildings, industries and indeed people that had been obliterated by World War 2 (Marshall aid notwithstanding, which was a drop in the bucket). Once again, a country full of hyenas could have got rich with that advantage, and lo and behold you *did* have half the world’s GDP. In the 1950s. We all know what happened when Japan and Germany got back on their feet, which kind of gives the lie to American exceptionalism, and of course China is now rising too.
Those two reasons saw you into top-place into the mid 20th Century. It does not need Americans to be in some way special for the success you have seen to happen. You just needed not to be completely retarded. Your share of world GDP has been eroding ever since. Here is what has kept you afloat since then:
3. Your power is simply a function of outspending everyone else on defence technology because, up to now, you have been able to afford to (see above). You spend nine times more money on defence than the rest of the developed world put together. This enables you to preserve the status-quo and protect your strategic interests, particularly oil. Being the best armed kid in the school does not make you the brightest.
4. You pay the world’s highest salaries and adopt the world’s most open immigration policy (once again, you have all that space), which is a good thing to do. However the result: the brightest and most gifted scientists, technologists, programmers, researchers from India, China, Taiwan, Europe are cherry-picked here to keep IBM, Microsoft, Boeing, Goldman Sachs, GE et al innovating and wealth creating. With this level of immigration/skills skimming off the cream, it is impossible to evaulate the contribution of the non-migrant fully American educated population, or compare with other countries. Once again, being able to pay the brightest kids from every other school to do your homework does not make you the brightest kid in town.
As we proceed through the 21st Century, you may be aware of how the balance of financial wealth is shifting, and where it’s shifting to. If America can stay No.1 over the next 30 years, then it truly will have earned, for the first time in its history, a claim to being “exceptional”. However, only time will tell whether it ever will.
Now how about a bit of light relief by providing us all with some more entertainingly outrageous statements about how wonderful you are purely because of which bit of rock you happened to be born on?
I am a young American. Everyday I see people in my country and watch them. So many people are complete idiots. I believe I am a smart person but I do not know much. I do not know the lowest levels of math. I’m 21 years old and cannot do 4th grade math. I received A’s in all of my math classes. How is this possible you ask? It’s because my teachers would give us homework and would always grade us on the “effort” we put into the homework. I did not know how to solve any of the algebraic equations but I was afraid of getting bad grades so I tried to teach myself how to do the problems. I could not figure them out on my own so I pretended to figure out the problems, often times writing down random numbers as the solutions. My teachers could see that I tried to solve them and would automatically stamp an A on my paper without ever realizing all of the answers were wrong. When a test would come around I would always get a D or F but because I always got A’s on my homework my final grade was always either an A or B. I went through grade school, middle school, and high school without one teacher realizing that I do not actually know any math. Why? It’s because American teachers do not give a flying shit. They just want to do their monotonous jobs and go home to get away from the little pricks they have to teach all day. Sometimes I’m really ashamed to be an American.
My IQ is 134. It’s lonely here in the land where progress is considered radical and education is an elitist flaw.
Most Ameicans are stupid, Sarah Palin for example. Can you imagine this simpleton with her finger on the trigger? hahaha what a stupid cunt.
@Aby
If you don’t mind, I would like to correct your mistaken between Mandarin and Han. In fact, Mandarin is the language usually spoken by the Hans. Hans are living in Eastern, Southern, Western, and Northern area. The difference is the Northern Hans nearly all speaks Mandarin. The rest Eastern, Southern, and Western territories speaks their dialects most of the time. But majority of them can speak mandarin well. Mandarin is their common/first language.
Thank you.
I’m an American with an IQ over 150 (verifiable through MENSA). I’ve got degrees in Computer Science and Physics. I worked in the internet telephoney industry in Chicago for the last 20 years. I’m now living in a small town in south Texas…believe me this article is dead on.
We sometimes localize our perspective and forget that everyone is not like us or we get offended and stop thinking. The rural population in America is still composed of a large percentage of unthinking, ignorant, racist, religious types (they don’t all have internet access yet and the ones that do think Pres Obama has an Islamic “cresent” on the tail of Air Force One because they saw a PhotoShop of it).
By the way, the Texas School Book Commission is trying to put Creationism into the science text books…I’m looking for a way to move to Amsterdam…
As already mentioned, the US&A is a struggling frontier country, compiled of immigrants, inbreeds, liberals, conservatism, etc. – a melting pot of ideals.
I do believe that immigrants and recent descendants thereof raised the IQ above of what it would be, BUT there is another level to the debate.
I am referring to public awareness which in turn dictates how this country elects its congressional representatives and its president.
Greed and basic opportunism seem to run rampant throughout the fabric of this culture. It is not so much about how few kids can place London or Paris on the map or whether one in five believes that the earth revolves around the moon, but about how their parents can’t figure out a true democracy that is relevant to ‘everyone’ and not to a fiction, fabricated by a handful of superficial politicians promising short term gains. –republicans
@Mick
Hay Dood. Its a problem of speling stuff in dis cuntry dat maks me sik two. Ther is not a twat hoo has a gun dat kan rite a snetince with uoot sum sort of grammer mistacke or soemethin; liek that, you no what I meen?
but yu now, da seconde ammmendment kneeds to be preiservd, i can cary a gun and deffend miself too.
@ Jess 2011:
You may have fallen through the cracks. Your article is refreshing’ in no way do I believe that you have failed or filed a description of a stupid American. - aux countrair mon frere…….
you are one of the bright ones and you should use your talents to help this country proceed.
Good Luck
I am from Canada, have lived in the USA and currently live in Germany. Growing up I always thought the United States was great, until I lived there. This is what it seems to come down to:
America’s strength = Cash in hand ( but has many ways of getting that cash out of your hand also)
Europe’s Strength = Everything else (food, culture, lifestyle, school, medical, transit, travel etc…)
Canada’s Strength = a combination of both but lacking in population and worldly importance.
Living in Germany I do business with American’s over the phone or internet because they are very easy to sell and then having a balanced life in Europe. It seems to be as close as you can get to having your cake and eating it too.
America is like a Teenager and Europe is like an Old man, that is the best way to sum it up.
If you are American and want a university education for next to nothing, come to Europe.
I have to admit, that this article confirms my general idea of the average “American”.
First of all, let me state not every person from USA is some sort of “stupid”, unfortunately there are more when it comes to averages, the majority rules.
Stupidity and education are not the same, having an education does not save you from being stupid, having said that, people that read this article entirely most probably had a high degree of education and socially intelligence, thus the majority of the people of USA that comment here are (I hope so) some how above the average, so they should understand the core of the article.
It is sad, though, that being one of the LEADERS of the leading countries (if not the first Leader Country) the vast majority of it population denies and/or avoids almost every aspect of science, have little or no knowledge of its own history and they are heavily loaded with a great amount of prejudices.
I would also just want to state that I don’t like to call the people of USA as “Americans”, since a Canadian is also an American, as well as a Mexican, Panamanian, Ecuadorian, Bolivian, Brazilian, etc., they are all “Americans”.
I would like to, if ever possible, call the people of USA as USAnian or UniStatian… or something…..
Also keep in mind(i swear this is my last post), that we are a cold war superpower that has no cold war to fight, we face problems as a result of our military spending went up instead of down, but when a generation is raised with the threat of instant death if our vigilance should fail it tends to leave a mark upon their psyche, newer generations have different priorities. If I have any gift of foresight I would guess that ten years of war have taken their toll on the children of both sides of this conflict, I can guess their are a combination of children in many nations of the crescent that either now hate the u.s.a. for no more reason than their parents do, or do not understand the intolerance and inadequacy of their parent’s 7th century practices.
Children in the U.S. despite elder generations calling them stupid(already forgotten their own senior generations remarks toward their own generation, hippies, rock music, da hippidy hop, you know old folk stuff) have a deep psychological understanding of world affairs, tolerance, technology, and are much smarter than they are given credit for. What’s cool when your 10 or 15 is not so when your thirty. It will be so as it always has. I once wore jnco jeans(baggy clothes), had long hair, and was generally regarded as a slacker ,despite my near perfect marks on tests, because I rarely did homework. Now i’m an aeronautical engineer, an avid pilot, and amateur historian. I took my C went to junior college, proceeded to University, and then to grad school. As always parents and friends are the deciding factor in your child’s development. Your own particular language(accents, misspellings)itself is said to be decided more by what your peers said on the “schoolyard” than your education. Living Language. Given this it is acceptable to believe that English in the US is no longer English, and almost definitely will not be recognizable as such by the end of the century. In fact the Midwestern U.S. Rural accent is more closely linked with the accent of the British of the 17th century then the “English” you find in a London pub these days. After all British immigrants primarily formed the American version of English spoken today given into account different pronunciations from different locations i.e. Italians from New York, Irish, Spanish, French etc. Given this it is fair to assume that the deciding factor in language change this century will be technology. In 2100 you may see people saying LOL aloud. And given American interest and investment in Entertainment, Technology(military,computer,space,etc) This new generation is better equipped to deal with the problems we’ve dumped upon them than any in recent memory. Perhaps they will turn against both 17th century democratic/feudalism and 19th century social republic forms of government for something better more able to adapt in an age where we can easily outpace our societies.
I seem to be years late to the party concerning this article, but I believe I have a valid point that hasn’t been expressed among the other comments. In the spirit of full disclosure, I’m a 29 year old American woman, married ten years with two children, and decidedly middle class.
While the statistics do show the US as lagging behind many other developed countries, both in intelligence and education, I don’t see this as a problem. I think intelligence and education are wonderful things, certainly, but in my country there are plenty of other virtues (inherent and learned) that we consider just as, if not more, important.
Duty. Honor. Honesty. Integrity. Kindness. Charity. Mercy. Justice. Are these things no longer valued? The ability to work hard without complaint or help a neighbor in need are fine qualities that influence and impact my life on a daily basis. I would assume these things are also important to all of you, and serve a much more practical purpose in your daily lives than how many of your countrymen can pinpoint Iraq on a map.
Not all Americans are stupid. I bet there are at least three smart ones.
@ Jo
Indeed Miss Jo, these values are important. However, they are not what this topic is about and neither are these values open for debate (since the average American has no more honesty, integrity, kindness, charity or sense of justice than the average citizen of any other country in the world given equal living conditions.).
From my personal observation, I have found Americans to be rather self righteous about their sense of humanity and all those values that you mention, while personally abiding by very little of it.
its not a bad thing that Americans are for the most part stupid. the bad thing is that these stupid people have a government that gives them WAY too much power. power that can have very bad consequences for other nations. nothing worse than having 300+ million idiots controlling the most powerful nation on the planet.
Chennai: A US diplomat was caught in a row after her remarks of “dirty and dark” Tamilians, prompting the US Consulate in Chennai to term them as “inappropriate”.
In a speech at the SRM University, US vice-consul Maureen Chao had said: “I was on a 24-hour train trip from Delhi to Orissa. But, after 72 hours, the train still did not reach the destination… and my skin became dirty and dark like the Tamilians.”
Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/us-regrets-consuls-racist-remarks-against-tamilians-126418&cp
It would be unfair to classify all Americans as “stupid”.However there is an ignorance in the US that is hard to ignore.Especially if you live in Canada like I do. Many older Canadians get very annoyed that Americans are unaware that Canadians even fought in World War 1 and 2. In the second war Canada declared war on Germany almost a week later than Britain did in Sept.1939.This was to assert Canada’s right to make it’s own parliamentary decisions,after the Statue of Westminster in 1931 gave the right to all Commonwealth Nations this right. However any American publications , books or movies about the war either omits any mention of Canada or lumps us in with Britain.Canada has a smaller population than the US and lost many good men in those wars,so this kind of ignorance is hurtful. Many Americans are also unware that Canada is their biggest trading partner in the world. Ask the average American and they’ll answer any other country than Canada. Americans just seem to be very insular at times,even to countries that border their own country,let alone those in Europe.
My paternal grandparents were born in North and South Dakota ,but moved north to Saskatchewan for a better life and they found it. They both visited those two states in later years but never had a thought to move back.
I generally like a lot of Americans that I have met,but just wish they could look outwards more and learn some things outside their borders. Perhaps it would help if they would travel more,or at least have the curiousity to google about other countries.
I highly doubt anything will set this country straight other than a giant nuke aimed at the national capital (that relatively few can pinpoint accurately) … Any takers?
I hope this article was written with the goal of encouraging American legislators to further support education and not merely to reinforce a stereotype and support bigotry in the international community, as I don’t know what intelligent purpose the latter would serve.
-An Educated American Who Knows What a Molecule Is
The comment about nuking us is not funny in the slightest. I’m disturbed that people who don’t even know me want to nuke me simply because of the geographical boundaries in which I was born. Is that the language of an emotionally intelligent person?
Why does everybody talk about Americans as if we are all the same. To me this sounds about as educated and compassionate as someone who says, “blacks are like this”, “whites are like this”. I have a masters degree, speak French and work very hard to not to practice any type of bigotry.
If you are intellectual enough not to endorse racially or religiously based bigotry I don’t see why you can’t use the same logic to dismiss nation-based bigotry. You are being bigots.
First, I want to start by saying (admitting?) I am an American. The question is raised ‘Are Americans Stupid?’ This is a provocative question. If IQ alone is considered, I would be more inclined to state that the mean intelligence of Americans is close to average. After all, does having an IQ that is two points below average make a person stupid? I think not.
Further, I would opine that IQ is a measure, and not a definition of intelligence.
I live and work in the Silicon Valley of California and I do not find most Americans stupid. I do find most Americans to be somewhat ignorant and incurious, however. I am not sure why this is, but it would not surprise me to learn that part of it is because we in the US are fed a constant stream of half-truths and lies and after some point, we just sort of give up trying to sort it all out. Maybe that makes our minds lazy.
Ignorance can also lead to social acceptance here. Most Americans will claim to ‘know’ that the US is the best country in the world, but if you ask them how they could possibly know such a thing and how they define ‘best’, you are often looked upon as a troublemaker, except in intellectual circles (actually, people in intellectual circles would never make aforementioned statement, but I digress…)
Every country has its good points and bad. I wish my country had the emotional and intellectual courage to look at each country and culture and to ask itself, ‘What can I learn from them?’ I have traveled to many countries, and I have not been to one where I didn’t learn something truly important.
I am not a self-hating American, in case it sounds like that. I think about my nationality as I do about my race. I was born into it, I had nothing to do with it, and I have no reason to be either proud or embarrassed about it.
I am very proud of one thing that this country recently did. We elected a black president (yes, I know he is of mixed race, but he is considered black.) I may be speaking out of mindless pride, but I do not think there are many other non-black majority countries that would do that.
I would like to wrap this up with a request. Please, do be careful about stereotyping. It is a blunt an imprecise tool. I urge everyone to remember that every country has its idiots and its geniuses.
Peace.
I’d just like to say as one of the smarter Americans that this is hilarious. And however lower our average IQ is we still have the highest real GDP. The country as a whole might not be better at solving math equations then other countries but we are better at making money. Despite how badly America is portrayed I’d rather live here then in a place that doesn’t even have free speech.
Personally, in my opinion, Americans fuel their own ignorance by their hubris and denial. I have friends from America that are intelligent, yet still believe they are better than me, simply because they are American. I’m only 17 and am studying at Sixth Form. i haven’t had a wide and varied view of life yet, but from what I’ve seen I can determine that the American philosophy is purely based on ignorance and arrogance. it doesn’t help America when the country is filled with high school girls who are more concerned with how much those new shoes cost than the state of the economy, and these conspiracy theorists that believe 9/11 was planned by George Bush. There is also such a lack of culture, and recognition of culture that means people do not receive a varied and fair judgement of foreigners.
They also give themselves a bad name because of their personal policies on beliefs. They recognize Christianity, yet disregard and even act hostile towards other religions when these have no more proof than the former. I’m not religious, and I don’t believe in a God, yet I recognize and empathize with traditions of others. I also saw a program on television about parents from the US who pushed their spouse at sports and beauty pageants. The father had literally taught his son that if he failed, being only 12, that they would disown him, and the daughter, signed up for the beauty competition had a tantrum on such magnitude she took a big hammer from the garage and started smashing her room up simply because her mother wouldn’t by her the 200 dollar shoes. the problem with the society is that there is such selfishness and competitiveness over irrelevant and vain ideologies the country practically digs its own grave.
Another point i would like to put across is aimed at some of the former comments. Someone had mentioned that America’s immigrants from the poorer parts of the world like Mexico and India where dumber than the average American.This is very ignorant in itself. Firstly, people from poorer backgrounds work hard as they appreciate education. They leave the poorer countries in a bid to work and earn money (usually lower class jobs as they are treated as being stupid even when they work harder and study more) because they cant in their own lands. Americans are usually well off and have money, its like the kardashians, stupid beyond compare yet because of their beauty and money they get a TV show. I watched a video showing British soldiers talking to Afghanistani children and one soldier gave them some paper and a pencil, and the whole village came to watch him draw. They were fascinated by it, many wanted ago and they valued the pencil so much that the child kept it in an old munitions box the soldier had. An american child of about the same age would have a plasma TV, an I pod, A PS3 etc. and would probably treat his possessions as though they were trash. Its not just because they are ignorant, the ignorance leads to selfishness and that also develops into vanity. Secondly, Americans are immigrants from the old countries or descendants. Many of you yanks originated from Britain, Ireland and Italy top name just the biggest. So if you say that Immigrants are stupid you are really summing yourselves up.
Also Mark, my friend, I would like to say that many cleverer countries than America have MORE freedoms than the USA- Canada, Britain, France, Australia, Spain, Japan etc. and to that white trash idiot Mr. Reefer, who cant have a p.h.D as his brain would simply explode with the thought of those letters, please shut up. you are not helping your country by speaking nonsense and insults. Please America, wake up, if the world needs someone to lead them you are not the best influence. there is a lot more i could say but i want a stereotypical crumpet then its off to Hogwarts, goodnight America.
Dear Author,
Fabulous read. It wasn’t opinionated at all it was just great factual read on a topic that I think comes up time and time again but is never really looked into.
America is only a rich country because of their ridiculous debt and because they shunned poor Britain and France Australia etc in WW2 until they had something to gain from it.
If americans want to come on here and get defensive, then you won’t change, go on believing your perfect and all so smart, if americans want to come on here and realise something, then perhaps your country won’t go down the gurgler, as it currently seems it will.
Great post, thanks author, and lots of good feedback.
Wow, none of the comments by americans are cogent, logical, or specefically relevant. In addition they are frequently defensive and condescending. This country is completely fucked. I wish I lived in Europe.
Interesting fact for you people to mull over; Richard Lynn (the guy who says Americans have an average IQ of 98) peer reviewed a piece of work that looked at the average IQ by state, and found that the state I live in had an average IQ of 103.7, which is higher than every single country in Europe. Oh and this article is misleading because Richard Lynn also found that Norway and Canada have average IQs of 98 and 97 respectively (by the way the way he computed these scores had nothing to do with performance on any type of IQ test). I can’t be bothered with any of this stuff though, the European inferiority complex is so obvious when they constantly try to compare themselves to “Americans” as if we’re some homogenous race of people. I scored 1380 on the SAT (The old version) which is 99.7th percentile and I’m an under-performing INTJ… I can safely assume that only .3% of the people who posted here are smarter than I am — the rest of you are really, really dumb.
A piece of well-written article I would say. What really amuses me is that this was posted way back in 2007? wow time really files, people still replying to this post
@pestey
Well, I think you didn’t see the Canada’s and Norway’s improvement from the year 2002 to 2006. Both scored 97 and 98 respectively in 2002, but their score turned to 99 for Canda and 100 for Norway. On the other hand, the US got the same score both in 2002 and 2006. This can be concluded that in the past 4 years, the United States of America hasn’t seen any improvement. I found it disappointing that someone who got 99.7 percentile on the SAT cannot perform some basic data comprehension. I wonder where you get all those score from. With that in mind, I do not wish to argue where you got all the info about your state IQ from, as it would be as enigmatic as how you got that SAT score without basic comprehension skills in the first place. Also, we are talking about National IQ score, not federal level or whatever you americans call it. If you wish to see some improvement in your score, then I think you need to formed a sovereign Republic of California or whatever state you are from. As long as you are still an American, you still have to bear with the average! Smart Guy!!
And by the way, I’m not European, not even close.
I have to admit, I’m not as smart as you are, I hope your overly high SAT score will help you write a better argument next time.
This article is ridiculous. It sounds just like the cheap propaganda that Hitler used in order to come to power. That may seem like an exaggeration to most of you but really, think about what you’re saying. Just because some Swiss douchebag publishes an article does not make it the all mighty truth. I came from a very conservative area of the US and still managed to learn about evolution in school.
If all you can do is criticize another country in order to compensate for your shortcomings, then please, stay in your own country and never come to mine. Maybe if Europeans didn’t spew such racist garbage the rest of the world would listen to them a little more. And to the original poster, what do you expect to receive other than insults when you call an entire nation stupid?
And if you think Americans are insular, maybe it’s due to your attitudes toward them. I used to travel abroad and tried to connect with other countries but after the treatment I received as a result of my nationality, I’ve decided never to leave my country again. All this America bashing isn’t productive; you’re just shooting yourselves in the foot.
To claim that “all Americans are stupid” is simply stupid! Creating and spreading stereotypes is not a joke.
First of all, America is not a country. It is a continent. You could easily say “Many people from the US are…”
The major problem there is that the culture of conformity prevails. Backwardness, apathy and apolitical attitude has turn the entire society into an easily controllable consuming mass of “obedient workers” (as George Carlin used to say). It is, perhaps, the only country in the world where you can find plenty of individuals who love to obey their oppressors instead of standing up for their rights and try to get rid of them. “The strategic adversary is fascism… the fascism in us all, in our heads and in our everyday behavior, the fascism that causes us to love power, to desire the very thing that dominates and exploits us”. (Michel Foucault)… that fascism that makes them to patronise whatever exploit them instead of changing it!!!
By the way, here are the results: http://sq.4mg.com/NationIQ.htm.
I want every last one of you who are passing judgement on an entire nation of 310 million people to take a look at the chart. And I mean really, look at the chart.
You’ll find that some countries that scored higher than the United States on the PISA still have a lower IQ (i.e. Canada). That doesn’t add up. This article is based on mere skewed statistics that have been manipulated for someone’s own personal gain. Just because you come from a country with a higher average IQ doesn’t make you automatically smarter than a national from a country with a lower average IQ. I spent 5 years in Switzerland and trust me, that country has enough morons to keep the gene pool contaminated for a couple of millennia.
1- people who live in the USA are not Americans, there are not North americans, because america is a continet with over 25 countries and North America has 3 countries.
2- The IQ is not the only way of measuring intelligence, there are another ways, so it’s not that simple to say that people in the USA are stupid.
3- I do not live in the USA, but i’m aware of the great minds that were aducated in that country. It is not a competition to see which country is the smartest one.
4- I do believe that the people in the USA were and are in a process of sistematically Stupidization, by the most richests people in this country to make sure that they will never ask why there are the richest country in the world but have the actual scales of pooverty and the injustice of the medical and university sistem.
5- I’m from Argentina and I dislike the economical system called neoliberalism that the USA is trying to insert in the rest of the world, but I personally believe that the people (in the USA) is not the responsable of any of the injustices that their goverment has commited is their or any country. They (except of the richest) are just victims like the rest of the world.
Sorry for the writting, English is not my first languaje.
It makes me sad. One of the most basic principles of intelligence in modern society is correct English, which includes grammar. How can you be arguing over how stupid or smart America is when you cannot even use ‘you’re’ correctly?
I agree with Lisa Richards; it is important to know the basic facts about our own country. Can I say I know every answer to her questions? No. Regardless, it is still important.
BUT, for 99% of jobs, knowing who Jeb Bush is (George H. W. Bush’s son) may not necessarily be important. I do, however, believe a knowledge of English is extremely important. I am not going to argue about anything more than this, for I know that someone, somewhere will find a flaw in something I say purely because I am American.
My point is, for most of you other Americans, get your facts straight and at least know how to present your case intelligently before you argue for a lost cause. To the rest of the world, it gives Americans that actually know what they are talking about a bad name.
Being an American, I have to say American’s are unmotivated. That is all. I could go into a very long argument on this topic, but I believe it is way too… touchy… for me to really go over. Considering I typed a paragraph 3 times and this was the best one I think, this will have to suffice:
Many countries in our world are filled with highly motivated people, people who want to become scientists, people who want to invent something great, people who want to be the best in their field. American’s are taught to be whatever they want to be. And this is carried on into high school. So, students feel like they can be lazy and still succeed, because it is what they want. Being the best they can be to an American student is quite different than to say, a French student. Since I have had a few French acquaintances, I know they are much more hard working and have realistic goals of being the best. Many American’s say they want to do something, don’t set a goal, and then do what their parent’s want, or do what they want. This seems normal, except for the fact that this is coupled with a screwed up government, even an education system lacking a budget, and many more things.
These are my thoughts, take it or leave it. I am not going to argue with anyone because they don’t like my opinion. I think all people are equal given an equal and fair chance, American children are not given a motivational environment, so I do not believe it to be equal. Again, take it or leave it.
Yes, I do believe that our average intelligence is lower than most other countries. What do you expect when we have so many idiots dragging the rest of us down and making us all look bad?
It’s unfair to brand every US citizen (you’re not Americans. Stop that. America is a continent. You’re citizens of the United States (of America if you insist)) with this generalization; some of you are actually quite clever rabbits.
You’ve a long history of innovation and invention that cannot be discounted in this discussion, and IQ is an utterly meaningless and non-contextual measure of intelligence. The Batwa tribes of Uganada would doubtless fare far worse on an IQ test, but they have lived in harmony with their environment for centuries - an admittedly “intelligent” lifestyle strategy from a sustainability point of view (and that’s what matters for gauging the intelligence of a group - how long will they last?)
That being said, collectively, the US badly needs to revise their foreign policies. More than anything it is the aggressive nature of your military actions, economic warfare and insistence that you always get YOUR way that makes you out like a child throwing a tantrum in a sandbox. I used to think “Team America: World Police” was a satire…now I am a lot less sure about that; it feels more like a predictive documentary now.
really you think you can start and argument telling the english is one of the most important principles of intelligence nowadays? and saying that what i believe is less important because i was born in a non-english talking country? insulting my grammar will not make my arguments dissapears, i’m sure you also have commited any mistakes while you where writing in other languaje, if have ever tried to. And you are telling me that what i believe is a lost cause. What do you think that all that “ocuppy” thing happend? because the USA economical system has failed, but not because the people are unablee to work, it’s because you run a system wich is cyclic, with cyclic times of wealth and cyclic times of crisis. be openminded please, and understand that you are not alone in this world, there are over 7 billion people next to you, your country have caused too many pain and suffering on the world, now it’s the time when you people realised that and tried to change things, because, remember, you consume over the 25% of the world natural resources, while there’s people round the world dying from hunger, tried to read this in spanish…
realmente crees que podes refutar un bedate diciendo que saber correctamente ingles es uno de los principios basicos de la inteligencia moderna? y diciendo que mis ideas son menos validas porque no las escribo en mi idioma nativo? insultar mi gramatica no va a hacer que mis argumentos sean menos validos, estoy seguro de que tambien cometes errores al intentar escribir en otro idioma (si es que alguna vez lo has hecho). Y ensima de decis que lo que yo creo es una causa perdida?.Por que te pensas que pasa todo eso de “ocupemos” en Estados Unidos? porque el sistema economico estadounidense falló, y no porque los estadounidenses sean incapaces, sino porque su sistema economico es ciclico, con epocas ciclicas de prosperidad y epocas ciclicas de crisis y pobreza. Se de mente abierta por favor, y entiende que no estas ni estan solos en este mundo, somos mas de 7 billones de perosnas en el mundo. tu país a causado mucho dolor y sufrimiento en el mundo. Ahora es el momento en el que percaten de ello e intenten mejorar las cosas. Porque recuerda, consumen el 25% de los recuros del mundo, mientas hay 2 billones de personas que mueren de hambre en parte por su culpa.
@Agustin
No offense here, but I think Nick C. Is referring to the previous US citizens post. They came with terrible grammar, insular verb and ignorant content. So a US citizen who couldn’t even use English, which their mother tongue, correctly; should shut up.
I personally think that as long as you are able to convey your thoughts to others, grammar isn’t important. But if that’s your mother tongue and you can’t get it right, I don’t know what should be right anymore. Hahahaha
No matter, I totally agree with your argument. They are putting pressure on mother nature and the least they could do is be a bit less ignorant and stop destroying the world with their foreign policy and conserism.
YEEEEHAAAAAAAWW!!! Lemme tell you somethin, folks, there aint never been and aint never will be a country as great as America! No but seriously, you’ve all heard of the self-hating Jew, right? I’m a creature not much less worthy of pity- a self-loathing American. Maybe it’s because I was always in honors classes in school, or the fact that I loved reading about and learning about other cultures and lands, but ever since I was a teenager I have known that Americans are a few rungs down on the evolutionary ladder. But hey, give us a break. We are the world’s teenagers. I remember when I was in Poland in ‘98, and the city of Gdansk was celebrating its 1000th year as a city. Of course I knew there were old things in the world, but many Europeans simply cannot understand how that feels to an American. That city is 800 years older than my entire, glorious country! Europeans cannot understand how incredibly “young” Americans are. We’ve never experienced any of the trials and troubles, wars and massacres as our European brethren have. We’ve never seen entire cities (at least not our own) firebombed to rubble, which might explain why we are still so ready to go to war at the drop of a hat with anyone and everyone. We have not seen large parts of our entire population decimated by disease or famine, except for a couple of dry years during the depression. Which is why we don’t give a crap about sustainability or healthcare. We don’t have to see malnourished children on a regular basis (in fact most of ours are morbidly obese), so we are not as open to paying taxes or otherwise supporting our neighbors (we are some of the most selfish people you’ve ever seen, I can guarantee.)
It’s like being in a mall. All the parents (Europeans) shake their heads and sigh when they see the teenagers (Americans) being idiots. Why, they think, can’t those darned kids just wake up and see that we know better than them and that if they are smart, they will listen to us and change their ways?? Yeah well good luck. Just like any teen, America has to grow up before it will change. You can’t force it to change. Trying will only make things worse.
Hey all.
I`m not from US but I have several friends and relatives who have moved there/lived there at one point… and unfortunately everything you said is true.
But what I think is IMPORTANT to keep in mind is that these people are NOT born stupid. Well, yes, intelligence has a genetic component to it, but everyone is capable in reaching a certain level of intelligence. PROVIDED that they have access to decent education.
I know several couples who have moved to US (and to UK actually too) and once they had a child, came back to their homeland because education in US and UK was not up to bar. Even though our homeland is cold and dark and prices are really high and wages non-existent. (Food costs here as much as in US and wages are like 1/4).
It almost seems as if the government of US is consciously trying to turn the general population into ” a good mindless herd”.
Please, stop your wars and start educating your children.
This does bring up a very good point- that Europeans, and many people internationally, perceive Americans as being stupid and lazy while having undue influence over world affairs. Although this article couldn’t convince me that the average American deserves to be called stupid, some of the commentary from my side of the pond did. There is now fairly solid evidence that Americans do a very bad job of making their case, or at the very least those with American IP addresses who commented on this article. The abysmal comments aside, suggesting that all 300 million Americans, or even the majority, are stupid only causes rifts between people.
While there is no questioning that a broken educational system and pathetic media are lessening the intelligence of the country at an alarming rate, most Americans aren’t stupid. While some of us tend to be more ignorant of the world and apathetic of everyone who lives there, Americans have a pretty average intelligence and capacity for knowledge. Unfortunately the world view of The States is heavily influenced by some pretty poor spokespeople, like George W. Bush, and the alarming amount of inept tourists Europeans everywhere seem to encounter. I imagine this is largely because while the many American tourists are quiet, polite, and respectful, these qualities cause them to go unnoticed.
In fact, I’d argue many of us are decent, intelligent people. It’s true- and looking at some previous comments, painfully obvious- that some Americans are both arrogant and ignorant. However, some of us are capable of logical thought, insight, and learning; you might even say we’re cultured. And for these reasons broad generalizations, such as “the majority of Americans [do fit these statistics]“, aren’t entirely true, and only serve to further the divides between the people of the world.
I think it also depends on which state such americans live in. From one state to another there are more stupidity and ignorance. As for my country I can say the same.
Propaganda makes people dumb and I cannot believe americans watch a tv channel like Fox News there, they are ultra-conservative and racist.
Americans from the South seems to be stopped in time. Marc Forster, a German filmmaker, once said:
“Cities like Atlanta are very advanced, but once you get outside the city, it feels like 100 years ago. Our producer is black, and we were standing in this room and somebody actually said, in front of him, “Can you tell the colored man to wait outside?” It’s shocking.”
There are racism even in Africa, they kill each other for being from other tribes, but in America there is a naive stupidity and lack of knowledge from the rest of the world. Although I can’t take racism, things become worse. For many of them everyone living south below(South America) is mexican and speaks spanish, who looks like asian is japanese and those semites are arabs. Stereotypes! Shame.
-To address the point the author made about our low IQ scores: Unfortunately, in the states, one can become wealthy without being incredibly intelligent in terms of quantifiable intelligence as can be measured by an IQ test. If you are decently creative and/or “street smart” you can prosper. We are raised to believe that money is a more accurate measure of one’s self worth than just intelligence. We are raised to believe that we live in the land of “opportunity” where every dream is a possibility. To some degree, this is true. A complete idiot can take a loan out from a bank and open a hamburger joint. If this idiot had enough “street smarts” to put it somewhere that would be well trafficked, he could easily become a millionaire. See the problem here? The US isn’t like China or India where the academic gold standard is so high that to have any advantage over your peers (to say get that loan to open that hamburger joint ect), you have to be something truly exceptional. Therefore, due to the lack of academic competition, we have stagnated when it comes to quantifiable intelligence…simply because you do not need to be intelligent to be rich in the US…and being rich for us is akin to achieving Nirvana.
I am not necessarily arguing that we are not stupid. We ARE stupid. I am just trying to help you understand why we are stupid haha. Let me be the first American on this blog to admit we have a shortcoming…to admit that I too have this shortcoming, just by default. Go easy on us haha.
How do you starve an American?
Send his welfare cheque to his foreclosed house.
Americans are considered stupid because most of the seem to belive that they actually have been to the moon and back, and that the 9/11 tragedy was caused by terrorists.. Sorry but those are just a few of the thing ppl say when they call Americans stupid, They just dont seem to be able to use their own brain, instead they just think what their GOV tells them to think.. And thats stupid, nothing else.
I want to add a comment about USA people. One of the worst people in the USA are the people from Boston. They are very snobby, very arrogant, and very unfriendly people. If I become too friendly with Bostonians, they take it the wrong way. Therefore, there is a lot of negativity in Bostonians. For them, being very friend is a crime. Wake up Bostonians!!!!!!!!!! Do not be so very stupid!!!!!!!!!! Life is too short!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The worst public education in the world is USA. I am a victim of public education. They destroyed my life mentally and psychologically. I am still suffering and still crying for the rest of my life, because of my learning and comprehensive disability problems. The public schools never cared to help me. All the public school administrators and teachers are all very corrupt and very evil and very greedy. I, honestly, wish that the public education is abolished forever. Put education to the hands of the people, NOT TO THE STUPID GOVERNMENT THAT CAUSES A LOT OF EVIL CORRUPTIONS!!!!!!!!!!
I’m not proud of my countries intelligence.
I’m not proud of my own intelligence.
I’m not proud of what my country has done to wrong other countries.
I’m not proud of those Americans who are calling out foul play on this study.
This is what shame feels like, deal with it.
Now lets get our shit together and fix it instead of arguing with people of different nationalities over the damn internet. Vote for more education, go read some stuff, get more acquainted with foreign events and history, as well as our own. And for fuck sake watch less news and find better sources.
Okay, well, even before reading most of these comments I totally agreed with the popular world opinion that most of America is out right stupid. After saying that I’d like to say that I’m a rich, white, teenager with an admirable education growing up but even as a teenager I am still more intelligent than about 98% of America give or take and that is just sad. I hate my country and i can’t wait to leave it some day. There is only one thing I’d disagree with a lot of you on and that’s the fact that there are a lot more types of intelligence than just being able to spell well or being able to solve an equation. There are many types of intelligence that are never realized because of the faulty teaching methods on America which leave kids bored and with no more applicable info than when they went into it as apposed to intrigued and craving more.
I’m actually doing a project on American stupidity right now, and these comments are the best research I can find anywhere. Thank you America for being so ignorant as to make my projects easier
fail, I’m from Canada, forget the american flag there, i dont want to seem retarded…
I agree, if you were to attend any graduate school in American for the most part, in certain cases more so than the others you’ll notice that the people pursuing PHD ect. are not from U.S. Sure you’ll have some people, but in ethnically diverse cities, Chicago, NY, LA ect., most of students are not from U.S., The education here is very watered down, kids are not interested in school, they have to go to school because they have to. On the other hand its a popularity contest, all the way up to HS or in some cases at universities also. Only until people pursue their Masters/Doctorate do they start to mature and take their studies seriously or at least from my point of view.
Additionally I’ve talked to numerous number of graduate students here at my univ. and whenever I ask someone whether they be from China,India, Russia ect., they seem to know more about science, math, physics ect. which I’m not too fond off.
There are forty-four million Americans who cannot read and write above a fourth grade level-in other words, who are functional illiterates.
So we’ve already eaten into the mere 99 hours a year an average American adult spends reading a book–compared with 1,812 hours watching television. Only 11 percent of the American public bothers to read a daily newspaper, beyond the funny pages or the used car ads.
So if you live in a country where forty-four million can’t read and perhaps close to another two hundred million can read but usually don’t-well, friends, you and I are living in one very scary place. A nation that not only churns out illiterate students BUT GOES OUT OF ITS WAY TO REMAIN IGNORANT AND STUPID is a nation that should not be running the
World-at least not until a majority of its citizens can locate Iraq/Afghanistan (or any other country it has bombed) on the map.
Politicians want to go after MTV when they are the ones responsible for the massive failure of American education.
Walk into any public school, and the odds are good that you’ll find overflowing classrooms, leaking ceilings, and demoralized teachers. In 1 out of 4 schools, you’ll find students “learning” from textbooks published in the 1980s—or earlier. Why is this? Because the political leaders and the people who vote for them-have decided it’s a bigger priority to build another bomber than to educate our children.
Our problem isn’t just that our kids don’t know nothin’ but that the adults who pay their tuition are no better.
Who cares if 70 percent of those who graduate from America’s colleges are not required to learn a foreign language? Isn’t the rest of the world speaking English now? And if they aren’t, hadn’t all those damn foreigners better GET WITH THE PROGRAM? That’s the American ignorant way of thinking…
It sickens me that this has become a struggle for power and higher knowledge. That this has become a race to see who is better, who is more powerful, who is better, best, more.
THIS is what is wrong with the world.
A simple article about how the intelligence level of the United States is plummeting, which it indeed is, has become a disgusting revolt about whom is greater? And I’m baffled at the Americans who posted and were offended! Are you blind? Do you not see the world that is rising around yourselves? There is no need to deny it. I am an education major, I learn about it daily. I learn that I must strive to fix this.
And honestly, you should not be offended if you were at all confident in your intelligence. I know that I am not.
There is no problem with being intelligent. STRIVE to fill your mind with all that you can. Increase your knowledge.
But please, don’t argue about who is best. Why waste the energy?
“When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” — Jimi Hendrix
In response to:
“I agree with a lot, except I am aware in many other countries the weaker students are place in tech schools so they aren’t competing. But why would you mention that?”
With all due respect they would have included those in that research and said they then went to a tech school as a result of a low IQ.
In response to this:
“You’re analysis of the data isn’t only totally absurd, it’s also extremely shallow as well, as it shows who really is lacking in intelligence. Of course, when it comes to IQ scores the USA’s scores are going to lag behind all much smaller and more homogenous countries, simply due to the fact that the USA takes in a much greater percentage of immigration from the third world than all other countries! It’s also going to cause a few other statistics to lag as well. Don’t quit your day job you ignoramus!”
It’s irrelevant the fact that they have a low IQ is the proof of that lol.
I totally agree with the views that US people are not clever or Intelligent.
I work in a call center , I would like to share my experiences with them.. one customer calls .
He want to register online with a mail Id @yahoo.com
I tell the customer Sir we can’t use @yahoo.com in our website we have to create a new one..
customer gets angry no way, I want to use my @yahoo.com in this site..
after convincing the customer after about 20 minutes..
He want to use a member id , he says an error poped up it is not letting me to use my id. Some one else is using my Id who is that, how dare he use my id..
Sir it is some one with the same name might be using it.
customer : no, I want to use it.. get me your supervisor..
Sir, we can create a new one please try to understand .
Customer disconnects the call…
Such a dumb guys these Americans are!!! I almost encounter these issues every day.
So , most of them are Dumb and very ignorant.Not ready to listen what others have to tell them.
One more
Customer calls and tells I am trying to log-in into my E-mail it is not letting me in by my password , what you guys done to it?.
Sir may i know the site you are trying to log-in?
Cx: yahoo.com
agent : Sir , we are not yahoo support you have to contact yahoo for any login issues with them.
Cx: No, don’t make me angry, assist me , I pay you guys for Internet tell me what you did to my password…
Come on , some body give them some wisdom to think .
Infuriated by the defeat of Soviet totalitarianism, Dmitri forgets how facts have often been ordered throughout history in such ways as to justify hatred against entire groups of people. It’s hardly impressive that “research” has been compiled to argue the case for a prejudicial stereotype. Just as much research could be compiled to argue that “Russians are alcoholics.” The Nazis, for example, had very carefully reasoned, heavily researched arguments for their prejudices, often going to incredible lengths of scientific and statistical study to prove their points. Regardless, no one takes their arguments seriously in this day in age, because they came from a place of hate. One could take a litany of facts to argue against the statement “Americans are stupid,” but I wonder if the poster (or Aby for that matter) would look at it. As one anti-American here remarked, “some can take it, others can’t.”
I wonder at Aby’s indignation that “a Zionist” insulted Dmitri, when after all, this thread is simply insulting. It carries no intellectual weight, despite groaning under the weight of statistics. And Aby, the idea that America has no culture because it is too young is hardly liberal. Furthermore, could it be that more scientists come to America because it creates an environment in which scientists can succeed? It’s counter intuitive to argue that America “looks down on science and technology” and then argue that European and Asian immigrants to America account for the breadth of America’s scientific success.
As a student at the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, one of the top ranked creative writing masters programs in the West, I take issue. I am proud to be American, and hope to contribute to the excellence of American culture. That being said, I love traveling in Europe and Russia. I am pro-European and pro-Russian despite you.
I’ve never been to the US, but the idea America gives to Europeans is that they’re dumb, plastic surgery addicts, fat, racist, violent and money obsessed. Just saying. Plus most of you guys seem really dumb, saying that America is the best country in the world. In terms of quality of living, your country, specially in some states, sucks. Btw do Americans study History and Geography of other countries but their own? O.o
First, I’d like to address the IQ issue. An IQ of 98 is average, as is an IQ of 90 or an IQ of 110. Even if Americans are scoring lower than these other countries, less than a standard deviation from the norm (100) doesn’t say much. Now, those of you who have used anecdotes to validate your claims (i.e., most Americans are stupid. I’ll share this personal story with you to illustrate what I mean…), that’s some pretty lousy logic. Even over here in the land of the ignorant, we’ve learned that judging a few people based on their skin colour, nation of origin, or any other trait just doesn’t work. Everyone is different. You have to understand that America is a very diverse nation.
Those of you in India that are claiming Americans are stupid because they seemingly didn’t understand what you were saying, you have to understand that English as spoken with a Hindi dialect is not easily understood by native English speakers. In all reality, they probably couldn’t understand your choice of words or the emphasis you were putting on certain syllables. Try to keep an open mind.
Now, I’m not going to argue that American public education is perfect; it’s not. I will, however, say that everyone is given an opportunity to learn. What an individual does with that opportunity is up to them. It’s a free country, after all.
I’m also appalled at the number of posts from Americans saying something to the effect of “I agree we’re all idiots…” In my mind, there’s only two things going on here: either people of other nations are posting as Americans or the vast majority of Americans with enough time to kill that they’re posting replies on this site are, indeed, idiots.
One last thing: All Americans are not insulated from world affairs. On the same token, there are people in every country in this world that are so busy just trying to survive that they don’t have time to waste looking into what’s going on a thousand miles from them (or ten miles, for that matter). Also, if you’re basing everything you think you know about Americans by the tourists you come in contact with, you’re going by a very narrow selection of people. The majority of Americans don’t have the resources to travel all around the world just to get gawked at and criticized.
I didn’t use to think Americans were stupid but recent experiences have led me to reconsider that opinion.
Speaking as an Englishman,it gave me great pleasure to read your article on the level of stupidity of Americans. Would you possibly know if there have been studies done on their fascism,racism and seemingly endless hypocrisy? In my country there are a growing number of people who will have nothing whatsoever to do with Americans. They will not buy American goods,media,food and computer programs. They will not speak to,listen to or socially engage with them in any form. In a subjective way I think this is a pity,because I know of at least two good things that came out of US—namely,Steve Jobs and popcorn.
To “A Zionist” Curious, where do your loyalties lie? Israel first or the USA first? A dumb nation like the USA is a very hospitable place for someone like you and your disloyal brethren. Your tone and method of speech confirms that you are indeed a Jew and more than likely a resident of New York. I am sure your appearance would also add evidence…
I had no idea that our IQ average was that low. I would like to say that I am a 14 year old American with an IQ of 128. I would say that I’m significantly above average, and its terrible to think about. I mean, really? I’m the smartest kid in school? I have a C in honors physical science!
All of you guys and girls in other countries, I’d like to defend my people. Yes, many Americans are complete and utter morons. I know this! I go to school with them five days a week! However, I’m not stupid like they are, nor are my friends.
To #Anil, I’m not going to argue with you. In fact, I’m sincerely sorry that you have such a poor opinion about Americans. I would like to give you a few examples of real Americans in high school that I have met personally.
1. Last Friday, the girl who sits next to me in English class learned what FYI meant. Apparently, she didn’t know it stood for “for your information”, she just thought that when someone says it, they’re about to say something really important!
2. I used to have a friend who thought it was okay to go out with three people at the same time. What was worse, the guys didn’t mind at all! She would fly from one guy to the other, and once she was bored, she would get two more! Needless to say, I got sick of her crap and I now refuse to talk to her.
3. Now I’d like to give an example of a smart American. My best friend Devon is a grade younger than me, and she’s definitely smarter than any person my age. Except me, perhaps. We have this ongoing contest to try and figure out which one of us is smarter. It’s all in good fun, of course. For my birthday, we plan on taking a legitimate IQ test together and see who gets the higher one. Now, you might say that I have an unfair advantage because I’m older, but we’re only 6 months apart. Devon plans to become either a sociologist or a criminologist. She enjoys studying human interaction. It’s pretty ironic, too, considering how antisocial she is.
Also, to this Mike person who has commented previously, I would like to request that you either grow a brain, or go drown yourself. 9/11 was a terrible tragedy that was caused by terrorists. Many lives were lost, and you ought to be ashamed of yourself for disgracing their memory! Second of all, any moron, even an American, knows that we landed on the moon. It was sort of on live television, you know! If you are one of those conspirators, I suggest you go watch Myth Busters, because they proved your theories wrong years ago.
Lastly, I would like to remind you all of the American child prodigy William James Siddis (1898-1954). Supposedly he had an average IQ of 250. He entered Harvard University at age 11. There is also Christopher Michael Langan, supposedly “The Smartest Man in America”. He has an IQ of 195.
My point is, Americans do mostly consist of idiots, but we aren’t all that stupid. Fact are facts regarding our IQ, however, I suggest that before you actually dismiss Americans as idiotic, you should try talking to several of them.
Thanks for reading this, to those of you who actually did.
Its sad but it’s true. I’m a american in Public School with Honor roll Grades (admittingly i’m not that smart they kind of just give you some good grades in american schools) and I’ve been refused to better classes because of where i live. I’m being chained down by the public socailist education system and i will not allow my children to suffer the same fate. It’s amazing how where still on top in the world but it’s not going to last much longer. Even so when I done school I am getting out of this place before it sinks with me on it.
Laughable… Europe and America have the same problem, they are both controlled by a corrupt banking and government system. This system determines the quality of education. Can’t have the slaves capable of critical thinking, can we? You may want to question your own intelligence. I doubt you truly understand the nature of reality….
I will admit that most Americans are ignorant about a lot of things and that our math scores on average are low. That doesn’t mean that Americans are stupid. Your average American will know a lot about what they do for a living. We are very productive workers. They will also know a lot about topics that interest them. Beyond that the average American will be at a disadvantage to the average European or developed Asian country’s citizens. Our best and brightest though will have access to the very best universities, research facilities, and funding in the world and I am confident that they would either be at or near the best on the planet. Since most advances are made by the best and brightest I think it works out well for us as a country.
i personally do not believe that americans are stupid. not all of them anyway. but of course in every country there will be dumb people and smart people.its true that after i moved to indonesia i realized that american schools are too easy. although that is what i believe, it is impossible for all americans to be stupid.there are smart people and dumb people in every country on the globe. in my own personal belief, the american teaching system is better because it has more interaction between the students and the teachers, the opposite of indonesia where the teachers are very strict and arent very friendly.
all in all, i want to say that all people should be treated equally, and so should all the countries on the planet
Most of Americans should be stupid, for what their government is doing with the global politics, and majority has to vote right.. Now you get it
LOL, I agree greatly with this article BUT, take into mind that not ALL Americans are stupid. I’m Arab but I was born in America, sure its high tech and stuff but the people who really make
America run are the Immigrants coming from undeveloped countries. My family came from an undeveloped country and ( I don’t mean to brag or anything) my dad has Doctors degree (phd) my mom ( business degree, simple … i know..) I take advanced classes (not honors, CATS (Chandler Academically Talented Students)) in which i take 2 years ahead of my grade. For ex. if i’m in 8th grade, i take language, social studies, science, and especially math TWO years ahead. My sister also takes advanced classes and brothers not old enough. So basically, if Immigrants (that are SMART) were to leave, America would become the Sh**iest place on earth.
Most American politicians have acted in a stupid way as far as their foreign
policies are concerned… They encouraged terrorists in Afghanistan against Soviets
and later on faced terror attacts on their own soil, which was carried out by the
same terrorists from Afghan (as per U.S views)… Later on Afghanistan was attacked
and millions killed in the name of war on terror… Americans said Iraq had WMD and attacked without U.N approval (Shameless NATO forces joined the U.S) and the result
was similar to Afghanistan but more cruel… Millions killed and at the end no WMD found…. U.S gained nothing form Iraq war but lost many soldiers… They lost billions
in those wars and ended with economic difficulties… When the world is in a dangerous situation, the U.S unnecessarily provokes Russia by installing air defence systems at East European countries thereby creating enemity between these countries and the Russians… Instead of reducing their nuclear weapons, the Americans preach others not to have their own nuclear weapons, for their defence, which is absolute stupidity….
Lol honestly, this is extremely absurd. This stereotypes Americans, I do agree there are a lot of dumb people here, but there are many exceptions to what all you foreigners say and believe. Just saying.
Matt Damon is the only smart American I am aware of.
That youtube interview he did about Sarah Palin proves it.
All other Americans are as thick as a redwood stump.
Canada has a big arrow that points towards the US.
It has “I’m with stupid” written on it.
Just because America is stupid does not mean that they are weak. It does not take many brain cells to squeeze a triger and really at the end of the day in this violent and crazy world of ours that’s all that matters is whos left standing. Dont pitty the Americans fear them…Because not only are they stupid but there also armed and stupid..
American are not only stupid they also have very ugly suburban cities all around. Ugly ugly ugly … This cities do not have any touch of beauty!!!! ugly ugly ugly
I’m disappointed in the Americans that commented. They’ve proved exactly what this article is saying.
Americans are nasty and insulting. It’s very rare to find a smart American. All this stuff saying that Americans are not stupid is the fattest lie EVER. Americans are qualified as lowly intelligent sluts. Now, more than half of the people writing on here are American and they are going to flag this comment or defend themselves saying they are not stupid or something. Well, you obviously must be a little diva or gansta that lowrides or cares if a drop of rain drops on your big ego head. Yoohoo reality check you are all stupid and that’s what makes you end up a spoiled brat who spend money on stupid unneeded stuff. Also, as a second job (besides picking up trash in street sewers) you hate. You hate China (because you are a lower and have nothing better to do then hate people smarter and more focused then you!
I am American and I agree with this post. I am ashamed of my country’s general lack of intelligence. In any group, before finding the answer to any problem, one must first overcome the hurdles of almost every other person’s egos… It is so tiring to hear “I’m right, you’re wrong!” when their answer is hardly even related to the problem. My faith in humanity is dwindling, but thank you for this post. It would seem a simple relocation (FAR away from the US) is the best solution for myself. It is truly fearsome that one of the most needlessly violent countries is also one of the stupidest that has ever existed… Here, it is the stupid, the obsurd, the complete waste materials of our society that are hoisted up as our “idols,” it is disgusting. The criteria here for a survival of the fittest scenario’s “fit” is greed, intolerance, and breeding.
While I appreciate why the rest of the world has such a negative perception of our country, you have to remember that intelligence comes in various forms. I might suck at math, but I’ve always excelled, beyond average, in English, writing, speech, grammar, and foreign languages. There’s IQ, and there is EQ, and I’m fairly positive I have more of the latter than former. I can look at a cookbook and successfully prepare a dish for the first time. I have musical talent, sharp driving skills, and I am able to delve into another’s subconscious with ease and know exactly what they’re going to say…
Some things are not taught in school, or valued enough to be measured or compared.
Redarmy wrote “Most American politicians have acted in a stupid way as far as their foreign policies are concerned”
Yeah and……..? What does that prove? That pretty much sums up most politicians in most countries. I can’t believe the hypocrisy and hatred emanating from a lot of these posts. Be careful about pointing fingers. Make sure when you are arguing with stupid people that they are aren’t doing the same thing! No country on earth can boost about being perfect. Many of you are sprouting vile claims about how stupid Americas are based on very little evidence and that just tells me more about you than them.
In case you all have not noticed, the once great and helpful friend to all, America, has been taken over by a group of criminals who use our military as their private police force. Intelligent people who care to investigate the United States’ collective plight do in fact exist, yet are becoming harder and harder to find.
I recently graduated from college and in my four years of observations, the average student believes 911 was carried out by “terrorists” as described in the official government version. But, I have noticed, especially after studying the wisdom-of-crowds phenomenon, that increasing numbers of the general public are giving the LIKE vote online in response to YOUTUBE and YAHOO blog-comments when discussing “who really controls America.” Clue: It ain’t the US government or the US people!
After studying these controlling interests, I conclude that these same people have a long history of dumbing-down and distracting populations via liberal (meaning copious) infusions of made-up crises (including war and theater shootings), religious issues, pornography, hard drugs, booze, sports and mindless mass entertainment, including organized sports (for bets) and sitcoms.
I love travel to Europe and am saddened by the comments of how the many of the English will not even speak to Americans anymore. I don’t want to say “screw the Brits!” I love ‘em. Heck, I am half British myself. That being said, some of us are literally stuck in America right now and are trying to make changes here without getting ourselves or our friends and family killed in the process. We are not soldiers. That is another problem. Our young soldiers think to “get the girl,” prove they are a man or garner a father’s love they have to sign up for the US military. Is the same old bullshit used for thousands of years (for glory), but now there is little excuse since there is so much information about the current conflicts/ wars online prior to a commitment for military duty.
Let me conclude by saying that my friends and I are real Americans. We would give you the shirts off our back, especially to our European friends. If my European brethren needed me I would fly over and grab a shovel or don a rifle. So, when condemnation of all Americans is tempting please remember some of us are trying to change it.
PS: I am ashamed of our terrible television and commercial products, not to mention our arrogant and ignorant tourists.
It is true that the majority of Americans are morons. On the other hand, many Europeans are just as dumb. The only difference I discern between an American moron and a European moron, is that, on average, the European (depending on which Western European country he comes from, and by European I mean Western European) will have had a finer education, overall. However, an American who comes from a privileged background is likely to be just as smart if not a bit more tolerant and urbane than his Western European counterpart.
Your average American, however (particularly those from the Midwest or South), is likely to be quite ill-informed, ignorant, arrogant, and dense. Even engineering students from these parts are likely to deny a reality such as global warming and embrace an illusion such as God. It boggles the mind.
It also saddens me to read much of the American commentary on this page which advances the claim that immigrants in America are uneducated. On the contrary, many of the greater thinkers in the US are immigrants. It is true, however, that many Hispanic immigrants are uneducated, but that is a result of their circumstances rather than their abilities.
On the whole, I often wonder why I live in this country. I don’t feel as if I am leading an intellectually stimulating life. I certainly think I would be much happier and perhaps more informed if I lived in an environment where independent thinking was appreciated, encouraged and stimulated. Then again, I live in the South. I probably would be much better in a region as the Northeast.
I’d like to add that I am originally European and am often outraged at the extent to which Europeans are ignorant, intolerant, and uncivilized, particularly in countries such as Italy (the horror-they’re almost barbaric down there), Spain (plain ignorant mingled with idiocy) or France (xenophobic and misinformed). I guess in the end, all countries have their fair share of dimwits. It would have been more instructive to speak of a stupid world, rather than a stupid country.
Americans shouldn’t go overseas unless very well educated. Going abroad can stunt an American’s intellectual growth through encountering negative appraisals by foreigners, causing poor self image, defensiveness, and lack of confidence. There is really no issue here otherwise, whether or not Americans are stupid, if the US government keeps them stupid, or foreigners make them stupid by cutting them down until they become anti-intellectual.
I have an IQ of 165 in my mother language and are an INTP, if you know what it means. No, I am not a nerd. I learned English by speaking it and learned English reading there after. Until my masters degree (I have another one in engineering from my home country) in business administration with a GPA of 3.6 I have never been in an English speaking school before. In several English IQ tests I got an IQ of over 140, this is due to lack of my english school knowledge. Does this makes me happy or rich? No, it doesn’t. Some posts have a lower IQ than my peanuts I am eating just now. It doesn’t matter so much your IQ it matters what you make out of yourself and that you are happy with what you are. I have seen more “stupid” people being happy than smart people. You want my IQ?
I have had roommates from Australia and England and both of them and their international friends have said that in their country Americans are perceived as stupid and/or idiots. Then after they actually take American courses in their major after four weeks they ask themselves why is this because they end up doing much worse in these classes in the US as compared to their home country.
If someone from England comes to the United States for a semester or two they only have to get a 70% in a class to get a 4.0, while over 80% of college courses require an American to get a 90% to get a 4.0. To get a 3.0 someone from England is only required to get a 50% in a class, while most Americans would have to get an 80% in that class. Their standards are set much lower than ours which is a main reason why we are perceived as stupid. They look at the failure rate of Americans in college and notice a staggering high % compared to their home country, but they don’t realize that in college if we get a 65% in a class we tend to get a 2.0, but an English or Australian would get a 3.5 GPA. Americans set the bar much higher for our students than ANY other developed country (I don’t know about China, but every other country I know for a fact that our pass/fail % cut off line is MUCH MUCH higher).
It frustrated me when I found out that in Australia, England and Ireland getting a 65% in a class is nearly equivalent to someone with a 3.33 GPA here in the USA.
I am a Senior college student majoring in Physiology and I have a 3.25 GPA and it is nearly impossible for me to get into a graduate school or PA school, but if I lived in other countries like in Europe I could have something in the range of at least a 3.75 GPA and I would easily find a job.
An Australian friend of mine told me that if you got a 65% in a class in Australia then you would have job offers after job offers. He also said that even a kid who graduates with a 55% (which is equivalent to a 3.0 GPA in the USA) would find tons of graduate schools. Yes, I understand that maybe their curriculum may be harder, but even my roommate from England said that in classes that he gets a 75% back at home he is currently getting about a 50% in and yet he will still get a 3.0 grade conversion to England, while everyone else in the class with a 50% would get a 1.5 or a 2.0
America is one of the ONLY ONLY ONLY countries of the developed world in which getting below a 65% is considered failing (1.5 or below) in nearly every class, not including some of the high senior level science classes
I even have classes that are 200 level classes in which you must get a 94% in order to get a 4.0 and at least an 84% to get a 3.0…yet class averages on our exams are only an 80-82% and the only grades you have are 4 exams and a final.
Then I also have two classes where your final GPA is based on class rank where of the 300 student class (in which 180 are pre-med students who have above a 3.5 GPA, and I am not counting the pre-Vet, pre-PA, and other Pr-Professional majors I am only county Pre-DO and Pre-MD students) Only 10% of the students can get a 4.0, only 20% can get a 3.5, only 35% can get a 3.0, only 60% of the kids get a 2.5, 75% of the kids get a 2.0, thus AUTOMATICALLY 25% (75 students!!!) get a failing grade. This is a class in which EVERY medical school requires you to pass.
So yeah. Americans may be perceived as stupid throughout other countries but it has more to do with the fact that our educational grading scales are set MUCH higher than every other developed country. Of the over 40 international students my roommate knows nearly all of them say that they are doing worse in their American courses than they are back at home.
Very interesting.
I just want to point out that when you do not take the time to check your spelling it makes you appear ignorant. Since stupidity is the topic, I think extra attention should be paid to your words. Typo’s are understandable but spellcheck is pretty common these days, so try using it:).
My previous comment was addressed to those who made such errors, not those who did not.
I live very close to Microsoft and a big number of the software engineers are from other countries, Same with the specialist doctors from th three hospitals that I know.
Back in the 50s. the Americans had the most important jobs, not anymore.
Elemer.
America’s under performing education is, in my opinion, due to two main factors.
1. Society. We live in a more and more consumer orientated society, where we want everything now, immediately. However, these effects a more marked in the US (they’re arriving in Europe of course, but since Americans are trend-setters, they’ve suffered from the media’s dumbing down for longer than Europe at the moment). No one reads newspapers in the US anymore, and the news is getting fewer ratings each decade. People just aren’t seeking information.
2. Christian fundamentalism. The religious zele in America is stopping vast amounts of potentiel scientists ever even having a chance at a scientific future. Home schooling evangelical children insures they’re totally incapable of acheiving in higher education. The “debate” between creationism and evolution is only a debate in one developed nation: USA. It isn’t a debate. It shouldn’t be a debate. It’s as near as makes no difference a FACT.
I agree to some extent. I am a teacher and have come to realize that I am a teacher because I could not apply what I learned in school to jobs that require applying that knowledge. Don’t get me wrong, teachers are great and necessary for the advancement of our future.
Yes we have so much learning to do. Give us a break. We are such a young country. Let’s take a look at European countries when they were still babies, not even 300 years old…Not so pretty huh? How about China? Now that’s scarey. Most Americans I know are very good people who just want to lead healthy lives and raise their children in peace. Unfortunately they have little to no effect on international policies. I’m a teacher in middle school and love my job. I teach AP math students. They are really good kids who actually love learning. They have great plans for their futures all including college. I think society in general is to blame for low intelligence in the US. I know the reason my students are so well behaved and work so hard is because of their parents most of the time. Their parents are involved in their child’s education and support me as their teacher. Generally the kids who are unsuccessful at school are lacking parental support at home. It’s hard to reach that child in math when they are worried about basic human needs like food, shelter, etc. I don’t know what the answer is except experiencing those tough times like our elder countries have and hopefully learning from our mistakes.
Stop picking on the Americans please and look at yourselves for a change.
I´ve been living in USA, I´m married to an american. First years I noticed that americans only learn about their own country in school, they don´t travel much, they don´t read a lot or study. In Europe even old people study. I am amazed over how stupid (most) americans are, how old fashioned ideas and how closed minded they are.
I’ve been fascinated by this blog for a while now. Reading comment after comment in awe, surprise and sympathy. Considering how aggressive some of the attacks on Americans are, I feel a little sorry for my countrymen.
The little country flag at the top of this message shows Sweden, l suppose, but I am just spending some early Spring time at my cabin here. My daily life is cross the sound in Denmark, where I have been living for over 40 years now. Long story.
I too, find that a lot of Americans make a very bad impression in Europe and other countries. It has not always been this way, but things have changed and, yes, the average American is not as knowledgeable as a generation ago. Nonetheless there are still well educated individuals and good hearted critical thinking people without a lot formal education, who just don’t get as much exposure as the loud, in-your-face-stupid types.
The reason I am at this blog is because I, too, enjoy the vengeful putting down of the fat-stupid-loud-warmongering-junkfood-devouring stereotypes they come across. But, let’s face it, deep down we wish it was otherwise.
Once there was a (dream) land…now there’s these pityful disappointments that give me no joy…I want my dream back! The “over there” dream where freedom rules, the music is great, money can be made, if you just work hard enough,… etc. etc. Get used to it , America was never what you thought it was. You, and the other foreigners that ripped the Indians off are just reaping the fruit of their actions. Bad karma folks. Now it’s YOUR turn to be exploited, abused and misused.
That’s the sad truth.
My heart reaches out to all the poor sweet, beautiful, gifted, impoverished, jailed, intelligent, yes intelligent, overweight, undernourished, hopeful suckers out there in God’s favorite land … whichever it may be.
Hmmmm… this is getting a bit dark…maybe it’s the stillness of this black night in my Skånska skov and my years in excile and maybe it’s because I have always missed that special deep blue in the N. California sky and the mild sunny days, cool nights and SF sour dough bread…
Good luck, all of you “Why are Americans so stupid ?” people. I hope you find your dream, nightmare, scape goat, love of your life.
LD / I den filosofiske hjørne
PS
Anyone with a good story and pleasant disposition may apply for borrowing my Swedish cabin free of charge (electricity will cost a pittance) for a week. This is my gift to some other stupid American. Ladump@gmail.com