Are americans smart ?

[Oyama]

Is it true that american education is crap ? I've seen lot's of pisstakes on video saying that americans generally educated don't know simple stuff, like where france is or england. Why are they generally depicted as ignorant people , being taught only that the USA is number one and that the rest of the world is nothing.

I hope I'm not offending any patriots, I'm not intending to - my english is not verry good and I may be missundersttod.

[sacco sideways]

Grade a douche bag !

[HyperTek]

come to america, theres alot of assclowns, but theres smart people. Its just we are really easily influenced.

[Touge Noob S13]

Not that the education system is really crappy, just that some people here take too many things for granted. If you really want to see the worst of the worst that America has to offer go here.

www.peopleofwalmart.com

[I LUV MY S13]

if you dont even know then why say anything...i'll admit there are some dumb shits around

[PinkPanther]

America is the greatest country in the world, we are a mutt of every nationality and everyone knows mutts are the most loyal and lovable of all dogs. Yes that was from stripes, one of the greatest movies ever.

[lewisfk]

Like a few others here, i've had the chance to travel to different countries and yes we are not in the top ten when it comes to smarts! As Americans we believe were the best in everything and our ego is bigger than Kanye! But hell, the truth of the matter is we have the biggest dick at the party and know one can chump us! Soon there will be a few countries at our level, but by that time I will be dead or getting hard ons with the use of viagra! We might not be the smartest country,we have the power, and we can import what we cant find at home!

[drift freaq]

Its like this. France is a small country with their nose high in the air. France is a country that the U.S. rescued twice in the last century in two world wars. France is the most ungrateful uppity country in the world.
Now with that said some French people themselves are nice cool people, SOME not all and quite a few think they are the shit.
Britain a country that was once a great world Empire two centuries ago in its own right. Now reduced to the Island Nation it once was before its Empire. A cool country with some people that are really cool. A country that for the most part in some circles never got over being beat by the U.S. in the American Revolution. Cest La Vie.

Most British people like America and Americans, snotty upper crust English like to put down the United States. Clarkson on top gear does it because he just likes being an ass for the sake of being an ass.

Now I pointed these things about those two countries out because you used them as the examples. Poor examples they are. neither has achieved the kind of technological advancements the U.S. has. We were the first to smash the Atom. We lead the world in semiconductor technology( oh and don't even attempt to argue that) i.e. we invent transistors, we invented silicon transistors, we invented TTL and large scale integration. Without large scale integration you would not have your cell phone or your computers.
Sure other countries make memory chips cheap. Though when it comes to microprocessors we are the bleeding edge. Same goes for software.

Now with those examples plus other things as well,its a fact that the U.S. is a country that is almost 30 times or more the size of Britain or France. A country that has thrown open its doors to people from all over the world with different levels of education and knowledge.

In that sense you cannot expect everyone in the United States to be of above average intelligence. There is more chance of there being a higher concentration of bright people in Britain or France just based on a geographical size difference to population.
Even though their are areas and places in the U.S. were intelligence is extremely high and areas were its extremely low.
The San Francisco Bay area and more specifically Silicon Valley is an Example of an Area with a high population of way above average intelligence.
Hell the high School I went to in Palo Alto was in the 98th percentile.
Seattle and Redmond Washington would be another area. As well as certain areas of Texas, believe it or not. Boston Mass because their is a high tech area out there. Chicago area(it was the home of bell labs were the transistor was invented by William Shockley) .

So basically your question is a rather broad and generalized situation. Are Americans smart they can be. Are there some dumb Americans that embarass America? Yes. Though see every country has their idiot.
Its just both France and England are has been's that want to throw darts at the successors. LOL

As far as our educational system goes the secondary schools have fallen in the last 15 years. They do need to be reformed.
Our Colleges and Universities are exceptional though. Which is way you see so many foreigners coming here or wanting to to attend College.

Our Medical is also considered to be the most advanced in the world as well. Regardless of costs or lack of universal health care. Yes Britain and Canada have universal health care but there medical is still not quite as good as the U.S.

Oh and as far as what the poster above me said, LOL dude you really need to study more about America's technological advances. You are proving that Americans can be quite ignorant, of their own achievements and success.

I find all to often on car forums the people are only keyed to the fact that foreign countries now make better cars, and think because of it America is not as smart or technologically advanced.
Our car companies are beat because of bad management and the American auto workers union period!
I

[IIIXziuR]

I'm pretty sure we are viewed as idiots and fat buffoons across the globe.
I think that's fabulous, honestly.

[ESmorz]

Originally Posted by Oyama

Is it true that american education is crap?

Yes, it is. It is nowhere near as good as it should be considering how high our horse is.

Now if you are talking about mental aptitude I would say most countries equal out in raw intelligence per capita. Although, the American way of life has really flipped the bitch on evolution so we may be fighting a losing battle to slight retardation and mental deficiency.

[ashtonroche]

lol are americans smart, Some,

Not the ones who decided to live in New Orleans, not the ones who are in charge of Ford, Dodge, and Chevrolet, and not the ones that made the laws in Cali, hahahaha

thats my opinion and im sticking to it.

[Taniguchi_Is_#1]

no.

msglength

[SexPanda]

Are Americans smart? Well, unfortunately because our country has so much shit going right, many people have decided to suck at the nipple of our government, resulting in many uneducated people who think that if its not American, its not right. Most americans are somewhat educated people, work hard, and aren't complete asshats. We love foreigners for the most part. Especially Europeans. Its just that small minority that gives us a bad name.

[240sxxs]

AMERICA had alot of fast food..fattest nation in the world !!

[keytops]

Yea. You only notice the stupid people, the adverage to smart ones blend in. Although our educational system isn't not on par with other countries it's not to say that we're all stupid. We do go to college.

Watch ideocracy! All the smart people are busy conquering hair loss and prolonging erections. "I like money!"

[ryguy]

I think in America its 'cool to be stupid,' for one reason or another the popular media, entertainment industry, etc., really tend to make being intelligent 'uncool.' I also think that my generation and the generation before me doesn't have any huge accomplishment to cling to, like the atomic bomb and WWII in the 40s, landing on the moon in the 60s and 70s, that makes us proud of America's accomplishments. Hell, landing on the moon seems like a fairy tale in some ways to my generation. (Don't even say a damn word about the moon landings being faked, thats another *ridiculous* argument altogether.)

[Brian]

I heard this saying once.

If you speak 3 languages, you are trilingual
If you speak 2 languages, you are bilingual
If you speak 1 language, you are American.

[kevmeistah21]

HATERS make you famous.

[SexPanda]

I speak 2. I think Im doing pretty good lol.

But yes, thats pretty much true. Go to the desert. People in the UAE speak, 3, 4, 5 languages. They may not write or read in them all, but they speak them.

[steve_o1989]

I'll bring in a Canadian perspective here. Being a neighbour, and frequently travelling down to the states, I can kind of differenciate between how Americans are viewed as a whole here, and how I personally view them.

I don't think that they are really as under-educated as they are made out to be. To me it seems that they just don't give two shits about where Britain is on a map, or what the weather would be like in Canada in the middle of July (couple stories about that one.)

From how I see it, American's don't have a good knowledge of other countries, or cultures, but then they don't have any desire to. They are all taught that United States is the greatest country in the world and that is all they need to know. I guess it is just more of an ignorance to the rest of the world, not stupidity.

Of course there are still the uneducated, but every country has that.

I also think that the media has tons to do with it. As we all know, the media focuses more on the negative aspects of society than the positives. Are you more likely to remember hearing about a guy who blows off his hand trying to go fishing with dynamite, or a guy who comes up with a new method for a transplant?

In my opinion alot of people just don't like Americans. For one reason or another; whether it is because they seem to take so much for granted, or because it seems like they don't really give a shit about the rest of the world, or whatever. I personally don't dislike them, I just know lots of people don't. I think that alot of this also stems from money. America is a capitalist society. They make a ton of cash. Look where most of the billionaires are from, look at where the major franchises are based out of, look at the shear amount of production they do. Other places resent this, and like to justify it to themselves; "oh they are all fat and lazy dumasses".

Now obviously this is extremely generalized. It is ment to depict a society, not an individual, so don't take it personal.

One thing I do notice when I do go to the states though...there is a fuck ton of fat people haha. That is one thing I INSTANTLY notice walking into a mall there. There are just lots of huge, like not a little extra chunk, but waddling blobs that are as tall as they are wide.

[Brian]

Originally Posted by steve_o1989

I don't think that they are really as under-educated as they are made out to be. To me it seems that they just don't give two shits about where Britain is on a map, or what the weather would be like in Canada in the middle of July (couple stories about that one.)

From how I see it, American's don't have a good knowledge of other countries, or cultures, but then they don't have any desire to. They are all taught that United States is the greatest country in the world and that is all they need to know. I guess it is just more of an ignorance to the rest of the world, not stupidity.

I believe this is probably THE best explanation that anybody could possibly give.

[ManoNegra]

Originally Posted by kevmeistah21

HATERS make you famous.

That pretty much sums it up American's general attitude.

Seeing it as an immigrant
Americans are extremely lazy and have a huge sense of entitlement
it's always someone elses fault
the media, the man, religions, the government, etc
rather than to fail an idiot, schools pass them because it's easier than having to deal with the problem

but it's also the land of opportunity if you're willing to sweat blood and work your ass off.

[ronmcdon]

Well I kinda read up on the education thing.

Really, France & Britain shouldn't be bragging.
If GEOGRAPHY is all they can brag about, that's not really saying much.
As far as I'm concerned, France & Britian are a non-issue today.

Now China & India is another story.
You do see countries like India & China having very dedicated High School students.
Yes, they will perform better in actually important disciplines such as Math & Science.
However, there is an added incentive to do well in HS there.
Colleges are more scarce, competitive, & difficult to get in.
If you can't get into one of the famous colleges, your career might be underminded.
much more is at stake.
Most of the main money making jobs there, like engineering, medicine, etc require doing well in math & science.
It makes sense that students there would have to emphasize their focus in disciplines that ultimately pay off.
The kids aren't smarter than US kids per say,
they're just doing what they need in order to be successful in their country.

In the US, colleges are everywhere and rules are relatively more lax.
There is less of an incentive to cram so hard for math & science.
If you drop out of HS, it's no big deal.
Study at city college, do well there, then transfer to a 4 year college.
I did just that, and ended up graduating at uc san diego some years ago.

Sometimes I do think that our High Schools are something we could even do without to some extent.
Unless kids are studying to get into some college and/or get a scholorship,
there's no real legit academic challenge in HS.
The senior year is prob something we could do without entirely.
Give the kids a year off, and cut taxpayers some slack.
Maybe give kids the chance to work or go to college at 16.
Too much time and money is wasted on a questionable education.

Our colleges in general are great, but our high schools are a bit of a joke.

[drift_limo]

Originally Posted by Touge Noob S13

Not that the education system is really crappy, just that some people here take too many things for granted. If you really want to see the worst of the worst that America has to offer go here.

www.peopleofwalmart.com

beat me to it lol

Originally Posted by Brian

I heard this saying once.

If you speak 3 languages, you are trilingual
If you speak 2 languages, you are bilingual
If you speak 1 language, you are American.

I only speak spanish full american cuz
lol jp
I speak more then 3 languages.


but there is some smart people in the U.S. and we also have our special people, but im sure other countrys have the same problem.

[SochBAT]

Know why Americans are stupid?

They have to curve the grading scale for retarded kids to pass.

I'm not talking about highschool or college at all.

Fucking POS joke of a public education system we've got.

[Works Aero]

Its not that Americans are complete retards, its that Americans CHOOSE to do just the bare minimum. get grades good enough to graduate,
get a degree good enough to get a job etc... never going the extra mile.
The real problem is America lacks self discipline. And because American society sets the bar so low its easy to look like a hero just because you have a bachelors degree in liberal arts.

[ayuaddict]

Originally Posted by Works Aero

its not that Americans are complete retards, its that Americans CHOOSE to do just the bare minimum. get grades good enough to graduate. get a degree good enough to get a job etc... never going the extra mile. the real problem is America lacks self discipline.

or ambition for the most part.

but then again, it makes it easier for the actual ambitious people to excel. it kind of works itself out, a survival of the fittest in a way.

[Matej]

Public education is socialism. America should do away with it completely.

[drift freaq]

Originally Posted by Works Aero

Its not that Americans are complete retards, its that Americans CHOOSE to do just the bare minimum. get grades good enough to graduate,
get a degree good enough to get a job etc... never going the extra mile.
The real problem is America lacks self discipline. And because American society sets the bar so low its easy to look like a hero just because you have a bachelors degree in liberal arts.

This is a problem that has come about in the last 15 years or so. America was not always this way. Plus America used to have plenty of self discipline.
Truth be told Sooshi did nail it with the fact that the grading system curve has been lowered for the sake of less educated people. The LA school system is notorious for this kind of bullshit. Hell they pass kids that can't read. How the fuck does that happen? When I was a kid it could not happen, now it does. Shit 20 years ago LA had a excellent school system.

Its true Americans have gotten lazy. Another major problem is current college bound kids are more interested in making money than actually doing things that would make the country better. I.E. going into Sciences and whatnot.

Its true this is where China and India excel where we used to excel. Like I said earlier we still lead the World in Technology but the pool of Americans doing that work is shrinking because everyone is becoming greedy and more interested in making money period.


Though to sum it all up once again, A country this size accepting people and cultures from all over the world is not going to have all intelligent or all non intelligent people. Its going to have a mix that will skew the results.

Originally Posted by Matej

Public education is socialism. America should do away with it completely.

LOL I gave you kudos for this comedic comment.

[Oyama]

Originally Posted by Works Aero

Its not that Americans are complete retards, its that Americans CHOOSE to do just the bare minimum. get grades good enough to graduate,
get a degree good enough to get a job etc... never going the extra mile.
The real problem is America lacks self discipline. And because American society sets the bar so low its easy to look like a hero just because you have a bachelors degree in liberal arts.

I think someone a few posts up said it perfectly - being smart is considered uncool, ofcourse every countr doesn't like dorks , but it seems that in america you can be a dumbass and still graduate some fancy pants college and get the best job despite being a moron.

About the fact that so many emigrants can't be good for smarts - while that may be , there's also the people of wallmart factor - they pretty much all seem native ..haha lol.