Are Americans Dumb?

[Dan.Linehan]

These interviews are thoroughly cherry picked.

Everything Entertaining: Are Americans Stupid?

Regardless, this is still a pretty shocking video.

[Dharma]

Wowwwwwwwwwwwwww.

I cannot believe my ears.

They didn't ask anyone how many Rocky movies there have been. I bet Americans would score at least 50% on that one.

[PianoManGidley]

I've seen this before. There was also a bit where that same reporter walks around introducing himself to Americans as the Prime Minister of Australia...and of course, they show many people who believe him.

So much for living in the Information Age, eh? Exactly WHAT are we informed about en masse? Which celebrity is sleeping with who?

[Tasaio]

This is what we non-Americans have been trying to tell you for quite some time.

Talking to Americans...

YouTube - Rick Mercer - Talking To Americans

YouTube - Ric Mercer Talking with Americans

. . .

In seriousness...don't worry about it. Most Canadians don't know that the Queen is our Head of State, or that the Gov. General is our Commander-in-Chief.

Most Canadians would also be hard-pressed to correctly answer, "Which state is Washington D.C. in?"

. . .

It's a trick question. Washington D.C. lies in the District of Columbia, which technically isn't a state.

[coLLege kid07]

Originally Posted by Tasaio

"Which state is Washington D.C. in?"

Isn't it Georgia...? I think I know this one lol

[Trezker]

I just can't believe people are as ignorant as in those videos. It's just beyond my imaginative capabilities.

If Americans really are that ignorant, why the heck do they even have schools, do they just learn medicine, music and law then don't give a **** about anything else?

[Still Growing]

I have travelled the world and found that most nations have dullards.

On average, lack of knowledge and education can be broken down in to social class (on average). Not the class you are borne with but the one that an American chooses to pursue. On average if someone in the US pursues a higher education and if they are successful the income opportunites enable them to travel, etc. If you tested this group of Americans you may be surprised at their world ranking in education and knowledge of the world.

When I travel to Germany I hear about how Americans don't know much about the world. They then speak about Italy, France and potentially something in the headlines about Myanmar. In the conversations I'll often hear uneducated comments about Asia, Mexico, or the US. As I have travelled through Europe I also hear small minded comments about countries like Mexico or comments about how Japan makes cheap products... Really I've heard some very ignorant comments come from supposedly superior intellects in Europe. My point is that if you meet enough people in any country you can watch them call Americans dumb while you can clearly see that they have their own lack of education and knowledge of the world.

If you measure the average, a socialist country could easily have higher averages however you may also find that this average is far below the subset of Americans who have been exposed to a higher education.

If you made the comment, "Some Americans are so dumb" I would agree or "There are a lot of dumb people in America" I would agree. I would not however, look down on an American when meeting them because they may be extremely educated, well travelled and potentially more knowledgeable about the world than yourself. Generalisations are always dangerous.

[{aspiring_to_clarity}]

The honest truth is that I wouldn't be able to answer all of those questions, but at least I would know that.

I sometimes think that in the modern world it's easy to be ignorant becuase there is so much information. We have access to the stories of the entire world. We will be knowledgeable about those we have the desire and time to focus on. For many people that is only what immediately affects them in daily life.

There could be a class distinction. Poor and uneducated people have to worry about getting food on their plate before they can study the leaders of the world or get into a commentary on where the next invasion should take place. I think the people who criticize us around the world 1) are most likely the more educated and 2) that in many places in the world it is imperative to have a knowledge of world events because they directly affect you. Here we are quite insulated and have the luxury of stupidity.

Not that that's a good thing.

[Neblasian]

I sometimes think that in the modern world it's easy to be ignorant becuase there is so much information.

Very true. But, it also goes both ways regardless of the country you live in. What I think is that the information age just amplifies your potential. If you want to be dumb and ignorant, you can go on the internet and watch porn and rap music all day, on the other hand if you want to increase your intelligence you can explore which ever field you endeavor by just the click of the mouse. Before, you had to accept whatever resources your country provided now you can choose. It seems that the world is creating two species of people, dumb and smart.



Neblasian

[TheOpusMovieCommunity]

Wow, that was pretty bad.

All Americans aren't stupid, but there are stupid Americans.

[{aspiring_to_clarity}]

Originally Posted by Neblasian

If you want to be dumb and ignorant, you can go on the internet and watch porn and rap music all day

Hey, I like rap music.

[Neblasian]

Originally Posted by {aspiring_to_clarity}

Hey, I like rap music.

Yea, but I am sure you don't listen to it all of your waking day. And your main discussions are not "who can spit the tightest rhymes"




Neblasian

[{aspiring_to_clarity}]

Originally Posted by Neblasian

Yea, but I am sure you don't listen to it all of your waking day. And your main discussions are not "who can spit the tightest rhymes"

You don't know me very well, do you?

[Dannyboy1]

What's an American?

[PianoManGidley]

Originally Posted by Dannyboy1

What's an American?

Technically, I think it's anyone who can claim citizenship to any nation on either the North or South American continents (including Central America).

[Dannyboy1]

Originally Posted by PianoManGidley

Technically, I think it's anyone who can claim citizenship to any nation on either the North or South American continents (including Central America).

What's a continent?

[PianoManGidley]

Originally Posted by Dannyboy1

What's a continent?

Continent - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Dannyboy1]

Originally Posted by PianoManGidley

Continent - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

What's missing the joke?

[PianoManGidley]

Originally Posted by Dannyboy1

What's missing the joke?

???

[Dannyboy1]

Originally Posted by PianoManGidley

???

I'm just acting like a dumb American as a joke. I know what a continent is.

[Brutha]

On average the masses are dumb everywhere.

When you ask people with a camera and film long enough and show only the stupid answers you get everywhere funny answers.

But still a video like that has entertainment value.

[Still Growing]

Originally Posted by Brutha

On average the masses are dumb everywhere.

When you ask people with a camera and film long enough and show only the stupid answers you get everywhere funny answers.

But still a video like that has entertainment value.

I agree Brutha !

[JFKDemocrat]

Yea about 51 percent of Americans are dumb, 30 percent have just gotten side tracked in the last 30 years, and the rest of us wish it were the 60s lol

[PianoManGidley]

Originally Posted by JFKDemocrat

Yea about 51 percent of Americans are dumb, 30 percent have just gotten side tracked in the last 30 years, and the rest of us wish it were the 60s lol

I'm not quite sure how you're meaning this here...why would the "intelligent" Americans want it to be the 60s again? Vietnam? Hippy movement?

[JFKDemocrat]

People were proud to be who they were and not afraid to show it. If you remember correctly the people of the 60s fought very hard against the war and was able to show their displeasure without being called unAmerican. We still had a little control over our politicians.

[JSB]

Originally Posted by PianoManGidley

I'm not quite sure how you're meaning this here...why would the "intelligent" Americans want it to be the 60s again? Vietnam? Hippy movement?

I'm not in that group, but I'm pretty sure the answer is: Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n Roll!

[JSB]

I don't think American are any dumber than anyone else, but I do think Americans are especially anesthetized, misinformed, and polluted by the crap that's on TV.

[Still Growing]

JSB,

I agree completely that the news in the US is pure propaganda. Most Americans believe that we have a free media but I see evidence daily to suggest that they are manipulated by the gov't and corporations.

In Europe the media shows things that the US media fails to report... It makes the US media look dishonest.

I will say that in Europe that the media also twist figures to show how socialism works best and that the media tries to hide the benefits of the US capitalistic, low tax methods. Its subtle but I see it.

If you ever have a beer with a German you'll receive a barrage about how bad the US system is and how great their system is. They make great points and then I find myself agreeing with them on most points. Slowly, however, I notice that they are also fed misinformation that slants their view to be pro-socialist. Its done in a very honest and open way with less corporate and gov't intervention however it is slanted just enough to form some inaccurate popular opinion....

The US media is just blatant about holding back information. Our two party system makes us believe that there is a check and balance but this is an illusion.

In the end we're all blind to what we cannot see, are unwilling to see or are not shown.

[dendennz]

.... but let's just say, with 4.2 million people I don't think we can really AFFORD to be involved in that coalition of the willing... and we weren't. We were heavily against anything like that and still are. Means our relations with the US aren't the greatest - we don't tolerate nuclear power or weapondry either so the US warships can't come visit us - but we're loosely friends with the USA

I mean, hell - we just about can't afford to defend ourselves let alone get involved in other country's conflicts: our petrol is now $2.12 a litre for 91 octane (multiply that by about 4 to get a US gallon...! don't even start thinking about 96 octane... ) - how much support do ya think the average Kiwi can generate when paying for that? We don't even own an AIR FORCE any longer!! Well: not entirely true... a few air force bases, a few whirly-birds (helicopters), a whole stack of Sky Hawks mothballed and wrapped up in plastic waiting to some other country to buy them.... Yeah.. that makes an Air force, right ?

Having said that: Kiwis tend to be quite worldly, a result of our isolation and being big travellers... Who said a Kiwi can't fly? We also don't generate as much news nationally as the rest of the world so we get a lot of world news here - TV stations have to do something to fill up a news hour, right? We hear about the US elections a lot and we all followed the Obama vs Clinton "race" and there was debate on our talk-back radio shows and articles in our newspapers about the Senators. We have CNN here on Satellite TV so we'll follow your elections closely and with much interest later this year.

I could answer just about all of those questions given by the reporter, except the expression "collateral damage" is not an often-used expression over here so that had me scratching my head a bit And I loved that the reporter used a fake map showing Korea and Iran where Australia actually is... good one, mate! We always thought you Aussies were suspect :P

Kia kaha (stand tall, be strong),

Jenny.
Wellington, New Zealand.

P.S: I refer to myself as a Kiwi. A Kiwi is a bird - our national bird. The furry fruit with the sweet green or yellow inside is a kiwi fruit I have to think twice when watching an American program where they talk about eating kiwis!!!! It gets me wondering where the true axis of evil is

[pdamoc]

Originally Posted by Dan.Linehan

These interviews are thoroughly cherry picked.

Everything Entertaining: Are Americans Stupid?

I don't believe Americans are Stupid. They are just asleep.
The USA economy is based on fear and as such, economic entities need to keep the American people in a state of hypnotization. They don't need to THINK, they need to buy. They are put on a tread mill of CRAVE-BUY. The control is done with the television.
Any person renouncing television will get in a very uncomfortable (at first) psychological state. Cognitive surplus will overweight them. As they start to spend this cognitive surplus better, they will start thinking better questions: Who am I? What am I? Where am I?