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.

[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?

[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?

[munish]

We do have the same problem, in the rural areas.

[Still Growing]

I love to travel and I've been to dozens of countries and have lived 25% of my adult life out of the country. My wife is not a US citizen, I do business with various other countries on a daily basis and I truly love the uniqueness of each country and culture.

I've been adventurous in the various foods of each country and have eaten many meals on banana leaves, have eaten so many unique foods and have tried my best to learn other languages. I find other cultures to be so special.

I have however, myself, faced discrimination based upon race, religion or origin in other countries just like is in the US. I've seen both the good and the bad that every nation has to offer.

I find it so interesting to listen to someone in a waring nation condemn the US for being a war nation. I've listened to European nations tell me how backward American's are and how we have no taste. I call these people my friends and I see and agree with many of their viewpoints politely. I don't criticize their nations, their policies and I simply realize that they don't know the US.

Some people living in NY and LA call the rest of the US fly over states. They're quick to embrace the simplistic thinking of a backward nation but don't have love for their own nation's simple ways.

From my experience, the US is very diverse, has many religions, viewpoints, many travelled people, many curious people and many kind people that will stop and help you in a time of need.

I think that every nation has its problems, its backward thinking and its own gov't problems.

The problem that the US faces is that it is being JUDGED by the world. Movies, music and our gov't self titled "World Police" policy has made the US the most unpopular nation in the world. Now as I travel around people speak to me like a child. They talk down to me as if an American can't possibly know about the world. They'll make comments about conflicts in Africa that the US doesn't help with yet their own nation does nothing as well.

The US is now being held to a higher standard and more is expected of us. Are we rising to the occasion? I say no.

Its a shame that we aren't but its also a shame that our global friends have lost all respect for us. They think they know what American is but do they? Or do they just know us from our movies as being materialistic, shallow and so forth. We are now judged by our movies people. From my experience, people are very different than the Hollywood experience.

[Marco Polo]

I haven't lost respect for America. In the normal course of events I would be the first to bash it, but these days I usually spring to its defense. The American light is being snuffed out, and I hate to see it happen

As a Swedish person (yes I'm Sveeedish, go ahead picture me eating delicious meatballs and speaking in a funny accent), I happen to like Americans, a lot. Most Americans I've meet are impressive people. Europeans may be thinkers (and yes we have an aura of superiority, sorry about that), but Americans are doers! Highly energetic people. A nation unparalleled by any other in history does not just pop into existence - it is created by the vigor of its people. Americans have vigor.

Granted, the latest generations of Americans have been, according to most statistics I've seen (in terms of erudition, for instance), the least impressive for a long time. I've gathered it's partially due to a crappy education system, although cultural factors most likely played a role as well... there has been a gradual process of "dumbing down" the last few decades. Yet there must be something in general about the American spirit that made the country so powerful. America is still a youthful nation, not completely settled... America is still testing, pushing the boundaries for better or for worse. It's not just a talking nation, it's a doing nation.

I have only ever met expatriate Americans, and have never actually set foot in the country. So maybe I just met the "good" Americans, who knows. I refuse to base my view of America on cheap Hollywood culture though (we should really call it anti/counter-culture). I avoid that stuff like the plague, unless I'm forced into a situation where I can't.

Of course the world resents you by the way - America is the superpower. It's the nation that everyone likes to badmouth, yet the very same destination of choice for anyone aspiring to success. I would love to go there myself someday. If you make it in America, you don't have to make it anywhere else.

The problems facing America are more complicated than "Bush destroyed the world" however. If you think there are no other profound questions facing your society you are probably delusional. In fact I usually make the point that Western civilization as a whole has been on a slippery slope since Fat Man wrecked havoc upon Nagasaki. We're now facing a civilizational exhaustion of sorts, all across the industrialized world really... having failed so often in the past, the West is asking: what next? and not really finding any good answers.

Yet America is the only Western nation where ideas borne of the enlightenment remain strong to this day, where the state has not yet annexed every facet of adult life and where the citizens are not... dormant. (Australia may be a possible exception to this).

Go America! You ARE a great nation. You have lots of creative potential, and intelligent people if you seek them out. You just need to turn the tide and get yourselves back on track (OK, saying "just" is probably trivialising the problem, but anyway). Don't base your self esteem upon what other nations think of you, or upon your internal self-criticism. Nations have ups and downs - historians speak of 'A' and 'B' phases - just like every individual person has good and bad days. You don't give up during the bad times just because they're tough. Kudos on you all.

Marco

[UbonTaz]

I noticed the host didn't bother showing any correct answers.

Polls like that can be skewed to show any outcome the pollster wants.

I am sure I can go to his country and get the exact same results.
As well as many other countries throughout the world.

If he talks to 1000 people and 100 give answsers like that and those are the only ones that are in the video than he has confirmed the verdict he wants to prove. But what about the other 100?

The video probably does a lot for the guys big ego and he gets a laugh about it with his friends over a beer but what do we know about the true intelligence of the guy who made the video and if he even knew the answers before he gathered them to do this.

Is he implying the his countrymen spend all of their waking hours gathering data about the world to fill their minds?

[The David]

I'm with pdamoc on this one. You really can't judge someone's intelligence by 'zooming in' on things they don't know. We live in a society that encourages boundaries and prejudice, and as such, many will be ignorant about things such as Buddhist monks, the religion of Israel, and the number of sides to a triangle.

Okay, those last two are a little weird. It's pretty hard to not learn those.

[Profecy]

What's really sad is the people that made the video and tried to look smart mispelled Kofi Annan's name at 3:00

[srbelnap]

That video was edited to the extreme, but I'm still not surprised, but it is definitely frustrating to see how low the intellectual average is. I'm glad there are smart people here to do the important stuff.

Celebrity smarts don't bode well either... given Miss South Carolina's intellectual faux pas.

I did find it funny that no one recognized an incorrect map! Basic geography!
However, I do this it's important to say that it's not only Americans. There are stupid people everywhere!

[Keith]

Why on earth is the video subtitled (and poorly at that)?

A few of the answers were understandable: Confusing Germany (a WWII Axis Power) with the Axis of Evil, for example.

A couple were even valid:
* Utopia is a country starting with 'U', albeit a fictitious one.
* Tony Blair's a politician - so of course he's an actor.

[Lanya]

I'm a complete idiot.

[Lucas]

I don't think Americans are any more idiotic than any other nation. On a one on one level, I think everyone has some knowledge that others don't and what I think is idiotic is when people don't see that. I consider myself an educated, intelligent individual, but part of that is knowing that I don't know everything. My grndmother is pretty much a black hating hillbilly, but the woman could make a plant grow in a granite mine. I have trouble keeping a cactus alive. So there is knowledge and experience there that I don't have, even though she is practically afraid of my laptop.

People tend to specialize their knowledge as well...so because someone seems dumb on camera, doesn't mean they don't know anything. I knew a guy who couldn't read, and didn't know anything about life outside of his town, but he could fix pretty much anything mechanical, and could build buildings.

Some of these people do seem a little dumber than they should be, and in fact, I think a smart person would be inquiring how many people they had to interview to find the ones answering stuff wrong. I see camera edits, and any time film is cut, bias is created. I would like to see the whole reel. Maybe the guy in the blue shirt got half the questions right, or even corrected himself after the fact.

What they don't show is more telling than what they do.

[LarryC]

True, they went out of their way to show the dumbest answers for entertainment value. Sort of like a Borat piece. We don't know what percentage of people are *that* ignorant. One problem is that many Americans simply don't feel the need to know about anything going on in the world. Then we can aways blame the media's focus on celebrity culture. I have to admit, though, this video is pretty funny.

[newmark]

As many have said above, every country has ignorant people.
The video was funny though.
I read of a survey in the UK where a large minority thought that Gandalf was a historical figure.