Oh dear god

[Nick Forrer]

Dont know if we would fare any better

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=fJuNgBkloFE

[CFT]

We are, kind of ... http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=w_mkwB9ayK4

Half of them are kids. The last one is one of those "mind block"/trick questions.

[Scott R. Brown]

Well, there wasn't one question I could not answer correctly.

It is pretty easy to ask a large number of people questions and then only show the ones who can't answer them. We have no idea how many actually answered the questions correctly. They conveniently didn't show any. We don't know how many were told if they answer falsely they will get to be on television and we also don't know how many answered falsely on purpose. There is nothing scientific about this spectacle. This is an example of reporting with an agenda.

The agenda here was to embarrass America and Americans. What it really demonstrates is the foolishness/stupidity of those individuals who actually believe Americans are stupid by accepting clearly biased reporting. If people cannot perceive the clear manipulation of evidence here they are the ones who are demonstrating an inability to think.

It is actually worse to be so easily manipulated than it is to not be able to answer any of the questions correctly. If you cannot answer a question you MAY be subject to manipulation. If you believe the report you ARE manipulated. So who is the greater fool?

They could do the same thing by only showing crimes committed by blacks to give the impression that only blacks commit crimes and the impression it implies would be just as false. The REAL fools are those who automatically accepted the poorly evidenced conclusion.

They could also go to any other country, ask questions and only show the incorrect answers to demonstrate how ignorant those people are too. Anyone can only show the dummies! How hard is that?

[Mr Punch]

They could also go to any other country, ask questions and only show the incorrect answers to demonstrate how ignorant those people are too. Anyone can only show the dummies! How hard is that?Chill. No-one here is saying that it's really indicative of your whole nation. It is pretty ****ing stupid though. You can't deny that.

And if you look at youtube (linked from that vid) there ARE a couple doing the same in the UK (well Scotland anyway, so what would you expect! :p :D ).

And whatever you do, don't look at this satire. (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=UFvz5mCH4TU)

[/Bluebeard-esque maniacal laugh] :D

[Scott R. Brown]

Chill. No-one here is saying that it's really indicative of your whole nation. It is pretty ****ing stupid though. You can't deny that.

And if you look at youtube (linked from that vid) there ARE a couple doing the same in the UK (well Scotland anyway, so what would you expect! :p :D ).

And whatever you do, don't look at this satire. (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=UFvz5mCH4TU)

[/Bluebeard-esque maniacal laugh] :D

I was not responding in an hostile manner. Only pointing out the truth of the matter.

[Scott R. Brown]

It is pretty ****ing stupid though. You can't deny that.

My experience has been, there is plenty of foolishness to go around all over the world. It is not limited to any one country, culture, religion, creed, political system, etc. It is a universal characteristic of mankind.

[CFT]

Scott, although it is not necessarily representative of the nation, don't you find the ignorance frightening? Some pretty basic questions about current affairs. This is part of the electorate who are electing the government.

[AJM]

Dumbing down is a universal thing. It's pretty obvious this is going on in the U.S.A and the U.K. as these used to be educated nations. Do a google search on dumbing down and get an idea how effective this is and how long this has been going on.

[Mano Mano]

Ignorance & stupidity are everywhere, however when I was in Florida a man at the next table in a restaurant hearing my accent when I was talking to the waiter asked me where I was from, the I’m English from the UK. He looked at me with a puzzled look where’s the UK. I informed him that the UK stood for United Kingdom another name form Britain, I’ve been there he said where did you go in Britain. expecting the usual tourist places London, Edinburgh. I went to France came his reply.

[Scott R. Brown]

Clearly there are stupid people in America, there are stupid people everywhere, that is my point. Most of the people I know are stupid as well. Most of us probably think that most of the people we know are stupid. I even thought most of my college professors were stupid too. That most likely says more about me than the professors. The question is begged, are they as stupid as I think they are or am I the REAL foolish one?

They would think my opinion is foolish and I think they are foolish. This is a universal characteristic of humans and this is clearly demonstrated by the makers of the vid and those who accept its premise without deeper thought. All the makers of the vid are saying is, "We are better than them!"

THEY think THEY are better than US! That is a generic THEY and a generic US. This attitude is universal across ALL populations whether they are countries, ethnic populations, religious groups, local groups or street gangs. It is in the nature of mankind to think this way.

All we have is anecdotal evidence here and that is my other point. If we accept anecdotal evidence as REAL evidence then we are not showing much more intelligence than those shown in the vid. If a person accepts the premise of the vid which has clearly edited the content to ONLY include the foolish answers then I say look at yourself before you judge others as foolish or stupid because you have not demonstrated superior thinking or knowledge either.

A stupid population is an easily manipulated population. Educational systems teach students WHAT to think, not HOW to think.

Historically, there have always been more uneducated people than educated throughout ALL populations. Remember the bell curve? This demonstrates you will find a large population somewhere in the middle with sloping gradations to either extreme.

The foolish people interviewed DO NOT make public policy and most of them don't vote either. Of the eligible voters only approximately 40%-50% actually vote. The rest are content to just live their lives and drink beer. This is no different than in most other countries. The sky will not fall and the world will not end because most people are stupid.

Luckily it isn't contagious.......most of the time!:)

[TenTigers]

. Americans are too cozy, they have no preditors, no threats, so they don't need intelligence.

yes, we do. We voted them into office.

[lkfmdc]

the US has a lot of stupid people.

we also have 304 Nobel laureates, more than any other country in the world

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_laureates_by_country#United_States_of_Americ a

[Takuan]

<movie quote> "AMERICA **** YEAH" </movie quote>

[Pork Chop]

street_fighter

Let me guess, you went to a public school while you were here, correct?
If so, it would explain a lot.

[SanHeChuan]

Not all public schools are that bad, but **** Street_fighters school sounds bad. :eek: Where was this school, Arizona (http://www.morganquitno.com/edrank.htm)?

[Pork Chop]

After living in both states in the last 5 years, how Maryland scored higher than Texas, I'll never know.

[MasterKiller]

Texas girls are much, much hotter and therefore a distraction in class.

[Pork Chop]

Texas girls are much, much hotter and therefore a distraction in class.

Only the san antonio, houston, & austin ones
you can keep the rest

[MasterKiller]

you can keep the rest

Deal !

[sanjuro_ronin]

Not all public schools are that bad, but **** Street_fighters school sounds bad. :eek: Where was this school, Arizona (http://www.morganquitno.com/edrank.htm)?

The states closest to Canada are the smartest, must be access to Canadian Sausage :D

[Pork Chop]

The states closest to Canada are the smartest, must be access to Canadian Sausage :D

Granted, but Washington and Michigan didn't fair so well.
North Dakota did worse than South Dakota