Why Americans "Aren't" Stupid
um how is this any different than the other thread? And there are stupid people everywhere as has been pointed out. If you ask enough people random questions, you'll get stupid answers. It's not some amazing thing. Nor does it make you any more intelligent by knowing the answers to something such as who is in the coalition of the willing or what is the religion of Israel. That information has no effect or use in daily life, why would people care to remember it? I like how people posting these videos think it makes them superior to the US 
There's a reason why a good 80% or so of new vaccinations, cures, medical discoveries, surgical methods, discoveries in general, significant scientific information comes from the America. There's a reason why the US gained world superiority in an extremely short time period of existence. There's a reason why people have nice necessities such as electricity and automobiles. These things originated in America or were popularized/heavily produced by Americans for the most part. Obviously some of this was built on past knowledge, but finding a person who doesn't know who is in the coalition of the willing (as if that is everyday knowledge) proves nothing...and never will. I'm sure there are dozens of things I could come ask in any country/continent and I could find people who don't know the answer. These videos prove nothing and I laugh at the stations who actually air/fund these silly videos as if they're any more intelligent.
It actually shows a ton of insecurity. That one would have to go around a city and ask hundreds of people random questions in an attempt to compile a useless video only to make one's self seem superior is quite sad...and a fairly large embarrassment to humanity. People say Americans are stuck up and insecure
There's a reason why a good 80% or so of new vaccinations, cures, medical discoveries, surgical methods, discoveries in general, significant scientific information comes from the America. There's a reason why the US gained world superiority in an extremely short time period of existence. There's a reason why people have nice necessities such as electricity and automobiles. These things originated in America or were popularized/heavily produced by Americans for the most part. Obviously some of this was built on past knowledge, but finding a person who doesn't know who is in the coalition of the willing (as if that is everyday knowledge) proves nothing...and never will. I'm sure there are dozens of things I could come ask in any country/continent and I could find people who don't know the answer. These videos prove nothing and I laugh at the stations who actually air/fund these silly videos as if they're any more intelligent.
It actually shows a ton of insecurity. That one would have to go around a city and ask hundreds of people random questions in an attempt to compile a useless video only to make one's self seem superior is quite sad...and a fairly large embarrassment to humanity. People say Americans are stuck up and insecure
M'hm.
"How many sides does a triangle have?"
"-Uhh...four?"
"How many sides does a triangle have?"
"-Uhh...four?"
Better...!:
"What religion to Bhuddist monks follow?"
"-Uhh...Islam? No, wait, Christianity!"
-------
"Which state does KFC come from?"
"I don't know"
"Do you know what KFC stands for?"
"Kentucky Fried Chicken, right?"
....
"What religion to Bhuddist monks follow?"
"-Uhh...Islam? No, wait, Christianity!"
-------
"Which state does KFC come from?"
"I don't know"
"Do you know what KFC stands for?"
"Kentucky Fried Chicken, right?"
....
Continue on with your insecurities. When you have to point out flaws with other individuals simply to make yourself feel superior, you have bigger issues outside of worrying about other's intelligence.
| liljp617 wrote: |
| Continue on with your insecurities. When you have to point out flaws with other individuals simply to make yourself feel superior, you have bigger issues outside of worrying about other's intelligence. |
Seconded. Unless, of course, your objective is to correct the misconceptions of others, in which case, I believe we all have a moral duty.
/stop the ignorance, teach and be taught
Somehow, I think that if I were asked questions, I wouldn't make it into the final cut of the film...
Unless I got one wrong, that is.
Really, you could get results like these anywhere, you just have to ask many people many questions, and cut the intelligent responses out of the tape.
(Though I suspect that the amount they had to cut out was dismayingly small...)
I remember on a game show though:
Host: What country is to the North of the USA?
Contestant: I don't know! I really don't!
Unless I got one wrong, that is.
Really, you could get results like these anywhere, you just have to ask many people many questions, and cut the intelligent responses out of the tape.
(Though I suspect that the amount they had to cut out was dismayingly small...)
I remember on a game show though:
Host: What country is to the North of the USA?
Contestant: I don't know! I really don't!
| quex wrote: | ||
Seconded. Unless, of course, your objective is to correct the misconceptions of others, in which case, I believe we all have a moral duty. /stop the ignorance, teach and be taught |
True but anyone above age 5 can understand that's not what's going on here
| liljp617 wrote: | ||||
True but anyone above age 5 can understand that's not what's going on here :P |
Well, consider it a disclaimer. ^_^
| ocalhoun wrote: |
| Somehow, I think that if I were asked questions, I wouldn't make it into the final cut of the film...
Unless I got one wrong, that is. Really, you could get results like these anywhere, you just have to ask many people many questions, and cut the intelligent responses out of the tape. (Though I suspect that the amount they had to cut out was dismayingly small...) I remember on a game show though: Host: What country is to the North of the USA? Contestant: I don't know! I really don't! |
I have more junior high students in Japan who know that Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the US than college grad friends who do. ;_;
AHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHHAAHAH
I enjoyed a lot!!!
I'm still laughin'
Yes, come attack and invade Brazil! We're the most dangerous baddies around!
I enjoyed a lot!!!
I'm still laughin'
Yes, come attack and invade Brazil! We're the most dangerous baddies around!
You could make such a video of e.g. muslims or women and have everyone screaming discrimination, racism etc. But when it's about US citizens it's suddenly okay. Whoever accuses the US of discrimination, racism, etc. and then "enjoys" this video as the TS said, is just a big-mouthed, annoying hypocrite. Like most of the everything-US-does-is-wrong heroes on the Net...
| Arnie wrote: |
| You could make such a video of e.g. muslims or women and have everyone screaming discrimination, racism etc. But when it's about US citizens it's suddenly okay. Whoever accuses the US of discrimination, racism, etc. and then "enjoys" this video as the TS said, is just a big-mouthed, annoying hypocrite. Like most of the everything-US-does-is-wrong heroes on the Net... |
Hey, be very careful. A few countries are actually "innocent" on the racism/discrimination matter, but it's undeniable when talking about the US. About their lack of knowledge, it's not about offense, it's a fact, look at those on that video. Ok, they might have been conveniently selected, but I can't convince myself of it. It's very sad to see the richest nation on Earth to have its average citizens educated like that...
"March 2003:
- Do you know where Iraq is?
- Yes, somewhere near Florida."
Also, when it comes to the experts, they're very good at their area, and I respect them. However their wisdom is too narrow-centred: some might know everything about some insect family, but be a dumb entomologist. Also I've heard of some very respected political scientists that can't even solve an equation involving only linear terms.
If you feel offended, then write to your congressmen so they can make bills about general knowledge-education. If I were you, I'd be ashamed of such things.
Edit: Arnie, by the way, I love your signiture!
Well, I'm not from the US at all, but if you're going to say those are the "average US citizens" then the burden of proof is on you.
My sig comes from Urban Dictionary, click the link to get lots more I used to think I was the only one with such an opinion on feminism, until I found that...
But okay, /offtopic
My sig comes from Urban Dictionary, click the link to get lots more
I used to think I was the only one with such an opinion on feminism, until I found that... | Quote: |
| The actually name of this person is itself sexist. They press for equal rights, yet the call themselves feminists. As if women are the only ones that ever get discriminated against ever. |
But okay, /offtopic
this video is funny 
although exaggerated. I know some people who are really smart. Hilarious though...
although exaggerated. I know some people who are really smart. Hilarious though...| Arnie wrote: | ||
| Well, I'm not from the US at all, but if you're going to say those are the "average US citizens" then the burden of proof is on you.
My sig comes from Urban Dictionary, click the link to get lots more I used to think I was the only one with such an opinion on feminism, until I found that...
But okay, /offtopic |
Hey, at least I think that the CNN reporter of the video interviewed random people on the street, and, statistically, they represent the class of average citizens. No need to prove when a video is there. However, the video may be biased, and from this point on I don't know. In this case, then the burden of proof is back on you
It's not and never will be until I make a claim such as "they are the average citizens" which is crucial in this discussion but not proven. In fact, many people before you have correctly pointed out that such a video can be easily obtained by interviewing lots of people and selecting only the dumb answers. We're both unsure if that happened or not (although the more probable answer seems obvious), but I don't make definite statements such as:
There's no way you can prove that with the information you have now.
Unless you assume that this reporter would have decided not to publish the video if he finds it's not entirely representative. If the reporter considered that at all, a negative outcome would spoil the party and his brilliant idea of a funny movie. US bashing is hot nowadays, and many people (including reporters and forum heroes) go for the popularity... We cannot be sure this guy is being correct, in fact he most likely isn't.
| Quote: |
| statistically, they represent the class of average citizens. |
Unless you assume that this reporter would have decided not to publish the video if he finds it's not entirely representative. If the reporter considered that at all, a negative outcome would spoil the party and his brilliant idea of a funny movie. US bashing is hot nowadays, and many people (including reporters and forum heroes) go for the popularity... We cannot be sure this guy is being correct, in fact he most likely isn't.
| Quote: |
| There's no way you can prove that with the information you have now. |
It's sad, but I bet you could make such a movie in Brazil and the Netherlands as well.
| liljp617 wrote: |
| Continue on with your insecurities. When you have to point out flaws with other individuals simply to make yourself feel superior, you have bigger issues outside of worrying about other's intelligence. |
ROTFLMAO!
:pwnt:
Srsly, there are stupid people everywhere. Including here!
| Da Rossa wrote: | ||
|
What's sad is you don't have the education or common sense to come to the conclusion this is purely a propaganda video, a video more biased than the damn Soviet propaganda during WWII or the Cold War....and that's pretty biased. You obviously can't see that they asked probably a good 500 people these questions and cut out any decent answer they got. You have no clue whether or not they gave these people money beforehand just to read a script (I'm pretty sure anyone would say something idiotic for 10 or 20 bucks).
Again, I point out to you the US has some of the top universities in the world. The overwhelming majority of medical advances begin in the US and are typically discovered/utilized in the US before any other country. There's a reason this country went to the top of the chain in a very short time period. There's a reason why some of the greatest modern inventions come from the US. The list goes on and on. I guess we've accomplished this much out of pure luck.
And lastly, I must point out again that having a TV show strictly to point out other people's issues/problems is the first sign of insecurities. It's fairly obvious some people have bigger issues than the US does.
| liljp617 wrote: | ||||
True but anyone above age 5 can understand that's not what's going on here |
+1
Lol this is kinda made as a comedy, but is far from being true
Reading through some of these I had to respond to some of the stuff that's been said.
What you're watching is not a propaganda video. It comes from a TV series called CNNNN which was shown on the ABC - that is to say Australian Broadcasting Corporation, not American Broadcasting Company - around 2002-2003 I think.
Now there are neocon nutters here (mainly in the Murdoch press) who would have you believe that 99% of the ABC's output is propaganda but TBH that couldn't be much further from the truth.
It was a satirical show - in the context it was presented in I think it's pretty ridiculous to take that as a comprehensive view on the intelligence of American people. Julian Morrow, the man doing the interviewing, is by no means a CNN reporter - in fact you'll probably remember him from the APEC stunt that CNNNN's successor pulled last year (he was Osama Bin Laden's security attache).
I'm sure Americans are no dumber and smarter than the rest of us - you only need to read the packaging on everyday products to see that it's easy for anyone to avoid thinking too hard ("do not use as food container" on a bottle of bleach for instance).
What you're watching is not a propaganda video. It comes from a TV series called CNNNN which was shown on the ABC - that is to say Australian Broadcasting Corporation, not American Broadcasting Company - around 2002-2003 I think.
Now there are neocon nutters here (mainly in the Murdoch press) who would have you believe that 99% of the ABC's output is propaganda but TBH that couldn't be much further from the truth.
It was a satirical show - in the context it was presented in I think it's pretty ridiculous to take that as a comprehensive view on the intelligence of American people. Julian Morrow, the man doing the interviewing, is by no means a CNN reporter - in fact you'll probably remember him from the APEC stunt that CNNNN's successor pulled last year (he was Osama Bin Laden's security attache).
I'm sure Americans are no dumber and smarter than the rest of us - you only need to read the packaging on everyday products to see that it's easy for anyone to avoid thinking too hard ("do not use as food container" on a bottle of bleach for instance).
| Arnie wrote: |
| It's sad, but I bet you could make such a movie in Brazil and the Netherlands as well. |
Yes, but I have a feeling that it couldn't be that severe. In here, instead people would say "I don't know" instead of saying: "Bhuddists monks follow Islam" or "Next we should invade Iraq, Brazil, etc.
| Quote: |
| What's sad is you don't have the education or common sense to come to the conclusion this is purely a propaganda video, a video more biased than the damn Soviet propaganda during WWII or the Cold War....and that's pretty biased. You obviously can't see that they asked probably a good 500 people these questions and cut out any decent answer they got. You have no clue whether or not they gave these people money beforehand just to read a script (I'm pretty sure anyone would say something idiotic for 10 or 20 bucks). |
What planet are you in, sir? Propaganda/biased video?? Were they paid before saying those things? Yeah, and sometime after this I'm the conspirationist in here. If it is biased, then quote your source, because so far I have no immediate reason to believe CNN has an agenda towards it.
| Quote: |
| Again, I point out to you the US has some of the top universities in the world. The overwhelming majority of medical advances begin in the US and are typically discovered/utilized in the US before any other country. There's a reason this country went to the top of the chain in a very short time period. There's a reason why some of the greatest modern inventions come from the US. The list goes on and on. I guess we've accomplished this much out of pure luck. |
Brother, no one said the US universites are bad, on the contrary. Many Brazilian top students eventually go there and have a degree @ Harvard, Stanford, MIT etc. No one is taking out the credit of your inventions, actually I'm greatful for them, believe me. And also no one said "I hate the US and the American people". You're becoming emotional.
What I'm talking about is that kind of citizen that, innocently, doesn't have a clue of what is happening around the world.
Not really an agenda, but...
...and the $$. CNN is commercial business, you know.
| Arnie wrote: |
| US bashing is hot nowadays, and many people (including reporters and forum heroes) go for the popularity... |
What is a "forum hero"?
You know, the guy on a forum who always voices the "right" opinion (that is, of the majority) and takes it to the extreme. Can often be recognised by a Firefox or Linux avatar, anti-American signature and overuse of the smiley.
smiley.| Arnie wrote: |
| You know, the guy on a forum who always voices the "right" opinion (that is, of the majority) and takes it to the extreme. Can often be recognised by a Firefox or Linux avatar, anti-American signature and overuse of the smiley. |
LOL
I didn't expect that definition!!  |