Stupid American idiots.

What annoys me is that people do videos like these only for Americans. I am confidant that if you were to do something like this in any other developed nation, you'd get similar results. Just as common sense is not as common as you would think, common knowledge isn't either.

 

Agreed, I have yet to see something like this for any European or Asian country.

 

I feel the exact same way, Neon. I'm a Canadian, do you know how many stupid Canadians i run into each day? Many. It's the same everywhere you go.

Stupidity knows no Race, Gender, Location, or Creed.

 

Actually It surprises me that these people actually manage to get a job and have a life even when they think star wars really happened, while on the other side of the world where this would really be a phenomenon, the people live in poverty.

 

i don't know about this particular kind of ignorance being worldwide...

sure morons exist of all colors, cultures, nations, etc... but american ignorance is particularly frightening given the combination of very advanced resources (knowledge) and extremely primitive use of those resources

I saw a survey where something like 1/3 of Americans couldn't find Mississippi on a map. A surprising number can't find the United States on a map. Most have no clue about the world beyond their intimate circle and no desire to learn more, even though there is a massive amount of potential basic knowledge at their very fingertips. And that's sad.

It's understandable when tribesmen in a nation that isn't industrialized don't know anything beyond the habits of their sheep. But it's just pathetic when a majority of the citizens in the 'greatest nation' are as unclear about the shape of the world beyond their hometown as your standard medieval peasant.

 

The thing is, people in America run on the same hardware as those tribesmen. Information that they use, need, depend on, they know. Information that they don't, they don't. It is really that simple.

Take a second to think of the many uses the average person might have for knowledge of the geographical location of one of fifty states. Why would you expect them to know this? "Because it is their country" is certainly not an answer. If that were justification you might as well expect them to go on and memorize the Constitution, the Gettysburg Address, and, you know, the tax laws- out of patriotism of course. We drill this stuff into children (minus the tax laws) because children find confidence in memorizing things, and they're good at it, and they have not yet developed the ability to analyze certain subjects on a critical level, but beyond being entertaining trivia, this kind of knowledge will rarely be applied.

Think of it this way. You have a choice between sitting down with a map and memorizing the relative geographical positions
of huge areas of governance so large that it would take most of a day to drive across one on an interstate, or you memorize the relative geographical positions of various streets, shops, and houses in your hometown. You only intend to leave your state once in the next year, but you intend to leave your house much more frequently. Which set of information will you chose to know?
Now apply this to everything one might encounter. Information can be divided into "I will use it" and "I will not use it." When given a choice between these kinds of knowledge, dozens of times a day, which will you find yourself choosing, more often than not? To expect anything more of any group of people is to me, unreasonable. It is basically expecting them to put themselves at a disadvantage in order to "look" smarter. I don't have these expectations of people, anywhere, and this is why I don't expect similar "testing" performed in other (developed) countries to be any different.

 

Actually, schools don't do memorization any more. I can remember my history teacher in highschool telling the class about how schools used to have students memorize that kind of stuff but it isn't done any more.

What you are talking about Neon is the reality but the reality is the as it should be. I'm sure you will agree that a person should know geography as it will help them put events into context. They should know, for example, the basic details of the current conflicts in the middle east. Sure they may not use it on a day to day basis but as members of a democratic society it is their civic duty to be well informed so as to make better electoral choices. This is a fact which really truly needs to be drilled into the heads of the people in ths country.

 

I agree with DarkTemplarlol and Neon on this one. Firstly, that video was edited heavily, and often you only saw the person tripping over themselves trying to answer it.

Who was the fifth man on the moon? I couldn't answer that one off the top of my head... Neil Armstrong? Buzz Caldrin? I can't tell you the fifth one. Lol.

50 States? Tough to organize 50 things of any type and put them in order. Heck, it's tough to write out all 50 states. (BTW for those of you that made a comment, the question was to name the 50 states, he wasn't naming a country. So way to join the ranks of those in the "video").

And also, what countries make up the Axis of Evil? Guess what? That guy wasn't necessarily wrong. Which "Axis of Evil" was he asking about? He didn't specify. In World War II it was the Allies versus the Axis, and people thought of them as evil. Germany was in that Axis, the guy wasn't wrong.

This video is stupid in itself, and like much of what we see on the internet, it's false and biased. They wanted to produce a result and so they did.

However, I'm not going to argue that the average American is the brightest crayon in the box. A lot of people just don't care, but that doesn't mean Americans are dumber than any other type of person.

 

most americans dont even know the general shape of the world wtf

 

That would be a fine position to take except for it disregards a very key element. The ignorance of a nomadic tribesman is unlikely to harm anybody, even himself. On the other hand, the ignorance of the average American has a profound effect upon the world. The average ignorant American votes for leaders and policies with his voice, buying power and culture in general. Hence, the lamentable danger.

The world is being moved by people who don't even have a basic comprehension of said world. (A very obvious current example would be the situation in Iraq, but a whole horde of issues from environmental pollution to ethical standards, etc, etc are being enforced around the globe by people who are very uncertain about what the planet is like.)

What does it matter if Americans know where Mississippi is? It should be plain why it matters. The city of New Orleans (and much of the surrounding coastal regions) wouldn't still be a disaster zone years later if the average American knew and cared about anything beyond the cartoons on his TV set.

What does it matter if Americans know basic world geography and history? It should be plain why it matters. Perhaps if the average American was less ignorant they wouldn't support the invasion of countries they know nothing about. That's horrible. I can ask my neighbors where Iraq is, what the people there have done to harm us, who is leading them, what the situation there is, etc, etc... most of them will be clueless. Yet, the majority of them will resolutely proclaim their support for the war effort. THAT is the price of ignorance... and it's a heavy one if you ask me.

 

Nate: Just because the average American has the influence to elect American policymakers does not change the fact that humans are naturally disinclined to ignore irrelevant information and that the average American is human.

Do understand that the situation of Americans being superhumans actually capable of wielding their disproportionate influence, while desirable, is not the case, and cannot be reasonably expected. Furthermore, it is not even the subject at hand. We are not talking about whether or not it is best for society as a whole for Americans to have the level of knowledge that they do, because that is clearly an open and shut case, I don't even disagree with you there. The matter at hand is, "Are Americans actually of lower intelligence compared of the rest of the world?" On this matter I simply have to disagree. I don't believe that culture has that kind of influence on raw intelligence.

Can you qualify a statement like "It should be plain why it matters [that Americans should know basic Geography and History]." Without falling back on visions of a global Utopia? I can't.

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Quanta: While rote memorization is no longer pressed as it once was, it is still fairly ingrained, just less obviously. Schoolchildren are still expected to memorize certain dates, such as the year Columbus set sail from Spain, the names of his ships, the name and nature of the Mayflower voyage, the names of the first successful settlements, etc. Huge chunks like the Declaration of Independance, Constitution, Gettysburg Address, and yes, the states, complete with locations and capitals, are only memorized extracurricularly, as teachers' and parents' sick idea of entertainment. Unless you are going to be a historian, or work in public and international affairs, or perhaps write fiction, knowledge of this kind of thing is actually of very little value.
Going beyond that, even information about the status in the Middle East is completely irrelevant outside of the aforementioned fields, plus perhaps business that deals with contracts over there, research in developing technology to be used over there, and personal relationships with people being shipped over there. Yes, there are people that absolutely must know about the general state of affairs to got through their lives, but they are not your average person on the street.

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Guys, if you are really worried about American policies ruining the world, don't focus your energies on the American people, because you are going against human nature, choice-economics, and sheer numbers, all at once. If you want to have unreasonable hopes, have them on a more realistic scale. Worry about the actual officials that get elected. Worry about corruption and ignorance. Because, unlike with the rest of the people, these people are expected to be smarter, more informed, more selfless, and more responsible. For them, critical information should be relevant to their day-to-day lives.

From what I've read and heard, the average Congressman is pretty freaking smart, and incredibly well-informed. Their problem boils down to the same everyone else has: that they can only handle so much information in a reasonable way. Each one has their own priorities, areas where they try to get progress made, and everywhere else, they take in as much information as they can deal with and make the best-informed decision they can. Of course, this information does include things such as their party's views, their voters views, etc., stuff that deals with future reelection, that might not pertain to the topic at hand, and you might want to take a stab at that too (you can refer to that stuff as Politics. It is a force that brings in the views of the people, even if the people aren't as smart or well-informed on average as the politicians.)

 

@ Neon: Firstly, I would indeed summarize the American brand of stupidity as superior to that found elsewhere. In my present culture it may not be very important to know how to get food beyond simply going to the grocery store, but it is indeed drastically stupid to not even bother to learn that skill. The average American may not be significantly mentally challenged per say, but their sphere of knowledge can hardly be called that. The latest dance moves and clothing fashions may be the most important elements of my environment, but I would have to be a moron to think that they matter in the larger scheme of things. To return to our tribesman, he may be ignorant of many things, but he has the knowledge to preserve his own life. The average American lacks that knowledge. We have the knowledge of (hopefully) being friendly to those who can preserve our lives for us. And to rely on others to that degree is stupid no matter how you look at it.

Secondly, I would in fact argue that culture can promote stupidity. The link between excessive TV watching and decreased mental function is well established. Luxury in general promotes the creation of weaker individuals (both physically and mentally). When humans aren't challenged, they stagnate and regress. Hence the average American is overweight, unhealthy, ignorant and mentally deficient. If you don't exercise, your body atrophies - and so does your brain. The elderly are continually advised to keep using their brains to avoid loss of function. Is it any wonder that a society as prosperous as mine finds that the majority of its individuals really don't have to think that much or that often? No. And that lack of need for thought has in fact led to a dumbing down. The average American doesn't just know less, he's less intelligent too because he hasn't used his brain as much.

I don't think it has to be a utopia for people who support a war to at least know where that war is taking place and who it's against and maybe even at least a slight portion of the reason why it needs to be fought.

 

More stupid now then ever. Welcome to The Age of Endarkment.

Fear/apathy/ignorance 1.

Bravery/determination/knowledge 0.

Civil war here in the U.S. of A? I give it an 85% chance of happening. Before 2030.

But by all means, keep mocking Americans. At least we don't have 112 cars burned every day. Or nationally implemented Sharia law. Have fun with that, Europe

 

thats not holland, holland is the third most democratic country in the world

i have much problems with the two-party sistem used in america, it does not represent minorities in any way

 

Thats because those 2 parties have a lot of influence on business, which is were a lot of the funding for campaigns comes from. Anyone not within those parties cannot fund thier campaign as well as those who are, which is why no third party has ever become president, unfortunately.

 

There is really no legal way for another Civil War to occur.

America simply isn't divided economically as it was in the 1850s.... its really an economic and cultural impossibility.

In the 1850s the North and South acted almost like two countries with the South getting shafted economically. That was the main reason for secession (btw, secession is still completely legal) in the first place. We don't have nearly enough regional divisions in our country to prompt something like that.

 

legal way for a civil war? huh? lol

war doesn't have to be legal... but I agree, I don't see a civil war happening either, there isn't any group in the united states being repressed that is large enough and collected enough to put together an actual civil war effort... not to mention that the culture has changed in America - while in the past fighting for your rights with a gun was the norm, now ppl just pay lawyers and politicians...

 

Yes, it has to be legal within a state's own code to secede in order to "legally" have a war.

People don't just decide.. hey let's have a civil war.

It happens legally first. Not in the sense of both sides agreeing to go to war, but in that all the other channels get exhausted and a loophole is found that aggravates the situation (secession).

 

people make laws... laws don't make people

as far as I know there is no "legal" way to secede (the constitution is considered binding upon "the people" and hence states cannot overturn it), but that hardly means people couldn't do so if they wanted to... ppl do what they want, and the laws adjust accordingly

knowing that the federal government would never allow a secession, anybody who wanted to secede would fortify their borders and physically separate first, and worry about whatever state-birthing ritual they wanted later

I mean, it's the same as any altercation. If I'm upset with you, it may be 'honorable' or regarded as 'moral' (the first law-code) for me to inform you of my dislike and arrange some manner of duel... but in practice the usual course would be to simply attack immediately, and then yell about the reasons for the conflict afterwards.

practicality usually trumps legality

 

"We're going to take this team 360 degrees!"