Forum Post: Are half of Americans of subpar intelligence?
Posted 12 years ago on Nov. 10, 2011, 11:40 a.m. EST by Thrasymaque
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This content is user submitted and not an official statement
Are half of Americans of subpar intelligence? And, if you are American does this question insult you?
only time i ever think that I come from a nation of idiots is when i watch television. when I interact with the real world, I am pleasantly surprised at how many people have good heads on their shoulders.
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I watched your film, and I would suggest that it has to do with Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs
Interesting. How does it relate?
Wanting to learn, or self actualizes, only comes after you feel loved, secure, and are psychologically sound enough to care what the teacher is teaching. the ghettos in America don't allow for safety. And parents being at work all the time in the suburbs, I assume, would have children not feeling loved. both of these criteria must be met before a youngster self actualizes. I did terrible I high school because I was always conniving as to how i was going to retaliate on those who jumped me before school, or wondering witch kid was going to insult me for the hamy downs I wore.
Curious. I wore hand me downs and got in more than my fair share of fights, but still managed to get good grades. If kids parents don't love them, perhaps you are saying our government can somehow make them feel loved?
Your whole post seems like a very wishy washy excuse for the failure the unions have created of our public schools. Moving away from wishy washy bullshit excuses and on to concrete solutions, I have a very simple one. END THE DEPT OF EDUCATION. Make schools a local government issue, with federal dollars available for schools(public or private) that meet the muster of standardized tests, starting in pre-kinder.
Of course we could all hold hands around a power crystal and concentrate and perhaps a solution would come to us.
personally, I never made it through high school. I dropped out. I did my real learning going to work at age sixteen. I think the public or private school system is really just a glorified baby sitting racket. But that's just my take on education. Now, as for college, I believe that it is a must. If more people went to college they wouldn't have the audacity to make fun of OWS for exercising their first amendment rights, and I am not talking about the freedom of speech, but the ability to redress one's grievances.
For the public system that is definitely true. We treat it as daycare, another service of the nanny state.Real education in the formative years happens because the parents want it to happen, but unfortunately our public educators are not really on board for the most part. They like the daycare better.
Private is a whole different story. Both my kids have been in private school from an early age, though one just moved to the public system. Believe me when I tell you, private educators are not day care people. If your kid does not learn, not only do you lose the money, your kids spot gets replaced by someone who cares.
I think you are wrong on both counts. 1) College is not mandatory. Trade schools are and vocational education are more than adequate for the needs of the working masses, without all the college debt. You yourself are a testament to that fact. Most of the kids who got out of highschool when I went, had a btter education than the kids getting out of Junior college with a crappy AA these days. 2) OWS deserves to be made fun of, for a myriad of reasons, most of which are legitimate. I thought the Tea Party did a great job of demonstrating the excercise of free speech in addressing ones grievances. More importantly, they protested to the ONLY people who give a shit. Wall st. does not care that OWS is out front stnking up the place.
Now i know you are a paid bull shitter or you are the most wasteful idiot i have ever had the displeasure to communicate with. Before I went to college, I worked three years as a CNC machine operator. I did not have to go to any trade school to learn that simple trade. I was able to catch on with just my dysfunctional middle school education and my freshman year. why would you send your children to an expensive ass private school if trade school is going to be their destination. you just have a hard on for anything public. either you made that up on the cuff, or you are not planning efficiently. either way, I don't think you are mentally sufficient enough to be giving life lessons.
Temper temper. You are off the topic, especially since you mostly agree with me. Your only issue seems to be with pay for vocational training. Most employers will provide it for free, but if you cant get your foot in the door, those non four year universities offer a valuable service for the price, so long as you don't take liberal arts, or underwater basket weaving (a liberal art?).
What is it you do right now that you think requires a college degree?
Intelligence isn't on the scale unless it is part of your esteem or self actualization.
Still not certain of what you are driving at here, but It seems you are implying that intelligence os not the motivation scale of many Americans?
If so, I'd say thats accurate so long as the government subsidizes stupidity. Self reliance, and responsibility for ones actions, which have tradititionally been part of American culture, obviously foster a need for intelligence, knowledge, and creativity.
Watching the video I linked, I'm trying to figure out how we teach responsibility when our teachers refuse to be responsible by means of union job protection.
Still, I assume at least half are under the average intelligence. Not only on TV. TV does reflect the real world no?
You would have to be below average intelligence to make that assumption, because it is not an assumption but a fact.
TV is well below average intelligence.
All you have to do is watch reality TV to see how low we have sunk. Real World, Bad Girls Club, Jersey Shore, Real Housewives of anywhere, the list goes on. My wife loves these shows, and ironically is very intelligent, with a BA, working on her Masters (4.0 avg. too) while working full time as a creative director.
She probably uses those shows to give her active brain a break. I can see that. I do it sometimes.
You are right. She calls it her "brain candy". They can be entertaining at times, but everyone knows what happens when you eat too much candy. I used to love the educational channels, Discovery, History Channel, TLC (actually used to be called "The Learning Channel), but my favorite is the Science Channel. All these station with the exception of the Science Channel Have been infiltrated with their own "reality" shows, thus further watering down our collective intelligence. I realize that they are just conforming to what the less intelligent majority want to watch.
God, I hope not!
oh I see, yes half are smarter than the other half, but i'm not sure who the standard bearer is.
FYI - This thread was meant as a trap for MikeYD. We are having trolling wars for fun. He caught the bait.
that's funny.
That's a rather arrogant assumption on your part isn't it? How nice of you to insult and denigrate 150 million people you have never met.
It is not an assumption but a mathematical certainty. Half is under the average, and the other half is over the average. It is always so, in any country. It is how averages work.
Wrong! You don't understand averaging obviously.Must be some new Canadian math or something.Example: Take a group of ten people. Nine of the ten people make $50,000 a year. The other person makes $1,000,000 a year. The average salary of the group would be 9x50000+1000000/10 which equals $145,000. Therefore 90% of the group is below the average salary. I hope you can understand this.
You're right. Oh my... I fear many more Americans are under average than I had previously imagined.
Nice insult. You post lies and then fall back on insults when FACTS blow your theory out of the water.
Have you ever looked at IQ distributions? They are not like wealth. Once you have a sample of 300 million people it creates a very beautiful normal distribution where the average is smack in the middle.
You're trying to be clever, but you're an ignoramus. Half of any normally distributed population will be below the mean, and intelligence is of course normally distributed in large populations. But 'par' is not synonymous with 'normal' in the statical sense, so your attempt at wit fails. That is soooo Canadian. You know, nobody really thinks of Canada as a country, we just pretend to make you feel better. Canada is generally thought of as something 'like a country', but really more like open space on the map where the people are generally identical to the Americans they're so envious of except they say 'eh' a lot. Oh yeah, and there's the Quebec separatist thing, that too.
Nice try though, for a Canadian.
[If it's any consolation, Rush used to be good, until about 30 years ago, even if they've sucked ever since.]
Our standards have been being lowered gradually for years now. The average foreigner knows more about American history and how our political system works than the "average" American. And do not believe any of this BS about Canada in this thread. I was born in the US in the 60's, in Michigan. I have spent time in Canada. These people and their country have a lot to be proud of. And they are one of only a handful of countries that always have our back, they are warm and welcoming, and their opposing political parties actually do put differences aside to work out social issues. Don't trash it until you've been there, or spent time actually talking with a few. Opinions though are like A**HOLES, everyone's got one, and some are quite stinky.
I have been there, many times, you presumptuous ass. I have Canadian relatives. The country puts aside it's differences? It's come close to splitting into separate nations numerous times, quite recently in fact.
It's neither here nor there however, as this thread was clearly tongue in cheek, you humorless turd.
It is more important to foreigners to know about america than vice versa
We don't care, they do.
Because we don't want to move to Albania or Kafiristan.
subpar - below an average level.
It's a term that comes out of golf; it is not synonymous with the mean of a normal distribution. Quit while you're ahead.
ok, i'll admit that was funny. but i will correct you as well. education and intelligence are not synonymous either.
I agree. Many Americans who are educated are still under the average intelligence. It's also important to define what educated means. Some factory workers read more than university students.
impaired(retarded) i think is 72, average is around 90. correct if needed.
I thought 100 was average?
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I agree.
Actually, par comes from 16th century Latin and means 'equal'. The golf term dates from late 19th century. The word subpar exists in many writings that predate the invention of golf and the usage of the word in the sport of golf.
There are many other expressions that use the word par like: On par with, up to par, etc...
Again - subpar: below an average level.
Lol. You're making a real ass of yourself now. I advised you to quit while you still have a shred of dignity, but apparently you have a self-destructive streak.
Par is not synonymous with the mean of a statistical distribution. There is a rough similarity, but not sufficient to sustain your attempt at being clever. You screwed up. You're now fighting a losing battle. You'd be better off editing your original post and replacing 'subpar' with 'average'.
See ya!
You must be of suppar intelligence. Thanks for contributing to my thread. Talk to you later.
'Suppar intelligence'? You must mean 'super intelligence'. Wow, you Canadians are easily impressed, but you can't spell.
It was a neologism. I thought you would understand. You seemed educated enough to know that the antonym of the affix sub is sup. You know, a hovercraft could be considered a supmarine because it hovers over water. I guess you never read Derrida or other philosophers who like to play with words in this way. It's probably a French thing. Sorry about that man. Let's use super intelligence.
Sounds like a plan.
The idea was that you showed how subpar did not make sense in my sentence, so I used the neologism suppar to point to my admission that you were right (by using a similar non-word making a similar mistake again) and also to say that you are smart at the same time by using the affix sup which means 'higher' with par.
I thought about it after your answer, and I realized there is indeed a large culture gap between francophones and anglophones in this regard. We always play with words in these ways to invent new meanings or twist existing ones. I don't think anglophones do that very often.
For example, if you are talking with your friends at work and want to insult your superiors, you might say something like suberiors. It's a joke. It sounds like superiors but that one letter change to use sub instead of sup makes all the difference. It's hard to explain, English people never do this type of stuff.... Ouff....
Interesting observation.
Nah. Just brainwashed.
I agree :)
half of the population is below average. SURPRISE!
Just the half that watches FLAKESnews.
Answer to Question #1: Yes, but hurry with your point. Answer to Question #2: No, because we cannot recognize an insult.
Certainly, half of Americans are below average.
so lets eliminate them and have a conversation with ourselves
Why is society being dumbed down . . .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDLBT2U4BtY&feature=relmfu
Please read my blog on this subject, I think you guys will find it informative.
http://takingbackamerica78.blogspot.com/2011/11/bad-american-5-things-every-freedom.html
Uneducated Conservatives will always vote their prejudices over their pocket books. ALWAYS
What does that mean? Are you referring to my blog?
That is Ronald Reagan's political law #3, The Republicans follow Reagan's four political laws that is why they have been winning for the last 20yrs. Google it.
Did you read the whole thing? Read it again and slow down and focus this time. I'm not a Republican nor am I a Democrat. The two party system is broken and that is what my topic #3 discusses.
I agree the two party system is broken. I was just pointing out who broke it.
Oh ok. I misunderstood you. Did you like my article?
Yes I like your article.
I think Americans are willfully ignorant. That's not to say we don't have the potential, we're just to fat and happy. We've got no reason to be intelligent, we've got smartphones and smart cars and too many needless luxuries. We're right where the elite want us.
www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-07/teens-in-u-s-rank-25th-on-math-test-trail-in-science-reading.html
The beginning of the end was 1992 when Social Security contracts were forced upon all new born children effectively making them wards of the state.
Then outcome based "education' dumbing down the masses followed by "no child left behind" idiocy which effectively made a mockery of requiring teachers to even have a college degree to do their jobs, while making it almost a logistical and bureaucratic nightmare to fail a a psychopathic student that is bent on not learning at all.
the government has about as much business dictating education as it does morals and/or religion......... hell, it can't even run a business even with the game completely rigged.
tax churches... tired of them having lobby power yet existing tax free
Could the kardashians get famous anywhere else?
No, I am an American, and I agree but not half, more like 80% are subpar as you put it. Anyone anywhere that believes in ghosts, goblins, angels, daemons, gods, or Santa Clause, and are older than 10 are subpar. People who when asked; "where does hamburger come from?" answer "the supermarket." are subpar. We have more religious idiots who could not kill and butcher a chicken to save their own life per capita than any other industrialized nation on earth.
Look at the education level of the Red States as compared to the Blue states.
Telling.
I don't think we have subpar intelligence, but we are certainly subpar in our willingness to use it.
Thrasymacus, in the Socratic diolagues of Plato, advocated that the good is whatever is in the interstes of the strong, i.e. the 1%.
He indeed does.
Then, as Socrates was far to humain and eloquent to say, get fucked!
I am but the image of Thrasymaque, and, as you know, Plato was clear on the fact that images are a mere representation. They are not reality.
Plato was clear on direct communication to mutually ascertain the truth. State you case. I don't have time or energy for this sophisrtry.
My case is not a position, but a shifted question upon a statement.
Do you not see Socrates' major disadvantage? A disadvantage that bothered only his thought, not yours, nor mine.
Classic example of sophistry.
We are all born sophists, and our only cure is Socrates. But, Socrates never faced Socrates, his sophistry was therefore never expunged. Sophists, like my former self and your current self, only appear as sophists because Socrates shines his light on us, but, as this light is being shun so is our sophistry diminished, until, finally, the day we are fully cleansed. I am no longer the Thrasymaque you once knew. I have died, been washed, and am now reborn. I am the Socrates who has faced Socrates.
Please, don't tarnish Socrates with this continued sophistry. When you are prepared to engage in an open discourse, who's sole aim is to discover the truth through open and fearless diologue, than you and I might be taking the first steps on the path of Socrates. It can lead to great insights, but few have the courage to openly walk that road. That is not your fault or mine. Nothing in our culture encourages us to walk such a path, no matter it's potential to set us free. When Alexander asked the phiosopher Diogenies what he could do for him with all his wealth and power, Diogenies, sunning himself, said "You can get out of my light." To Alexander's credit, he merely laughed.
That is the power of the genuine search for truth, which can uncover an understanding far beyond the empty thrill of earthly power and wealth. This truth, like all profound insights, is in the end transparent and simple. The promulgation of overly complex and disorienting verbiage is primarily a disguise for a lack of clear understanding, an attempt to promote the ego over understanding, or worse, an interntional attempt to muddy the water of clear reason. This is the definition of sohpistry. I don't fault you here. We must all walk through the road of complexity to arrive at the simple method of attaining an insight into what is genuinely profound and lasting
Do you not remember me? You were there when I first ventured unto the path with Socrates, Glaucon, and all my other friends. I recall you peeking through the curtain and listening carefully. Yes, you do remember? Good then, we all invite you to come and follow. Do not fear, you are not too far behind since you have listened to us all these years. We almost feel like we know you already.
Here, let us sit on this patch of thick grass. It will serve as a carpet upon which we can rest our bodies and give full force to our minds. Look, a small lump we can use as pillows. Ah yes, quite enjoyable indeed. What? You would like to rest upon my shoulder instead? Then be it, as long as you are as comfortable as can be. So then, what is the question for which you seek an answer?
I would ask you humbly to please, get out of my light.
I fear this is impossible for I am your light. Again, do you have a question concerning Occupy you would like answered?
Read Emma Goldman's "Preparedness: The Road to Universal Slaughter" (1915). It explains a lot.
Who needs intelligence when you have our weapons' capabilities?
Please define "intelligence" so we can have a good debate.
The definition of intelligence has no bearing on the question I am posing. That is why I left it out.
statistically speaking, any population is half below average intelligence, obviously.
americas dumble down propaganda wars certainly do rob the republicans of another 15 or 20 IQ points, and dems probably of 3 or 5 IQ points.
It depends on how you define "subpar."
Yes, good answer!!!!! Best answer so far man. Good job.
Depending on which meaning of the word average you use, sure half could be subpar. If you use median then that by definition half the people in any population have to be below the midpoint, subpar in your terms. For mean or mode it depends, a group of extreme lows or highs could make most of the population above par or subpar. Questions don't insult me, I wonder sometimes about why they are asked. Asked with malice there isn't much point in discussing things that person's mind is made up. Asked out of curiosity I enjoy the opportunity to discuss things and learn about someone, or help them learn about me.
It was a trap for a well known troll. MikeYD.
I'd say it's more like 99%
OWS Americans are subpar.
Our standards have been being lowered gradually for years now. The average foreigner knows more about American history and how our political system works than the "average" American. And do not believe any of this BS about Canada in this thread. I was born in the US in the 60's, in Michigan. I have spent time in Canada. These people and their country have a lot to be proud of. And they are one of only a handful of countries that always have our back, they are warm and welcoming, and their opposing political parties actually do put differences aside to work out social issues. Don't trash it until you've been there, or spent time actually talking with a few. Opinions though are like A**HOLES, everyone's got one, and some are quite stinky.
It doesn't insult me. Only 25% of the adult population of this country has a college education - according to the last census reports. But that is just book smart. The fact that many people still vote in morons who clearly don't have the people's best interest at hearts, is why we are dumber than most of the world.
My comment doesn't imply that you are dumber than the rest of the world. It only says that half of Americans are under the average intelligence, and implies the other half to be over the average intelligence. It's like that in all other countries as well since the average is always in the middle.
and I am saying it is much more than half. Because we let all these awful situations go on for much too long.
The bell curve is an image that frightens me so I try not to think about it.
Every time I see a bell curve I hear bells ringing, that or aliens were making me think it.
I always thought it looked like a nipple. I could never concentrate in math class.
no, they aren't... but they've been high propagandized by our gov't via a corporate and tightly controlled MSM
They rather have to be according to math.
Finally, someone who passes the test. +1 point.
Was that all this was? Yes people tend to react irrationally to things they consider inflammatory. Emotions are silly that way.
It was a trap for MikeYD. A known troll. His responses have been copied on a few blogs around the Net. We knew they would be funny.
If you are copying my posts onto other blogs, let me send you a check. It will save me the work.
On the trap front, trying to catch people with nuanced sentence wording of troll posts is obviously the best you have to offer. It would be funny if it wasn't so damn representative.
No. And No.
I will tell you that I think a lot people in our country just don't seem to care.
They don't seem to care that the government has repeatedly infringed on their rights. They don't seem to care the the US dollar is decreasing in value and has been on a steady decline since the early 2000's. They just don't seem to want to care. And if they did we could get corruption out of Washington with ease. That's why the media pins "conservatives" against "liberals" and vice versa. They want us to bicker with each other instead of going after the real problem. The corruption in government.
I guess that is a level of stupidity in some people. They just aren't fully aware due to the propaganda and lies being blasted at them. So it's not just that some people don't care, but they're being lied to. But the people in this movement care and we're sick of the lies. But you also have to remember this one common truth about all large groups. There is always a few assholes in every parade.
A really wealthy man can buy stock in companies that produce goods are needed by the people to survive. In this way, they can help control the prices of goods etc. It is no accident that when minimum wage is raised, the price of everything you NEED, increases all the more as everyone is trying to capture your extra dollar before you can use it to purchase anything beyond the basics. This is the game the wealthy play. Controlling the media, the propaganda, the lie of freedom as people are made into debt slaves, war, politics is just the icing on the cake. If you are working like a slave, you are a slave! Its a simple concept. People don't have to be smart. They need to believe they control their lives or feel powerless and depressed. Hell, if they get worried, they might loose sleep. We can't have that. No, we have a bunch of people ignoring the elephant in the room, buying blinders, believing whatever makes them HAPPY! I am convinced they are not stupid and this is some strange aspect of psychology I failed to understand.
I always loved those two Einstein quotes on stupidity :
"The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." Albert Einstein
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." Albert Einstein
by definition
half of all americans are less intelligent than the other half of all americans
where par is average
and sub par is below average
You pass the test. Good job. +1 point. You're probably of suppar intelligence ;-)
seems so....they stil cannot see, they vote, they ve been thinking they are in a democracy. More like Them-o-crazy because no matter who they choose they get Israel to rule them....many are still asleep,but there is indication that all will wake up in one go ...and this may get messy
(S)eems so....they stil(l) cannot see, they vote, they(')ve been thinking they are in a democracy. More like Them-o-crazy because no matter who they choose they get (never use "get" in an argument) Israel to rule them....(M)any are still asleep,( )but there is indication that all will wake up in one go ...(are so many ellipses necessary?)and this may get messy(punctuation here)
So, this is really how you want to respond to a question regarding intelligence? How's that working out for you?
The post was not intended to be proof read, you dongt have to volunteer. Deflections just wont work anymore...you'll have live with it. The moment the great american wake up happens..things gonna get messy
Half of the world is subpar intelligence.....
Actually a bit more than half, as 52.9% voted for Obama in 2008. However I'm not sure ALL of those 53% are complete idiots, some have deep desires for the Destruction of this nation and/or socialist goals which abolish freedom.
welcome to the Obomination
and as for the 2nd part of your question, does this insult me personally? no, though it is quite embarrassing.
Thrasymaque here is a question for you. Do we place the same value on our constitutional rights for justice and freedom if we earned them or inherited them? You can work on it while your on vacation. I'll expect an answer within 1 week.
We earn them by protesting. We guard them by fighting. The placed value should always be the same no matter if we have protested, fought, or not. We should always place the utter most value on our constitutional rights for justice and freedom. Always. Utter most.
There should be an exam to pass to be able to vote. Basic knowledge of the government structures and processes, basic economic theory, constitution, bill of rights, federal vs states rights. Each person should have to pass it every 5 years or so.
8 graders take the test in Illinois and must pass before entering high school.
Agreed.
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Why would it matter?
I'm planning a vacation. I'm wondering if I should go in US or France. I like philosophy and art.
Why don't you go hangout with the Greeks?
I guess I could. But, Iv'e seen almost everything around there. I'd like something new.
A man told me the water under the Brooklyn bridge is cold this time of the year. I'll suggest you take a trip to it and jump off then let me know if he was telling me the truth. Thanks and have a nice vacation in the US
I was expecting something more creative. You ramble on rehashed lame insults like the rest of the banal trolls around here. Ah... Perhaps you have answered my question. France, j'arrive. Sauve moi de ces gens sans culture.
Your vacation is not my problem. How ever it's nice to have a chuckle every now and then. If you are truly going on a vacation then I suggest you don't drink the local tap water. The wine is fine.
Only sub par intelligence is congregated in Zuccotti park
Are half of Canadians of subpar intelligence? And, if you are Canadian does this question insult you?
Yes, half of the Canadians are under the average intelligence, and the other half are over the average intelligence. This is how an average works. It is the same in any country. It is a mathematical fact.
No, the question does not insult me, for it only points to a fact.
Your logic is flawed. You believe that half are above and half are below the average and that isn't necessarily true. You apparently don't understand how an average works.
You're right. The problem is much more severe. Perhaps, 60% of Americans are under the average intelligence?
In any case, you should look at IQ distributions. They are very even when large samples are taken like a population of 300,000,000 people. It's not like money, which is not distributed equally.
Isn't that the logical conclusion... If you have an average, half are above it, half below it. It works the same with Canadians
Yes.
No only the 99%
Define subpar intelligence.
Intelligence which is under par, par being defined as the mean average in this case.
Less than 90? (Average/normal IQ being between 90 and 110)
Par can be seen as a pure mathematical average using floating point arithmetic.
Or how many strokes it SHOULD take for one to get one's balls from the 1st tee to the last hole.
I think far more than half of Americans are of subpar intelligence. So I disagree with the OP.
Can you explain?
Just look at the 99%.
It's not just Americans and it's a lot more than half.
I would say that two thirds of the world are possessed of sub par intelligence, and intellect, especially on this forum, is a direct reflection of that. We are no longer a culture capable of critical thought.
I don't believe what you say is possible. There will always be half above average, and half below average.
There is a difference between a sustainable intelligence and an awareness. Two thirds are possessed of an average sustainable intelligence. An acute awareness occurs in only a very small portion of the population. But you know, this is another one of those areas where the English language fails us because there are many different forms of intelligence and there is real need of more succinct labeling.
There can never be two thirds of anything below the average because the average is always in the middle.
Not so at all because we're talking about two different scales - intelligence on a 1 to 10 (and it is debatable as to where on this scale "intelligence" actually begins) versus population on a 1 to 7 billion. Two thirds of the 7 billion are of sub par intelligence.
What ever lets you sleep at night. your degrees that you covet are no better than bible thumpers' beliefs in their own superiority. you are either a high paid lemming or a low paid dimwit.
Wait a minute... I was asked a question. My answer is that the vast majority are of sub par intelligence. Deal with it.
Reread what you posted, it does not make sense.
You're speaking of the average intelligence of individuals as measured, for example, with an IQ test. 2/3s of the world's population are possessed of sub par intelligence; par being what, 85 - 90? Most are below this and that is exactly the reason we have far so many problems in society now.
The United States at one time was possessed of a far greater intelligence because it had attracted the intelligentsia; our population was comprised of a far greater number, a far greater percentage, than Europe's population. See Franklin on this.
We need to add to this also, that the intelligentsia went forth and multiplied, for generations, which had the effect of imparting a greater popular intelligence.
Average intelligence, not average of the intelligence scale. Earlier the scale you proposed was 1 - 10 for intelligence. The average of the scale is 5. The average intelligence might be 3. It depends how you are quantifying intelligence, but the fact will always remain that half are under average intelligence and half are over average intelligence.
haha... that's funny. And I rest my case.
What is "sub par"? What is par, if not a standard value of performance? The scale of 5 as "par" or middle measure on the scale of performance has been determined to be about an 85 on the old, old, old IQ test. Most are sub par; 2/3s of the world will test less than 85. This doesn't mean they are incapable of self sufficiency, only that they may be slightly less efficient.
I don't believe you can measure intelligence. Not with a simple integer at least. Intelligence has manifolds and continually varies depending if you are tired, drunk, relaxing, or high on coke. At any rate, I wouldn't see the point. Some of the nicest people I know are quite stupid.
To answer your question, I think the world's overall intelligence is very hard to calculate. All I can say is that there was a major dip a few years back when Jerry Springer was so popular. In social studies, we call this the JSID (Jerry Springer Intelligence Dip). Some scholars believe that babies who were born during these years and placed in front of the TV might have several brain disorders. Some believe the current generation of youths is screwed up because of that.
I totally agree... intelligence arrives in many forms. But still I think, much of the world is less aware, and may in fact, require more care.
In response to the bellow: yes, there are only two types of people - those that care for others and those that require our care.
More care?
Some statistics...The average IQ for the planet is 100.
The average IQ for an American is 98.
Germany is a bit over 100.
Still, 1 out of 50 have an IQ over 130, which is Genius.
I am in Mensa. I just wanted to see if I could do it. The test isn't that hard, but it's long,..like 3 hours.
You're part of a cult.
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I am American and that question insults you. Having said that, yes, most PEOPLE are stupid. Hence they voted for republicans. Those are the guys that screwed the stupid and us, the gullible.
The question should not insult you because it's a mathematical truth that half the population of America, or any other country is under the average intelligence. The average is always at half point. If it consoles you, half of Americans are over the average intelligence just like in any other country.
I am consoled. Thank you.
Half of Americans are below average but sub-par compared to what?
OK. You pass the test. I'm just taking notes on who the smart ones are on this forum. +1 point. The thread was mostly meant for MikeYD. He fell in the trap.
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I love that show.
This is a picture of the cast of comedy show in Canada called the Trailer Park Boys. They make fun of Americans who live in trailer parks, white trash folks. It's a funny show that helps Canadians understand Americans. It bridges the gap between our cultures.
It's actually a show about Canadians. If you want to make fun of Americans then show a picture of that Jersey Shore bullshit.
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The real New Jersey is nothing like the image presented recently on TV. Mind you, I'm not saying Jersey doesn't suck in its own way, it's just not in the way you might think from Jersey themed 'reality' TV shows.
The fraudulent Jersey of reality TV fame depicts it essentially as a 6th borough of New York City, where people 'tawk like New Yawkuzz' etc. Nothing could be further from the truth. People in Jersey don't have New York accents; in fact, if anything, they have a tendency to over stress their Rs, rather than drop them like 'New Yawkuz' (a true Jersey boy would say "New Yirkerrrrz").
People in NYC pronounce 'car' as 'cah' or 'kaw'; people in Jersey would say 'kirrrrrr'. New Yorkers generally think of New Jersey as a hick, backward, rural place.
In fact, in many ways, Jersey is to New York as Canada is to the US, forever in the shadow of its much more interesting neighbor. Jerseyans have a similar sort of love/hate "If I can't be 'em I'll hate 'em" sort mentality seen in many Canadians vis a vis Americans.
As far as Jersey Shore, only three cast members actually have 'New Yawk' accents. Most of them are from upstate New York and Jersey and are faking the accents. Snooki and JWOWW are both from real hick upstate NY towns, about as far culturally from NYC Guido culture as Alabama.
For sure. but that doesn't mean that the show isn't retarded nor does it mean that millions of Americans don't watch it. I don't live in New York or Jersey... but I've been to both. My favorite moment in New York was when a guy said "Drive at this time of day? Forget about it." I just thought they talked like that in movies.
I don't get how you interpreted my comments as a defense of Jersey Shore; the show definitely is retarded, as my post indicates. I just find it aggravating when people who know nothing about the area except what they see on inane reality TV shows come away thinking that people in Jersey talk like people in Staten Island and Brooklyn; they don't. It's not to defend either reality TV or, as I made clear, Jersey, but to simply correct a widespread misconception.
Suppose you were from Canada, and when you met an American he said "Canada? Really? Well, 'throw a shrimp on the barbie, mate! Tee hee hee!" because there was an inane reality TV show where they created the impression Canadians talk like Australians. It's annoying simply because it's wrong. Jersey doesn't have a distinctive accent; they speak the same there as they do anywhere else in 'flyover country' - the standard, generic, non-regional American 'accent'.
The reason I find it particularly annoying is I grew up in NYC and was kidded for years by New Jersey geeks about my 'New Yawk accent' when I worked in Jersey. Now, there are a load of reality TV shows that are in some way based on Jersey, and, as I said, this is a New Jersey reinvented for TV as something more like Staten Island or Brooklyn, which is in reality as different from Jersey as Alabama. The truth is Jersey is more like Kansas than Brooklyn.
I think the myth of Jersey as being like Brooklyn with 'New Yawk' accents probably began with "The Sopranos", then took off with a vengeance with 'Jersey Shore' and 'Real Housewives of New Jersey' et al. It's so stupid, lol!
shhhh....
rhetorical? (rhetorical question also)
shhhh...
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Yes, in the FICTIONAL trailer park. We don't have white trash trailer parks like you guys, so we have to design FICTIONAL ones when we want to make fun of white thrash folks.
I am sitting in a trailer right now. Its parked on my dad's farm though. It has seen a trailer park. Not all parks are trashy but the trashy ones are truly UNFORGETTABLE. (No matter how hard you try!!!) Southerners probably have the most trailer parks.
I know. My cousins lived in a trailer park near New-Brunskwick. But, trailer park Canadians are nothing like the rednecks you'll find in US. Those people are gems. Their DNA should me immortalized for prosperity.
The great thing is they all know each other business, some are running around with other people's husband's and wives. Too many are smoking weed. But you can't say they aren't friendly! They'll help you, they'll feed you, but keep your legs crossed! heh.
I never bother to cross my legs. They usually prefer inbreeding anyways. I met a grandfather/father hybrid once. Damn unlucky son was named Rick.
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I suspect you actually believe that. Subpar.
I do. I read it in your post just before mine.
about 1%...the 15 that believs in Wall street and crapitalism.
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Can you name some countries where you think more than half of the people are of subpar intelligence?
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You do realize French Canada is not a country, and that mathematically it's absolutely normal that half of a population is under the average intelligence. Right? You do understand that my claim was not an insult, but a mathematical certainty. Right?
Your question was meant to insult and instigate. Go back to frogland Frenchy! Is that lowbrow enough for you?
If you want to know the whole story, MikeYD kept insulting me yesterday simply because I am Canadian. This was just a bit of medicine for him.
There is so much trash on both "sides" that to call it out would have this thread flooded with "99%" of the posters here.
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Look at how many people voted for Obama. Q.E.D.
Only if you consider the US alone. If you include Canada and Mexico, then they move up the curve significantly. ; p
Finally, an American who understands mathematics. I'm not sure Canada would make that much of a difference since the population is not too large, but Mexico might.