Not as smart as I used to be.
Based on an article* I've been reading today, the discussion came up about someone proposing to relocate polar bears to Antarctica to 'fix' their habitat being melted away by global warming. Bear said something about polar bears and penguins being a bad mix. I realized I honestly didn't know if there were any penguins to the north, or if there were any polar bears to the south. I figured there ought to be, right? Cold climates and all. Cept, yeah, I was wrong.
[03:43] Rae: let's be honest. most americans think polar bears and penguins live together too. and I bet 1/3 the US population thinks that area with ice and snow is one continent since the sides of the map wrap around... so do the top and bottom.
[03:44] Bear: it's a sad state of affairs, but I guess it's more important to americans to know about their own country
[03:45] Rae: which we don't.
[03:45] Rae: I don't even know what the capital of this state is.
(I looked it up. It's Sacramento. I went there for Christmas last year, even.)
I may have been exaggerating for American stupidity, but there's plenty enough overlooked about us. I, for one, do feel like I am not as smart as the average non-American. I've come to this conclusion within the last 4 years or so. I used to think Americans were the smart people in the world! I guess everyone is subject to the belief system they were raised with.
This block of classes has been bringing up a lot of questions for me. What would you say? Do you think Americans are (on average) smarter than others? Do you feel smarter than others? Do you think we're not exposed to as much information, thanks to government influence? Due to social restraints and corporations? Etc. I'm not trying to make this into a nasty debate -- I'm just sincerely amazed at the questions I have for myself (and many others) lately. I'd love to discuss this.
Just some thoughts...
* Don't get me started on the retardation of this article. It makes me so mad. (Unless you want to get me started... go ahead! Dare you.)
[03:43] Rae: let's be honest. most americans think polar bears and penguins live together too. and I bet 1/3 the US population thinks that area with ice and snow is one continent since the sides of the map wrap around... so do the top and bottom.
[03:44] Bear: it's a sad state of affairs, but I guess it's more important to americans to know about their own country
[03:45] Rae: which we don't.
[03:45] Rae: I don't even know what the capital of this state is.
(I looked it up. It's Sacramento. I went there for Christmas last year, even.)
I may have been exaggerating for American stupidity, but there's plenty enough overlooked about us. I, for one, do feel like I am not as smart as the average non-American. I've come to this conclusion within the last 4 years or so. I used to think Americans were the smart people in the world! I guess everyone is subject to the belief system they were raised with.
This block of classes has been bringing up a lot of questions for me. What would you say? Do you think Americans are (on average) smarter than others? Do you feel smarter than others? Do you think we're not exposed to as much information, thanks to government influence? Due to social restraints and corporations? Etc. I'm not trying to make this into a nasty debate -- I'm just sincerely amazed at the questions I have for myself (and many others) lately. I'd love to discuss this.
Just some thoughts...
* Don't get me started on the retardation of this article. It makes me so mad. (Unless you want to get me started... go ahead! Dare you.)