Are Americans really this stupid?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Half my MS kids' friends believe blood is blue. No amount of convincing them it's red works. Sigh. They believe something in the air makes the blood turn red. 13 year olds. Some moms also did not know blood is red.

Ugh. My kid wants to go to a different school.

I am 45 and was taught this in school - that it is blue but oxidizes.

[Anonymous]

There is no excuse for being this ignorant. It is unlikely that it stops at basic geography either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most people don’t even know their own state capital. Or the nations capital. Or who the first President was.

This shouldn’t be surprising.

At least they didn’t say Indian Ocean.

Honest question that I’ve been wondering about since I was a kid: why do so many people conflate the ability to memorize completely unimportant facts with intelligence? (e.g. who gives a shit if you know every state capital?)

It's not a mark of intelligence, but it is a mark of education and knowledge rather than ignorance.

And yet the OP described the women as “stupid”, not “ignorant” or “uneducated”.

So again, people conflate knowledge with intelligence. They’re often correlated, but not necessarily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is no excuse for being this ignorant. It is unlikely that it stops at basic geography either.

I mean, you can make whatever generalizations you want. But as mentioned above, geography is not taught anymore in school and, until you have seen an ocean, there's no real reason to keep it in the forefront of your memory. That has nothing to do with other forms of knowledge, experience, life skills, or wisdom. Or worth of a person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Half my MS kids' friends believe blood is blue. No amount of convincing them it's red works. Sigh. They believe something in the air makes the blood turn red. 13 year olds. Some moms also did not know blood is red.

Ugh. My kid wants to go to a different school.

I am 45 and was taught this in school - that it is blue but oxidizes.

I bet the mom making fun of these kids and their moms for their ignorance would have the same reaction to someone thinking there are nine planets or four oceans…

Pretty rare to see a true example of irony in the wild like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most people don’t even know their own state capital. Or the nations capital. Or who the first President was.

This shouldn’t be surprising.

At least they didn’t say Indian Ocean.

Honest question that I’ve been wondering about since I was a kid: why do so many people conflate the ability to memorize completely unimportant facts with intelligence? (e.g. who gives a shit if you know every state capital?)

Because they are not unimportant. Quite the contrary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most people don’t even know their own state capital. Or the nations capital. Or who the first President was.

This shouldn’t be surprising.

At least they didn’t say Indian Ocean.

Honest question that I’ve been wondering about since I was a kid: why do so many people conflate the ability to memorize completely unimportant facts with intelligence? (e.g. who gives a shit if you know every state capital?)

Because they are not unimportant. Quite the contrary.

Why is it important for Joe Schmo to know the state capitals?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was out in public yesterday and overheard the following conversation:

Woman 1: “I’ve made a New Year’s resolution to get out more. I am going to Boston and then to Rhode Island to see the ocean. Is it the Pacific that’s there?”

Woman 2: “I have no idea.”

There’s no hope!

Where did you hear that OP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no excuse for being this ignorant. It is unlikely that it stops at basic geography either.

I mean, you can make whatever generalizations you want. But as mentioned above, geography is not taught anymore in school and, until you have seen an ocean, there's no real reason to keep it in the forefront of your memory. That has nothing to do with other forms of knowledge, experience, life skills, or wisdom. Or worth of a person.

What???? THere a million reasons to keep it in the forefront of your memory.

[Anonymous]

Never, ever, underestimate the ignorance of the american public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no excuse for being this ignorant. It is unlikely that it stops at basic geography either.

I mean, you can make whatever generalizations you want. But as mentioned above, geography is not taught anymore in school and, until you have seen an ocean, there's no real reason to keep it in the forefront of your memory. That has nothing to do with other forms of knowledge, experience, life skills, or wisdom. Or worth of a person.

What???? THere a million reasons to keep it in the forefront of your memory.

A million? Name ten. Hell, name one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was out in public yesterday and overheard the following conversation:

Woman 1: “I’ve made a New Year’s resolution to get out more. I am going to Boston and then to Rhode Island to see the ocean. Is it the Pacific that’s there?”

Woman 2: “I have no idea.”

There’s no hope!

Where did you hear that OP?

In a waiting room. I don’t want to say where it occurred or what the regional accent was because I don’t think it matters. I was in a completely different region of the country a few years ago and when I mentioned Washington, DC, one person asked me whether DC was a state.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Half my MS kids' friends believe blood is blue. No amount of convincing them it's red works. Sigh. They believe something in the air makes the blood turn red. 13 year olds. Some moms also did not know blood is red.

Ugh. My kid wants to go to a different school.

I am 45 and was taught this in school - that it is blue but oxidizes.

I'm the same age and I definitely remember hearing that - I don't know if it was from school, or just kids saying that.

[Anonymous]

Look at the current state of American politics. Yes, Americans are this stupid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no excuse for being this ignorant. It is unlikely that it stops at basic geography either.

I mean, you can make whatever generalizations you want. But as mentioned above, geography is not taught anymore in school and, until you have seen an ocean, there's no real reason to keep it in the forefront of your memory. That has nothing to do with other forms of knowledge, experience, life skills, or wisdom. Or worth of a person.

What???? THere a million reasons to keep it in the forefront of your memory.

A million? Name ten. Hell, name one.

You can't be serious. The most basic knowledge of where you are in the world is paramount. How the products make it to your house is another reason. Weather and predicting natural disasters, global and personal security. I could go on and on. Are you really this dumb?