Are Americans really this stupid?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of people are really poorly educated, yes.

That said, America is a big place and most of us haven't been to much of it. You see this come up all the time in threads about the western US (things are far apart!) or where somebody from a city expects that everyone is familiar with that city and its landmarks. Good for your overheard stranger for even wondering about it, she'll probably find out.

There was a thread recently with a surprising number of people who legitimately thought that Alaska is an island.

Because they saw it floating around on the bottom of the school puzzle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do you know they were Americans? Did you check their passports?

Regional accent made it pretty clear.

What region?

Baltimore, hon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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?

Yes, I suppose I am really this dumb, because nothing you said answers the extremely basic question of WHY it is IMPORTANT for someone from, say, Kansas, to keep the oceans of the world in the forefront of their memory.

I don’t think you actually understand what some of us are saying/asking/implying. Look at your bolded statement above and tell us WHY that is “paramount” (and explain what you even mean by that). I suspect that you can’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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?

One interview question I like to ask people is how many tubes of toothpaste are sold in the US each year. I don't know the number, but I'm looking at how they reason it out, and how much they know about the US population size-wise. A good answer would be to say well I use about 4 tubes/year, and the US population is about 300mln so that's 1.2bln. It's close enough for me, and it's also somewhat reasonable (yes, I know the US population is 330mln but it's close enough). I had one interviewee think the US population is 10 million. She didn't get the job.

This question is important in our industry because we design systems and need to figure out expected usage. Knowing the population is a good anchor point to start with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I think this falls under "making conversation." They are pretty sure it isn't a state or they wouldn't have asked at all. Honestly I think the Chicago ocean question upthread falls in that box as well. People don't care, they are making conversation and asked you something about yourself.

[Anonymous]

I once stood in line for a show in DC where someone was explaining DC geography to his out of town guest. This adult explained that DC was surrounded by a bigger state that was MD and that beyond that was VA in all directions. He had been to MD, but never to VA because it was “too far away”.

I don’t know how you grow up in MD or DC (he said he had never been in another state) without know that it borders VA. I also don’t know how the civil war division of north and south makes sense if you imagine a country that looks like an archery target.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do some side volunteer work advising young entrepreneurs in a country abroad how to sell their products to the US market. One thing I start off with is one of the millions of memes out there about stupid Americans. There's no shortage of those, and they are true.

But then next slide I show them the US dominance in so many industries, Nobel prize winners, etc.

I do this to point out their competition in America won't be from the stupid people, it's from the smartest people, who are also creating companies offering a similar product to theirs. That's who they need to be afraid of.

But consider many of our best co are started by immigrants and esp small business owners. When I recruit and hire tech people, none are American. It's Indian, Asian, Russian and of late Nigerian. Americans apply to customer service jobs. I admit most are also sales and marketing focused but just saying - business owners esp are not American.

Yes, plenty of entrepreneurs and people in tech at not US-born. However, I think most of them consider themselves American and so do I. And their companies are definitely American.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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?

Yes, I suppose I am really this dumb, because nothing you said answers the extremely basic question of WHY it is IMPORTANT for someone from, say, Kansas, to keep the oceans of the world in the forefront of their memory.

I don’t think you actually understand what some of us are saying/asking/implying. Look at your bolded statement above and tell us WHY that is “paramount” (and explain what you even mean by that). I suspect that you can’t.

Did you actually read what I wrote? Why do you think a person from Kansas doesn't need to know basic world geography such as where the oceans are that surround the country he or she lives in?

It is paramount because even a person in Kansas is impacted by the weather coming from the oceans. It is paramount because or trade, world events, security, food safety. Please explain why you think none of this is important. I suspect you can't.

[Anonymous]

Um yes we are dumb as rocks. We just voted to install an oligarchy. So yeah, stupid as sin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of people are really poorly educated, yes.

That said, America is a big place and most of us haven't been to much of it. You see this come up all the time in threads about the western US (things are far apart!) or where somebody from a city expects that everyone is familiar with that city and its landmarks. Good for your overheard stranger for even wondering about it, she'll probably find out.

There was a thread recently with a surprising number of people who legitimately thought that Alaska is an island.

Because of the way it's added onto continental US maps, like Hawaii?

I'm European and sometimes I feel my ignorance about US geography isn't that bad, all things considered...

Exactly. Because it is shown way down on the bottom left next to Hawaii. So people think Alaska is an island in the Pacific! 🤦🏻‍♀️

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I once stood in line for a show in DC where someone was explaining DC geography to his out of town guest. This adult explained that DC was surrounded by a bigger state that was MD and that beyond that was VA in all directions. He had been to MD, but never to VA because it was “too far away”.

I don’t know how you grow up in MD or DC (he said he had never been in another state) without know that it borders VA. I also don’t know how the civil war division of north and south makes sense if you imagine a country that looks like an archery target.

That's a funny visual but some people really have absolutely no sense of direction or spatial awareness at all. I had a friend who got lost stepping foot outside her house. This guy may be the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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?

Yes, I suppose I am really this dumb, because nothing you said answers the extremely basic question of WHY it is IMPORTANT for someone from, say, Kansas, to keep the oceans of the world in the forefront of their memory.

I don’t think you actually understand what some of us are saying/asking/implying. Look at your bolded statement above and tell us WHY that is “paramount” (and explain what you even mean by that). I suspect that you can’t.

DP here, I agree 100% with the above but want to emphasize the point isn't "yay ignorance, let's never learn geography." The point is, "I can understand why this was never relevant in someone's daily life and they had more important things to spend brain power on."
If you actually cannot imagine that, you're quite sheltered and need to see more of the U.S.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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?

Yes, I suppose I am really this dumb, because nothing you said answers the extremely basic question of WHY it is IMPORTANT for someone from, say, Kansas, to keep the oceans of the world in the forefront of their memory.

I don’t think you actually understand what some of us are saying/asking/implying. Look at your bolded statement above and tell us WHY that is “paramount” (and explain what you even mean by that). I suspect that you can’t.

DP here, I agree 100% with the above but want to emphasize the point isn't "yay ignorance, let's never learn geography." The point is, "I can understand why this was never relevant in someone's daily life and they had more important things to spend brain power on."
If you actually cannot imagine that, you're quite sheltered and need to see more of the U.S.

I simply can't imagine being that ignorant. Sorry, not sorry. Basic geography is absolutely relevant to your day-to-day life. Ever look at a weather forecast, if nothing else?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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?

Yes, I suppose I am really this dumb, because nothing you said answers the extremely basic question of WHY it is IMPORTANT for someone from, say, Kansas, to keep the oceans of the world in the forefront of their memory.

I don’t think you actually understand what some of us are saying/asking/implying. Look at your bolded statement above and tell us WHY that is “paramount” (and explain what you even mean by that). I suspect that you can’t.

Nobody's saying they should have it "in the forefront of their memory." It should be in the background cause you learned it in second grade and imprinted it on your brain. Just like "where you are in the world."
How hard is this to have this basic knowledge?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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?

Yes, I suppose I am really this dumb, because nothing you said answers the extremely basic question of WHY it is IMPORTANT for someone from, say, Kansas, to keep the oceans of the world in the forefront of their memory.

I don’t think you actually understand what some of us are saying/asking/implying. Look at your bolded statement above and tell us WHY that is “paramount” (and explain what you even mean by that). I suspect that you can’t.

Well what do you know if you don't have basic information? What was so worth it to you that you committed it to memory?