Why American Students Are Smarter Than The Rest!!!! - Page 2 - Rape Board

AWDracer · 08-31-2008, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FinalKey

I don't get it o.o'

You need to brush up on your history. Big time. Some of this stuff is found in high school education.

doggystylethatgirl · 08-31-2008, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AWDracer

You need to brush up on your history. Big time. Some of this stuff is found in high school education.

so thats what I skipped when I was out smoking with the other guys.

surezire21 · 08-31-2008, 08:55 PM

I didn't think the American steriotype was really true for anyone

Fred Astair · 09-02-2008, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sanitarium

Legend says that citizens of a greek island made a ship of marble and they expected to sail

In the 1800's the Americans built a warship using concrete. It had a two foot thick hull made of concrete and when it was struck by cannon balls they would only penetrate about 8 inches which was then quickly repaired... with a concrete patch. Unfortunately it had a waterline that was only 12 inches from the surface and one day they took it out onto the water in two foot swells and it sunk. Some of the worlds finest sailing hulls are made out of concrete, even today. Water weighs over 8 pounds and it is all about displacing it.

When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the admiral of the Japanese fleet noted that they had probably just awoken a sleeping bear and he was correct. Some Americans are lazy and couldn't tell you dick about even their own geography, but given motivation, they can learn how to split atoms!

Tin Manifest · 09-02-2008, 05:16 PM

I can't say I'm too surprised by those quotes, given that the American educational system is only ranked 21st in the world.

rasputin · 09-05-2008, 03:57 PM

Mark Twain once said that he never let school interfere with his education.

Tests results usually don't measure intelligence. They just measure knowledge. But beyond that, the smartest people I have met don't always have a college degree.

Some of them ( like myself, now that we are at it...) don't have any degrees.

One of the things that annoys people the most about Americans is the fact that we are a superpower and yet we seem completely incapable of enjoying the beauties of a Béla Bartók or Antonín Dvorák piece, and have no idea who Alexander Pope was.

Or if Alexander was a Pope.

Many people -especially Europeans, it seems to me...- ask themselves: "How the hell did these ignoramuses end up kings of the world? It ain't fair!"

Yes, it seems almost offensive. But academic knowledge is of relative value to most Americans. We are a nation of empirical knowledge; of hands-on experiences.

Americans don't ask: "Do you know?" We ask: "Can you do it?"

Encyclopedic information is nice, but it ain't going to fix the pipes in your house, or get that car engine running. Real, useful know - how is dealt with in terms of what you can perform, not what you can talk about.

Talk is cheap. We can talk about René Magritte, German Expressionism, or Passolini and the Italian Neo Realism all day long if you want. So what?

Those are important things to speak about but they are not essential to survival.

Smarts are not measured by knowing what the capital of British Guyana is. It's nice to know, but it is not vital knowledge that will make a difference in terms of whether you are going to get that bridge built tomorrow, or when it is the best time to pick up that harvest so as to be able to feed your family.

And this is so because America is mostly a country of workers. And workers are doers.

Ideally, a people should be able to do both: be practical in their approach to life, and also be able to enrich their days with the beauties of music and high art.

Americans, however, having been given a choice, would rather place the emphasis on practical knowledge than on idle, dilettante one.

And it's not a choice I'm totally uncomfortable with. Who cares if my mechanic knows who Gabriel García Márquez is? As long as he fixes my car...

LeParas · 09-07-2008, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiTownHoney

You do know that these are just a few statements in over a billion essays written by college students.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANTDkfkoBaI

Mugga123 · 09-08-2008, 03:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JVIPER88

That is some of the funniest stuff I've read in a while. And it was compounded by the guy who didn't get it just above. That's proof right there. And Sani, I agree with you, however, with the amount of money being put into our school system in comparison to nations around the world, I expect much better. It is a fact that Americans know very little of the world around them, whether it just be plain ignorance or something more egotistical.

You can put all the money in you want, I'm still not gonna try harder :P.

09-05-2008, 03:57 PM	#26
rasputin Privileged Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 378 Reputation: 1534	Mark Twain once said that he never let school interfere with his education. Tests results usually don't measure intelligence. They just measure knowledge. But beyond that, the smartest people I have met don't always have a college degree. Some of them ( like myself, now that we are at it...) don't have *any* degrees. One of the things that annoys people the most about Americans is the fact that we are a superpower and yet we seem completely incapable of enjoying the beauties of a Béla Bartók or Antonín Dvorák piece, and have no idea who Alexander Pope was. Or if Alexander was a Pope. Many people -especially Europeans, it seems to me...- ask themselves: "How the hell did these ignoramuses end up kings of the world? It ain't fair!" Yes, it seems almost offensive. But academic knowledge is of relative value to most Americans. We are a nation of empirical knowledge; of hands-on experiences. Americans don't ask: "Do you know?" We ask: "Can you do it?" Encyclopedic information is nice, but it ain't going to fix the pipes in your house, or get that car engine running. Real, useful know - how is dealt with in terms of what you can perform, not what you can talk about. Talk is cheap. We can talk about René Magritte, German Expressionism, or Passolini and the Italian Neo Realism all day long if you want. So what? Those are important things to speak about but they are not essential to survival. Smarts are not measured by knowing what the capital of British Guyana is. It's nice to know, but it is not vital knowledge that will make a difference in terms of whether you are going to get that bridge built tomorrow, or when it is the best time to pick up that harvest so as to be able to feed your family. And this is so because America is mostly a country of workers. And workers are doers. Ideally, a people should be able to do both: be practical in their approach to life, and also be able to enrich their days with the beauties of music and high art. Americans, however, having been given a choice, would rather place the emphasis on practical knowledge than on idle, dilettante one. And it's not a choice I'm totally uncomfortable with. Who cares if my mechanic knows who Gabriel García Márquez is? As long as he fixes my car... Last edited by rasputin; 09-05-2008 at 08:02 PM.

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08-31-2008, 08:55 PM	#23
surezire21 Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 32 Reputation: 10	I didn't think the American steriotype was really true for anyone

09-02-2008, 05:16 PM	#25
Tin Manifest Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 40 Reputation: 453	I can't say I'm too surprised by those quotes, given that the American educational system is only ranked 21st in the world.