As we all know, there is a strong strain of anti-intellectualism pervasive in American society, especially among the youth. A lot of kids consider it “cool” not to have studied for an exam or having gotten the lowest grade on an exam. Similarly, people who wear glasses in America are often derided as nerds or geeks. The roots of this anti-intellectualism have been studied in great detail, perhaps most famously by Richard Hofstadter’s Anti-Intellectualism in American Life.
It seems to be a uniquely American trait. I have not heard of many instances of anti-intellectualism existing in other cultures. In Europe and Asia, being smart is applauded and is considered a great honor.
So I began to wonder about our friendly neighbors to the north. Can any Canadian Dopers chime in and let us know if the same culture of anti-intellectualism exists up there? Are smart Canadians who wear glasses get made fun of by other not-so-smart Canadians? Is being smart in Canada considered to be a positive or negative trait, from a social standpoint?
When one considers the incredible competitiveness of school admissions in the United States, it’s hard to buy that anti-intellectualism is anywhere near being the default position in the United States.
What does this have to do with anti-intellectualism? I’ve known a lot of stupid people in glasses.
Of course kids in glasses get made fun of. And there’s always some anti-intellectualism from folks who don’t do so well at school. I really don’t believe your assertion that this doesn’t exist in Europe and Asia, either.
Kids will make fun of anything the slightest bit outside of what they consider normal. And “normal” changes constantly.
Kids make fun of classmates who have acne, asthma, bad hair, glasses, braces, the wrong kind of jeans, the wrong kind of sandwich for lunch… They’ll tease a kid for being stupid, for being a teacher’s pet, for being too quiet, or for being too talkative.
Don’t worry, we make fun of smart geeks in Canada too. We’ll also tease the fat kids and the kids from broken homes and the ones with peanut allergies, just because.
Hmmm, what is “a lot?” 25%? 50%? When I was in high school, undergraduate school, etc., we had slackers I guess, but if someone went around boasting they hadn’t studied for an exam, or made the lowest grade, we might laugh but we’d think he was a pretty much a dick. Never cool.
I think you are mistaken in your assumption that this is something that is unique to the US.
Just off of the top of my head I can think of two examples in China’s history. The first is the last hundred and fifty years or so of the Ming Dynasty when the naval knowledge of the entire nation was deliberately destroyed. The second is the recent Cultural Revolution of Chairman Mao in which there was a strong element of anti-intellectualism.
I am sure there are more examples to be found throughout history.
Being smart in Canada is considered a plus. Most folks know that smart people in general might have better incomes or jobs. Canadians don’t much like arrogant people, and intelligence may be derided if combined with egotism, presumption or moral superiority (as it so often is).
Smart kids are going to get made fun of, but so are all kids – glasses or not. In medical school, lots of my classmates would work their asses off then deny that they had studied hard for an exam, so I’ll agree that there is a stigma to BE SEEN working too hard – but not in working hard. I don’t think this trait is purely anti-intellectual, just that a well rounded person would be expected to play some sports (even if not well) and socialize in addition to doing academics.
Canadians are fairly conformist, I guess. But most Canadians value a good education. I think Australians do a worse job of treating “tall poppies”. I think the problem in the States is “negative” depictions in popular media. This spills over into Canada. But young Americans know geekdom equals money and with the success of Bill Gates, etc. even this trend is cyclic – getting straight A’s was a plus in the Jackson Five’s"ABC". Failing a test in Canada is not generally something people are proud of.
I wouldn’t really consider those examples of anti-intellectualism. That’s just normal teenage herd-following at an age when it’s more important to be attractive than a high achiever.
Anti-intellectualism is more like the disdain of rationalism because it doesn’t jibe with what the common man considers to be common sense. As far as I can tell it exists worldwide, but only in the US do we have so much available scientific knowledge that is so vigorously rejected by so many.
In addition to being the world exporter of anti-intellectualism we also have a burgeoning export industry in pseudo-intellectualism, which is arguably worse.
Well, that’s hardly surprising, there seems to be a global Bull Market for THAT. Come up with an erudite-sounding but daft pronouncement whose only virtue is to make you and your followers feel good and/or superior and you’ll be celebrated both at home and abroad, wherever “home” is.
