# Is the average American stupid? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 14, 2010, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-average-american-stupid/539375 "2010-05-14T01:37:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-average-american-stupid/539375/41 "2010-05-14T11:53:29Z")
It’s not that Americans are stupider than other nations, it’s just that stupid Americans get a lot more media exposure than stupid people in other countries. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-average-american-stupid/539375/42 "2010-05-14T12:57:14Z")
> [@DanBlather](#): > > It’s not trivia that’s the problem, it’s that Americans don’t understand enough about the political system, statistics, economics, or science to even begin to make a decision on who to vote for and what policies to support. The last time I took the dogs to the veterinarian’s office, an argument was going on at the desk. A woman was _insisting_ that her state-issued medical benefit card was good for her dog also. She kept saying that the woman at the welfare office had explained that “everyone in her home” was covered. Sitting there and overhearing this wasn’t the shocker. The shocker was that the majority of other people in the waiting room followed crazy woman’s logic and agreed with her. Is the average American stupid? Duh.☹ ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-average-american-stupid/539375/43 "2010-05-14T13:24:25Z")
As evidence that stupidity is endemic in many countries, including Western nations other than America, I offer [the following](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathy): _“Some homeopathic treatment is covered by the public health service of several European countries, including France, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Luxembourg.”_ It doesn’t get much dumber than that. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-average-american-stupid/539375/44 "2010-05-14T13:29:19Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > If you have lived four years since high school and haven’t come across _any_ real-life situations that (you realized) called for the use of algebra… yes, I think that does make you a dumbass. [mod note] Personal insults are not allowed in this forum. Don’t do this again. [/mod note] > [@Alessan](#): > > It’s not that Americans are stupider than other nations, it’s just that stupid Americans get a lot more media exposure than stupid people in other countries. Bingo. ---
**Author:** ![MrFloppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@MrFloppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrFloppy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-average-american-stupid/539375/45 "2010-05-14T13:38:27Z")
What percentage of Brits could tell you the number of members of the House of Commons or House of Lords? I had to look it up. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-average-american-stupid/539375/46 "2010-05-14T13:58:36Z")
> [@Blahber](#): > > But hey, remember, we’re not the ones that have to create a coalition of 15+ nations in order to survive economically. Nor are we the ones who got stomped twice by Germany in the world wars. Hey Frenchies, lemme give you a hint they’re coming from Belgium! No we’re the one’s that had to create a coalition of 50 states to survive economically and got defeated by a bunch of guys wearing pajamas. Why is this turning into Europe vs the USA. The fact that the rest of the world may be stupid as well doesn’t make it any better. We just had an election where a guy who had absolutely no grasp of the tax system, including such gems as thinking you paid taxes on the entire receipts of your small business, and not understanding that moving you into a higher tax racket does not mean you pay that rate on all of your income. He became a folk hero, was interviewed on TV, and paid money to speak at events. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-average-american-stupid/539375/47 "2010-05-14T14:02:11Z")
> [@MrFloppy](#): > > What percentage of Brits could tell you the number of members of the House of Commons or House of Lords? > > I had to look it up. I can understand people not knowing the number of US Representatives. I don’t know the exact number. but there are two Senators from each state and we have 50 states. ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-average-american-stupid/539375/48 "2010-05-14T14:05:25Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > The last time I took the dogs to the veterinarian’s office, an argument was going on at the desk. A woman was _insisting_ that her state-issued medical benefit card was good for her dog also. She kept saying that the woman at the welfare office had explained that “everyone in her home” was covered. > > Sitting there and overhearing this wasn’t the shocker. The shocker was that the majority of other people in the waiting room followed crazy woman’s logic and agreed with her. > > Is the average American stupid? Duh.☹ My wife worked at a bookstore for many years. The owner and other employees were surely more literate, knowledgeable and intelligent than the average person. Or so one would think…she came home from work one day and related a discussion that had taken place amongst the above-named. I don’t recall the details, but the gist of it was that they were talking about birds…and they came to the conclusion that a bird is not an animal. My wife objected mildly, but she was shouted down. “No, it’s not an animal…it’s a bird!” She was very careful to ascertain that no one was confusing “animal” with “mammal.” But no, that wasn’t it. A bird is not an animal, according to her learned colleagues. You can’t make this stuff up! ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-average-american-stupid/539375/49 "2010-05-14T14:08:27Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > As evidence that stupidity is endemic in many countries, including Western nations other than America, I offer [the following](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathy): > > _“Some homeopathic treatment is covered by the public health service of several European countries, including France, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Luxembourg.”_ > > It doesn’t get much dumber than that. Homeopathy is almost in a breed apart of stupidity. Let’s see, if we dilute something until there is the equivalent of one drop in lake Huron it makes it stronger, but none of the other impurities in the water we started with get stronger. And then we are going to sell you a fucking 4oz bottle of water for $30. ---
**Author:** ![davekhps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@davekhps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davekhps)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-average-american-stupid/539375/50 "2010-05-14T14:11:16Z")
First off, this thread calls for the George Carlin line: “Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize that half of them are stupider than that!” As for stupidity, it comes in all shades, in all countries. [Half of young people do not recognize Winston Churchill](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1278079/Half-young-people-recognise-Winston-Churchill---forgotten-80-years.html). My personal favorite of the week: a 42-year-old co-worker of mine with two college degrees asked out loud, “Is Greece in the Mediterranean?” I wanted to stab myself after that. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-average-american-stupid/539375/51 "2010-05-14T14:14:52Z")
> [@DanBlather](#): > > I can understand people not knowing the number of US Representatives. I don’t know the exact number. but there are two Senators from each state and we have 50 states. As I am fond of pointing out, I have met many Canadians who don’t know how many provinces we have. We have ten. 10. It’s a small number. It’s a really, really ROUND, even number, like maybe the easiest number you could possibly remember, the number our entire numbering system is based on. Ten. And educated Canadians, people who’ve graduated from high school and college, quite often don’t know the answer. Oh, and it hasn’t changed recently, either; the tenth province was added in 1949. I can forgive Americans not knowing how many Senators there are when we can’t even keep ten provinces straight. Claiming the average American is stupid by saying you can find dumb people on Jaywalking is like saying the average American is a genius because Americans win more Nobel Prizes than anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-average-american-stupid/539375/52 "2010-05-14T14:19:19Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > I remember years ago reading a comparison test of international knowledge about very simple things. IIRC, the first question (or at least the one that sticks out most of my mind) is that they asked people from various countries to point to the pacific ocean on a map, and most of the european countries were sitting at 65-70%, which was worse than the US. I think most people are dumb everywhere but the “haha dumb american!” thing lets you feel better about your small penises relative to our economic and military power and international influence. > > Does anyone know what survey I’m referring to, or anything like it? You mean [this](http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/05/02/geog.test/)one: > [@](#): > > When the poll was conducted in 2002, “Americans scored second to last on overall geographic knowledge, trailing Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan and Sweden,” the report said. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-average-american-stupid/539375/53 "2010-05-14T14:22:47Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Claiming the average American is stupid by saying you can find dumb people on Jaywalking is like saying the average American is a genius because Americans win more Nobel Prizes than anyone else. If that were the reason I thought that, it would be stupid. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-average-american-stupid/539375/54 "2010-05-14T14:23:29Z")
I don’t think so, at least how the article portrays it. The focus was on comparing international knowledge of basic questions (including but not limited to basic geography IIRC) and it showed plenty of European countries where less than half the population could answer very basic questions. People are stupid all over. We export our cultural stupidity (baywatch was the most popular tv show in the world for a while there) and they all gobble it up, whereas we only take the better stuff from your culture to integrate into our own. It skews the perception immensely. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-average-american-stupid/539375/55 "2010-05-14T14:37:42Z")
> [@Blahber](#): > > ```auto > > ``` > > Furthermore, the 5th graders have a distinct advantage and that is the fact that all their information is fresh in their minds. Very fresh in their minds, as it turns out. The kids on “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader” aren’t just answering the questions out of a general fund of knowledge they learned in elementary school. If you watch the disclaimers at the end of the show, the kids are given workbooks to study “which could contain the questions asked in the game.” Cute idea, but the kids are more of a game show lifeline gimmick than they are a commentary on contemporary society. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-average-american-stupid/539375/56 "2010-05-14T15:13:19Z")
Another bit of :smack: anecdotal evidence: Mrs. J., when working as a university reference librarian in the upper Midwest in the '80s, was approached by a student wanting to know, “What war was it that was going on in 1943?”. The student was a Communications major. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-average-american-stupid/539375/57 "2010-05-14T15:24:28Z")
As my huband is so fond of reminding me, “Half of us are below average.” I think it’s important to recognize that the ability to answer questions correctly is not necessarily an indicator of intelligence. Knowledge doesn’t equate intelligence unless it can be properly applied to life. ---
**Author:** ![TerpBE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc8723/32.png) [@TerpBE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TerpBE)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-average-american-stupid/539375/58 "2010-05-14T15:40:25Z")
> [@DanBlather](#): > > You mean [this](http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/05/02/geog.test/)one: > > > [@](#): > > > > When the poll was conducted in 2002, “Americans scored second to last on overall geographic knowledge, trailing Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan and Sweden,” the report said. There’s no way we finished second to last. I \*\*\*know \*\*\*that in that poll, America at least scored higher than New Mexico, Rhode Island, and Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-average-american-stupid/539375/59 "2010-05-14T15:54:23Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > Yes, the average American is amazingly stupid. Bill Maher loves to do monologues about this, I’m sure you can catch them online somewhere. Jay Leno has repeatedly said that he doesn’t edit his “Jaywalking” segments or look for stupid people on purpose. He usually just takes the first bunch that comes along. > > . Maher is right. Americans ARE morons. Would you believe MANY of them think vaccinating kids against disease is dangerous? And that Brazil hasn’t used petroleum in decades? God, people that stupid should kill themselves. Right, Bill? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-average-american-stupid/539375/60 "2010-05-14T16:06:55Z")
> [@DanBlather](#): > > I can understand people not knowing the number of US Representatives. I don’t know the exact number. but there are two Senators from each state and we have 50 states. Ah…see, I think this is a good example of non-stupidness. Okay, so you don’t know the trivia (# of x), but you can reason your way to a decent answer nonetheless, based on the facts you do know. I don’t think “stupid” people are stupid because they lack knowledge of trivia, I think people are stupid when they lack critical thinking and reasoning skills. Ignorance isn’t stupidity, but not being able to take what you know and apply it to something outside your memorization zone, that’s stupid. And that’s the kind of stupidity I was referring to when talking about my nursing school classmates. They can memorize the text, but they can’t seem to apply it to a new situation. “A rapid heartbeat and low blood pressure indicate the possibility of shock”, they get, and they know that the normal heartbeat is 60-100 beats per minute and blood pressure is low if the top number is under 90. And yet when you give them a situation like, “The patient’s blood pressure is 85/40 and the heart rate is 135,” they can’t apply their book learning and say, “Oh, I wonder if he’s in shock?” Great at trivia but stupid is entirely possible. (I have the exact opposite problem, actually. I get great scores at critical thinking, but I can’t remember normal lab values for shit. Maybe I’m the stupid one.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-average-american-stupid/539375.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-average-american-stupid/539375.md?page=4)