Are americans more ignorant than europeans?

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the perceived ignorance of Americans compared to Europeans, particularly regarding geography and socio-political awareness. Participants reference a 2002 National Geographic survey indicating that only 13% of young Americans could locate Iraq on a map, with an average score of 23 out of 56 questions, while European countries like Sweden scored significantly higher. The conversation highlights factors such as American isolationism, media focus, and cultural priorities that contribute to this ignorance, suggesting that while Americans may not be less intelligent, their knowledge is often more localized and less globally oriented.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of geographic literacy and its implications.
  • Familiarity with socio-political awareness and its impact on global relations.
  • Knowledge of cultural differences in education and media consumption.
  • Awareness of historical surveys and studies related to geography and knowledge assessment.
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the 2002 National Geographic survey on geographic knowledge among young Americans.
  • Explore studies comparing global geographic literacy across different countries.
  • Investigate the impact of media focus on public knowledge in various nations.
  • Examine the role of education systems in shaping geographic and cultural awareness.
USEFUL FOR

This discussion is beneficial for educators, sociologists, cultural analysts, and anyone interested in the comparative study of geographic literacy and cultural awareness between different nations.

  • #31
Man, I hope this isn't true. What an embarassment if it is.

article above said:
Galbraith reports that the three of them spent some time explaining to Bush that there are two different sects in Islam--to which the President allegedly responded, “I thought the Iraqis were Muslims!”

This is even worse than his alleged confusion of Switzerland and Sweeden.
 
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  • #32
looooooooooooooll...ok i don't think that all americans are stupid, anyway if americans were smart they would really disown bush, this guy is dumb seriously dumb. As for americans in general they are not stupid, they are ignorant to their surrounding because of lack of interest, and again this isn't a general rule, but it is more common in the U.S.A. as for the europeans they watch the same news as the americans so they have the same point of views nearly, especially in regard of the middle east, so they know nothing of why ppl here hate their political views, they just think we hate their gvrnmts because we are terroris and stop there. but the europeans in general long for knowledge more than the americans, and that helps them greatly in world affairs. propably that's why most ppl around the world would hate the americans but not the europeans.
 
  • #33
I still suspect that we have lots of really ignorant people who skew the statistics. If you eliminate everybody with less than a 4-year college degree, I'd guess the statistics would look very different. I can't back that up of course... beyond looking at American colleges and universities, and comparing them to similar world institutions.
 
  • #34
actually learning facilities in the US are really great...i was talking about the general public with all its constitutents.i mean take an example how many ppl in the USA would now were Mongolia would be? or even Iraq? George Bush propably still doesn't know were Iraq is...i've seen it once on Jay lenno i think were he goes around on streets asking ppl to point countries like korea and stuff like that, Europeans would know more on this subject, Lebanese ppl know every country, because whatever happpens anywhere in the world it either affects our internal politics in some weird way, or we are blamed for it :P
 
  • #35
Don't put too much stock in what you see on Leno. People who know the correct answers aren't funny enough for TV.
 
  • #36
In Europe you have to learn a lot about many other countries' history in order to understand your own, so you are always more aware of other cultures.

But i would guess that a bigger percentage of people in the US have a high degree of specialization (good knowledge in a particular area) when compared to other countries.
 
  • #37
i know that...it was just an example
 
  • #38
StuMyers said:
This is even worse than his alleged confusion of Switzerland and Sweeden.

Or of Switzerland and Sweden...:devil:
 
  • #39
i wonder about the chances of him attacking iran instead of iraq.. :P
 
  • #40
Mallignamius said:
I am left to wonder how that measures up against common knowledge of youth in other countries. I skimmed through the report and I didn't find a comparison. Shouldn't the study have included youth from other countries? And shouldn't it have included comparison to similar reports from decades ago? (Assuming such studies were done back then.)
From the 2002 geosurvey:

National Geographic in 2002 said:
Americans ages 18 to 24 came in next to last among nine countries in the National Geographic-Roper 2002 Global Geographic Literacy Survey, which quizzed more than 3,000 young adults in Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Sweden, and the United States. Top scorers were young adults in Sweden, Germany, and Italy.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geosurvey/highlights.html

For question by question comparisons, start here:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geosurvey/templates/answer_1_1_1.html
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #41
drankin said:
Yes, you don't "hate", you passionately dislike. I understand.

drankin -- let it go. One of the things we enforce here on the PF is "no personal attacks or insults". Please keep your discussion non-personal. I understand that this whole thread is a bit on the edge, but I'm inclined to keep it open as long as we don't get posters bickering with each other.
 
  • #42
Gokul43201 said:
From the 2002 geosurvey:



http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geosurvey/highlights.html

For question by question comparisons, start here:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geosurvey/templates/answer_1_1_1.html

Thanks for that.

Those were shamefully easy questions. I didn't miss any, so now I wonder why so many missed... so many. But then, I have a brother who doesn't believe in a south magnetic pole (which I reason is what his needle is actually pointing at), and thinks K2 is higher than Everest. I guess it boils down to what matters most in one's world.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #43
EL said:
Or of Switzerland and Sweden...:devil:

:smile: Typo, honest!
 
  • #44
StuMyers said:
:smile: Typo, honest!
Hmpf, you're just ignorant, American...:wink:
 

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