Back to the point.

Are Americans more stupid than other nationalities, or more stupid than 
they used to be?

Americans seem to be doing well by just about any measure, across time 
or space.  Admittedly, they are all imperfect measures.  But in so far as we can tell, Americans are not stupid. Arguments about the validity 
of IQ tests are moot here - whatever the hell they're measuring, people 
are doing better at them now than they were before.  

Which raises the question - why are you all going on about this? Do you 
just like to feel superior? Or are you just trying to explain why 
socialism hasn't happened yet?

James Greenstein



--- "Carl Remick" <carlremick@hotmail.com> wrote:
>From: Miles Jackson <cqmv@pdx.edu>
>
>This "dumbing down" rhetoric fascinates me, because it is so obviously
>incongruent with social reality.  A few relevant points:
>
>1. People in the U. S. today receive more formal education than at any
>time in U. S. history.

Americans are exposed to education the way they're exposed to cosmic rays, 
and the rays have a much bigger impact on them.  This vast but vapid aura of 
educational attainment reflects sheer credentialism -- simply another way 
that Americans try to con the rest of the world into thinking that we know 
what we're doing.

Carl


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