These people fell out of the stupid tree and hit every branch on the way down. Reading the article made me feel dumber.
I could use this post to deal exclusively with the dumbest people I have had the misfortune of reading about, or I could use it to deal with two points - the article and another, a failing of the left in this country to understand context.
If you ask a business person in Europe where a certain country is, they stand a reasonable chance of knowing. If you ask a business person (or college student or anyone) in the US where that country is, they may or may not know. The left uses this as proof that we, the American people are ignorant of the rest of the world (for that matter, the rest of the world holds this same view), yet they are arguing a non-sequitor - neither the argument nor the conclusion have any correlation to one another.
Here is why -
We are told how terrible our education system is. It is a failure, California or Oklahoma or Texas or Louisiana or some other state is at the bottom and ... we have a poorly educated citizenry - right and wrong. Our K-12 system is a miserable failure - we could start with teachers, unions, and curriculum, but that is another issue. Surprisingly, our collegiate level is superior to any on earth. We produce the brightest from our colleges and universities. The scientists and doctors, the science, and technology - all stem from US universities and US educated students. How do we reconcile the failed K-12 and the superior collegiate level - something happens, the professors, the material - something. Again, another story.
In Europe and Asia - beginning in 6th grade and then 9th (different countries begin their exams at different grade levels) - you start taking tests. Up through grade 7, you take history and math and algebra and science, but say you are inclined to baking and prefer cooking/baking - they will funnel you off starting by 8th and 9th into courses designed to develop your culinary arts. Then your final set of exams determines whether you go on to culinary arts college or finish and go home and bake bread. No choices are allowed - room to maneuver - very limited. It is what it is. Only the brightest of the bright go to university - perhaps equivalent to the top 10% in the US. At university you would study specific courses, not general education. you would study science and all courses would be related to science. No Psychology or sociology. In the US, we provide a general education through your 4th year, then you get specific for your Masters. They are specific when they start university (talk about knowing what you will be, before you are even 20). We allow room for maturity and development, for waste, for fun, for opportunity without seriousness, which ultimately reinforces our passion later. The Brits or french or Danes - no passion, just obligation.
Furthermore, only a select few can go to university (university = the US 4 year university, such as Harvard or UCLA or Yale). Not everyone can go. In the US we allow anyone who wants to, to go to college and if they have decent grades, they can move on to university. that option is not available in Europe or Asia (unless they come to the US).
So ... to answer the question of what country is such and such or where is such and such a country - you are asking individuals who have made it through the European collegiate system - equivalent to asking the top 10% of our college graduates. In that case, our top 10% would do much better.
On average, students I have given a world map quiz to (no names, just numbers and they must label them), get 30-35% of the countries correct. That is an overall average of college students. Some are top 10% and some are bottom 10%. In Europe, the number would be lower if we took the same sample group, if it were possible.
Now to the article - the whole Mayan 2012 end of the world issue ...
Sidebar:
I should throw in my opinion now - I do not believe December 2012 will be one iota different than January 2012. The Mayan built this calendar system over 1000 years ago. They made 1000 years worth of calendars and then stopped. Much like you folding napkins. At what point will you say you have enough and when you use up most, you will fold more? Maybe the Mayan who was doing the stone calendar died and they were looking for someone to take his position and decided it was no rush because the dead guy had made 1000 years already in advance.
End of Sidebar
Many Dutch prepare for 2012 apocalypse
Published: June 23, 2008 at 7:25 PM
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, June 23 (UPI) -- Thousands of people in the Netherlands say they expect the world to end in 2012, and many say they are taking precautions to prepare for the apocalypse.
The Dutch-language de Volkskrant newspaper said it spoke to thousands of believers in the impending end of civilization, and while theories on the supposed catastrophe varied, most tied the 2012 date to the end of the Mayan calendar, Radio Netherlands reported Monday.
De Volkskrant said many of those interviewed are stocking up on emergency supplies, including life rafts and other equipment.
[An ARK might be a better investment!]
Some who spoke to the newspaper were optimistic about the end of civilization.
"You know, maybe it's really not that bad that the Netherlands will be destroyed," Petra Faile said. "I don't like it here anymore. Take immigration, for example. They keep letting people in. And then we have to build more houses, which makes the Netherlands even heavier. The country will sink even lower, which will make the flooding worse."
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Tokyo, New York ... should sink into the center of the earth if that female was correct.
Petra hit every branch, really really hard, but I bet she can probably find 45% of the countries of the world on a map. Doing better than dumb old Americans who are not as concerned about needing rafts.
What bloody difference does it make.
utter
fools
nincompoops
Dutch
idiots
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