Looks likeTexas Tech is selling college degrees…
Sure, it is funny to watch people struggle with what seem like such basic questions, but I don’t think it is indicative of stupidity or even lack of education. They asked a couple of american history questions and about the vice president. I happen to like history, so it would be absurd for me not to know the history questions, but I’m not a huge fan of politics and can imagine being (almost) as clueless when I was in college if you had asked a question about current politics (who is the house minority leader?). Most of these kids probably have no interest in either history or politics. They could still be good at whatever it is they are studying though. And their counterpoint at the end was that the students knew pop culture cold. Wow, shocking! Who would have thought that people would know more about things that are discussed on a daily basis than about something they probably deem irrelevant, useless and boring.
Yeah, I agree with you. I’ve seen a similar video about Harvard kids making its way around the internet. Every “people are so stupid” video ever made benefits from ample editing. The film crew goes to the location and films until they get their footage – period. I often wonder if they don’t stage some of it.
My kid’s middle school had a “trivia night” fundraiser recently. There were 15 teams of 10 parents. My table was classic high achieving nerds, a mix of MDs and scientists. We finished middle of the pack at best and got killed by the winning tables of comparatively uneducated moms. We crushed the small handful of math and science questions, but were useless at the TV, movie, music questions that turned out to be dominant. Pick the right set of questions and you can make just about anyone look stupid.
Heck, you could make the same video at a church, places people work, at a restaurant, and (sadly) on a military base.
Unfortunately, the general lack of knowledge among citizens impacts how government leaders are allowed to make some of their decisions.
Not being a “fan” of politics or history isn’t an excuse for failing to identify the country from which the US gained its independence. It’s pathetic for an institute of higher learning (even for a Red Raider), period. Most questions aren’t in-depth concepts requiring anything more than an ability to pull one’s head out of their ass.
A goldfish can retain information better than these kids. And, yes I realize correct answers have been omitted. Still not an excuse.
Not being a “fan” of politics or history isn’t an excuse for failing to identify the country from which the US gained its independence. It’s pathetic for an institute of higher learning (even for a Red Raider), period.
Not knowing from which country we gained our independence doesn’t have much to do with college. That’s an issue with grade school and High School.
Looks likeTexas Tech is selling college degrees…
The NCAA level has nothing to do with the quality of school
.
Precisely why I stated that a goldfish retains more information than these scholars. It’s more an issue of being a complete moron.
Perhaps the interviewee was a genius in Texas History. Don’t make excuses for stupid. Directly from the TTU Core Curriculum for History:
**G. American History: 6 hours **
Courses in this core component area focus on the consideration of past events relative to the United States, with the option of including Texas history for a portion of this component area. Courses involve the interaction among individuals, communities, states, the nation, and the world, considering how these interactions have contributed to the development of the United States and its global role.
- Students graduating from Texas Tech University should demonstrate an understanding of the historical origins of the United States and be able to identify and describe the importance of key individuals and events in United States and/or Texas history.*
Looks likeTexas Tech is selling college degrees…
The NCAA level has nothing to do with the quality of school
While some exceptions exist, you are saying that no correlation exists?
Not being a “fan” of politics or history isn’t an excuse for failing to identify the country from which the US gained its independence. It’s pathetic for an institute of higher learning (even for a Red Raider), period.
Not knowing from which country we gained our independence doesn’t have much to do with college. That’s an issue with grade school and High School.
Might make a good thread to ask: What should everyone know by the age of 12? Age of 18? Age of 23?
I wonder how many voters today could name the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court? Or who is third in line to succeed the POTUS? I know it’s Al Haig but who else does?
Looks likeTexas Tech is selling college degrees…
The NCAA level has nothing to do with the quality of school
While some exceptions exist, you are saying that no correlation exists?
D1 is a category that applies to athletic programs, not academics. Some schools have D1 programs for certain sports, but are in other divisions for other sports.
I recall a similar video made to make Americans sound stupid. The trick was done with putting the camera really close to their faces.
Then a couple of folks ran a small experiment showing that the close camera really throws people off. Then cherry pick those who get
really surprised by the in your face camera and you get the result you see here (and in that other video).
The questions they ask here are really elementary. I’m not familiar with what is covered in ES, MS, HS in the US, but you’d expect a
12yo to answer equivalent questions in France for instance.
I’m convinced that these “people are stupid” videos are designed more to make us feel good about ourselves than to provide any indication about what people know.
They only work because most people viewing them know the correct answers, which seems to run contradict the message that most people are really ignorant.
Correlation =/= causation
.
I recall a similar video made to make Americans sound stupid. The trick was done with putting the camera really close to their faces.
Then a couple of folks ran a small experiment showing that the close camera really throws people off. Then cherry pick those who get
really surprised by the in your face camera and you get the result you see here (and in that other video).
The questions they ask here are really elementary. I’m not familiar with what is covered in ES, MS, HS in the US, but you’d expect a
12yo to answer equivalent questions in France for instance.
But then they would surrender.