ot - are americans dumb?

i've recently gotten a few emails about the new book by susan jacoby
called, 'the age of american unreason.' she quotes recently from
emerson in her article in the washington post:
'the mind of this country, taught to aim at low objects, eats upon
itself.' (emerson 1837)

i had never seen that game show either that pits kids against adults,
so i'm probably the last to see this one, 'is europe a country?'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juOQhTuzDQ0

ellen <epdpster@gmail.com> wrote:

> i've recently gotten a few emails about the new book by susan jacoby
> called, 'the age of american unreason.' she quotes recently from
> emerson in her article in the washington post:
> 'the mind of this country, taught to aim at low objects, eats upon
> itself.' (emerson 1837)

I've been told that what I learned in high school 30 years ago is the
equivalent of what is taught at college-level today. There is a
dumbing-down that is happening all over the western world, while at the
same time, people have never had more information (and sensory overload)
at their fingertips (quite literally). There is probably a connection.
Or perhaps it is a direct consequence of the industrial age, which
Emerson saw the beginnings of and was prompted to remind people that
there was more to life than going to work and coming home from work.

> i had never seen that game show either that pits kids against adults,
> so i'm probably the last to see this one, 'is europe a country?'
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juOQhTuzDQ0

Most Americans know Europe isn't a country, though some aren't too clear
on what countries are in Europe. OTOH, quite a few Europeans are
clueless about US geography. It is universal, I think, that we know our
own backyard best.

--
Keera in Norway * Think big and then ask for more.
http://home.online.no/~kafox/