Nerds and North American Anti-Intellectualism

[tealin]

I just heard a really fascinating discussion on the radio about Americans' mistrust of book-smarts, how this is apparent in the culture as a whole and affecting academic performance vs. the rest of the world. It was gratifying to hear confirmation of some of my own observations about the matter and doubly exciting to hear further conclusions and comparisons to other cultures from an actual anthropologist. Luckily the show is available as a podcast, so I don't have to rely on my shoddy memory! Right-click and download! I highly recommend listening to it; it's not too long (only the first segment of the show) and is really, really fascinating.

Unfortunately it adds another issue to the ever-growing list of Things Which Massive Injections of Cash Will Not Fix But Can Only Be Solved by a Massive Societal Overhaul, so it's unlikely ever to change.

Comments

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Well, I dunno – I spent my early years in California and the year after I moved to Utah I got to State level in the Nat'l Geography bee. If you want to talk knowing nothing about other states or the rest of the world, try Utah...

[shamrockjolnes.livejournal.com]

Of course there are exceptions to the rule. Utah's insularity is understandable, being a very homogenous group that populates the state. The fact that Utah was meant to be its own country in the first place might also effect its populace's ignorance.

People don't really live in Nevada. They move there for a period and then settle elsewhere. Most of its residents hail orignally from California or Utah, so this might account for Nevadans being a little more knowledgeable about the rest of the states.

However, people can live their entire lives in places like California and Utah. Generations upon generations and no one leaves the state.