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"...we are shocked when we see how people live in third world countries". I guess that some of us don't keep up with the news. There's lots of footage on television, don't you know. Yet another provocative question by Weekend Traveler. A couple of my WT favorites were questions about "lower class" immigrants and men crying in boot camp.
Some people have come to terms with being the second child.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Weekend Traveler
Every time we travel the world we are shocked when we see how people live in third world countries. Even though these countries are called developing countries, I see very little development and if anything things are getting worse. You could blame it on a variety of things but I have to think much of it is a cultural and intellectual issue. The people in general are not to smart and do not have the intelligence, drive or creativity to improve the life of their country.
If a magic drug could be found and it raised the IQ of everyone in the country 40% wouldn't they start to prosper?
South Korea and Singapore went from complete poverty after the war to prosperity due to the intelligence of their people.
The tests that are commonly used in USA schools are designed with the presumption that each testee had the opportunity to learn basic functions, such as grammar, mathematics, history, etc. To keep costs down, they are standardized to reflect the classroom experiences of American students, and can just be handed out to kids with pencils. They are normed only against students of comparable grade in the American school systems. As such, they measure two things. How much the testee can learn, and how much the testee has successfully learned already, given a more or less equivalent opportinity in their school lives to have done so.
The tests that American kids take in school would be useless for any international rankings, because they are normed strictly within the context of US students of that grade.
and this was stupid considering most had never even taken algebra yet. in this particular school district, it was not offered until high school.
and this was stupid considering most had never even taken algebra yet. in this particular school district, it was not offered until high school.
You might be misrecollecting. Or there might have been problems that algebra would have formalized, but could easily have been calculated using simple common sense, which is all Algebra is. a+b=c is an algebraic representation for a process that can be easily intuited.
Are you saying that they were set out in the test in the form of algebraic equations, or were they simple word problems of the type that simple algebraic formulae could be written for?
You might be misrecollecting. Or there might have been problems that algebra would have formalized, but could easily have been calculated using simple common sense, which is all Algebra is. a+b=c is an algebraic representation for a process that can be easily intuited.
Are you saying that they were set out in the test in the form of algebraic equations, or were they simple word problems of the type that simple algebraic formulae could be written for?
many of the questions directly related to algebra and geometry. you would have to be familiar with angles and the rules of geometry. obviously these tests were more a measure of what has been learned or retained. it was called an iq test but it isn't when knowledge is involved.
even pattern sequences are more an exercise of the brain like a game. some questions better test ability to learn but a lot don't, it tests based on a type of wiring of the brain and in that sense is narrow. those who live in third world countries will not be familiar with the rigamarole of the modern world and i don't think these tests are a measure of ability to learn but an indication of a type of education or logical process since it is very standardized and rote in itself.
abstract thinking is more useful in a modern society. this process to some extent is taught as well. those in third world countries are not as familiar and would not recognize this as even useful since a direct relationship to their environment is what is necessary for their day to day life.
What year was this? Are you sure it was an IQ test, and not some state competency test, or a placement test to be used by your school to evaluate students?
China and North Korea are both technologically advanced countries and nuclear powers. Are you referring to the fact that there are a lot of poor people in each of these countries? The existence of large numbers of poor people is not what we're talking about when we reference third world countries or undeveloped countries.
This is from awhile back, but how about Laos and Myanmar instead? Neither is a nuclear power. Nor are they advancing the world of science so far as I know. Togo has more researchers per-capita.
Or is the idea they are also dumber than more advanced nations? I guess the "IQ and Wealth of Nations" guy would indicate yes, but he also places Mongolia as equal to the US and Laos as equal to Thailand or Indonesia.
This is from awhile back, but how about Laos and Myanmar instead? Neither is a nuclear power. Nor are they advancing the world of science so far as I know. Togo has more researchers per-capita.
Or is the idea they are also dumber than more advanced nations? I guess the "IQ and Wealth of Nations" guy would indicate yes, but he also places Mongolia as equal to the US and Laos as equal to Thailand or Indonesia.
I'm sorry but I don't get your point. I'm just saying that the existence of large numbers of poor people does not necessarily mean a country is third world. Do you dispute this?
I'm sorry but I don't get your point. I'm just saying that the existence of large numbers of poor people does not necessarily mean a country is third world. Do you dispute this?
- Reel
What criteria would you use to indicate third-worldiness?
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drop a new york lawyer in the middle of the amazon!!!! and take an amazonian tribal person and drop him in new york city.. i guarantee the amazonian tribal person will live!!>>> and the lawyer will die
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