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No group overall is superior BUT genetics do play a large role in what people are good at and that includes groups of people. Germans are the best mechnical engineers. Indians are the best computer programmers. Africans are the best athletes. The French are probably the best cooks. When it comes to math, certain groups like Asians and Russians are better at it than other groups are.
I don't deny genetics, but I don't think it's a large role. It's mostly a function of how you spend your TIME. If you spend your time studying math, you'll eventually become good at it.
Depends on your definition of superiority. Academically speaking, Asians are superior to all other tested groups. That's not really debatable.
You can debate the hows/whys the discrepancy exists and whether or not it is some genetic propensity towards higher intelligence or cultural differences that lead to academic success at higher rates than those seen in other groups.
Remember we get many of the BEST "Asians" here in the US going by genes AND culture. Most American Hispanics and American Indians are also "Asian", looking at their genes but they're NOT known for doing well. I'll bet Asians IN Asia are nothing special: the Japanese and S Koreans are now good but many other groups like the Philippines ain't.
Again, these qualities can be found in any successful family whether you are talking about the Manning football family or the Kennedys. Archie Manning "culturally compelled" Peyton and Eli to become successful players. Successful parents "culturally compell" their children to succeed. Children are not born with that innate desire to succeed. It's good parents who instil these values in their children regardless of race.
Do you have any evidence explicitly stating that Asians are more likely to commit suicide than any other race? Because I think we all get the distinct feeling that you are contriving this to satisfy your quest to belittle Asians. Based on your multiple posts, it's pretty evident to me that you envy Asians and are now reaching to belittle them.
Driving a Range Rover may not be the key to happiness but I'm sure it beats being unemployed and living on welfare.
Both Archie and Eli Manning WANTED to play football. Yes they had early exposure to the game from their father that benefited them greatly. Which points to my earlier assertion; the Mannings had a superior opportunity to excel as quarterbacks by virtue of having a father that was a former professional quarterback. The same can be said of Prince Fielder, Sandy Alomar Jr. and Ken Griffrey Jr. all of whom had fathers that were major league baseball players.
What is interesting is that these countries lead G20 nations in suicide rates. So the question is despite growing economies and fairly well developed countries why are these people killing themselves?
Even the Korean media admits suicide is a problem in the country.
Korean children and adolescents are the least satisfied with their lives in the OECD, despite increasing material comfort. Korea ranked fourth among OECD member countries in terms of youngsters' material happiness but last in terms of subjective happiness, according to research published Friday by the Social Development Institute at Yonsei University with the support of the Korea Pang Jong-hwan Foundation.
This is fourth consecutive year Korea ranked bottom in the institute's annual happiness index.
The material happiness index rankings of Austria and Spain are more or less on a par with their subjective happiness index rankings, but among Korean youngsters the gap is vast.
"Many Korean children and adolescents know that they live more abundant lives than their peers in any other country," said Yum Yu-sik, a professor of sociology at Yonsei University. "But they have a low level of subjective happiness because they witness or suffer bullying at school, where they have to spend most of their time, and many contemplate running away from home or even committing suicide."
Suicide was the single most common cause of death among teenagers for the second year running in 2011, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said Wednesday. It said two out of 10 middle and high school students drink alcohol, one out of 10 smoke and an equal proportion are addicted to the Internet.
Some 70 percent complain about stress both at school and at home, and 10 percent have considered suicide.
Taiwanese Facebook user Claire Lin told her online friends that she was killing herself with charcoal fumes and posted photos to prove it, police said on Wednesday. An officer said the woman, who lived in New Taipei City, took her life on March 18 -- the day she turned 31 -- after an unresolved argument with her boyfriend.
Over 25% of Japanese in twenties mull suicide (http://news.yahoo.com/over-25-japanese-twenties-mull-suicide-survey-063008586.html - broken link)
I've worked in the computer and telecommunications industry for over 20 years. I've worked around and socialized with a lot of Asian Americans. Currently I speak to South Koreans in Korea for several hours a day. I also spend a large amount of my time on the campus of a large Midwestern university where there are a considerable number of Asians. In short I've seen and dealt with Asian people on an up close basis. I've seen the good, the bad and the ugly about their culture.
I have no interest in belittling Asians. But there is a considerable amount of hype that distorts the reality in terms the price that many Asian people play for being on a culture that emphasis, conformity, "group think", material success and social status, often at the expense of personal happiness and freedom.
I tried teaching English as a second language to Somalis at a community center in Minneapolis when I lived there. It was an exercise in futility. Most of them could barely even write their own names, let alone learn a new language.
We also had Laotian immigrants. There was a marked difference in the progress between the two groups. Some tried to explain it away as cultural differences between the Somalis and Laotians, but I think I know better now.
If you're arguing that the differences are not cultural, exactly what do you feel accounts for them? Is it physical, neurological, or are you suggesting some type of genetic bell-curve?
There are major cultural differences between the Somali community and the Hmong (largely Laotian) community.
The Hmong are well into their second generation of living in The United States. Most of the teenage and young adult Hmong were either born here or arrived here in their infancy. They've had an opportunity to become acculturated to American life. Even the older Hmong who arrived here as adults had some sense of American culture through their interaction with US military personnel during the Vietnam War. While many Hmong still practice traditional cultural rituals, they have also significantly adopted Christianity... which makes it that much easier to blend in to mainstream American society.
The cultural learning curve of Somalis was/is significantly greater; and, as a diaspora, they are comparatively new to The United States.
To address the comments of a previous poster, there are both Somali and Hmong gangs in Minneapolis-St Paul, but neither group is represented disproportionately in crime statistics. Most immigrants, wherever they come from, work very hard at forging a new life here.
I tried teaching English as a second language to Somalis at a community center in Minneapolis when I lived there. It was an exercise in futility. Most of them could barely even write their own names, let alone learn a new language.
We also had Laotian immigrants. There was a marked difference in the progress between the two groups. Some tried to explain it away as cultural differences between the Somalis and Laotians, but I think I know better now.
One poster here feels Africans are superior to other groups of blacks, not talking about you though.
If you're arguing that the differences are not cultural, exactly what do you feel accounts for them? Is it physical, neurological, or are you suggesting some type of genetic bell-curve?
There are major cultural differences between the Somali community and the Hmong (largely Laotian) community.
The Hmong are well into their second generation of living in The United States. Most of the teenage and young adult Hmong were either born here or arrived here in their infancy. They've had an opportunity to become acculturated to American life. Even the older Hmong who arrived here as adults had some sense of American culture through their interaction with US military personnel during the Vietnam War. While many Hmong still practice traditional cultural rituals, they have also significantly adopted Christianity... which makes it that much easier to blend in to mainstream American society.
The cultural learning curve of Somalis was/is significantly greater; and, as a diaspora, they are comparatively new to The United States.
To address the comments of a previous poster, there are both Somali and Hmong gangs in Minneapolis-St Paul, but neither group is represented disproportionately in crime statistics. Most immigrants, wherever they come from, work very hard at forging a new life here.
You nailed it right there. The Somalis are probably Muslim and Muslims ain't known to wanting to change their faith to fit in.
I don't deny genetics, but I don't think it's a large role. It's mostly a function of how you spend your TIME. If you spend your time studying math, you'll eventually become good at it.
You can spend lots of time and become "OK" at it but genetics determine more than people think. It is not a accident that brothers like Eli and Peyton Manning "just happen to both be good" quarterbacks or that the Williams sisters "just happen to be both good" tennis players. You and me can practice tennis or football all day everyday and we will never ever be as good as they are because we do not have the genetic make up to do that. There have been studies on twins that were separated and raised in totally different environments that show that DNA determines more of what they become in life than their environment in every area except for religion ( people tend more to adopt the religion they are raised in). Genetics is destiny.
You can spend lots of time and become "OK" at it but genetics determine more than people think. It is not a accident that brothers like Eli and Peyton Manning "just happen to both be good" quarterbacks or that the Williams sisters "just happen to be both good" tennis players. You and me can practice tennis or football all day everyday and we will never ever be as good as they are because we do not have the genetic make up to do that. There have been studies on twins that were separated and raised in totally different environments that show that DNA determines more of what they become in life than their environment in every area except for religion ( people tend more to adopt the religion they are raised in). Genetics is destiny.
It's really a combination of genetics and opportunity. It would make absolutely no difference how genetically gifted the Manning brothers or the Williams sisters were if they hadn't been given the opportunity to find the sports they excel it and been in an environment where they could practice, and be encouraged to excel then whatever genetic gifts they had would not have been allowed to flourish.
A great deal of human potential is lost simply due to lack of opportunity.
If you're arguing that the differences are not cultural, exactly what do you feel accounts for them? Is it physical, neurological, or are you suggesting some type of genetic bell-curve?
There are major cultural differences between the Somali community and the Hmong (largely Laotian) community.
The Hmong are well into their second generation of living in The United States. Most of the teenage and young adult Hmong were either born here or arrived here in their infancy. They've had an opportunity to become acculturated to American life. Even the older Hmong who arrived here as adults had some sense of American culture through their interaction with US military personnel during the Vietnam War. While many Hmong still practice traditional cultural rituals, they have also significantly adopted Christianity... which makes it that much easier to blend in to mainstream American society.
The cultural learning curve of Somalis was/is significantly greater; and, as a diaspora, they are comparatively new to The United States.
BTW I am friends with a lot of Chinese and Koreans in the US - religion isn't a factor with them either - it's more pressure from their parents to succeed. I think a lot of Chinese parents are well over the top in terms of how they educate their kids, Indians are lot more easy going.
To address the comments of a previous poster, there are both Somali and Hmong gangs in Minneapolis-St Paul, but neither group is represented disproportionately in crime statistics. Most immigrants, wherever they come from, work very hard at forging a new life here.
It's culture, not religion and not genetics in my opinion.
Somebody of an Asian background here - Indian. born and raised in UK, now living in the US - what's religion got to do with this? Most Indians are NOT christian, very well assimilated and make more money than most other Asian communities. This is true in US and UK!
One thing you have to recognise about Somalis, is that they came from a warzone, so there's a LOT of issues within that community. Islam has nothing to do with it, my sister in law is Muslim and she's an investment banker in UK. There's plenty of rich and poor Muslims around - it depends on what level of society they came from, and whether they are open minded enough to blend in. My Muslim friends back in UK are all very well off and highly educated.
Even in Asia, there's different stereotypes - Chinese & Filipinos have a very negative image in Japan and Korea! Chinese, Koreans and Japanese tend to look down on other Asians too.
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