Culture and anti-intellectualism

zerocantaloupe

So I know this site operates out of the UK, so I figured I might be able to get a good answer to this question. Please let me know if this whole line of thinking is offensive.

Anyway, I live in the United States, and I had to learn how to explain somewhat complicated things to children because of my daughter. I had trouble turning this off, and so I'd end up making way simpler explanations with simpler words just in general -- like at my engineering job. I would momentarily cringe when I did this because I expected people would get mad about this, but it was actually the opposite: people seemed to appreciate it. It has actually gotten me ahead at work.

Anyway, for about a year, whenever my brother would come over, he'd use YouTube to put on Countdown, Only Connect, and other shows like that from the BBC. These shows were shocking to me because it seemed like UK audiences were okay with being expected to....well....think! Most popular game shows over here are physical challenges or superficial rote memorization trivia.

Am I onto something here in terms of culture between the UK and the US? And also, just to get ahead of this accusation, I'm not trying to accuse certain people of being stupid or something, but just that culturally it seems that in the US it's mildly offensive not to make things perfectly mentally easy for someone.

Minestrone101

"There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.' "

-Isaac Asimov

I think US consumerism is one aspect that reduces the intellect:

• marketing and advertising to fool pple into buying useless things and to fool them into believing it brings happiness to their lives
• consumerism distracts pple from being conscientious citizens and kind of waters down literacy and the desire to learn
• the concept of equality makes pple feel their uneducated opinion is as good as if not better than an expert's
• the increased reliance on technology shortens the attention span and also makes people's thinking more passive: people are bombarded with media but create very few original content or thoughts ; pple also lack the attention to read and research and jump to conclusions - or they blindly follow expert's or pop figures (Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Will Smith)
• while there is an emphasis on STEM due to the post WW2 war machine, the liberal arts have been neglected - many pple walk around w a 10th graders concept of history, writing acumen, and conception of the world

While I believe some of these are true, sometimes the use of jargon or lack of use are simply aspects of insider information and not necessarily a fancier intellect or higher education is the cause of miscommunication or misunderstandings (if I start throwing heavy jargon from martial arts, remote surveillance, Latin dance, or chess, then the average person won't understand it - it's not bc their intellect is not as great as mine).

Also, being intellectual is not seen as desirable or "cool." People want money, popularity, rap video lifestyles, or power...a big part imo is bc it's the lifestyle sold in much of US consumerism (buy this couch or car to live the life or style of your dreams! Vs. Read this book or earn this degree).

Just my two cents.

*Edit: Essay by Isaac Asimov circa 1980:

TheNewNovelist

Is it possible this trend corresponds with a decline the reading of books (tangible books, not digital).

Unscented_Lemon

I think it corresponds with the proliferation of misinformation.

This idea is as old as printed paper. I say this not to dismiss your point but say that folks have been saying it for centuries.

I'd say the rise of mass media and capitalism is "to blame", although blaming is a bit too negative for my tastes. Concepts have to be simplified in order to reach the widest audience and make the most long-term profit; media companies learn this quick if they're not niching down. In that regard, I'd argue this started literally when the printing press became part of American (and global) culture.

zerocantaloupe

Yeah, I mean it's connecting two totally different things and drawing a really broad conclusion, so it's probably wrong.

But I guess aside from Wheel of Fortune, I haven't really seen any long-running US game shows where you were expected to do anything more complicated than parrot random facts.

Also, I've seen some real messed-up excerpts of UK shows...like a talking head there saying you can grow concrete?

quixotic_life

Since Countdown was mentioned...
Just stopping in to share, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown is one of the best shows ever!!

If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it!! Hosted by Jimmy Carr, my favorites have all been with Jon Richardson and Sean Lock (rip) as the team captains. And with the impressive brains of Rachel Riley and Susie Dent, plus the antics between all of them, their reoccuring and their special guests... It's a treat of a show! And for me is also a bit humbling (the length of time I have to have it paused while I try working out the puzzles, and often failing to, is embarrassing)! But still, IMO, it's the best comedy panel game show ever and it's still being produced too!!

This Wiki page has all the episodes going back to 2012 and the who's who from each if you're interested.

KYtransplant

@zerocantaloupe people have to want to learn and be open to the idea that they may be mistaken.

Unless it's something they want/need to do rarely will most want to venture out of thier comfort bubble and the possibility of failure and appearing stupid.

It makes them feel uncomfortable or bad. No one likes to feel like that.

I am not a stupid or uneducated person, but I am easily confused by many aspects of technology and get overwhelmed and frustrated to the point of quitting or paying someone to do it for me.

On the other hand, I can watch YouTube videos on how to fix things around the house and knowing where my main power and water shut offs are I will always give it a go.

Most of the time I succeed, the other times I make enough mistakes until I finally get it right eventually or have a friend with more knowledge help out and teach me.

I think it's wonderful that you can adjust your delivery of knowledge to the level of the individual trying to learn without making them feel inferior.

That is a sure sign of a natural born compassionate teacher.

CuddleDuncan

@quixotic_life 8 out of 10 cats does Countdown is indeed an excellent show.

8 out of 10 cats was itself a panel show, using many of the same guests.

Hannie868

@zerocantaloupe Thanks for starting this thread. I'm interested to read others' responses. In general, I tend to agree with your observation about American culture and a tendency to prefer simplicity.

@cylee1180 You beat me to sharing the Asimov quote! I appreciated that you shared the article, too.

GreyingBear

I love some of those UK quiz shows like Pointless, Tenable, Only Connect, and The Chase. (Shout out to House of Games which is less quizzy) and my partner and I are often surprised at how much the UK people know about American history/states/sports teams /etc whereas we sure don't know much about Premiere League football or test cricket (for example)

Minestrone101

@Hannie868 Isaac Asimov was a sharp one! I want to read more of his short stories.

quixotic_life

@CuddleDuncan ~ Yep! I actually just watched one last night! But I tend to like them doing Countdown more (the puzzles are my brain's favorite kinds of candy).

AND Oh my gosh @GreyingBear ~ The Chase has had me in tears from laughter so many times ~ The Beast is flipping ruthless!!

Though this screenshot from one of their promos I'd bet is equally accurate...

♡
Anyway, thanks for sharing your list ~ I'm so stoked to have a couple new [to me] shows to check out!! 🤗

Toebean

Hmm... Ifsofacto based on this thread... Maybe cuddlers are more intellectually curious? Good discussion!

GreatHornedOwl

@cylee1180 - don't restrict yourself to Asimov's short stories. He also wrote some fine novels. The Foundation series could keep you reading for a while. He was also a very prolific writer of non-fiction.

Minestrone101

@GreatHornedOwl Thank you, sir! Will do.

dave31415

People can call Americans stupid if they want but it’s still the place where all the greatest ideas come from. It’s still the place with the most creative thinkers. Yep. Plenty of ignorant people but also the place with the smartest people.

DaringSprinter

@dave31415 makes an interesting claim!

Ranked: The 25 Smartest Countries In The World

Collectively, we humans are a pretty clever bunch. During our short time on this planet we’ve split the atom, traveled to space, built the limited slip differential and invented an umbrella for dogs. Yep, all clever stuff.

But (most of) these inventions, discoveries and great leaps forward are collective efforts rather than the inspired genius and toil of one lonely, dedicated man or woman. Which begs the question (sort of), of which is the cleverest nation in the world?

Which people have contributed the most to our advancement as a species? Which does best at school, and which has the highest IQ. All important contributing factors when deciding where to visit next, no doubt. Luckily though, Vouchercloud has done the legwork for you and diligently researched and ranked the top 25 countries in the world by intelligence.

It quantifies intelligence to include the number of Nobel Prizes each nation has won to represent historic intelligence, the current average IQ and ‘education attainment’ to represent the potential intelligence of the next generation.

Asia and Europe dominate the list, with Japan taking the top spot thanks to its high placing across all three metrics where it came fifth overall in the school test ranking and sixth overall in both Nobel prizes and current IQ. The US comes in an impressive fourth, although its ranking is flattered greatly by its extraordinary dominance in the Nobel category where at 368 prizes, it has nearly treble the UK in second place. However, in the current IQ the US comes a lowly 28th and school ranking a middling 13th – neither of which bodes well for its future ranking.

[read the rest on Forbes]

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Slightly off topic, I also endorse reading Asimov. He wrote good books.

My personal collection.

I mean, technically, statistically, us Americans aren't as intelligent, as people from many other countries, our education system has been called out for a long time, but continues to fail in it's primary purpose. Yet instead of acknowledging there's a problem, and addressing it, we like to coddle ourselves , tell ourselves it's okay. But, it's not. And instead of acknowledging a problem, many become frustrated when other's don't accommodate those failings.

That's the biggest issue to me, complacency, blind patriotism plays a part as well, granted, but, people don't care. I was fortunate enought to learn math in it's simple, functional form, trying to help kids with their current homework feels like going through a massive maze for an otherwise short, simple trip, and it's no wonder people struggle.

And we don't even teach basic necessary things. Like balancing a budget, looking for work, apartments, etc. It wasn't until basic training I saw any reference to such. The overwhelming majority have no need to know the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell, but everyone needs to know budgeting, how to find work, how to find shelter, etc, yet, you have to sign away eight years of your life in this country, for it to teach you those very basic, critical skills, despite it having no issues teaching things a fraction of a fraction may ever use.

I think the American aversion to things requiring intellect, may stem from inadequate information provided, and a coping with it by expecting others to compensate, instead of fighting to fix what is broken.

Sincerely, the kid of a teacher, a former big brother, and someone who teaches people regularly.

jplemmon

I think it has a lot to do with the inequality that's present here but not in most other western countries. We have some of the brightest minds but a whole lot of people left behind. This then filters down into education etc.