No.

Yes.

>>504357
>>504198

samefag

No.

Is it about the rampant anti-intellectualism in the United States?

maybe

>>504365

Yes, among other things

maybe.

"Do you know stupid the average person is? Well, by definition, half of them are even stupider than that." Ivan Stang

And yet....

>>504761

My vote goes with the Postman.

Are people really stupid because they don't know trivial facts that seem important to others?

A slack jawed farmer might not know shit about Trig or Greek Mythology, but I bet that fucker knows more about how to proper take care of livestock and gardens than most college professors.

>>504775
If you think that intelligence or wisdom is just memorizing lists of facts, as your example suggests, then you don't know what you're talking about (or are a troll).

Besides, you specify that people aren't stupid just because they don't know "trivial" facts, which is a circular argument; if these facts are in truly trivial, then of course they don't matter and no one is saying they do.

>>504775

Slack jawed farmers dont know shit about anything, including shit, which is something they should know about.

Thats why theyre always failing and needing government handouts.

>>504793
>Implying we don't gauge intelligence by how many facts we've memorized.

>>504775

I know you're probably trolling, but if you're not, here's a potentially helpful, if simplistic way to think about education. Being educated isn't about memorizing vast lists of decontextualized facts. Rather, it's more like picking up a language or, perhaps more clearly, picking up a variety of languages and constantly applying them. These languages aren't necessarily natural languages (although they certainly can be), but cultural vocabularies (at different levels of abstraction and detail, e.g., English literature, or novels of manners, or contemporary political philosophy in the West, or Talmudic studies, or the four branches of theoretical physics, or the history of science, or whatever).

>>504798
Umm, we don't. Thanks for playing. Also this >>504808

>>504813

Being able to speak different languages does little more than let more people know how much of a dumbass you really are.

>>504817
ok, thanks for copping to being a troll, you're not even trying to make sense and clearly aren't reading the posts you're responding to. i think your mom has dinner ready, run along now.

>>504844

>Offers no counter argument or even attempts to explain why learning a second language is a mark of intelligence.

>Calls another poster a troll then belittles them further

If you can't argue your point effectively, just ignore the post.

>>504862
>>504817

This thread is turning into shit. First, I was using the example of language acquisition as a metaphor, as clearly stated.

That being said, if you're unfamiliar with the wide variety of empirical studies that address the relationship between bilingualism and multilingualism (referring here to natural languages as such), then you need to do your homework.

You can start with the following:

Cooper, T. C. (1987). Foreign Language Study and SAT-Verbal Scores. The Modern Language Journal, 71/4, 381-387.
Armstrong, P. W. and J. D. Rogers. (1997). Basic Skills Revisited: The Effects of Foreign Language Instruction on Reading, Math and Language Arts. Learning Languages, Spring, 20-31.
Samuels, D. D. and R. J. Griffore (1979). The Plattsburgh French Language Immersion Program: Its Influence on Intelligence and Self-esteem. Language Learning, 29/1, 45-52.
3
Robinson, D. W. (1992). The Cognitive, Academic and Attitudinal Benefits of Early Language Learning. In Met, M., ed. Critical Issues in Early Language Learning. White Plains, NY: Longman.
Genesee, F. and N. Cloud. (1998). Multilingualism is Basic. Educational Leadership, March, 62-65.

>>504889

Sorry, left out two words. "...the relationship between bilingualism and multilingualism [...] and intelligence..."

>>504862

troll harder, young one.

>Intellectuals whining about American's disdain for their pro-corporate worldview
>my reaction

>>504927

protip: most american intellectuals are not pro-corporate

>>504927

are you actually trying to imply liberal = pro-corporate?

holy shit batman

>>504932
>>504960

>>504966

chomsky = intellectual = not pro-corporate

>>504969
Chomsky is one of the few intellectuals who isn't pro-capitalist (other than the useless sociology professors.)

>>504966

chomsky is not pro-corporate. he's a syndicalist. there's a major difference.

>>504970

HOW ABOUT I SLAP YOURS

suckin on my titties like you wanted me
callin me
all the time
come n check out my cushy behind it's fine

>>504978
Forgot to spoiler that shit, aw well.

>ITT

>>504984
Oh god, I was actually able to sing that song in my head.

Nice quality image, op.

>>504992

Same. Wasn't it in "Lost in Translation"?

>>504995

Oh, wow, I forgot about that.

I don't understand, and generally detest, when someone avoids information.

Some people just grow up into a personality that's prone to avoiding knowledge. It's always been this way. People in the US are typically uninterested in learning multiple languages, for example, despite the fact that it opens up a lot of doors here.

Of course, I think it's a good thing since I'm serious about learning a few languages. I doubt if I'll ever have a problem finding a job since it's still considered pretty rare or unique here.

>>505007
speaking a foreign language opens up a lot of doors in the U.S?
are you delusional?
Yeah, I could learn SPANISH if I wanted to talk to illegal aliens.
Europeans only speak multiple languages because none of em could get their shit together and make a lasting union.

>>505013

So you're some kind of troll right?

>>505013

Charming. This thread is now officially a waste of time.

I got a job in this down economy because I can speak fluent french

all off the certificates/degrees meant jack shit, in the end they needed that marketable skill