An off-topic post today, as I was poking around looking up various statistics. We’re all kind of used to reading about how monumentally dumb our fellow citizens are. But every now and then it hits you again.
I’d like to introduce you to Joe, an entirely fictional guy who represents the average citizen of the United States.
The average IQ in the US is 98, thus Joe has an IQ of 98. Joe has a high school diploma but only has a 7th grade reading level. Joe does not read newspapers, fiction, or literature of any kind, ever. We don’t know if he reads non-fiction or not, but it seems unlikely. He cannot name the three branches of the government, he doesn’t know what Roe v. Wade is, and he doesn’t even know that the US is the country that developed the atomic bomb. He cannot find Iraq or England on a world map. In fact, Joe cannot find the United States of America on a world map.
Despite this, Joe somehow manages to operate a motor vehicle every day. He voted in the last election to help determine who our president would be, and he owns a gun.
Now here’s the thing:
Half of the population of the US is dumber than Joe.
I do feel the need to elaborate. I know folks who have IQs in the 90s. They are significantly more literate and functional than Joe.
There’s a difference between being the idiot and the fool. The idiot cannot learn, the fool refuses to.
Joe has a lack of ambition or drive to do things. Some studies have marked an effective reduction of 30% to the functional IQ displayed by people who refuse to learn to capacity — and this refusal to learn encompasses a large part of the US population.
This makes Joe (whose reading level is 7th grade) likely to functionally read below that level, giving up as things force him to reconsider his assumptions and belief system. Sadly, some of these studies have posited that at least a full third of people possessing well-above-average IQs possess a similar lack of drive, bringing them to a functional level equivalent to Joe. They may have the potential to better and grow a larger vocabulary, but they still eschew anything that conflicts with their world view. As a result, their effective IQ is right there with Joe.
And idiot or fool, they all seem to be hanging out in general chat and trade channels.
“They may have the potential to read better…” Alas, I failed to proofread, and so I a word out.
Another frightening statistic I came across but didn’t make it in, since it wasn’t the average american, but 20% of the population of the US is “functionally illterate.”
Interesting … I’d be interested in seeing your source.
If it is based on the data of Lynn – as quoted in the easily located Wikipedia page, then it is somewhat questionable – as it would represent measures taken on native populations (not all) using inappropriate tests (e.g. some US IQ tests are different to an UK or Australian IQ tests because some IQ tests rely on culturally specific knowledge to predict IQ). Lynn had a notable barrow to push. As a direct example, I had to look up both Roe v. Wade, and the three branches of government you referred to, but I’m pretty sure I can top 98… if I really try really hard and am allowed to remove my shoes for the harder math problems.
haha
thats funny xD