General knowledge

I think we have all seen videos or news clips where “a common citizen” is interviewed by asking general knowledge questions that everyone ought to know. The task could be for example “Point Canada on this map.” or “Name any book.” There can also be just questions, like “What language do people speak in Sweden?” or “Which continent does Nigeria belong to?” The theme being that even if the interviewed doesn’t have education nor money or other resources, the answers should be easy enough for everyone to answer. Then how come so many get them wrong?

There are of course the more common arguments: people in X country are that stupid, the person in the interview got stressed by putting them on the spot, etc. Another reason mentioned often is that the segments have been edited / cut so that only the most wrong answers are shown. I haven’t seen anyone taking into consideration just how much does the measurement of “taking people from the street” actually measure the intellect or knowledge.

The television and internet clips make an entertaining clip, but they shouldn’t be taken as a proof of the intellect nor knowledge of the people in the country, state, city, neighborhood. They might show the knowledge gaps of individuals, but not for example like one youtube clip is titled: “How Stupid Americans Really Are!”

There are serious studies published for example by the Cambridge University Press, but this issue of intellect and knowledge leads many times to conversation and debate to IQ. And IQ is then led to differences in for example men and women. And this is where things get difficult, as IQ is a difficult thing to study in my opinion. Studies often lead to scientific results that are then used by people with extreme views.