I wish...
It is my personal opinion that this is nothing more than a simple matter of natural selection. During the post-Cultural Revolution period, everyone was trying to leave China and make a better life for themselves. But, do you think those Commies let just anyone leave the country? Do you think everyone had the fare for a plane ticket hidden away? I know a lot of people buried their possessions to keep them safe from the revolutionaries and Japs, but I hardly think they had $1000 USD tucked away in a jar. *side note: why did they all bury their possessions next to trees? If I was a Japanese, I would've just dug up every tree in China* So, how did people leave China?
Only those who could get recruited by foreign universities were able to leave. The students and intellectuals left the country by the airfuls. For example, both my parents left the nation with scholarships from McGill University; the college paid my parents a stipend to receive their doctorates. Note that I said the students and intellectuals left. Not all Asians are smart; it's not a super gene we have. We're like every other race - there are intelligent (and not so intelligent) people. It's just that the smart ones are the ones here in the USA.
In nature, only the strongest, fastest, smartest survive; the same goes for real life. Only those most cunning or academically intelligent were able to leave the nation. In turn, the people with those ideals and aspirations for a brighter future are the ones raising children in the United States (and Canada :P). Why are the Asian kids in your classes smarter? Because their parents were smarter. Because their parents were the ones who fought for a brighter future. Because their parents took the initiatives. Because they were hardworking and had the strict ethics found in so many immigrants. In Macro class we learned that Asians are the least unemployed demographic group in America. This can be justified by the prior reasons (that and Asians' willingness to do almost any job).
Conclusion: It doesn't really matter because
Asians are just better!Food for thought:
What are your thoughts on the matter?
Do you that intelligence is an inherent right?
Would you like to know more about what inherent rights are? -> Then go to the ACLU meeting tomorrow in L7. Be there! They'll have food :)
shameless plug anna, shameless plug
ReplyDeleteI have to say, I never thought about it like this before, but it makes perfect sense! Plus, this philosophy explains why there are so many smart Russians/Jews/Indians, etc-- we're all the kids of immigrants. Yay first generation Americans!
ReplyDeleteAlso, Chinese has an easier (and faster) counting system than English. Makes it easier to memorize strings of numbers and more easily taught. I mean, think of all the irregulars in the English number system; all the -teens, eleven, twelve, twenty, thirty, fifty...
ReplyDeleteTotally copying this from "Outliers", but think about it;
154724724398
Say it in English and recite from memory.
839247104729
Say it in Chinese and recite from memory.
The basic number sense develops faster in Chinese, hence, Asians are better at math simply because they start out a good year ahead by the time they enter elementary school.
Whoot Daphna! I agree with you Anna, that it is just natural selection, but I don't think intelligence in an inherent right. It's a personality trait, like curiosity or apathy. It can't be recognized by a government under a social contract.
ReplyDeleteI personally don't think Asians are smarter than anyone else. I do think, however, that they have a much better work ethic. With a few exceptions, most Asian kids work their asses off to do well in school (even though most of them will never admit it). Yeah, I definitely agree that they're more successful, but I don't think that success can be attributed to a higher level of intelligence. It's more likely the fact that you guys just work a lot harder, which is still commendable.
ReplyDelete