Comments on: First vs Third World

By: michael

michael — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:40:10 +0000

I know it’s problematic, I just finished 2 books debunking IQ testing (including Gould’s classic), will do a post on it sometime soon. However it might still be the case that people are getting smarter over time but because of our cognitive biases we think things are always getting worse

Much like people have been talking about teenagers “never respecting their elders anymore, unlike in my day” — from as early as ancient Rome!

By: World Food Day -- a Nadder!

World Food Day -- a Nadder! — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:45:29 +0000

[...] optimistic way of looking at world hunger and giving though. If you look at real trends (see my post about the 1st vs 3rd world), this 1/6th who are hungry will continue to shrink GFC or no GFC. It will continue to shrink with [...]

By: Takis Konstantopoulos

Takis Konstantopoulos — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:05:40 +0000

Michael: Yes, I agree. I have seen reports about most of the practices you mentioned. But I read that the rising of IQ scores is a fallacy. People are not getting smarter (or dumber), but, somehow, there are problems with design of IQ tests, the methods, and the very concept per se. I don’t want to talk from the top of my head. If I find some time I’ll get back to it.

By: michael

michael — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:46:31 +0000

Well most of the really harmful superstition still happens in countries people label “third world”, eg:
-child witch persecution
-killing albinos for their organs
-people being arrested or killed because others claim they are witches who stole their penises
-governments refusing AIDS medication because they think it’s a western conspiracy and the disease can be treated with garlic and sweet potato
(Don’t have time to dig up the links for now but all of these are extremely true — you can’t make stuff like that up).

But yes, in terms of education, countries are now on a continuum. I don’t really buy that western countries are getting dumber (IQ scores are I think improving across the board) but there are certainly countries that rival and exceed many western countries in terms of the % of people who finish uni.

By: Takis Konstantopoulos

Takis Konstantopoulos — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:05:33 +0000

I can tell you for sure (since I’m in this business) that the education/superstition factor does not any longer hold. As an example (I have plenty!), we are very keen in Scotland to bring students from “third world” countries because they can do elementary things that locals cannot. For instance, and without exaggeration, a large fraction of British university students do not understand how to divide an integer by another. The “third world” students smile at this. And we are happy to collect their money. We now have special deals with Malaysia, Libya, Cameroon, Nigeria, etc. We sell degrees for a fee. I suspect that these people know what they are getting in the UK. However, it is still the case that an empty “degree” from a “prestigious” university is more valuable (in terms of cash–finding a job) than a meaningful degree from a less prestigious place in the third world. As for superstition, I’m sure you are well aware of the superstitious idiotic practices of many in first world countries, like this one.