Germans are brainiest - but at least we're smarter than the French (London Times)

TIMES Online ^ | March 27, 2006 | Helen Nugent

[globalheater]

Ahhhh come on... complaining on that only makes you one more depressed german.

I work for people in swabia and they definetly invented grumbling. But I think they just perform best if they are in a bad mood. If they really hate something they are about to change it to the better.

That's not true for me but my mood is not affected by swabian grumpies - maybe nexttime in an airplane do it like I do - just sit next to a brasilian girl and focus on the world cup.

The you will easily make an example for an throughout optimistic german.

[Grzegorz 246]

Still It doesn't really matter If a simple worker has IQ = 80 or 90 or 100, If a bus driver has IQ = 90 or 100 or 110, If someone, who is just pushing paper around has IQ = 100 or 110 or 120...

National IQ will be very important in a few decades, when there will be few jobs for let's say really not smart people, now It isn't meaningless of course, but +/- a few points doesn't make any difference. Compare Germany and Ireland.

[Grzegorz 246]

"Given that civilization developed in the Mediterranean region"

And before civilization developed in the Middle East...

[globalheater]

Right you are...


I always wounder ... india and china must have brains in abundance... how long can we spit against that wind in good 'ol europe.

We don't have much more then brains (like resources).
I guess we wont be very special some time down the river if we allow china to copy the status quo and then take care of future developement.

And good brains sometimes have the property of beeing mobile.

BTW - US guys: Don't read it with to much schadenfreude. I think we are in this together.

[americanbychoice2]

the way houses are build is dependent on the region.
in areas where you have earthquakes, most homes are build of wood, since they give and won't crack. I live in florida, where most homes are buid with thick masonry/ I can say that European homes would not pass the building code here since they could not withstand 150
Mph winds.
In the US homes are incredibly well insulated, more than homes in Europe.
This winter, we have had several nights of - degrees celcius. We didn't have to turn on the heat since inside it never went lower than 25 degrees celsius.
There are many variables and it depends on each state's building code.

[tomjohn77]

You are wrong. I lived in colder parts of the US and houses were built in a simpler way than in Norway. Nothing wrong with that, but it is a fact. They had a much simpler interior. For example the basement was never properly furnished. It would usually be some old coach and a chair and a TV plus laundry place.
It also has to do with the fact that middle class Americans are not that into houses, but more interested in cars and other toys, Americans also spend more money going out to dinner. Its a trade off.

[Grzegorz 246]

I don't see any problem with India and the problem with China is that they are commies or rather some kind of fascists still using the red ideology and that they are cheating - steal technology, make their currency weaker, so their products are cheaper than they should be etc.

[globalheater]

Yap that's chineese - they don't have icons for 'patent' or 'law' or 'individual rights'.

What's bugging me is that we are the ones making them big. We are building production sites there for chemical industry, pharmaceuticals, cars and they just have to clone it and can sell it to us without the costs of research. They are smart enough to invest a good share of the cash they are making back into brains so they don't need to copy less and less - of course they will steal as long as we let them.

They are carrying out the money from europe and the states in big bags to invest it there - everyone is talking about that this is absolutely necessery. No senator or journalist ever seriously questioned it - I still don't understand the benefit for us.