Are YOU Smarter than A 5th Grader?

I’m not a big fan of television game shows. But I happened across Jeff Foxworthy’s “Are You Smarter than A 5th Grader?” this evening while channel browsing and deciphering regressions pertaining to the gold standard. The concept of the show is rather simple and somewhat similar to “Who Wants to be a Millionaire.” The contestant chooses questions ranging from 1st grade geography to 5th grade English, while five actual fifth graders simultaneously answer the same question. The contestant is provided three “lifelines” that involve obtaining the answer from one of the fifth graders.

Jeff Foxworthy is a funny man, but the inability of the adults (18+) to answer elementary questions is even more entertaining. I was shocked that a woman who was at least 30 was unable to answer the question, “What continent is a country unto itself” or something along those lines. Her first thought was that North America was a country, and then followed by South America being a country. Personally, I thought that she was going to spout out Antarctica. I would hope that a majority of the breathing population would know that the answer is Australia. Long story short, she had to quit the game on that question and admit that she was not as smart as a fifth grader.

Another contestant believed that there were 7 justices on the U.S. Supreme Court. But luckily he was bailed out by a ten year old who knew that the answer is 9 justices. Now I know why the show is such a hit! It is absolutely abysmal how incompetent this nation’s inhabitants are, especially involving common knowledge that every American without a learning disability should know. Is the populous of the U.S. this ineffectual? Are we so consumed with our own lives and vanity? The backbone of this country used to be out intelligence and education. But that aspect of America has left and went on permanent vacation.

The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) ranked the United States 18th in the world in education. South Korea ranked number one, with just 1.4% of their 15 year olds not meeting international educational standards (set by the UN). I also happened upon statistics concerning average IQ (Intelligence Quotient) by country. The average IQ of an American is 90, wherein the world average is 100-110. Granted, the IQ standard is not exactly a means of deciphering education, but it is a firm example of how uneducated this country is. We use to have the best and the brightest, but it seems as if the best and the brightest have moved else where in the world. A solution must be found.

Reality TV Show Madness

Is it just me, or is America slowly becoming aggravated with reality TV? It maybe 4AM, but I have been watching the Bravo Network for roughly an hour and during that time I have encountered two reality shows: “Top Chef” and Kathy Griffin’s show. Is there no aspect of life that cannot be made into a reality TV show? From cooking to listening to someone shell off bad jokes, no one is safe from the latest fad in American society. Accordingly, it is not my intention to single out Bravo, as there are countless reality shows on countless networks; it just happened to be on.

“Top Chef” is a show that encompasses a “real life” competition between various chef wannabes, whose creations are judged by a panel of “professional” chefs. This is not riveting television people; it lacks any semblance of “must watch TV.” The only thought that I had while watching the show was of American Idol. The panel of “professional” chefs seemed to intimidate and shred what little confidence the budding chefs had left, just as Simon does to the singers on American Idol. Not to rip the cooking business, but what do these people know about what I or anyone else likes for that matter?

The working definition of a professional chef includes one who charges extravagant prices for “food” that can be thrown in the microwave at home for a tenth of the cost, they have a show on Food Network, and have an eating disorder. With that said, one needs to ask how much do we really need to know about the lives of others? Our elected officials on the national and state level are scrutinized and queried on every aspect of their personal lives, i.e. Bill Clinton. Because they are elected by the people, the people need to know what color sheets are on their beds.

My point is simple; reality TV is another fad that Americans are growing tired of. Personally, I do not habitually watch a single reality TV show (or any other show for that matter) due to the fact that I do not care what people like Kathy Griffin or “Simon” think. I’m sure they do perfectly fine in their selected professions. But most of these professions are entertainment based. The American public is firmly aware of what entertains them; we do not need to be told what we like.