World Population Review recently had a survey to find out the countries with the lowest/least intelligence quotient. The 2024 listing has Nepal, Ghana, Gambia,Gaban, Guatemala, Guinea, for example, at the lowest rung.
I was not surprised at all. Sure our films find it funny to laugh at "han, Shabji, pronam, Shabji" kind of depiction of the Nepalese, and especially their typical "Gurkha", that is, the guard profession. Personally I am dead against such generalizations.
How many amongst us, for example, would have the physical fortitude and strength to survive in such difficult terrains and such tough climate conditions? Remember that all the Himalayan climbs, be it up to the Base Camp or the Everest expedition itself, are possible at all because of the Nepalese Sherpa's!
Well, I do have a problem with the very definition of the notion of the 'intelligence quotient'. No, no personal worries at all! I have nearly always been a university topper with very many scholarly and literary publications, not to forget films, radio talks et al, to my credit. I am rather good at singing and drawing/painting. No personal axe to grind, in brief!
Even then I find such castigation sick. Well, in my opinion, intelligence is multi-faceted. It is physical, auditory, visual, spatial, kinetic, and so on. I can never consider anyone dumb hence!
Nevertheless, as per the survey, certain countries are the dumbest. Why? Well, have you noticed that the lowest ten are all from Asia, Africa and America of the South variety! In other words, in my opinion, colonisation is the biggest culprit. The remaining possible causes, poverty, malnutrition, lack of educational facilities, all follow as the fall-out of the fact of the colonising cruelties, right?
I would not consider the rural residence as one of the causes because there exist in villages citizens who may not know how to read or write, but they are indeed very sharp. Literacy, in my opinion, does not have much to do with intelligence, right?
I hence find such a survey reprehensible, an academic ivory tower research far away from lived realities! What say?
Pratima@Against such so-called surveys, look at where India is. At the cusp of a very interesting mo(ve)ment of being into a developed nation with a developing country tag! No wonder, I am both, a very proud Indian, and a 'doubting Thomas' who questions the veracity and validity of such 'loaded' surveys!
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