Alright, so, I don't want people to think that Im just talking about nazis... DONT JUST READ THE TOPIC AND START POSTING... I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT HALO ELITES... I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT CUPID.... I am talking about the idea of a single race being better than others. Not just better at life, but better at certain traits. -Do you believe in Elitism? -Why or why not? -Do you think that some cultures are made to be good at some traits than others because of their surroundings? If you start talking about stuff like halo, I am going to kill you lol -.-... Thanks! FX
HELL YEA. im asian, i know i cant drink alki like skips (white aussies), i cant body build like blacks and i cant be as sleazy as lebanese. i guess through genetics alot of asians were farmers so we h ave a short stature.. THOUGH, our culture promotes us for academic persuits.. but you cacn always defy genetics and culture. eg the koreans, the best at breakdancing in the world (in terms of technique atleast)
Well the whole idea of evolution, survival of the fittest, says that traits which are favourable for survival will be adapted. And humans spread themselves out around the world, each adapting separately in different environments. So yes, differences between races are likely there to enable us to survive better in our homeland, but I don't think that makes any of us "better" then one another. In the end it all equals out, and like the guy above me said, having those traits doesn't completely define us. You can be a 4ft basketball player, you just have to work at it
I definitely second elkferd. In fact, I remember once reading a Times article about genetic differences between races, and all humans share either 80% or 88% (I don't remember which exactly...I think 88%) of the same genes, but there are genetic differences between races. (This was a comparison between "Caucasian, Asian, and African-American.") The genetic differences and adaptations between races, plus of course cultural immunity factors (for example, first and second generation Asians in the US having a significantly lower risk factor for athritis than "white" Americans, courtesy of not having a culture in which girls wear really short skirts even in winter, exposing their legs to cold and causing arthritis, then third generation [after being more assimilated] having similar risk factors). So yes, I'd say different traits of races do result in one race being "better" at one thing or another, though probably not to that large an extent (nature vs. nurture), but overall...overall it just depends on the person and how hard the work at whatever.
I do believe in elitism in individual areas (as talked about above) like sports or academic areas, but not in a global elitism, there are just too many factors to take into account. Every 'race' has defining characteristics and most of the steryotypes are true if you take a large population into account; but individually? there are always those that buck the trend and want to be different. I think each race has developed over a long time to be the best it can be for the area of the world they live in and the circumstances they encounter.
haha I was actually reading about that in the book Outliers: The Story of Sucess. Apparently back way long ago, asian rice farmers worked on average twice the amount of time what european farmers worked. That's supposed to be where the whole asian work ethic comes from. Also asian have a language advantage when it comes to math. All the numbers (in Chinese at least) are one syllable and there are no irregularities in counting, like the word eleven, twelve, thirteen, etc. In Chinese it's just one-ten, one-two, one-three. Fractions are also easier. Instead of the english "three fifths," in Chinese it's literally "of five parts, take three." http://www.gladwell.com/outliers/outliers_excerpt3.html
I read that book, it was amazing! I learned so much!!! No, I'm kidding. I didn't read all the way through the book, after it started proving that Asians were better than the English at math and stuff I just didn't want to read it. I lost all my hopes of being a hockey player too (because I wasn't born in the winter)
right but the white people still win at English haha although thats sort of pointless, cuz Chinese people would be better at Chinese i've just noticed that all the Asian kids that get 99 in math struggle a lot in English, while I failz at math and ace English without effort
I think I officially have a new book to read. =D And elkferd, I'm Asian yet I'm doing pretty well all-around. For example, I took the ACT as a 12-year-old with the Duke TIP program and, though I only scored a 29 in math, I scored a 34 in English. (And a 30 all around.) A friend of mine who also took the ACT under the same circumstances as I (also Asian, as well) scored a 31 all around, and he always gets perfects in math (his current math class is 3 grades above normal, mine is 2), yet he did quite well in English, too.
dang you did 3 points better all arround than me. but i still belive white people are the best at everything.
Did you take the ACT for real, or as part of the Duke TIP program? (I'm just happy that if I got 30 as a 7th grader, I should probably be able to score higher come 11th grade when it's time for me to take it for real. =D) Ok, and the friend I mentioned earlier is here irl (same class) and says "HEY! I don't get perfects in math!"
To Asians- As an Asian, do you feel the stereotype that Asians rock at math and suck at English/any other languages offencive?
real A.C.T i had to take it my junior year. ya you should score better the pre-test i took freshmen-sophmore years seemed harder (i guess i didnt really know all i needed too. wow i just read you got that in 7th grade thats good
Mmm...yes, I do find that offensive, at least to some extent. After all, English is one of my best subjects, plus I take French and I ranked in the top 10 nationally last year for the National French Exam. (Le Grand Concours.) What I find more offensive, however, is the stereotype that those of us in the US all suffer from a complete/total lack of coordination. For example, in middle school it took me all of 6th grade and most of 7th to convince my PE teacher that just because I'm Asian doesn't mean I'm bad at sports. (I'm actually decently athletic, or at least imo. =P) Thankies. Just shows how nerdy I am, I suppose. =D
Lol you got a racist Asian-Hater gym teacher? Funny how you are like "I'm actually athletic" btw!! lol My school doesn't rank us in any languages. We suck that much I guess lol.
Dude, white people are much better at body building than black people...Though, I will say that they have more hops than us LOL...Where I live every single indian either works at intel or nike...same with the asains :yup:
Lol black hops! I can kind of agree with the Indian nike/intel though. You are forgetting Dell!!!! Someone I know was on Tech Support with dell, I was redirected to India. It was HELL ON EARTH. They got disconnected like 20 times...
This thread seems very stereotypical xD We learned in biology about some traits that could be 'deleted' though elite breeding. So, you could create an elite race of beings if you wanted.
Are you saying that others who aren't as good as the Elite are an inferior race (or all of them are)? Do you have any countries in mind that you think are "better" than others?
My school doesn't rank us on foreign languages, it's just that there's a national exam for most languages for students in the US to take, and it's divided into levels. For level 1B of French last year I got into the top 10. =D (It's a 70-question multiple choice exam.) And fexxel, you host a whole lot of debates!!