United States is no different from a third-world nation

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2003-10-11 05:25am

Or so someone on a different board claimed.

I'd prefer to dismiss it as more blind anti-American sentiment, but what do you guys think?

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2003-10-11 05:26am

Shinova wrote:Or so someone on a different board claimed.

I'd prefer to dismiss it as more blind anti-American sentiment, but what do you guys think?

Actually, the person said "not that different", not "no different". Just to clarify.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-10-11 05:36am

Tell him he's an idiot.

Not the best source, but it's late, so Dictionary.com's entries for the system states:

First World: During the Cold War, the industrialized capitalist nations of the world.

Second World: During the Cold War, the Communist nations of the world.

Third World: The developing nations of Africa, Asia, and Latin American.

Which are pretty much the correct definitions...

Tsyroc · Post by **Tsyroc** » 2003-10-11 06:03am

Andy Rooney did a funny bit comparing the US to a "Banana Republic" back when Bush first got elected.

Bush got elected under questionable circumstances by winning a state governed by his brother. He's also is the rich son of a rich man who had been President, Vice President, and before that been the head of the CIA.

Rooney explained it much better and in a much funnier way but if we saw something like tha going on in another country we couldn't help but think "that only happens in third world dictatorships/olagarchies" etc...

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2003-10-11 06:05am

If I remember history class correctly, during the Cold War the 3rd world referred to countries that didn't "pick sides" between the US and Russia.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-10-11 06:08am

neoolong wrote:If I remember history class correctly, during the Cold War the 3rd world referred to countries that didn't "pick sides" between the US and Russia.

I learned it as the definition up above in my intro to social psychology course two years ago.

Tsyroc · Post by **Tsyroc** » 2003-10-11 06:41am

There are times when Tucson has that developing nation feel to it, espcially when it rains.

You wouldn't think that the US would have cities this size where drivers have to routinely deal with flooded streets, or better yet no bridges over major drainage areas. A lot of the city is still getting retrofitted with decent storm drains and who knows when all the bridges we need will bet built.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-10-11 10:41am

Blind anti-American sentiment.

I would love to debate this at length, but I'm off to UT for the weekend.

Nathan F · Post by **Nathan F** » 2003-10-11 11:44am

Durran Korr wrote:but I'm off to UT for the weekend.

To get your arses kicked.

See ya at the game. GO VOLS[/b]

Wicked Pilot · Post by **Wicked Pilot** » 2003-10-11 01:17pm

If all you visit is the South, then well...

Peregrin Toker · Post by **Peregrin Toker** » 2003-10-11 04:29pm

Shinova wrote:Or so someone on a different board claimed.

I'd prefer to dismiss it as more blind anti-American sentiment, but what do you guys think?

Tell him to explain what he means by the USA being no different than a third-world nation. If I was told the same by somebody, my first response would be: "Well, what do you mean by that?"

Bob McDob · Post by **Bob McDob** » 2003-10-11 04:39pm

Shinova wrote:Or so someone on a different board claimed.

I'd prefer to dismiss it as more blind anti-American sentiment, but what do you guys think?

Yes. We both require oxygen.

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2003-10-11 05:40pm

On a similar note, how smart is someone if that person got a 142 on the IQ test?

(said person is the same person who said the US is not much different from third-world countries)

Post by **Colonel Olrik** » 2003-10-11 05:54pm

Shinova wrote:On a similar note, how smart is someone if that person got a 142 on the IQ test?

(said person is the same person who said the US is not much different from third-world countries)

142 in a IQ test is considered pretty smart, but you can have an high result in an IQ test and still be a fucking moron (the opposite is also true). IQ tests are a too simplistic way of measuring intelligence.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-10-11 05:54pm

A 142 IQ is quite high, above average.

But remember that being book-smart isn't the same as having common sense.

Illuminatus Primus · Post by **Illuminatus Primus** » 2003-10-11 06:12pm

Shinova wrote:On a similar note, how smart is someone if that person got a 142 on the IQ test?

(said person is the same person who said the US is not much different from third-world countries)

The IQ is normally distributed data set (the mean, median, and mode are all equal).

In this case, that value is always 100. The standard deviation for the IQ is 15. If your IQ is 2 standard deviations above the norm or more (considered gifted), or 130+, your IQ is greater than 97% of the population.

RedImperator · Post by **RedImperator** » 2003-10-11 06:47pm

Shinova wrote:On a similar note, how smart is someone if that person got a 142 on the IQ test?

(said person is the same person who said the US is not much different from third-world countries)

Smart, but his IQ test results have no bearing on his ability to construct a social or geopolitical argument.

Drooling Iguana · Post by **Drooling Iguana** » 2003-10-11 10:02pm

Shinova wrote:On a similar note, how smart is someone if that person got a 142 on the IQ test?

(said person is the same person who said the US is not much different from third-world countries)

I'm guessing he took that IQ test that I've seen advertized on banner ads at various sites (142 is the maximum attainable score on that test, and it's fairly common for people to get it.) My mother got a 130 on it, so I have a feeling that its not terribly accurate.

As for the original post, I'd like to see what context this was said in.

Andrew J. · Post by **Andrew J.** » 2003-10-11 10:42pm

I thought it went:

First World: Europe

Second World: the Americas

Third World: Asia and Africa

Although that might be totally wrong.

StarshipTitanic · Post by **StarshipTitanic** » 2003-10-11 11:00pm

Andrew J. wrote:I thought it went:

First World: Europe

Second World: the Americas

Third World: Asia and Africa

Although that might be totally wrong.

It's based on economics, not location.

First World: US, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western Europe, etc.

Second: Eastern Europe, South Africa, South America, etc.

Third World: Anything else.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-10-11 11:24pm

StarshipTitanic wrote:
It's based on economics, not location.

No, it's based on political alignment during the cold war.

Gil Hamilton · Post by **Gil Hamilton** » 2003-10-11 11:33pm

I would seriously like to know how the US is like a third world country.

Here, two men in uniform might come to your door because you and your friends were being too loud watching the game and the neighbors complained. One of the cops might even ask you how the game was going, as he missed it due to being on duty tonight (this has happened to me before).

In the third world, two men in uniform coming to the door of your house at night is how nightmares start.

The Dark · Post by **The Dark** » 2003-10-11 11:50pm

Drooling Iguana wrote:
Shinova wrote:On a similar note, how smart is someone if that person got a 142 on the IQ test?

(said person is the same person who said the US is not much different from third-world countries)
I'm guessing he took that IQ test that I've seen advertized on banner ads at various sites (142 is the maximum attainable score on that test, and it's fairly common for people to get it.) My mother got a 130 on it, so I have a feeling that its not terribly accurate.

There are others with higher scores. I've gotten a 160 on an internet-based IQ test before (which is a decent bit above my real IQ...I know I'm not that smart).

As for the original post, I'd like to see what context this was said in.

So would I...a single quote without context can often be worse than meaningless.

Drooling Iguana · Post by **Drooling Iguana** » 2003-10-12 01:04am

The Dark wrote:
Drooling Iguana wrote:
Shinova wrote:On a similar note, how smart is someone if that person got a 142 on the IQ test?

(said person is the same person who said the US is not much different from third-world countries)
I'm guessing he took that IQ test that I've seen advertized on banner ads at various sites (142 is the maximum attainable score on that test, and it's fairly common for people to get it.) My mother got a 130 on it, so I have a feeling that its not terribly accurate.
There are others with higher scores. I've gotten a 160 on an internet-based IQ test before (which is a decent bit above my real IQ...I know I'm not that smart).

Yes, but there is one in particular that gives out a lot of 142s, which leads me to believe that that one is the one that this person took.

paladin · Post by **paladin** » 2003-10-12 01:07am

Sure that makes sense. Apart from the fact the US can project military power to any part of the planet. Also, one of the largest economies in the world. As soon as there are third world nations with similiar characteristics, then we can say the US is no different from a third world nation.

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