Are you smarter than a Fifth Grader?

[SeaCat]

Anyone else out there watched this show? I watched it for the first time not too long ago and found it more than amusing.

It's sad how many of the questions I'm not sure of the answer and it's truly scary how many educated people also don't know the answers these fifth graders know.

It's one of the very few game shows I enjoy watching. (As a matter of fact I try to catch it when it's on.)

Cat

 

[Boxlicker101]

Anyone else out there watched this show? I watched it for the first time not too long ago and found it more than amusing.

It's sad how many of the questions I'm not sure of the answer and it's truly scary how many educated people also don't know the answers these fifth graders know.

It's one of the very few game shows I enjoy watching. (As a matter of fact I try to catch it when it's on.)

Cat

I watch the show sometimes. I think the kids are cute, but sometimes I wonder how the contestants ever accomplished as much as some of them have. Usually, I know the answer. Sometimes I am confused by a term, such as in math, that is unfamiliar. Sometimes I just don't know the answer. Even so, I consider myself to be smarter than most Fifth Graders.

 

[_Lynn_]

Anyone else out there watched this show? I watched it for the first time not too long ago and found it more than amusing.

It's sad how many of the questions I'm not sure of the answer and it's truly scary how many educated people also don't know the answers these fifth graders know.

It's one of the very few game shows I enjoy watching. (As a matter of fact I try to catch it when it's on.)

Cat

I watched several episodes on Hulu last year.

Often I can't think of the answer, but then, I'm old. School was many years ago for me.

 

[Trudy_Antone]

I think the show is fun but the term 'fifth grader' is misleading or smoke and mirrors. The truth is these kids are genius' (genii?) and at the top 5 percentile of the population. They'd be smarter than 95% of us no matter what age. It's not that astounding that they've managed to learn and retain a wealth of general knowldege - their brains are made for it, and they are still in school, still learning. It's just a reminder that as we age we lose what we don't use.

 

[Elianna]

If you don't use knowledge on a regular basis it get shunted away unless you have a very strong connection with that knowledge. Usually things "stick" with you because they made some kind of connection, impact, or were associated with something you know. So much of the "factual" information you might have learned in 5th grade is probably hiding in some dark, cobweby corner of your brain.

Don't think you're stupid if you can't answer factual or trivia questions. I have a degree in math, so I'm not dumb, but I'll lose a game of Trivial Pursiut any day of the week. It's just not how my brain works.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

I'd better be, I teach fifth graders! And sixth graders, too, and they all know they're smarter than everyone.

 

[TE999]

Gee, I'd like to be a contestant on that show. I'd like nothing better than being made to look like an uneducated dullard in front of some kids on network television.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Gee, I'd like to be a contestant on that show. I'd like nothing better than being made to look like an uneducated dullard in front of some kids on network television.

Ain't it amazing what some people will do for attention?

 

[TE999]

Ain't it amazing what some people will do for attention?

Roger that! Ever see any Japanese quiz shows? They put their contestants thru hell for a few thousand yen. I think most of that stuff is against the Geneva Convention.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Roger that! Ever see any Japanese quiz shows? They put their contestants thru hell for a few thousand yen. I think most of that stuff is against the Geneva Convention.

Yes I have and yes it is! Odd sense of humor, they've got.

 

[TE999]

Yes I have and yes it is! Odd sense of humor, they've got.

Among other things. I wouldn't jump into a tub of live squid wearing only a loincloth if you held a pistol to my head. They dive right in.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Genius is grossly over-rated as proof of mental superiority.

A vocabulary of 3000 words is adequate for 98% of what you'll ever need to say. Basic arithmetic and geometry will handle almost 100% of your math needs. And 99.99% of what people do is drudge work involving simple skills. Even nerds wanna get laid, eat, watch tv, gossip, party, and sleep late.

 

[Boxlicker101]

I watched several episodes on Hulu last year.

Often I can't think of the answer, but then, I'm old. School was many years ago for me.

That's strange. I finished Fifth Grade in 1950 but I know probably about 90% of the answers.

 

[R. Richard]

Gee, I'd like to be a contestant on that show. I'd like nothing better than being made to look like an uneducated dullard in front of some kids on network television.

I took a sample 10 question 'fifth grade test' up in the 'Net.' I got all 10 right. I concentrated like crazy. If I had missed a question, I suspected that the web site would have called me a crude motherfucker. Nobody calls me a crude motherfucker. Fear is a wonderful motivator.

 

[Boxlicker101]

I took a sample 10 question 'fifth grade test' up in the 'Net.' I got all 10 right. I concentrated like crazy. If I had missed a question, I suspected that the web site would have called me a crude motherfucker. Nobody calls me a crude motherfucker. Fear is a wonderful motivator.

Well, if somebody drops out or flunks out of the show, that person has to announce to a national TV audience something like: "I am not smarter than a Fifth Grader." At the same time, most people win a lot of money before that happens.

 

[fifty5]

Genius is grossly over-rated as proof of mental superiority.

A vocabulary of 3000 words is adequate for 98% of what you'll ever need to say. Basic arithmetic and geometry will handle almost 100% of your math needs. And 99.99% of what people do is drudge work involving simple skills. Even nerds wanna get laid, eat, watch tv, gossip, party, and sleep late.

Mostly true as stated.

What that doesn't state is that the folk who lay out most of the lives we live have to have access to so much more.

For a single example, the right place to end double lines (no overtaking over the double line, just in case the US has different road markings) needs differential calculus.

And the banking crisis is a current example of people without the necessary statistics skills making mistakes that have cost us all a great deal.

Sure most people don't need to have those skills themselves, but they depend on those who do.

By the way, how do most folk ("you") actually need geometry? I can't remember the last time I needed geometry to create a right angle - I use a set-square.

There are exceptions. Being able to calculate "the value of the game" might reduce the number of gambling addictions. I well remember my shock when I learnt this technique and applied it to some horse racing odds in that day's paper. My dad's profit margin in his sweets, news and tobacco shop (and he was a very keen operator in that sphere) were derisory in comparison.

In fact that raises another issue: percentages. At school, I was taught that percentage profits should be calculated on the investment. My dad did the other thing, calculating on what percentage of his takings over the counter was his profit margin (before taking overheads into account). I'm not arguing that either he or my school was 'right', just that "basic arithmetic" isn't enough to have a full appreciation of business. Sure, "basic arithmetic" might be enough to do either sum, but it needs more to decide which one is the most appropriate.

Brighter is better!