View Poll Results: How stupid are Thais, compared to others races you've lived among.

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  • They are most certainly the dumbest.

    34 53.13%
  • About the same as everyone else.

    28 43.75%
  • Far more intelligent.

    2 3.13%
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  1. #176
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    ^

  2. #177
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    This is an old thread, for sure. Wonder what the current crop of active posters think?

    I've only spent a cumulative of about 2 and half years in Thailand but in my short experience it seems they run about the same gamut of intelligence as anywhere else. Many are very clever. Many worship at the altar of sloth (the males overwhelmingly) and never seem to apply whatever native intelligence they may possess in any meaningful way. Many are hard working and diligent, more so than myself certainly.

    They are limited by their circumstances, lack of opportunities, and culturally induced indifference to intellectual pursuits. If any trait stands above any other when I think of Thais, it is their complete lack of curiosity beyond what it takes to get by on a day to day basis. This is a gross generalization, of course. I have met many exceptions to this. And, I see the same attitude in the U.S. frequently, but not to the same degree as here.

    It's a mixed bag for sure. For the most part I like them more or less as any other culture I've had contact with.

    But I do get weary, sometimes.

  3. #178
    The Fool on the Hill bowie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Agent_Smith
    it seems they run about the same gamut of intelligence as anywhere else.
    Absolutely the same as any other race or nationality. They have the good, the bad and the ugly. The ridiculously smart and the dumb as a rock idiots, will all levels of intelligence in between. Exactly the same as every other country has.

    You must judge the individual - not the country.

  4. #179
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    ...and don't judge a country by its prime minister...

  5. #180
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    Thais are as smart or as stupid as any other people, they have a shite education system which doesn't help them out much, neither does their ridiculous superstitions which seems to inground in the Thai psyche, the overriding trait that the entire nation seems to share is an innate lack of foresight, when you watch how they act on the road in charge of a vehicle they seem to lack all and any common sense.
    So in summary, no Thais are not all stupid, but they are poorly educated superstitious children with zero understanding of cause and effect.

  6. #181
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    ^
    That's what it may look like from the perspective of an alien with a culturally ingrained sense of superiority.

  7. #182
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    Ah so I'm better than them am I, well thanks for letting me know I'll be sure to pass it on.

  8. #183
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    I believe most are far more intelligent than most from the west.

    They only work as hard as nessasary and lay about and enjoy themselves the rest of time.

    They manage to take advantage of many of the "superior" white people from the educated West on a very regular basis .

    They don't give much thought about what goes on in the rest of the world because it really doesn't matter to them which leads to much less stress.

    These are all observations by me so should be taken with a grain of salt.
    I'm not saying it was Aliens, but it was Aliens!

  9. #184
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    Far stupider:

    Driving skills appallingly stupid and dangerous

    Thai TV utterly moronic and designed to keep people stupid

    Education system not about education but behavior

    Never invented anything of note

    Almost all believe in ghosts, spirits and 'bribing' God

    Logic, reason and common sense are rarely found unless educated abroad

    They spend hours listening to monks chanting without having a clue what it means

    They believe in magic and amulets as well as vampires.

    They can watch planet of the Apes and ask if was a true story.

  10. #185
    Harbinger of Doom

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    ^ Who do you think is actually revealed as being 'appallingly stupid' in posts like this?

  11. #186
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    Quote Originally Posted by Passing Through View Post
    ^ Who do you think is actually revealed as being 'appallingly stupid' in posts like this?

  12. #187
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    Quote Originally Posted by Passing Through View Post
    ^ Who do you think is actually revealed as being 'appallingly stupid' in posts like this?
    Those who make sarcastic 'clever' comments without contributing anything else and ignoring the subject maybe?

  13. #188
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    If any trait stands above any other when I think of Thais, it is their complete lack of curiosity beyond what it takes to get by on a day to day basis.
    A micro-vignette vaguely related to that:

    I'm in the middle of translating a bunch of forms for a Rajabhat (and hence my too frequent breaks here), one of which is for students wishing to take more than the specified credit load. It's all very, very easy but there was one line which didn't make any sense. It said, in essence, 'What are your reasons for failing to complete all your modules in the specified time?' When I worked at a British university, some students would have extra interests or just be super keen and want to take modules in excess of their limit, though this was generally not allowed. This is what I assumed the Rajabhat form was for and why the sentence didn't make sense to me. I went and asked what the deal was and it turns out that the only reason anyone would take an extra module is that they failed it earlier and need to pass it to complete their degree. And, I suppose not unreasonably, students will try to cram it in on top of their regular work rather than enrolling for an extra term. The assumption that this was the only reason students would ever have for doing extra work is so strong that it's built into the forms.

  14. #189
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    Quote Originally Posted by Passing Through View Post
    If any trait stands above any other when I think of Thais, it is their complete lack of curiosity beyond what it takes to get by on a day to day basis.
    A micro-vignette vaguely related to that:

    I'm in the middle of translating a bunch of forms for a Rajabhat (and hence my too frequent breaks here), one of which is for students wishing to take more than the specified credit load. It's all very, very easy but there was one line which didn't make any sense. It said, in essence, 'What are your reasons for failing to complete all your modules in the specified time?' When I worked at a British university, some students would have extra interests or just be super keen and want to take modules in excess of their limit, though this was generally not allowed. This is what I assumed the Rajabhat form was for and why the sentence didn't make sense to me. I went and asked what the deal was and it turns out that the only reason anyone would take an extra module is that they failed it earlier and need to pass it to complete their degree. And, I suppose not unreasonably, students will try to cram it in on top of their regular work rather than enrolling for an extra term. The assumption that this was the only reason students would ever have for doing extra work is so strong that it's built into the forms.
    Why would anybody want to do extra work that is not necessary?

  15. #190
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    ^ I think "some students would have extra interests or just be super keen" answers that, no? But to expand a little, one hopes that at least some small fraction of students going through the education system have an interest in learning for its own sake, not only for purely instrumental reasons. This is never going to be most (or perhaps even many) but it's a little disheartening when the administration assumes that it's completely impossible.

  16. #191
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    Quote Originally Posted by Passing Through View Post
    ^ I think "some students would have extra interests or just be super keen" answers that, no? But to expand a little, one hopes that at least some small fraction of students going through the education system have an interest in learning for its own sake, not only for purely instrumental reasons. This is never going to be most (or perhaps even many) but it's a little disheartening when the administration assumes that it's completely impossible.
    True it is a little sad, but I would think that some of the smart ones might learn on their own outside of an institutional setting as they get older maybe?

    Probably just the way they are taught and their environment. The only students that I have met that have put in any extra effort have been exceptional, definitely not the norm.

  17. #192
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    Quote Originally Posted by Passing Through View Post
    ^ I think "some students would have extra interests or just be super keen" answers that, no? But to expand a little, one hopes that at least some small fraction of students going through the education system have an interest in learning for its own sake, not only for purely instrumental reasons. This is never going to be most (or perhaps even many) but it's a little disheartening when the administration assumes that it's completely impossible.
    Really? just how naive can somebody be about Thai students and the education system here. You'll learn.

  18. #193
    Harbinger of Doom

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    I've lived here for over a decade and been involved with universities (of a sort) in Thailand for most of that time. What is it that you think I need to know? Besides, I would have thought with your fantastically in-depth Koranic studies, you wouldn't have much time to pay attention to this stuff. It was six times that you have read the Koran, right? And all the hadith literature, too. Surely, what with that, your trips around Samut Prakan (nice choice, by the way) and making poorly written bleatings about Islam on this forum, you can't have much time to spend worrying about Thai education.

  19. #194
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    I would think that some of the smart ones might learn on their own outside of an institutional setting?
    Some, yes. My wife has a computer guy who works for her who studied at a Rajabaht and who says that he learnt absolutely fuck all from his time there - everything he knows which is worth knowing is self-taught. He's just the kind of guy who likes to spend his time (or at least that portion of it when he's not pissed) fiddling about with computers, which is what saved him from the education system.

  20. #195
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    Quote Originally Posted by Passing Through View Post
    I've lived here for over a decade and been involved with universities (of a sort) in Thailand for most of that time. What is it that you think I need to know? .
    WOW a whole decade to realize Thai students only do the basics to pass and that most are not interested in your extra crap, looks like you need to pay attention more and try harder to understand them. Have you noticed yet that the Thai education is not really about academic achievement?

  21. #196
    Harbinger of Doom

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    You are a tedious and deeply stupid bore. And if you're going to follow me around with the aim of being a nit-picking cockmonkey, you need to up your game. Go back and re-read my post. It does not say what you seem to think it says.

  22. #197
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    I thought it was YOU following ME around, while editing my posts with another posters name as well, now just because I comment on you making yourself look as stupid as the institution you work in you start to cry foul, didums then. As for tedious and boring the constant claims that people are somebody else certainly is.

  23. #198
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    Quote Originally Posted by Passing Through
    a nit-picking cockmonkey
    Almost did a spit take on that one!

  24. #199
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    The unwillingness and/or inability to acquire knowledge for its own sake is not confined to any one society. The lower classes of the West are as shackled by ignorance and stupidity as much as Thailand but the difference is that here in Thailand there is no culture of the polymath and disciplines within their society are regimented to a degree that would not be alien to anyone living in the Middle Ages.

    The stratification of Thai society is such that academic excellence has no reward other than as a trapping of status and education is not developed as an instrument of governance. Learning is rote and simply a means of acquiring employment through the production of a certificate that has no benefit beyond an admission ticket to the cinema. Students are not inculcated with the idea that one should challenge established principles and question them in a manner that assists in arriving at a rationale based on logic and sound reasoning. This of course is a cultural thing and very much Thai in that to challenge authority in any guise is apostasy and thoroughly discouraged. Initiative is stamped out and hierarchical thinking is imposed as a straitjacket on all their organisations which possibly explains why nothing works terribly well here.

    The thing is, are the good people of Rednecksville, Alabama any worse or better than the Isaan adolescent ignorant of pretty much anything except how to distinguish different fruits and know his place in the scheme of things? Probably, yes, because in every school somewhere in the U.S. there will be a teacher who asks his students regularly and frequently " why " they arrive at decisions or opinions. In the end, the student can seize the opportunity to educate himself or not, it's a choice.

    In Thailand, they are told what their answers should be and incipient creativity and originality is smothered.

    There has to be a sea change in cultural attitudes here which truly values education as an instrument of personal development which acts as a catalyst for achievement and one that has the potential to benefit all of society. For Thai, education is like petrol, it's just some ingredient you stick into the vehicle to make it go but in this country it will always be lower octane stuff.

  25. #200
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    Quote Originally Posted by Passing Through View Post
    I would think that some of the smart ones might learn on their own outside of an institutional setting?
    Some, yes. My wife has a computer guy who works for her who studied at a Rajabaht and who says that he learnt absolutely fuck all from his time there - everything he knows which is worth knowing is self-taught. He's just the kind of guy who likes to spend his time (or at least that portion of it when he's not pissed) fiddling about with computers, which is what saved him from the education system.
    That's usually how the really smart people got to be really smart, self teaching. School (uni for that matter) is good for the basics though.

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