[quote]Americans widely agree that the United States has a unique character because of its history and Constitution that sets it apart from other nations as the greatest in the world. This view, commonly referred to as "U.S. exceptionalism," is shared by at least 73% of Americans in all party groups, including 91% of Republicans.[/quote]

Never underestimate the importance of confidence.

[url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20756247]Easily over-estimated, too. [/url]

Interestingly the IQ threshold for professional jobs is ~103, for Chinese individuals, but ~110 for Americans. I don't put too much stock in to IQ, but it's a nice indication, in this case. The distinction comes about as result of cultural difference. The Chinese, when it comes to parenting, focus not upon self-esteem, but instead self-control, and consider their denial of instant gratification/emphasis on a delayed reward culture to be a form of parental devotion, rather than oppression. I really admire Eastern philopsophy when it comes to work ethic - and despise the everyone deserves a trophy, you're so amazing, lazy, narcissism breeding ground that has plagued the west. The other cultural differences are also quite fascinating. In establishing theory we formulate new ideas based upon analogy, applying that which we know towards that which we don't. Rice is a unique crop in that the more it is cultivated the more fertile the soil becomes, while in the west we had to rely on crop rotation. As result you have two very different schools of thought. Take the folk sayings as an example "He who wakes up before dawn 360 days a year will never fail to make his family rich"; (East) vs. "If God does not bring it, the earth will not give it" (west). And things like ~180 days of schooling p.a. in the states (allow the mind to rest i.e. 'rotation') vs ~220p.a in the East (keeping the mind fertile), which extrapolated over many years leads to a significant Asian advantage. It's also unlikely a coincidence that the most successful Asians are descendants from the most agriculturally skilled area of the Yyangtze, and that those of rural background, following migration, are more successful than those from more urban stock. The point I'm trying to make, at least from what I've read (yes, I got a little carried away testing my memory because I actually read books now srsly and apparently I can only bother investing effort in my posts when I'm sleep deprived or drunk), is that success is determined more by application and mentality. And to make this a little more subject relevant, we in the west could do with taking note. That isn't to say the East isn't without problems (lots more plane crashes due to co-pilots failing to speak up, due to their concern with status), but they do put us to shame when it comes to making the most of their gifts, and the root of that is self-discipline.

Self discipline is very good, but in reality the Finnish school system is worlds better than any of the Asian models. The Asian models are high stress and have led quite successfully to ridiculously high levels of myopia among children (due to not spending enough time outside) while still not providing better results than the seemingly less intensive Finnish model.

I'm not familiar with the Finnish system, what is it that gives them the edge?

[url=http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/12/what-americans-keep-ignoring-about-finlands-school-success/250564/]This[/url] is a good overview.

Fascinating. Mixing the gifted with the less so must be mutually beneficial, with an encouraging, empathetic, creative, cooperaive mindset. I am just trying to think how the dynamic might work. I guess the gifted would learn the value of their abilities, not only for themselves (which is where the understanding ends in a competitive culture) but for others. Those around them would thus benefit from their willingness to cooperate and share their perspective, and as result also become better thinkers themselves. I really love the concept, and the wider social implications as well.

[quote]"If you can think of a politician who can say consistently 'We're not No. 1; we're not No. 1,' then I'd be very surprised," says Melvyn Levitsky, a retired U.S. Foreign Service officer and former ambassador to Brazil.[/quote]Here you go, smartass

Hey smart ass, get an average of every single on of us instead of one individual

[quote]“Our president doesn’t have the same feelings about American exceptionalism that we do,” Romney said at a campaign stop this year. “You have an opportunity to vote and take the next step in bringing back that special nature of being American.” Obama has pushed back on that claim, saying in a recent speech that “the character of our country … has always made us exceptional.”[/quote]