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From: bigthink
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  • I love Michio, but this has nothing to do with the U.S. educational system. It has everything to do with the low pay and poor prospects for employment in the sciences. The "best and brightest" go to business, law and medical school.

  • americans test low its a fact! we can do better and hopfuly we will do better, wheres morgan freeman when you need him.

    Lean on Me 1989 lol

  • When you limit the test scores by taking out blacks and first threw third generation immigrants the US tests higher than any other nation.

  • Steve Jobs was a greedy jackass who ordered people around to make Apple products. IN reality, he did very little after the first few products.

  • @StopNDAA he wasn't greedy by the way he donated millions, yes he was a "jackass" however he also had to run an international multibillion dollar company. he choose to work hard and push his workers as well to do the same. In his last years he went through cancer, how do you expect to work and live the same while experiencing that

  • For being so smart this guy sure is dumb, lol..... Seriously though, just kidding he's way smarter than me.

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  • Gates and Jobs were both university drop outs, I believe. Einstein got through university and went to work in a patent office, doing physics in his spare time. The Establishment never accepts the genius. The genius is always seen as a threat. The genius always IS a threat. Genius is never embraced, except as a novelty. It is always tolerated only and utilized only when necessary. People like Kaku are trying to change that. Good for him and good luck to him.

  • i dont think bill gates is a genious. he just did the right thing at the right time.

  • @andoriz0r

    Even if he wasn't scientifically genius, he had to be genius at something to reach his success and MAINTAIN it.

  • I agree with him. While we lag, unfortunately the genius and promising grades in our system are cancelled out by the sheer stupidity of the majority. I am one of the few that read for fun, and at my grade level. I excel in History, Science, and English (math I hate, but I do average)

    In my opinion it is the teachers and parents at fault. my teachers are pushovers that don't work. And parents raise kids thinking they will get everything. The US has flaws but still is amazing.

  • The problem with Michio Kaku's argument that there is great need in the sciences here is simply not true. I, like many others that love the biological sciences, decided to abandon research and go into healthcare. Why? Because that's where the jobs are at. I have a previous professor sitting right next to me in my medical lab science program and it certainly wasn't because he wasn't smart enough to be a scientist - he needed a dependable, decent-paying job that wasn't tied to grant money.

  • @Arcane5871

    I meant to say the problem with Michio Kaku's argument is that there is not actually a great need in the sciences here in the US (WTB edit button). It's hell getting and keeping grant money. It's heartbreaking how many would-be scientists are stuck doing thankless post-doc work for several years in hopes of "possibly" getting somewhere in their profession.

  • I was one of those genius under the H1B visa and now I returned to Bolivia because I couldn't find a white virgin girl in the US

  • Im 17 and have been in american school all my life and yes they suck balls.

  • "OUR" secret weapon.

    (he's asain)

  • @xTSxClouds if you're born in America then you're American, regardless of race.

  • @xTSxClouds

    he's suddenly not asian if you close ur eyes

  • @glasspig haha , true true

  • it's not exactly true that the nobel prizes goto foreign born scientists. The US actually leads by far in science across the board.

  • I could listen to this guy for hours, he makes even to most weird things make sense and makes it sound easy.

  • Here's an idea... keep testing never disclose the results. I know teachers need test to better understand the state of the classroom i never understood why students or parents ever needed to know the results. The only thing it helps them with is there fealing of superiority or inferiority. Who the hell cares about that ur here to learn not to enforce sthe status quo.

  • I hated science and math growing up. But I loved space and technology. I started following Michio Kaku a few years ago and he has made me love science and math. I wish our education system made kids care about science, math, and technology more and not just about being on the Varsity football team, Cheerleading Squad, or Glee Club.

    Our educational system, political system, and financial system all need to be revamped. They clearly are not working and its only a matter of time..

  • @piratebri lol same here, i only found my love for science and math because of the internet, i spend more time watching videos on how our universe works than anything else on youtube, plus im tired of all the verble discouragment and lack of knowledge that most teachers portray towards their students, hell i bet half my teachers arent even qualified to teach their current subject

  • Americas education system dose a really good job hammering down creativity 

  • @darkblood626 Because they've associated creativity with class clownery. It's a defense mechanism schools have developed and it gets worse as the teacher / student ratio declines.

  • the failed school system is a good example of how socialism fails. When something is free, its taken for granted.

  • @PennySnap tell that to the school systems in europe. They're all state run.

  • @AlternateArtisan The incentive is totally lacked here. But thats just 1 reason why its a failure. The state also bans kids from attending other schools. So if your in a district with a terrible school, you have no choice. If the school system was handed to the free market, we'd be on another level compared to most countries.

  • @PennySnap I dont know, maybe the teachers unions aught to be held responsible for the outcome of the quality of education. But as far as total privatisation, that could be a bad idea as most poor people in the US just wouldn't bother paying big money for education and wind up illiterate. The colleges are already an example of privatisation where they charge backbreaking sums of money for degrees.

  • @AlternateArtisan A voucher system would fix that. Everyone gets a voucher to go to whatever school they want, including private schools. The good schools would grow, the bad would fail. Getting rid of public unions would help. Anyone can go to college, you just need to work hard and get good grades, and get a scholarship.

  • @PennySnap And yet the Scandinavian countries are among the most highly educated nations in the world. Your perception of the problem cannot simply be boiled down to "state run" or "free market". It has to do with culture, attitude, social cohesiveness, etc. Incentives can always be created as money or resources aren't the only incentives out there.

  • The idea is to make the people of this country dumber so we can't excel at anything, and are easier to control.

  • People who make generalizations usually have low intelligence, it's been proven in multiple studies.

  • @redelman43199 isnt that statement a generalization in of its self.

  • U.S is a big enough country in its own right that 'a golden educational benchmark' is nigh impossible to figure out... and that's besides the fact that we are pretty multicultural salad with specific racial groups clumped in very specific areas here and there... Compared to other smaller countries with more homogeneous demographics, it understandable that the U.S. should have a below average school rating.

  • Americans aren't stupid, and nobody else is either. It's all about the system. Our university system is the best in the world, because it is the most capitalistic--whereas our public school system is one of the most centralized. Self-learners (autodidacts) are the most disadvantaged in American public schools. If it's all about one size and repeat, the best of us are going to be thrown aside.

  • @brouhahabob

    "Our university system "

    WRONG! It's great, but the extreme costs have made it all but impossible to do it without lumping a massive debt onto your shoulders. It's ridiculous.

  • @TheBoxingCannabyte Unfortunately, that is because of the more socialistic part of it. Someday it might be totally free from the grimy hands of the government.

  • @brouhahabob no living thing is stupid. we are intelligent just in different realms :)

  • @brouhahabob

    I'm not sure I agree about the reason for our universities being great is capitalism. I think it's more because we're wealthy and have great thinkers. We have geniuses, and they teach well.

  • @FuchsiaFF00FF Well, it isn't capitalism. There has never been such a thing implemented ever. But the system in the USA is the most capitalistic, and that allows our big thinkers to have more money and more freedom to think and push boundaries compared to all less capitalistic systems. Academia is neither truly capitalistic nor decentralize nor free. (It's actually very centrally controlled, unfortunately.) It is, though, a bit better and freer than others nonetheless.

  • @brouhahabob

    I'm not sure if that's true. I have some reading to do.

  • So Americans are quite stupid after all.

  • @snaileri Lack of education is not equivalent to being stupid. Americans are ignorant because of their educational system. Nobody is "stupid". It's the exposure to a certain environment and information that in your opinion makes people "smart" or "stupid". The lack of information isn't the same as being stupid.

  • @FreeFromWar Except ignorance is different from uneducated or uninformed. Ignorance is deliberate, which is in fact, stupid. The inability/unwillingness to learn, when born with a healthy brain, is also stupidity.

  • I'm in Honor Roll :P

  • Damn, kinda makes me ashamed to be an American student. :|

    Oh well :D

  • I have been saying this for years. Educational systems are there to control us. The way we think inside the box and how we should respond to authority to obey our limits.

  • Ill never understand why people from one country would make such a generalization about another. As for everyone who says americans are stupid, I'm sure your country has it's fair share of stupid people too. So you can keep typing anti-(insert country here) comments and as for me, I have a real life to get back to

  • @rubixor Who are you talking about? are you talking about Michio Kaku? because he is American, speaking as an American. Notice how he says things like "us" and "our"... Don't judge him as "people from [another] country". And he is not making generalizations, he is giving facts.

  • @sakuramana91 He is not saying Americans are stupid, he is saying that the education system sucks and that it should be bettered so that these young people who are not stupid can be taught at the level that they are capable of learning.

  • @sakuramana91 I'm not saying that Michio Kaku is accusing American students of being lazy and stupid. However there are people who are commenting on this video saying that Americans are. I recognize that Michio is just giving us facts, but there are others that are making generalizations about American students

  • @rubixor he is just saying what the statistics are saying

  • wait, are you a japanese traitor?

  • most of the scientists america has are not americans...they are from eu or asia...but they go to america because america is willing to pay for the top minds...america has a bad education system,so cannot produce scientists,but has money sto hire them...

  • @kypselialani14 America is not paying a dollar , it just happens to be the right environment for intelligent people to succeed !

  • @cocom12345 when america offers scholarships to many foreign students because they are good at what they do,actually spends many dollars for them...because a scolarship includes fees,accomodation etc...which is a large ammount...

  • In proportion to our population size the UK has won more nobel prizes than America, (don't quote me, I read it a while back).

  • @rich0292 FUCK YOU WANKER!

  • @SuperRustyTrumbone

    Seriously. You are perhaps one of the most stupid humans I've come across. I'm insulted because everyday I see insults toward the United States as if we all fit into that stereotype.

    Bottom line, you clearly have a small understanding, and that's being generous. Good day c:

  • @SuperRustyTrumbone

    Inbred rednecks? You dumb ass; the USA is made of FOREIGN people. You're basically insulting yourself, your people, and the rest of the world.

    You are obviously under-educated about our society. Either that, or, you simply take what you hear, and run with it.

    Please, shut up.

  • @Kraizer666 most of the people in my country arnt american thats why we get higher school grades. even if 80% of americans are foreigners, the 20% rednecks are still leting your results down.

    ps. youre insulted because your inbreed yourself, im suprised you know how to use a computer :)

  • the whole reason america gets shit school grades is coz their all inbread rednecks.

    and coz all there teachers do is focus on shuting up the class instead of teaching.

  • @SuperRustyTrumbone inbred rednecks? how about inner city ghetto blacks and mexicans?

  • END THE DEPT OF EDU. Federalization has ruined American schools.

  • @impaleddead Then who foots the bill for it all?

  • @ThyGodlyness Local taxes pay for schools.

  • @impaleddead that sounds just great, but what about the small town like the one i live in and my sister goes to? Without grants and founding from state and federal taxes it wouldnt be able to stay open. The local taxes in my area wouldnt be able to support a legitimate school system.

  • @ThyGodlyness *Funding

  • @impaleddead Many schools, even in larger more populated areas, have had trouble in the past few years with funding, and that's with state and federal taxes. So how do you expect those same schools to stay functioning in any real manner without the proper funds?

  • @ThyGodlyness The DOE has only been around since 1980 so don't act like there wouldn't be schools without it. They start wasting money hand over fist when introduced with a seemingly infinite source of funding, maybe if your local school didn't have to adhere to federal regulations they could afford to stay open. Centralization of the school systems is a central plank in the communist manifesto and is absolutely to blame for the decline in American test scores.

  • @impaleddead Since you know that, you should also know that the very reason the DOE was created, or at least was said to be the reason, was to help areas like mine with funding(and increase test scores, though that was a huge failure). Look i honestly agree with your point, youre preaching to the choir. But regulations arent what is driving cost up in my area, its simply a rise in the amount of students without a paralleled rise in average income, meaning we have to rely more heavily on

  • @impaleddead ... federal and state funds. If you want to say do away with the DOE, then im all for it, but then where is it the money is coming from? Their are many schools all around the nation that could NOT stay open without grants and government funding, its just a fact.

  • @ThyGodlyness Just look at the jobs that most of the population are currently doing. We could easily train a person to do a job in a few weeks. Donations from well meaning people can easily support the schools which teach the basics. School should not take 12 years for reading writing and arithmetic. After reading writing and arithmetic no one should dare try to force anyone even their children more info unless they want to learn it.

  • @Stonegoal Donations... thats your answer? Please dont speak when you know nothing of the subject and have put forth no thought to a logical answer. So you are literally saying that teaching our children less, that lowering our national standards, will HELP America? That is honestly the most ignorant, stupid thing i have ever heard. In this world, now more than ever, we NEED kids to be more well-rounded intellectually. Just let the other guy answer the question, hes much more intelligent.

  • @ThyGodlyness WOW thanks for your insight of nothing. What proof do you need to see before you understand your current stance is wrong. My proof is clear, look at what the government forced schools is giving us. There is evidence to disprove stances against my suggestions and evidence to support my stances, you have neither. What is the one thing which would proof to you that your stance is wrong?

  • @Stonegoal You havent even made a stance on anything, just said that we should shorten school and use donations to fund school systems. Thats just ignorance and counts for nothing, nor have you proven or offered proof of anything. I really dont see an argument you've put forth worth my time, you need to put more thought behind your opinions. Hopefully the other guy responds so i can have a debate with an actual intellectual, this comment is a waste of my time...

  • @ThyGodlyness Force is wrong. If you refuse the government they will force you to the point of taking all your assets, imprison you and/or kill you. If you can give evidence that shows I do not need to pay taxes and use US legal tender without the government using force on me you will prove my argument false.

    Accepting the this flawed system supports the war, poor life training(public school) and increases unemployment lowering the standard of living of all in and out of USA.

  • @Stonegoal well ive never said that i support our school system, you're putting words in my mouth, ive simply stated that we know of no other way to fund it with our current economy with federalization. And their is no law requiring you, or any place of business, to accept the US dollar, in fact the law states the opposite. You do need to pay taxes, its just a simple fact of life and you should have no problems with it, supporting a government financially is the responsibility of its people.

  • @Stonegoal Now we can arguments amount of taxes all day, that's semantics and neither of us are truly qualified to make those arguments anyway, im not an economist and its sounds like neither are you. Force is NOT wrong, though force applied in the wrong areas is. Its not wrong to force children to go to school and better themselves. And just because i support my government as a whole, does NOT mean i support every aspect of its policies.

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  • @ThyGodlyness Oh and I am an economist.

  • @Stonegoal Well i dont believe you, you seem to know very little about how the economy works to be a trained, educated economist. I mean, you thought that America has laws requiring you to accept US legal tender, which was in my economics 101 class. Simply the manner by which you pose your argument makes you sound ignorant. And Im still waiting for those personals with real, hard hitting questions, instead of random talking points that all tie in together.

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  • @Stonegoal Oh but if it is proof you seek, then please pose a legitimate question and i will answer it to the best of my knowledge in a personal message, as any real answer would be much to long for a 500 character comment.

  • @ThyGodlyness And donations are not my answer. Stopping the use of force on the people is my answer.

  • @Stonegoal Well, thats just stupid and makes no sense. I dropped out when i was 17(i know, not the most intelligent move on my part but whatever, im in college now so suck it), and you forget that home schooling our children is an option in this country and completely legal, so there goes your "force" theory. But I'm still waiting for your answer to how we fund the public school without federal and state taxes, an answer that has evaded much more educated minds than either of ours.

  • @impaleddead Ron Paul is your answer if you wish to end a lot of the Federal government controlled programs.

  • LOL, Michio Kaku is talking like he isn't foreign himself.

  • @BenGenio maybe cuz he was born and raised in the US

  • i agree with that and also think that consumerism should be added to it because we give so many opportunities to create in the US because there is someone out there that will buy ur product no matter how useless or excessive

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  • what they need to start teaching are thing applicable to the real world. every school needs a class that teaches you about debt, financing, saving, avoiding scams, local laws, frugalness and how the world really works.

  • Kaku for Prez

  • Well maybe what the cure what be stop hiring jobs that take requirements and start funding training/learning programs whilst at work.

    ALL businesses now science or not say you need this qualification or this degree or that you need to have experiencem, they come looking for workers with prejudgement in their mind.

    If businesses were to say okay we are hiring anyone and we will teach and train you, I promise you even a dumb person can be taught.

    It's all about money, money, money.

  • I may be out of line here as I am not an American, but as soon as you get the system out of the hands of the corporations who use it as a money making racket, you will have made a big leap forward.

    It's going to hard to up the level of education when the powers that be need dumbed down societies to keep working and paying taxes. If we're as smart as them, we won't need them.

    If we can preserve the freedom of information on the internet, we can surely learn without the failed school system

  • The O-1a is the Genius visa, not the H-1b. At least when it comes to sciences.

  • I see collage as the greatest educational failure in human history.

  • The young Bill Gates? Scary...

  • >people excel in college

    $600 a book

    $5000 a class

    they teach you unwillingly, most of the times teach you in a way you dont understand confusing you.

    go to another country $10 book

    $80-200 classes

    highschool

    everyone must pass this test even tho some students learn different.

    lower test scores everyone pass

  • Einstein was german and migrated to america...

  • now people can't say we immigrant are leeches :D

  • In America, The Creative Mind is OFTEN frowned upon in the early years of schooling. If you ask to many questions, or elaborate to much on an answer, you're made fun of by other students. Or, discouraged by "Teachers" and Encouraged by those same teachers to get in step with the rest of the class, and just check (C) like the Text Book says so they can move along. Then there's ALWAYS funding issues for courses where as critical/creative thinking is concerned. There the first to have funds taken..

  • Man its sad to think that what Mr. Kaku has just said is true.

  • This man has taught me more in a few hours than years of American science.

    I teach myself more than a school ever can. The internet has taught me a ton of my skills. I read. Then I sit there in science class as we discuss the same thing over, and over. And ask why.

  • @Udontgetmymetal I couldn't agree more. I'm in 7th grade, and I can guarantee nobody else in my school can define a higgs boson.

  • We need to stop testing in general, we need to fix our education system in junior high and high and increase the benefits in teaching. Thats how we can make our people smarter.

  • @annoynymus, how can you measure and verify without testing?

  • @TedRobotBuilder assessment

  • @Nes232, and what is the difference between assessment and testing?

  • @annoynymus You're an idiot... You just completely ruined the point of the squeaky wheel gets the grease... Really, just because you failed at highschool because you never studied for tests and bombed them, that doesn't mean we are all going to do the same stupid idiotic thing that you did so get over yourself.

  • @annoynymus Thats how you can make people more knowledgeable, not smarter, there is a difference.

  • @annoynymus In martial arts the pattern to learning is observe, practice, demonstrate. It forces you to be more attentive to what you are doing and I know that in my case it makes me hyper-aware of my "sticking-points" to refine my technique when something does not seem quite right. I think that for those interested in academic pursuits the same will happen when they lecture or demonstrate their chosen principles. Others just shrug just as happens in the dojo.

  • and after put of this video on yt... its a weapon (not secret)...

  • ...our weaponry are such diverse elements as fear, surprise, ruthless efficiency, an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope, and nice red uniforms—oh damn! ;)

  • I already said all that shit he just did like 2 years ago.

  • @rzwehbe i wouldn't get down on that. It's a pretty rational argument. it wouldn't suprise me if lots of people came to that conclusion

  • Fuck america burn in hell USA hope Russia puts an end to your barbaric nation full of stupid shit people who have no idea what the hell is happening in their own lives FUCK YOU AMERICA

  • @HulkHooligann please stay calm. soon every economic based country shall fall. ps: (im not american just to be clear :P)

  • @brandmannetje Isn't most every country economic based? What do you mean by fall?

  • @HulkHooligann is it america or ignorant people that you actually hate?

  • Similar educational problems exist here in Australia. A lot of high school kids enter their first year of university lacking fundamental math and English skills. There's this sudden 'panic' in which they have to catch up before they can begin their degrees.

  • the secret weapon was Tesla and they cage him

  • @enastypos well, he was a Serb... Actually one of the first "brain imports" to the US...

  • @enastypos whats this "Tesla" ppl keep talking about?

  • @M1keOxlong69

    the works of Tesla destroyed by us

  • @enastypos Dollar was too powerfull to let him work for free technologies.

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  • @Leopoldo888 get over yourself

  • Full of shit

  • To the free thinkers, stop arguing, it's useless. Pretty sure you got better things to do, don't waste your time.

  • "The Secret Weapon of American Science" First reading this a foreigner may very well laugh their arse off.....

  • i think its a fair trade

    life, semi-freedom, no tigers to hunt to survive, and money

    for some work that otherwise they would enjoy :D

  • R.I.P. Steve Jobs!  Who will I throw my money at now?! :(

  • especially wen college continues to get expensive. then only less than 1% will be educated....the rest working at 4 dollars an hour becuase they cont do anything else that requires some moderate amount of thinking skills.

  • The nail that sticks out gets hammered.

    But the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

  • America is a Land of immigrants, he might as well just said that.

  • Jimi Hendrix was a genius. +)

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  • Apparently, all the plans for the good rockets were made by germans that the americans brought over. Now, someone has thrown out the plans and the have no clue ow to make them anymore.

  • No we dont we just have to many niggers and mexicans fucking it up with breeding idiots.

  • @RedDragonLodge you should consider changing you youtube id from RedDragonLodge

    to RedNeckLodge in my opinion:D

  • does matter turn into anti matter in a black hole? just wondering lol

  • Well one thing America had or maybe still has is the best Universities in the world. Most of the people in my grad classes in electronics 10 years ago were foreign born. I would say roughly 75% were from India alone and this was 10 years ago. So it's hardly shocking to me that immigration is the reason for all the innovation. This country has always been a melting pot and I don't see that changing.

  • no you don't see steve jobs.......

  • @TheAlexagius this video is old, it was made well before Steve Jobs died, maybe you are one of these illiterate high school graduates he was on about?:P

  • @messi996 how can i be illiterate and write? also i dont live in the usa so i had a good education and i know he died, it was a joke you know ha ha

  • @TheAlexagius what i said was also a joke, and i know that you know that jobs was dead but, this video came out while he was still alive.

  • the secret weapon is money

  • @7halos1

    soon to be china

  • @7halos1 The US is bankrupt.....

  • @7halos1 The United States has a shit load of loans...

  • My name is Jordan. 0:37 scared the shit outta me >_<

  • American schools are not about teaching knowlegde and skills anymore so thats not supricing.

  • You cant blame the kids really, its the owners of America, they want obedient workers. Just smart enough to do the paper work and work the machines but dumb enough to passively accept the shittier jobs, the reduced benefits, the end of overtime and the vanishing pension that disappears the minute you go to collect it.

    LONG LIVE GEORGE CARLIN

  • college was fun, all those 13th graders running around

  • Seriously, the schools here are crap.

    My guess is that they're merely training us to be slaves, not intelligent self-sustaining innovators.

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  • 1:51 America does ketchup

  • You hide the Truth ,doctor Kaku , the secret weapon of uncle Sam is " mr Dollar "!

  • @huynhminhtri He did mention they (the scientist that go to the USA) are rewarded.

  • @huynhminhtri "This is where innovation takes place and is rewarded financially."

    I missed the part where he hid that.

  • @huynhminhtri Kaku did say scientist would be rewarded with dollar if they come

  • Don't worry, our reps are hard at work to erode disassemble this system of success as well...