# Why Germans are so smart.



## CCCXXIX

I'm an American, born and bred, and damn proud to be one. I was, however, raised by my German family for the most part. My grandfather, who raised me with my mother, was a top engineer and inventor. My mother, who taught me my schooling, was valedictorian of a very exclusive private school when she was younger.

I know there are plenty of super smart scientists and engineers and others that aren't German. I'm not arguing that Germans have bigger brains, and in fact there are plenty of idiot Germans, just as anywhere else in the world.

I only intend to explain why Germans have been so aggressive throughout history, and why the engineers and scientists of Germany are so much more aggressive in their work.

I was not taught that I was better than anyone else directly, but indirectly. My family line was taught to me from a very young age. I was constantly being reminded of my ancestors and their accomplishments, and the fact that I was part of the same bloodline.

It was ingrained in my head that I had a bloodline to live up to. I was taught to love my family, that nothing was beyond blood. Nothing is more important than showing the rest of the world just how impressive that blood is.

I was told that American school systems were inadequate. I was home schooled until high school for this reason. I was given some freedom, when I wrote a paper on a given book I could write it however I wanted. However, I did not have spell check, or grammar check. When I turned in my paper, my mother would take it and find every single grammatical and spelling flaw and note them. I had to then take my paper and redo it again and again until it was flawless. This is how it was with every subject. Everything had to be flawless, if there was a single error it was not acceptable. I was not babied, it was never "ok" to be wrong.

I was encouraged to build things, but was only praised if it was perfect. If I wanted to do carpentry, the woodwork had to be level (yeah you try to do that at 9 years old). If I wanted to make an electrical gadget, the power output better be right (I was given electrical construction sets at age 7). etc.



As a result of all of this I have noticed when someone challenges me, to anything, I get pissed. It's just a natural instinct at this point. I get so pissed that I want to destroy them in whatever it is they have challenged me to with every fiber in my body (whether it be physical or mental). There have been times I have been challenged physically where I have pushed myself so hard I thought I would die afterwords. 


This is how most Germans are raised, not exactly the same, but with the same ideas and mentality. To be perfectionists, that they have the most impressive heritage to live up to, etc...

I hope I don't sound conceited. Well I don't really care if I did, but that wasn't my intent. I just hope it's more of an eye-opener than anything else. I searched the internet, and no one has explained this. Sooooo your welcome...


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## skycloud86

My welcome? What about my welcome?

(Sorry, but it was inevitable).

Also, nothing in your post actually shows that Germans are inherently smart (and smart isn't even one of the stereotypes of Germans, which usually include no sense of humour and cold efficiency).


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## CCCXXIX

skycloud86 said:


> My welcome? What about my welcome?
> 
> (Sorry, but it was inevitable).
> 
> Also, nothing in your post actually shows that Germans are inherently smart (and smart isn't even one of the stereotypes of Germans, which usually include no sense of humour and cold efficiency).


Yes, it was inevitable. As this post probably seems like an epeen write-up to most. It's not the intention as I stated before. I only explain things that I would want to know if I didn't already know them.

That's the point, they aren't inherently smart. They are taught to be perfectionists, taught that they need to be the best... They are more so taught to maximize their potential.

Think about inner city schools, there are plenty of smart kids, extremely intelligent people. They are not taught to maximize their potential at all. The educational system in America takes your work and scores it and that's it. Me and my sisters were reading and writing at a college graduate level by the time we graduated the 5th grade. When I went to public school, my reading and writing skills got worse. My English skills were better when I was 11 than they are right now.


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## searcheagle

Different cultures tend to have different values and weigh those values.



CCCXXIX said:


> I only intend to explain why Germans have been so aggressive throughout history, and why the engineers and scientists of Germany are so much more aggressive in their work.
> 
> ...
> 
> This is how most Germans are raised, not exactly the same, but with the same ideas and mentality. To be perfectionists, that they have the most impressive heritage to live up to, etc...


If you live with people who emphasis perfection and attention, it's clear to see why they make great engineers. If more German people are perfectionistic and detail oriented than others, you will get more better engineers in that group than in other places.

Personally, I work in a high tech American manufacturing center. Most of our high tech/precision machines are made in Germany or Japan. 

American culture emphasizes creativity and innovation is evident in all the new ideas that come out of here.

Other cultures have other things they value and I'm always interested in learning those.


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## skycloud86

But you're only comparing Germans and Americans. The education system here in Britain is probably quite different to both.


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## CCCXXIX

skycloud86 said:


> But you're only comparing Germans and Americans. The education system here in Britain is probably quite different to both.


Americans and Germans are all I know. I do not know and will not pretend to know how Brits are raised.

Also, I really am not trying to compare anything. I only intended to explain how it was being brought up in a German household. It is up to you to make the comparisons.


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## FlaviaGemina

Hey, @_CCCXXIX_, I'm a German living in England. I'd recommend you read "The German Genius" by Peter Watson, a British author. I've been reading it on an off and am only on p. 140 out of approx 800 pages. But I've got a feeling this book will answer all the questions you've ever had about Germans and then some.

Your family sounds unusually zealous, even for Germans, but yep... this resonates with my experience of the German school system.
But let me just clarify that according to "The German Genius", the source of German perfectionism isn't aggression and competition with others as such. Ideally, the purpose of education for Germans is to "enrich your inner life" and push yourself to a higher level. It is only as a byproduct of that that Germans end up being more competitive. 
Also, ideally, Germans value education for itself. I.e. its primary purpose is to improve yourself. If it so happens that you can apply your knowledge to improve the world later on that's fine. But the main purpose of education is not for you to make lots of money and get a better job. In Germany, social class correlates with education. So if you've got a degree, you're middle class (and are entitled to look down and/or try to help people of lower classes.) Even if you are unemployed, your degree still qualifies you as middle class. In England, your social status is defined by that of your ancestors and/or your material possessions. So if you are an unemployed graduate, you're still a "scally" because your not rich.

OK, that's just a few points. Would you like to know more about how the German school and university system compares to the English one and why it is easier for Germans to be inventive etc?


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## nonnaci

@*CCCXXIX *

Mostly work ethic. A culture that ingrains in you a drive to produce externally recognizable progress translates into "smarts" from a collective perspective. The fact that you're only rewarded for that which is "perfect" which presumes an objective or external sort of perfection raises the standard higher. e.g. Dangle a carrot in front of mule and it'll chase it. Dangle it further away and it'll learn to run as a fast as a horse.


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## redmanXNTP

Yeah, I think this is called work ethic and perfectionism. It carried over to the American Midwest, where many German immigrants settled, where that work ethic is also praised. There are a lot of Scandanavians there too, incidentally, and I a lot of similarities in their approach as well. 

One more thing- what is now Germany is located right in the middle of Europe, and has historically been sandwiched between Europe's great powers, who of course exerted their influence upon and even dominated German affairs. German nationalism only really blossomed into fruition when modern Germany was finally unified, only about 150 years ago. The Germans have an almost paranoid obsession with being recognized culturally, and take huge pride in those traits of hard work and perfectionism, I think in large part as a cultural reaction to so many foreign powers dominating the German people for so long.


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## KingFrog

How would you compare German education and Japanese or Korean education systems then?


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## Hapalo

I agree, germans aren't inherently smart. They just have ordnung.


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