[V-2]

"How many Americans know the largest city in Poland?" - how many Europeans know on what continent is Mexico located? Or Kazakhstan (one of the 10 largest countries in the world, for that matter)? Or which Korea is which? Or who was who in the Balkan conflict - that's a bloody and recent war right in Europe.

Or does anyone remember that fellow? :) http://youtu.be/SmLwnSXNpFU

Sure that's just a random bloke (what about the public though? What are the odds?), but one could expect members of the parliament to be fairly knowledgeable, at least in the field of politics and current events. Italy: http://www.video.mediaset.it/video/iene/puntata/3673/i-parla... - the journalist asked them some not that tricky questions out of the blue.

They didn't know who Mandela was (or thought he was a president of Brazil), they didn't know what Guantanamo was (and ultimately made a guess it was located in Afganistan). Greenhouse effect? No clue. Darfur? (War in Darfur was the headlines back then). They're stumped. People who do politics for living.

Americans at least seem fond of accusing themselves of ignorance and are quick to acknowledge it, while Europeans, well, kind of do the same thing - in the sense that they eagerly stereotypize Americans as the ignorant ones :)

I'm not American (I'm Polish), but I'm tired of this cliche - whenever I hear someone babbling on about these ignorant Americans, it grinds my gears, not out of love for Americans in particular, just in the same way as all myths, urban legends etc. passed on as facts.

[kubov]

Couldn't agree more. I'm also really tired of Polish people thinking they are superior somehow because Americans don't know who's prime minister of Poland (that's quite common).

I've spent two summers in a row in US, WA area, and I've definitely noticed that US college students are very intelligent and knowledgeable about many things.

I've also spend enough time in Poland noticing many people that are quite opposite of that.

So for summary, labeling people in this way doesn't work very well.

[flexie]

The vast majority of European high school graduates would be able to answer all of those questions you posted.

I am neither Polish, nor American, but I have lived in Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe and in the US and the average American knows much less about Europe than vice versa.

[V-2]

That might be true, but this is not as symmetrical as you're implying - in my opinion. There is simply more to know about Europe, since it's more diverse, has longer history etc. Also, the US happens to be a global superpower (and the only one nowadays) - no wonder it attracts more attention, and we're all naturally subjected to an influx of facts about it - the impact of its popular culture adding to it. It's, at least to an extent, of the same nature as the fact that we discuss in English now, regardless of what out first languages are.

A more balanced question than the one you suggested would be: does an average European know more about Europe than an average American about the US? :) That's closer competition here.

I lived in England for nearly 6 years and I wasn't exactly impressed by how much they know about continental Europe - let alone these parts of Europe that were on the other side of Iron Curtain.

And speaking of Americans, I'm sure that an average - say - Brazilian doesn't really have much of a clue about Europe either, despite Brazil's historical and cultural ties to Europe. Yet noone is talking about typical Brazilian ignorance and we'd forgive this without batting an eye. Why?

Because we usually know just as little about Brazil, so we are prompt to excuse them :) Not so in case of Americans (US citizens). It's the lack of symmetry that bugs people and provokes hostile reactions.