Do Asian people have a higher capacity to learn than white and black people?

Question

This is definitely not intended to be a racist question, but I was simply wondering:
Ancient Asia (especially China) became a very advanced society for their time compared with the rest of the world, then Europe slowly started to expand their intellect (although still not as great as Asia's), but Africa always remained an underdeveloped society and achieved little progress compared with the Asians and Europeans. Do you suppose that maybe because of the rate of advancement of their different societies, Asian people generally have a higher learning capacity than white people, and white people generally have a higher learning capacity than black people?
(Please, no one be offended, I do not intend this to be a racist question at all)

Answer 1

I don't think it stems from their genetics or race. I think it's a matter of environment and surroundings. Asian society tends to have a more strict attitude towards learning and European and American societies don't. That leaves room for the child to choose to not learn, to screw around, etc. I also think the stress that accompanies the strictness directly attributes to the high suicide/violent crime rate in Asia.

Answer 2

It all depends on what emphasis is placed on in a particular culture. Now the African were highly developed in what they need to know for their survival in Africa. They new that the should not deplete the earth of it's precious resources so they migrated as to not overuse one area.

As for other groups of people, they were very developed at whatever it was that they felt was important to them.

If Asian households put the emphasis on learning and gaining knowledge and wisdom, of course they will excel intellectually. They will be able to develop technology that whites will use to make their lives easier so they won't have to think anymore. If white households and black households put education foremost before anything else (soccer practice, video games, MTV, etc) they too will excel intellectually.

I think that it is a nurture, not nature.

Answer 3

No, we're all born the same. The only thing that makes people smarter or dumber is their surroundings, culture and attitude to learning. Take the US for example...nerds and geeks are frowned upon, yet those are the people who contribute the most to society in terms of science and new discoveries/inventions.
Apparently, its cooler to be dumb ?

Asians dont work on that principle...and work hard.

Answer 4

I agree with picopico. Places like ancient China, Egypt, Greece etc. got a headstart on civilisation probably because their distant ancestors experienced better resources and conditions than the ancestors of less complex societies. Diet (especically red meat) had a lot to do with the growth of human intelligence.

I think attitudes to academic achievement etc. probably helped the progress of these civilisations, but didn't necessarily cause it.

Answer 5

I don't think its a capacity issue. It's a motivation issue. I understand its not a racial question. If you look you'll still see it today. Not just Asians, but many races come to this country to learn. They go back with there knowledge to help there nation grow. While we white or balck are ignorent to the advantages we have at our finger tips, but some are just denied the learnig they may have been capable of (life, family,kids, ect..).

Answer 6

When I was in college I thought so. What I learned is that it isn't true. A lot of Asian cultures push their kids harder to achieve things and this includes school. I think it has to do with the high standards the parents and schools set over there.

Answer 7

I learned somewhere that is has to do with the way Asians are raised. They are expected to do well in school and such as a way of showing respect to their parents. Its like their way of showing thanks. So no I dont think one race has higher learning capacities over others, just different lifestyles and influences.

Answer 8

No, I'm Asian and it's not true. If you read the book "Guns, Germs and Steel," and accept the proposed argument, you learn that the reason for the advancement of particular areas of the world has more to do with the available crops and domesticable animals than anything else.

Answer 9

one of my chinease friends is a genius in math, and he came to the united states like when he was 12 and when i asked him how he knew how to do some of the math some people who were 16 were doin he said that in china ppl went to school 6 days a week classes lasted almost all day long and ppl tried hard to in school so they could get better jobs when they were older. so schools had more time to teach students more stuff.

Answer 10

no, it is more cultural than racial. I know Asians that are not too bright but they were born in America and they don't have the drive to succeed like Asians from Asia.