Why are Scots such a resourceful race?

Question

I was just wondering if anybody had any thoughts about this. When you think about it, a lot of things we take for granted were invented/pioneered by Scots, and there are so many famous ones. For example...the television, telephone, penicillin, anaesthetic, logarhythms (if you are a mathmatician),
pneumatic tyres, adhesive stamps etc.

People like Carnegie, Bell, Baird, Dunlop, Fleming, Conan Doyle, Rabbie Burns, Walter Scott & Scottie from Star Trek are all well known names.

The Bank of England was even founded by a Scot.

A lot of people in England are of the view however that Scotland would crumble into dust without them.

My question is...do you think this level of inventiveness/ ingenuinity is unique for such a small country as Scotland, or do you have examples of another race of people as inventive as the Scots?

Thanks

(Xenophobic answers will not be appreciated).

If I can add...Scotland is a small country with a population of approx 5 million. I am not disputing other countries have made advances, but they have a much higher population than Scotland, so I think it is amazing they've done so well in relation to their population ratio.

If I can add...Scotland is a small country with a population of approx 5 million. I am not disputing other countries have made advances, but they have a much higher population than Scotland, so I think it is amazing they've (Scotland) done so well in relation to their population ratio.

Answer 1

Now all you have to do is get a decent football team! Lol

Answer 2

Scots ROCK!

Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Alba) is a nation in northwest Europe and one of the four constituent countries[1] of the United Kingdom. It occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shares a land border to the south with England. It is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest. Apart from the mainland, Scotland consists of over 790 islands.[2]

Edinburgh, the country's capital and second largest city, is one of Europe's largest financial centres.[3] Scotland's largest city is Glasgow, which is the centre of the Greater Glasgow conurbation. Greater Glasgow is home to approximately 40% of Scotland's population. Scottish waters consist of a large sector[4] of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union.

The Kingdom of Scotland was an independent state until 1 May 1707, when the Acts of Union (despite widespread protest across Scotland)[5] resulted in a political union with the Kingdom of England to create the Kingdom of Great Britain.[6][7] Scotland's legal system continues to be separate from those of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland; and Scotland still constitutes a discrete jurisdiction in public and in private international law.[8] The continued independence of Scots law, the Scottish education system, and the Church of Scotland have all contributed to the continuation of Scottish culture and Scottish national identity since the Union.[9] However, Scotland is no longer a separate sovereign state and does not have independent membership of either the United Nations or the European Union

Answer 3

Scotland had a very good education system, particularly in the period of some of the inventors you have mentioned. They excelled in the Sciences, Archetecture and the Arts and were part of the "Enlightenment."
The Scots have always been industrious and adventurous some of the areas of the New World were also developed by Scots and Scottish money. Much was also lost, but nothing ventured nothing gained.

Answer 4

I think Italy is the only other country that has been so creative. It is really quite absurd that all those amazing Scots get lumped into "British", where most people assume they're Englishmen. But give the Devil his due. The Union allowed Scotland to flower. The list is incredible throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.

Answer 5

Every race of people donated something to mankind if you think about it. jews Invented finance, ancient greeks astronomy, arabs invented algebra, ancient egyptians invented surgery (usig obsidian knives), south-asians invented the Lute (ancestor of the most common musical instrument, the guitar)... The list goes on.... it wasnt just the Scotts, everything you see today is just a global effort, and nobody is underappreciated.

By the way, the whole England-Scotland dissagreement is something passed on from history, wars and stuff.

Answer 6

Nah... in England we actually recognise the fact the Scots have come up with a lot of cool stuff. Well played Scotland.

Answer 7

I don't beleive the Scots to be anymore resourceful than any other race. Scottish men have indeed invented some fine things but so have Americans, English etc.
Britain became a wealthy nation through it's empire and so its invention became widely known throughout the world.

Answer 8

The only Scot I know is Scotty from Star Trek and he was very resourceful. Ask Mr. Spock.
.

Answer 9

The television is one thats argued as baird, zworykin and farnsworth all demonstrated it at almost the same time.

But never the less much credit does go to scots ... and bagpipes are cool ;P

Answer 10

I think, and Im biased, it's not just the Scots your speaking of but their whole racial family, the Celts. For hundreds, if not, thousands of years, the Celt people prized intellect, wit, inventiveness and resourcefullness above physical strength and crude cunning.