The OECD measures the competency and comprehension levels of students worldwide and produces a report called the “PISA” report.
It is illuminating and scary. But you may also find it strangely validating.
The average smart person drastically over-estimates the intelligence of those around them. If you often find yourself disappointed with interactions in the general-public, it may be because you are assuming people are smarter than they really are. The PISA study confirms precisely this.
More broadly, maybe what we think is a “culture war” is actually just these “PISA People” who are loudly opinionated yet unable to extract insights from data, don’t possess basic discernment, and even struggle to understand hypotheticals.
