Subsaharan African Average IQ - a global, undeniable phenomenon

Let's qualify the images a bit. Angola is a nation that has reserves in diamonds and oil. Oil is responsible for half the nations GDP. There is a large international community there based on those two industries, and that supports Luanda. However, that city it is not al all representative of the Angola nation- it is sort of an island of modern structure in the middle of a cess-pool. The cost of renting an apartment in Luanda varies some, but generally is $5000 USD and up. Luanda has the highest cost of living of any city in the world.

The oil industry is run by a state corporation called Sonangol. It has cooperative agreements with international oil companies who do the field work and production. A few years ago, the ruler's daughter, Isabel dos Santos, was running the Angolan side, Sonangol. She is- or was at one point, Africa's richest woman. On 16 November 2017, Sonanglo had a bank balance of $57 million USD. Then she began to transfer funds to her own bank accounts in Dubai- and by the end of the day, Sonanglo had a bank balance of $309.00. This kind of exploitation in African nations by rulers is fairly common.

Outside the capitol city, the real population of Angola lives in a much different world- something common in many African nations.
If we compare standards of living in Luanda, the capitol city sector of the country,and Kalandula, a sector made up of small towns and villages:



A kilo of tomatoes costs $16 USD. Milk is $2.40 a liter. Potatoes are $4 a kilo- rice, apples, oranges about the same.
The large portion of the population lives under thatched roofs, on dirt floors.
The average monthly income for a family of four nationwide.... is $259 USD.
About 1/3 of the population is illiterate. Only about one in four of children who start grade one will finish grade four.
Half the nations population does not have access to potable water.

The disparity in the quality of life in most of these countries- despite having some cities that appear to be icons of the modern world- is vast beyond what most people can imagine.

 

Understood and it takes a level of maturity, introspection and insight in order to be able to do that.

I don't believe that I have reached that level myself and it would be unfair of me to hold others to a standard that I cannot achieve myself.

 

I don't disagree with you for one second. I also fully understand that many of the richest African nations are very corrupt and dangerous places. I posted those pictures with any commentary because the user I was responding posted the before and after pic with mud huts that promotes a dangerous stereotype beliefs that some people have. When my friend returned from a trip to Kenya most people were surprise at his pictures because they were not expecting to see Nairobi as a modern metropolis. Sub-saharan Africa is are a collection of developing nations fraught with problems. I just don't think people should be adding to that problem by showing the people as primitives living in mud huts.

 

Way to take a joke waaaay to seriously.

 

That was because of the Communist connections he had at Harvard, who doctored all his grades and defrauded his election (I'm being facetious, or all the conservatives will take me seriously)

 

Teaching is a lot more difficult than it looks and almost without exception everyone remembers their best teachers and probably cannot recall the names of the rest of them.

My own field of information technology was very much uncharted terrain when I began and I had to teach myself my own "best practices" as I went along. It was interesting when things that I had taught myself became industry standards. However there was, and still is, a lot about it that still needs improvement. What I find curious is how no one knew what I did for a living originally and now everyone just accepts computers as part of everyday life.

Perhaps the worst aspect of my career choice was that there were so many who had better relationships with their code than they did with people. I recall the early managers that I had who were former programmers and were abysmal when it came to people skills. I decided that I would be different and adopted an approach of treating everyone like adults. Performance evaluations were positive of my management skills which I found amusing because I essentially just showed others how to manage themselves. It was a great deal less work for me!

 

I understand it was a joke but it is the type of joke that leads to re-enforcing stereotype beliefs. How many people America actually do belief that is how people in sub-Saharan Africa live.

 

Should have posted photos of South Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore and Philly.

 

well its really not that far off.

life expectancy is 46

75% live on less than $2 a day

1 in 3 have AIDS

yes they actually live in mud huts in rural areas and shantytown slums in the cities

 

before or after BLM burned them?

 

Before wasn't so hot either.

 

Of course, I was aware there was no message attached- but the pictures of modern cities are just as deceptive as those of mud huts, on the other end of the spectrum. The cities so powerfully illustrate the dramatic gap between the general population and the elites there- IF you see both sides. I don't deny anyone the rewards of their success, but the success here is owned by the Angolan government, who should be using that to improve the standards of living for all the Angolan people. By that I mean basic necessities- safe water, education, basic health care- the things that provide the foundation for a people to be able to build their lives rather than constantly battle for basic survival. That's my motive.

 

I really didn't what to get roped into this thread because I am not familiar enough nor really have much interest with the topic and the data. That is why I posted the contrasting images without any commentary. What I do know is that sub-Saharan Africa is a collection of developing nations with enormous economic potential. Countries like Kenya have moved to the middle income classification and are experiencing tremendous growth. Countries like China are investing hugely in these nations. China essentially wants to exploit them for cheap labor like we did with them for decades but regardless of the reason it will lead to tremendous growth in the area. I think if the US ignores these countries and cede financial interest in them over to China it would be a huge mistake. Before the whole covid 19 problem I was about to ask my broker friends to recommend some ETFs or stocks that would give me some exposure to this market.

 

In researching Angola for the purpose of the background they played in slave trading, I found a lot of information. One thing that surprised me was the inconsistency in data from different site- big variations in hings like for example life expectancy. You found 46, I found 60- and I was surprised that it could be that high, given all the negative elements obviously present. I would think 46 is the more likely number to be accurate. The lack of reliable information would reflect the countries lack of self awareness or concern with the conditions of the general population- they literally haven't bothered to look at the problems, which tells us they have little interest in fixing them.

African governments have to a great extent been produced out of the tribal warlords, and a common practice seems to be the exploitation of the natural resources with little to no consideration for the people.
That's not universal, but it has been common.

 

Is there actually a difference to be had between the two standards?

 

This is a stupid mesurement anyway. Those at the top are rarelly the most intelligent and plenty of genius live a poor life. Charisma plays a bigger role in how far you'll go in life. You can always delegate if you don't know something but if you have the personnality of an empty beer bottle you'll stay right were you are. The world isn't a meritocracy.

 

China is making huge excursions into the African continent. They are providing development in order to exploit the vast untapped mining, oil and raw material resources. They will build hundreds of miles of roads just to ship the resources out. Its really incredible. I can certainly see the chinese colonizing Africa in the future when they run out of space.

 

I doubt he could under your speech rules.

 

that would be Trump, Trump lost the popular vote, but won via affirmative action for the smaller states

Obama on the other hand won the popular vote... both times, something Trump with his low IQ will never be able to do

 

So do you believe rural southerners have lower IQ's than "average?"

 

Meaning it is only a matter of time before the nation of China proceeds with enslaving and killing the indigenous populace of the nation of Africa.

 

In terms of elections for president of the united states, the popular vote is, always has been, and always will be, illegitimate and immaterial. It amounts to absolutely nothing, and cannot amount to anything else.