The_Adventurer wrote:Ghost wrote:The_Adventurer wrote:Actually the results are typical, of the the highly educated filipino. You never meet them because they get the hell out of the country at the first opportunity.
But isn't that just another way of saying it's not typical? It would be like saying that Phds are not typical among the population, except for the highly educated.
On this board, which seems to put abnormally high stock in average IQ scores and ideas of race, there seems to be a general consensus that filipinos are just plain stupid. I think what I meant was it's the same as anywhere else, except that the higher end of the educated population ends up overseas.
I mean, it's not like there's a robotics team on every corner in, say, Japan. Just having one is not typical, but these results, should the article hold true, are, in my view.
It seems very apparent in Makati when you deal with the educated higher level service people both in person or by phone or high school grad types in regular service jobs at supermarkets, restos, etc. that they are a lot slower and more forgetful in general than their counterparts in a place like Taipei where I am now or even their counterparts in other SE Asian capitals more in line with Metro Manila development such as Jakarta or Bangkok.
The other day, I was at a 7-11 here in Taipei and the guy was abnormally slow and awkward at processing my transaction which included making change for my large bill, microwaving dumplings, putting the other stuff in bag, and giving me chopsticks plus napkin. I kinda scratched my head for a moment with that deja vu feeling of being back in Phils. Then when the guy spoke, I realized he was indeed a special case, an intentional mentally challenged hire which you come across here from time to time. He was being supervised by another employee too.
After spending over a year on the ground in Makati spaced over a 2+ year period, I could relate hundreds of true stories where customers and those dealing with employees and public and private businesses and institutions are victims of what appears to be either chronic laziness, apathy, disorganization, forgetfulness, downright stupidity, or varied combinations of these factors. The more you try to achieve tasks there, the more resistance you face it seems. And things in general when they are working at all move in SLOW MOTION. To further add friction to the system, you have cellphone networks with very weak and spotty coverage, slowest Internet speeds in all of Asia except for Afgan, brownouts, traffic gridlock from early morning till late evening, and mind numbing bureaucracy, and certain business professionals who only answer their landlines and cellphone calls or texts when they feel like it.
I estimate that over half of the university educated Filipinos I have met on the ground there have already relocated abroad, are in the process of doing so, or are seriously considering it. If the average IQ is 85 and SD is 15 (perhaps close to actual case), then the top 16% of population will have an IQ of 100 or above. Given the reality of day to day life in Phils, it's understandable why those relatively bright people with 100+ IQ would wanna seek greener pastures.
Sure there are also certain types, especially the very bright (those 2-3 or more SDs above mean) who may instead choose to exploit special niches (sometimes ones that involve huge transaction volumes and others which involve somehow servicing the tiny wealthy and rich classes resident in country or doing something in BPO, finance, or IT space) you often see in some third world countries. Also, small and not so small foreigner business people come and sometimes exploit similar niches. Think Chinese, Indians, Japanese, and Koreans or certain wester companies or entrepreneurs.
Perhaps a new admin coming into place now will help Phils to catch up to the East Asian average over time and eventually reverse the brain drain. But it may take a lot of time cus it's been going on for so long. The Spanish don't exactly leave great legacies. Much of what you experience in the culture there has been present long before even the days of Marcos if what certain people from the deeper past claim is correct. It's really an uphill battle. So it's going to take some very powerful leadership with a wise vision to materially change the reality of life and work there.
To those who say, it was a relatively rich country in 60s-70s Asia. Well, back then, Asia ex-Japan was on par with Africa wealth and poverty wise. So if I tell you Ghana is one of richest countries in sub-saharan Africa today, does that really mean much? If people in S. Korea during the 60s were mostly affected by dire poverty or people in China subsisted in 60s and 70s, what sort of comparison base is that?
And to those who say it has one of the highest GDP growth rates in Asia, remember, part of that figure is just population growth. Cus Phils has about the highest birthrate in Asia. If your GDP growth only keeps pace with population growth, that means GDP per head is only remaining constant. Other factor regarding GDP growth is, who is benefitting from that growth? Is it the rich getting richer, upper middle class getting richer, or is it bringing the poor into the lower middle class and allowing more people to get a decent education and reduce poverty. These questions need to be examined. Those who throw out numbers without looking deeper are perhaps missing many things.
Oh, and one of counter growth effects of recent economic boom in Phils has been a massive increase in road vehicles, something like over 40% in last year or two. If that continues, Metro Manila will become a huge parking lot which will only hinder general productivity even more.