Memes

Yeah, but I'm also talking about harvard and columbia graduates with degrees in political science, who after decades have less political awareness than this Chinese middle-schooler.

STEM folks having low comphrehension of the world around them is very near the bottom of the west's problems. A much bigger issue is most people specialising in history, philosophy, economics, international relations etc. not having a clue about their field. One can spend decades studying this or that monetary theory, but without reading the foremost critics of the system of economics, or even realising this system isn't a natural thing given to us by a metaphor-god, it's absolutely worthless. Studying history without a proper understanding of materialism is like building a brick wall, making massive holes and then filling them with foam.

Worst of all in my opinion is that westerners can't differentiate between theory, conjecture and speculation, regardless of education. Something's only true or false based on one's preconceived notions.