supercharged said:
It doesn't necessarily mean that, regardless I'm sure there would still be a greater % of people with PhD qualifications in urban areas rather than remote settlements...
To begin with, since when did a University degree and PhD equal the ONLY form of intelligence? I know many people with degrees who are thick as bricks. People with PhD's can have a world of theoretical knowledge and absolutley no common sense and not a speck of practical ability and while they know alot, they aren't smart - they can not apply their knowledge. Furthermore, many people are not in a finacial position to do a PhD - they have their degree and the go and work, or they just go and work straight away. Many vocations do not call on a degree let alone a PhD - why is someone less intelligent simply because their career interests are in a trade, or agriculture?
And did it ever occur to you that the lack of PhD holders are higher within urban communities because not only are the opportunties for people from a rural background to study at PhD level significantly lower than those from city centres - who have greater access to tertiary education and are in a better position due to finance, employment etc, but also that those from the bush who gain a PhD not only need to move to an urban centre in order to gain said doctorate, but also need to remain there in order to gain employment - last I heard, Nevertire was hardly a great source of employment utilising a PhD. PhD's are quite simply the luxury of those financially stable or close to it. They can afford to spend year studying while the rest of us know we can not afford it, pull our socks up and jump into the workforce.
Tell me, without unskilled labourers, tradesmen, farmers etc, where would this country be today? Do you know how to fix faulty electricty lines? Rebuild a car after you've crashed it? Have you got a little farm in your backyard in which you grow your veggies, and room for cows to graze? Would you know how to run a property? Muster cattle? Build/repair fences? I highly doubt it. What you fail to realise is tradesmen and farmers can be just as intelligent as a PhD holder, perhaps even moreso, but they can also (generally) lay claim to practical intelligence and common sense - something many academics lack.
Many people I know who live in small towns or on properties have more practical knowledge and common sense than half this board, not to mention alot of my mates from farms are quite innovative with sparse supplies. We may not hold a bit of paper that says we've been at Sydney Uni for 10 years, yet that makes us no less intelliegent.
My parents droped out in year 10 and worked because Year 12 was simply a waste of time for them, yet my parents are still rather intelligent. My dad esspecially, yet because he grew up in Blaney and West Dubbo, according to you, he's a dumb bogan. Yes, he left in year 10 and became an electricain because he needed to work to support himself because he didn't have mummy and daddy to pay his way through senior secondary let alone University. The problem with this country is not the 'dumb bogans from the sticks', it's the ignorant Sydneysiders who seem to think anything beyond Penrith is about a century behind Sydney - I've known Sydneysiders genuinly suprised when they discovered Cobar had cars and elecricty. Many seem to think Sydney reflects all of Australia, always forgetting they are but a small section of a much bigger picture.
And everything Katie said.