https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/03/08/most-literate-nation-in-the-world-not-the-u-s-new-ranking-says/
How do you feel about this?
I live in the fifth biggest city in Finland (small by most standards), and we have 23 public libraries all over the city.
>>7794780
>fifth biggest city in Finland (small by most standards)
~200 000 people to be exact.
>>7794780
What city is that OP?
>>7794780
Nordic nations seem to be quite literate for some reason. Apparently one out of ten people from Iceland publishes a book in their lifetime.
Dunno, maybe has something to do with it being cold and people staying inside to read books. All we here in Germany notice of the Scandinavian book culture is Astrid Lindgren, Sven Nordqwist, and that endless stream of shitty formulaic thrillers with an ominous object on an otherwise black cover with titles like "Murderer in the Darkness" or "Shadow of Blood" or "Knife Lady" that are written by all those people that are named Adler Johannson or something similar. I know, not exactly finish, but that's all I had to add to this thread.
>>7794815
You're forgettung Knausgard
As an expat In Finland I assure you that the "literacy" and "enlightenment" you guys are trying to sell is not fooling any one that actually spends more than a day in the country.
Actually, 5 minutes in Sörnainen on a Saturday night is enough to convince the biggest Finland lover that it is a country of alcoholic degenerats.
Finland really does seem patrician as fuck.
http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/domestic/11292-life-expectancy-of-finnish-men-shortest-of-all-nordic-countries.html
>suicidal
>alcoholic
>bookish
>>7794821
Yep. Nothing to do in those places except get wasted and party, basically. It just happens that people there are more artistically inclined, it seems to me.
>>7794825
Looks blissful.
Are you the guy who posted about Finnish authors a while back?
I remember some Finnish person posting the name of an author who was like 23 when his first book was published and the author was in a band also and had anorexia.
Do you know who I'm talking about?
>>7794780
>being surprised that the US isn't the most literate country
Nationalism can even make relatively intelligent people extremely stupid.
How could anyone whose been to America even begin to consider them highly literate.
>>7794835
No that wasn't me, I haven't noticed that thread.
>>7794780
>Most literate nation in the world? Not the U.S., new ranking says.
lol what the fuck, who would be stupid enough to think it was?
>>7794825
I'm just growing seriously tired of West Russia portraying itself as anything other than the eastern European bums they are.
>>7794825
The Call of Oulu
>>7794863
americans
I’ve always been intrigued by European cultures and in particular Scandinavia, this interest leading to my studies in Anthropology, so when I learned about the Scandinavian Studies program at the University of Oulu in Finland I leapt at the opportunity. I was aware of Finland in a general sense, even having met some Finns on their own study abroad experiences in the United States, but I was by no means an expert. Few people know about Finland, a country of about 5 million people in the far north of Europe with a language so far out that even Finns don’t understand each other. Luckily for me, English language is taught in all Finnish primary schools and the Scandinavian Studies program offered courses in English and that was a huge factor in deciding to go. No language experience necessary! The city of Oulu, often called the “Capital of Northern Scandinavia”, is comparable in size to St. Louis and is the largest city in the area. It has the youngest population in Finland, partially due to the University of Oulu and the high number of young professionals employed in the local tech companies and as such has a very active night life in the city center, where coffee shops, malls, and dance clubs can be found. The nature around the city is just as exciting. Oulu, located on the Gulf of Finland, has many beaches for swimming and boating in the warm weather, but during my stay (Fall/Winter) the main attractions were the numerous wooded paths that honeycomb the area. Oulu has miles of biking and walking trails throughout the city, many of which go through copses of trees or recreation parks. It is not uncommon for friends to go berry picking or mushroom hunting right next to their apartments.It’s difficult to compare the US and Finnish university systems because they’re quite different and it took some getting used to. Some of my courses only lasted two weeks with a class every day and others took place over half the semester with a meeting every week. The only determining factor is the instructor and activities. Two of the courses included study trips and I highly recommend taking part in as many as possible. In “Humans and Environment” the class, all international students, went to the Oulanaka National Park in the east of Finland along the Russian border where we learned about nature use and conservancy, went on hikes, and learned about Finnish ecosystems. My Sami Culture course involved a trip through Norway and Northern Finland to learn about and meet Samis, the only indigenous people of Europe, and their lifestyles. Both of these school trips took place over several days and were great experiences for bonding with classmates and learning about Finland. The student culture is also very different in Finland.
>>7794865
The culture is northern European, it's far from being Russia. Eastern Europe was under USSR, Finland was not, there's a huge difference.
I don't really care about some abstract battle of whose country is better. I don't really care if other people read at all unless it means more books are written for me to read.
According to goodreads, these are the month's top 5 most read books in Finland, the most patrician and well-read of nations.
1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
2. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
3. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
4. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
5. The Great Gatsby
Truly a nation of intellects and ingenues. Wow
>>7794818
>2016
>Mentioning the King of Nordic Narcissists unironically
>>7794889
Holy shit, learn to paragraph.
>>7794780
ok IDK how that is calculated but I'm calling bullshit or not looking enough under the surface
barely anyone reads the classics. 99% of the reading done is either YA crap, format thrillers or other contemporary stuff with barely any artistic merit. there's no culture of erudition or "universal man"-ideal, barely any intelligentsia(though looking at their average state in other western countries right now, this might be a good thing).
so no finland is no /lit/ wonderland. the libraries are accessible and well supplied tho
>>7794940
no it is not. every country has a majority of philistines but at least some have developed an intellectual and cultural elite who have a semblance of a clue about shit
>>7794815
>Nordic nations seem to be quite literate for some reason.
Because it's cold and dark, same reason why games and sports is popular and everyone loves the summer.
It's fuckign iceland bruvs.
Reykjavik is the capital of scandinavia and therefore the world.
Icelander here.
>>7794973
maybe i'll move there
>>7794780
>Happiest nations
>Smartest nations
>Most literate nations
Someday I'll be sitting in my danish house with my danish wife and we will enjoy the sea breeze together..
>>7794828
>Yep. Nothing to do in those places except get wasted and party, basically
What country are you talking about.
>>7794780
Finland is clever
Perkele. Finland is getting cucked by muslims. Not saluted at all.
>>7794815
>Nordic nations seem to be quite literate for some reason. Apparently one out of ten people from Iceland publishes a book in their lifetime.
When you publish a book the state buy 1000 copies for public library as an incentive to writers.
http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/domestic/10202-finns-are-over-educated-underperformers-renowned-economist-views.html
>>7798090
he is correct.
the issues are
1: the universities don't produce world class talent, they produce decentish talent that has entitlement issues because "muh masters"
2: there isn't a culture of innovation, shit's mostly stagnant
3: there's not much reward to attempt any kind of risky stuff. easier to coast on welfare
4: there's no flexibility to be found anywhere, hence any kind of reform results in nothing but your head banging against a wall
5: people are too complacent in the finnish system and think no changes are needed, hence finland is being left behind
>>7794780
The public libraries in the USA are just improvised homeless shelters. College/Uni libraries are the best in the world though.
good for them?
>>7797023
source? I feel some affinity towards Nordic Nations. Hopefully they uncuck themselves on immigration though.
>>7794835
Bradford Cox
>>7794889
Blob is this you? Are you alive and NorthernEuropeanPosting?
>>7794780
I already knew this because my gf is Finnish and likes to brag about her country.
I feel like Finland is kind of a weird place which is very societally advanced in some ways and totally ass backwards in others. It's pretty interesting.
>>7794919
>https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/03/08/most-literate-nation-in-the-world-not-the-u-s-new-ranking-says/
How can you see these stats?
>>7799897
did not mean to include this link
>>7799871
>my gf is Finnish and likes to brag about her country.
she's dumb then t. another finn
>>7800063
I think it's an expat thing. When we visited she bitched all the time about how much she hated it but when she's living abroad she has a lot of fondness for all the things she misses about Finland.
>>7794780
Yes, nine years of free school somehow makes most of the population literate. Do they actually read dick? No.
>>7794780
Legit lol'd at that headline. Jesus Christ, the presumption. Fucking americans.
>>7794926
>2016
>not regocnizing the only contemporary writer with a modicum of merit
Aren't something like 1 in 3 Finns published authors?
>>7800266
It's actually incredibly hard to get published, because almost everyone is an adept writer, yet no one actually buys books, so supply exceeds demand and the standards are high. One of the bigger publishers said in a magazine they get an average of 6000 novel scripts per year, and about twenty of them get published, so you do the math.
>>7800266
no, that was iceland I think and that's because it's a nation with a population of a mid-sized city
in finland you don't get published unless your novel has selling potential(basically write tom clancy kind of novels or YA). there's maybe like 5-10 middlebrow authors and if you're avant garde in any way you better go indie or self publish
the market for finnish novels is extremely small
>>7800306
>almost everyone is an adept writer
kek I wish
>>7800231
Legit lol'd at your stupidity. Washington Post is among the more rational of American newspresses (leaps better than NYT). They were being ironic, shithead.
>>7794889
Been an exchange erasmus student for a year there. Not as good as this sick propaganda paragraph tries to portrait, but fair enough for Finland. The library was pretty good and big, the chicks where way more open to having sexual intercourses/dates and I had my first long-term BDSM relationship there.
So, to sum up: don't feel anything about it, OP, just melancholic memories of a better time.
>>7797004
>not going for Paris boipussy
sure is reddit in here
>>7794815
>Sven Nordqwist
>w
Fucking sacrilege.
this thread gives me a good chuckle. Ahh how I love the Nordic peoples.
They're all reading about saunas
>>7794889
>Samis, the only indigenous people of Europe
[ergates terroristically]
>>7806554
Quite coincidentally, the only Finnish movie I've seen is called "Sauna".
According to Milan Kundera, writers are likeliest to appear in countries with a considerable wealth, a high degree of equality between each citizen and stable politics, for it leads to people caring more about useless activities, without engaging in the kind of futile entertainments which could flourish in a poorly educated yet rich nation. On the other hand, since it precisely arise in a setting without much action to write about, the overall literary production tends to lose in quality and diversity. People are less creative and less interesting, but more educated and open-minded than average.
In my opinion, it doesn't break anything. The United States is rife with poverty, mediocre education and, more recently, identity politics, leading to a curious paradox where working to lower-middle classes individuals as well as to many youngsters are wasting their time with television, videogames, social networking and meaningless activities whereas the most educated ones simply don't have anything interesting to say. Indeed, as a whole, the United States aren't relevant anymore in culture and literature. However, neither is Finland. Having a relatively high degree of education doesn't mean you're the 21th century Paris. Anyway, I wouldn't care too much about this. Think about yourself, not your peers.
>>7794889
>Samis, the only indigenous people of Europe
Please tell me you failed that class. Please.
How can anyone be this ignorant.
>>7794889
>My Sami Culture course involved a trip through Norway and Northern Finland to learn about and meet Samis, the only indigenous people of Europe, and their lifestyles.
Jesus christ man. You entire post reads like a travel ad. You are falling for all the fucking bullshit they handed you. The sapmi by way moved in later than scandis in general due to the fucking ice age. Samis will be extinct or fully integrated in a matter of 2-3 generations anyway.
>>7794889
>to learn about and meet Samis, the only indigenous people of Europe
you're a retard and I hope the finnish winter gave you vitamin D deficiency, frostbite and permanent liver damage
Yes, but filipinos are the most powerful race in the world.
