We're lied to as kids. In elementary school, in middle school, even in high school. We're told the thing which find an uncomfortable balance between what we're willing to accept as the answer to our questions and what is (almost) the truth. We ask "Who discovered America?", and we're given "Christopher Columbus". Of course it was. There's a holiday named after him and all. It has to be him. But it isn't. We're not told that he didn't discover the America that we know, nor even the mainland of either North or South America. We're not told that he didn't even discover anything. We're not told that Leif Ericsson and the Vikings reached America centuries before Columbus, and the Native Peoples who walked across the land bridge from Russia before him. We're told not to use "Because" or "And" at the beginning of a sentence. Ever. Don't ever do it. And that's just not a true statement. Because of this fallacy, kids even in my grade (11th) are convinced that you cannot, under any circumstances, begin a sentence with the word "because". This mentality of "tell them the easiest thing now and explain why it's wrong later" is hurting our education system and putting us leagues behind other countries. TL;DR: Americans are dumb bcuz we lie to little kids so they grow up thinkin' wrong stuff is right stuff.