It actually goes well beyond our education system. It's the entire mindset of our culture that's the problem. "Book-learning" is looked down upon and and seen as abnormal, and the social pressure to conform to this way of thinking is powerful. We're pressured by our culture to first and foremost be a "regular Joe," and what that consists of is avoiding any sort of intellectualization. An intelligent person in this country can often times find themselves in situations where they have to dumb themselves down in order to fit in.
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
