Do other people ever astonish you with their lack of general knowledge?

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Just recently I've spoken to a few people who expressed amazement when they disocovered that Chernobyl is a real place. I know that we all have gaps in our knowledge but how the hell you can not know about the Chernobyl disaster? It's a bit like the simpleton on a twitter some years ago who was amazed to discover that the Titanic was a real ship and not figment of James Cameron's imagination....

I remember one time a work colleague was going to Rome and when I told them I'd been they asked me if there was lots of stuff to see and do there. I was like well of course, it's Rome. And they asked me what they were. I then had to list the coliseum, the Trevi Fountain, The Spanish Steps, The Vatican, the countless Roman Ruins etc not to mention the countless designer shops and fabulous restaurants. They genuinely had no idea what was in Rome. I was gobsmacked. This was someone I'd assumed was pretty intelligent as well.

I can't work out if I just know too much, or these people are just really ignorant?

Do you know the capital of Azerbaijan? To me someone who couldn’t answer that is more ignorant than someone who doesn’t know about a random historical event.

But where do you draw the line? (And yes I do know the capital but I'm sure there are people who think the country is something to do with Harry Potter).

The literal fallout from Chernobyl had an impact as far away as Wales. Titanic, although shocking, had a direct impact on fewer people but has been the subject of a blockbuster that seems to be constantly on TV . Would you call the Holocaust and the Killing Fields of Cambodia "random historical events" ? Programmes about the Holocaust are plentiful, both fictional and documentary yet people don't know what it is.

I find it very worrying that my grandfather born in the 1880s, who left school at 12, knew much more than people today, despite far less opportunity.

Some people have zero desire to learn.

I teach in a college and one of my access students had never heard of David Bowie, The Beatles, Stone Roses, Queen I could go on... He said he didn’t ‘do old music’ and only listened to grime.

I’d blame his age for the sheer ignorance but younger students in the same class knew them all and more. I was shocked by it really.

One of my colleagues teaches Chinese history as part of the access to history course. She despises the fact we only teach American and European history in this country.

Cultural osmosis..... Wow

By finding about the place beforehand...

But your knowledge about the place before you had a need to find out was zero. You didn't find out just for the hell of it or learn it by osmosis, you had a specific need for information which you sought out. That's not the same as not knowing something another person has deemed "general knowledge".

surely the whole point about general knowledge is that it's not deemed such by a single person, but by the broader zeitgeist?

I could have listed some of those things in Rome but not all. We all have different knowledge. I wonder if op knows what’s in Fes, Tangier, Beirut, Dhaka or what used to be in Damascus all of which I could talk about for hours

I don't care about History. I know important dates and who the main players are in the WW. I know Hitler/Stalin = bad, Chamberlain/Churchill = good. Apart from that, I couldn't name any of the treaties, battlegrounds, people etc And I don't care. It doesn't interest me and it won't affect my life at all.

Now, talk to me about planets and space and I will reel off a list of facts. I find it interesting so I learn as much as I can about it.
Just because I can't tell you about Normandy or the Somme doesn't mean I don't have knowledge.

I know important dates and who the main players are in the WW. I know Hitler/Stalin = bad, Chamberlain/Churchill = good.

It's not that simple. Russia (Stalin) was onw

I know important dates and who the main players are in the WW. I know Hitler/Stalin = bad, Chamberlain/Churchill = good.

It's not that simple. Russia (Stalin) was one of the Allies (with Britain and the USA) during WW2, alongside running the gulag at the same time.

I think if more people had a better understanding of some aspects of history, such as Hitler's rise to power, politics might not be in the state they are today - and that affects us all.

I'm sitting here agog that there are people out there who don't know about the holocaust! That's just fucking appalling. How can anyone be that ignorant?!

Back on topic though, Ive always had an enquiring mind. I just absorb facts. I'd argue that it's easier than ever to find out facts about stuff as well.

Oh and yes, history is so important. It shaped the world we live in today. If only people knew why the EU was founded for example.

@EBearhug See I just don’t care enough to know that.

But I’m pretty sure I can spot a dictator in the making. I know for example Hitler was very charismatic and a great public speaker. I just can’t tell tell you the city or date he died I have common sense and have a good knowledge of current affairs.

um you don't know the year that Hitler died? Can you not work it out? I mean there's not caring about stuff, and there's willful ignorance. You're veering dangerously close to the latter.

Genuinely astonish myself with this on a daily basis hha

@BlamesFartsOnTheNeighbour Nope, Id guess at 44 or 45. Did the war end the same year he died? For all I know he could have died in December and the War ended in January 🤷‍♀️ Doesn’t interest me. Ww2 was from 1939-1945 that’s really all I need to know.

Well, Hitler's death was quite a big part of the end of the war...

Yes thank you I am aware of that. But are wars declared officially over the minute someone dies?

Tbh unless you can tell me the dates of every single moon landing then I think you are as ignorant as you obviously think I am. Everyone has different knowledge.

It's not that simple. Russia (Stalin) was onw

It's not that simple. Stalin wasn't Russian.

My favourite was the wife of a Jihadi suicide bomber interviewed by David Aaronovic. She thought that Rupert Murdoch was Jewish because he was Robert Maxwell's son.

It depends on the knowledge.

I'd consider myself to be well read and with a good general knowledge base, but there are some areas I regularly look stupid with (music and film trivia for example).

Equally, some is an age thing. It will also depend on what sort of cultural capital you've had in your life. A child in a house full of books, who is taken to the library & museums is going to be nurtured to have a curious mind. A child in a house where they don't have books, nobody does much educational or to broaden their understanding of the world beyond their front door etc is going to be much less curious. It's easier to learn more things the more background knowledge you have too so some people get a head start.

Don't get me wrong, some people pride themselves on being ignorant and it's not a pleasant trait, but I also find it equally unpleasant when people seeing someone with a limited general knowledge who sit smug and aghast that anyone could possible not know x y z.

My dd who's at uni recently just found out about the channel tunnel . She actually couldn't believe that a tunnel connects England and France.
A girl I used to work with the things she used to come out with would blow your mind . The thing was she couldn't understand a lot of things never mind history or politics which I gave up discussing with her long ago it was too painful but I remember one conversation where she didn't understand that foods say Cadbury's chocolate was shipped abroad that it would cost more to buy than here . I said well it's the extra cost to ship abroad etc but she just couldn't grasp it and would go on that she didn't get it

So in fact you do know when Hitler died? Well colour me confused I don't know the date of every moon landing, no, but I could give you the date of the first one which is the only one with anywhere near the cultural impact of the end of WW2. And it's a bit disingenuous to suggest otherwise.

I know people have different interests but I do find it quite sad when people don’t know basic things, particularly with the wealth of knowledge we have to hand. Things like knowing the basics of the world wars (I can never remember the dates), the holocaust, where the Eiffel Tower is etc. To me that’s just basic stuff that people pick up through school.
I do agree some people seem to revel in ignorance and wear it like a badge.
My adult children didn’t realise Chernobyl was real. It’s not something we had ever discussed. It did raise lots of discussion about the Cold War and life in the eighties.
They still don’t comprehend how we managed to navigate life pre internet and mobile phones.

I don't know the date of every moon landing

How many people belive the moon landings were faked?.

I went on a course with someone who claimed not to have heard of Henry VIII had to have been taking the piss right?