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

[Ohnotanothernamechange]

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?

@tectonicplates

Only at Equinox. In midsummer it rises in the North-East and sets in the North-West. In midwinter it rises in the South-East and sets in the South-West.

Well, that’s interesting. No, I did not know that (hides face in shame)

Although i have to confess that whenever I’ve been in situations where it’s important for me to be able to pinpoint where north is (hiking expeditions, orienteering etc), then I’ve relied on a compass, rather than trying to figure it out from the sun.
Lazy of me I know!

My sons eldest living grand parent is his great grandad who was born in 1949. His only grandparents he has were born in the 70's.

Is that grandparents or great-grandparents? You specifically said "great-grandparents. That's your grandparents. And his father's grandparents.

My children's grandparents were born after 1945. Their great-grandparents weren't.

Sorry his eldest great grandparent is 70 (my grandad) and his grandparents (my parents) were born in the 70's.

He has no other grandparents/great grandparents.

Nothing lazy about using a compass. There's lots of people relying on GPS devices these days. Relying on a battery- operated device is not 100% safe.

There’s ignorance and then there’s willful ignorance.

He has no other grandparents/great grandparents.

This may be the most ridiculous conversation I've ever had. Yes. He does, unless he's actually a clone of you. He may never have met them (I never met 3 of my grandparents, because of a combination of dying, or them being the parents of my absent father, but they still existed).

Saying that historical events are irrelevant to your son's current life because they happened before his great-grandparents were born is a wonderful rhetorical flourish, but it has to be actually true.

Even if they were all born iin 1946, your son is contemporaneous with a whole generation of kids whose great grandparents lived through world war 2. Is it magically only relevant to them?

My kids are still in primary school, and their great-grandparents on my side of the family, where we have kids young, were all born in between 1926-35! In DH's where they don't, they were born early enough to fight in it!

This may be the most ridiculous conversation I've ever had.

Yes, it is ridiculous because it's bloody obvious the poster is talking about living great-grandparents and grandparents.

@JamieVardysHavingAParty I don't even understand half of what you just said. My son has a great grandad and one set of grand parents.

My son doesn't need to know about the war or holocaust or whatever else there is because it doesn't effect him. Just like it doesn't effect me.

If I go read up on the holocaust now what difference will that make to me? Yes it will inform of what happened but it won't make me change the way I think about anything.

Skyremote - genuine question have you ever discussed your lack of knowledge and political engagement with your grandad?

My parents were born after 1945 also, they'd be genuinely horrified if a grandchild of theirs had no knowledge of and no interest in gaining knowledge of an understanding of who runs the country in which they live and how this is being done.

You work for local government so you are more directly affected than others by politics. You may even be in a position to have an effect by virtue of who you associate with in your job.

Do you even know which political party rules your council? Your employers?

Do you understand this affects your job directly?

it won't make me change the way I think about anything

How do you know it won’t?

I’ve changed my mind on some things after I’ve learned more about them. Sometimes it can completely change your view or approach.

I have to apologise first as I have not read the entire thread, I hit the last button by accident and read skyremote's post and honestly it has shocked me and made me really sad - I just do not understand that attitude at all. Of course knowing about world events like the holocaust / wars etc change the way we think about the world and our roles in it...

I am not sure I have the heart or the stomach to read the rest of the thread now...

My sons eldest living grand parent is his great grandad who was born in 1949

A grandparent is not the same thing as a great grandparent.

I didn't vote out of choice, because I don't understand what's going on so I'd rather not vote.

Maybe you could try to understand?

but it won't make me change the way I think about anything.

What an incredibly arrogant, foolish statement!

Another genuine question - do you know what your heritage is? Where your ancestors were from? What class they're from? Because very few in the uk are purely "English" or "Welsh" etc and there's little social mobility.

So chances are at some point people in your family were targeted for unfair treatment because of their origins. And that is likely a big part of why you are in the socio-economic position you now are.

How your son fares in life is directly affected by his awareness of his background and what it's possible for him to do to improve his life.

How old is he?

I really do hope that you encourage him to learn about the world around him beyond only what is taught at school, sadly I fear that is unlikely as I'm genuinely concerned from how you've responded here that if anything you would discourage him.

To do so would be doing him a great disservice but I fear you may be the sort of person that would feel threatened if he were to do so.

My son doesn't need to know about the war or holocaust or whatever else there is because it doesn't effect him. Just like it doesn't effect me.

What a depressing thought process.

@Graphista nope political views are not something we discuss within the family.

If you want my honest answer, no I don't know which political party runs the council, I don't even know which political party runs the country....

The job I have isn't one directly involved with the politics of the council. It's a bog standard admin job to do with the environment.

@StarbucksSmarterSister I know I didn't explain myself properly the first time. I know the difference between them I obviously just didn't explain myself fully.

I don't want to understand. I don't care how bad that makes me sound. I have zero interest.

@Graphista nope I know nothing about my heritage other than what my parents have told me. The only family I know about were all English and local to where I grew up in the north.

My son is 10 month. I would never discourage him. I hope he does take an interest more than I have I want him to have that choice growing up. It was never something that was spoke about in my house when I was growing up. So to me to it was normal not to vote and war or historical events were never something we spoke about.

Everyone's up bringing is different, obviously if someone has been brought up speaking about different views/events and such then they are more likely to take an interest. My upbringing was based around music as that's all my dad seemed interested in and neither my mum or dad didn't have much of an education.

I don't even know which political party runs the country....

I don't want to understand. I don't care how bad that makes me sound. I have zero interest.

Not really sure there's much I can say to this. You have zero interest in who is responsible for how much tax you pay, what kind of education your kids get, who decides if we go to war, etc?

I despair.

I didn't vote out of choice, because I don't understand what's going on so I'd rather not vote
sky this is exactly the attitude that people are struggling to understand about general knowledge. It’s debatable how important a lot of general knowledge is, but this bit is vital. You live in a democracy. Democracy works best when everybody is involved, so everyone’s views and ideas and fears and hopes are taken into account. That your take away from not understanding politics is just that you won’t vote doesn’t only affect your life, it affects mine, and everyone else’s in the country - and definitely your son’s! If you don’t understand, find out. Learn to understand. I don’t much care if you don’t want to (I don’t understand that attitude generally, but...). It’s important for everyone else that you have some opinions and share them at the very least through the ballot box or none of us live in a true democracy. I’m not being dramatic. It’s that important.

Sky I didn't mean to sound rude but I just see you repeating the same pattern as your parents and it depresses me.

You said I would never discourage him. I hope he does take an interest more than I have I want him to have that choice growing up. but for him to have that choice usually starts at home.

Actively encourage him rather than just not discouraging him.

Yes the rise in holocaust denial and anti-vaxxing is in large part down to uninformed people swallowing a lot of misinformation on wacko youtube channels. Ripe for the radicalisation. and err.. brexit (cough)

I don't think trivia is important, but key information about landmarks around the world, languages spoken, general location of countries and populations and key world changing events are basic knowledge and shape everything around us.

Yes it will inform of what happened but it won't make me change the way I think about anything.

Well, frankly IT SHOULD

Yes, it is ridiculous because it's bloody obvious the poster is talking about living great-grandparents and grandparents.

You're saying she's being deliberately intellectually dishonest to defend the remark, rather than that she didn't think it through?

Bit cynical for me for Tuesday. But going with the line of thought that nothing is relevant to you if your direct living relatives were born after it just makes me .

My parents were dead when I was 30. Not terribly tragic, in the grand scheme of things, but it would mean that my kids don't have to know about anything before Chernobyl. Bloody hell. I'm pretty sure modern history prior to the mid-eighties is relevant to them.

@StarbucksSmarterSister as a child I wasn't actively encouraged into 'academic' subjects. Yes I have GCSEs but none in history/geography or what people would call 'academic' I will actively encourage my son to pick up academic subjects in a way I wasn't.

I will not let him turn out like I have. I know I should know it and should be interested but I've got past a point where i feel I can't learn about it.

The difference between knowledge and intelligence

The difference between knowledge and intelligence is key here. Knowledge is the collection of skills and information a person has acquired through experience. Intelligence is the ability to apply knowledge. Just because someone lacks knowledge of a particular subject doesn’t mean they can’t apply their intelligence to help solve problems.

as a child I wasn't actively encouraged into 'academic' subjects. Yes I have GCSEs but none in history/geography or what people would call 'academic' I will actively encourage my son to pick up academic subjects in a way I wasn't.

Try Antonia Fraser's historical biographies. I always thought she wrote about exciting periods of history in an interesting way for the lay person without being patronising.