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?

DP is Italian and probably couldn't list all the places of interest in Rome. He speaks 3 languages fluently and went to Oxford though. Horses for courses and all that.

lm often shocked. I’m not saying lm Miss cosmopolitan and sophisticated but some people are quite lacking. With the internet and free libraries there isn’t much an excuse

@GertrudeCB yep l know the attitude you mean. Revelling in their ignorance is how my brother describes it. He ended a relationship with a girl, who claimed not to know the difference between the political left or right. She was studying at a Russell group university as well. There were other reasons

I agree with you, OP. Not very long ago, a good friend of mine, a professional in her 40s with a PhD, stated in all seriousness that Germany had won ww1 and could only be persuaded to the contrary after we showed her the results of a Google search. The mind boggles.

Sometimes, yes.

I was listening to a radio quiz once, and the contestant was asked who the current prime minister was. They didn’t know. They couldn’t even think of one politicians name when the presenter suggested they just guess. I was astonished that an adult could be that oblivious to current affairs in the country they live in.

We’ve all got gaps in our knowledge though. It’s the people who act as if ignorance is something to be proud of that really bother me.

Im sure you will enlighten them OP.

It probably is ignorance, but i only read up on chernobyl this year, we didn't learn about it in school and i dont remember ever watching a docu/film, so unless i googled chernobyl before i had heard about it (why would i) then yes, funny enough i can see how some people won't know.

I know lots of ‘stuff’ so I’m pretty good on a pub quiz team but get me on reality tv shows or bands and I haven’t a clue.

Tablecothing I know what's in Rome, in the same way that I know that Big Ben is in London, that The Eiffel Tower is in Paris, that the Statue of Liberty is in New York. It's just basic general knowledge IMO

I think we all from time to time get a flash of surprise about knowledge we take for granted.

There is a big element though of ranking/Superiority that goes on when people deem some knowledge more worthy. Another person may have an encyclopaedic knowledge of their football team or favourite band or love island, which may very well fly over someone else’s head. There’s no real need to get too snooty.

(I should probably take this whole post down as I still reference the middle aged woman on pointless who thought France was a part of the commonwealth.)

When I was at the hairdressers talking about my holiday in the New Forest and our visit to Stonehenge. Not a single one of them had heard of it. It was just after Obama had visited as well so had been all over the media! I was gobsmacked!

didn't know who the Prime Minister at that moment in time was.

Just playing devil's advocate, but what difference does it make, if you're not a politician or a journalist? How does knowing the name of the prime minister help me cook dinner, or do my job (not current affairs relevant), or make the most of my life in any way whatsoever?

I do exercise my right to vote, but that comes up once every 5 years. If I ignore politics for 4 years and 9 months, and start to brush up in the run up to election day, will anyone anywhere notice any difference?

I know a lot about things I'm interested in but very little about things that bore me. I also never watch or read the news unless I spot an article online that looks interesting, it's not on purpose I just never think "oh I'll watch the news" and I rarely watch live TV so it doesn't come on my telly. Sometimes something makes me realise how terrible my knowledge of current affairs is and I tell myself I must watch the news or read a newspaper but I never remember

Yes, in the office a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that I’d been woken up early by a cuckoo in the tree outside my window. A colleague, stared at me and said in all seriousness “ I didn’t know cuckoos were English. I thought they were American.”

Given that we work in a rural office and they’ve been calling for more than a month....

He’s not 12 either, must be at least 35.

Oh and I'm 27 and I knew about chernobyl but learned a lot from watching the program.

The PM runs the country! Of course it's important

Different people know different things op. I'm sure many people on this thread know things you don't know.

Many people don't actively seek out knowledge or information, don't read books or watch the news/documentaries, so if no one has ever told them and they didn't learn it at school, they don't know.

My DS (19) astounded me the other day. He is a very bright boy, went to a grammar school now at Uni so I guess you could say he’s had a good education. Somehow we got into a conversation about Anne Boleyn. I said “you do know who she was?”. He replied “yeah she’s the young girl who lived in Amsterdam who was killed by the nazi’s.” When he saw my face he realised he was wrong and quickly changed his mind and said “Oh I remember now, she was the first woman pilot”. I didn’t know if to laugh or cry! 😀

just basic general knowledge IMO

You weren't born knowing it. No one is. Being shocked that people don't know things that seem of central importance to you suggests that you may be the one with the limited outlook, if you think everyone should know the same stuff.

We were in stitches today when an employee thought Swahili and Timbuktu were made up for the sake of the popular phrases! Had to Google to prove to her otherwise!

I get that feeling sometimes but I've had to have basic geography explained to me earlier so not judging. What gets on my nerves more is people inability to discuss things in a non flouncey way, the inability to accept you might be wrong and the inability to put yourself in someone else's shoes and accept your experience is not the same as others. Also misquoting or taking things out of context... Basic histrionics that just look stupid to me but then maybe these reasoning skills are learned skills too.

The PM runs the country! Of course it's important

Please articulate why it is important to know this person's identity, when once they are elected voters have no power to declare or enforce their will on Parliament, and Parliament itself stymies anything the pm might want to achieve.

What difference does knowing that person's name makes to the average person, apart from enabling them to engage in arguments with strangers on the Internet?

I enjoy watching TV programmes such as the chase and I do get a bit gobsmacked at some people's lack of general knowledge or common sense.

Not knowing the PM's name must take a dogged devotion to ignorance.

Slightly by someone organising holiday to Rome and appearing to have done no research as to what to see in the city, that just seems a bit daft.

What was the question @Soola?----

Misses point of thread

How do you avoid knowing the PM's name if you watch the news? Or do these people not watch any news?