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?

zwellers what would you think if people said they had never heard of the dodo and didn't care about the story and what we can learn from it?
I think that a broad level of general awareness on headline stories from the dodo to the Holocaust to the hole in the ozone layer to the assassination of JFK and so on is very important for everyone.

I was in a zoo by the Okapi and some kids asked their dad what they were. "Kangaroos" he said. I looked at him to see if he was being like my Dad would be and joking about it but I don't think so! OK not everyone recognises Okapi on sight but you cold tell it was a deer/antelope sort of thing - actually it's closest relative is a giraffe- but nothing like a kangaroo!

What I am astonished by, is the way ignorance and prejudice is espoused as a virtue amongst the 'english' speaking world.

Ignorance and prejudice are such waseteful evils.

But the English speaking world has always been rather evil, so there we are.

Bet your fun and games at the hen night

My god you people need to wedge that stick out of your arseholes.

Ive heard of all these boring things you rattle on about guys. Give it a rest wow snooozing now

Usually I don’t mind but there was someone on here maybe 2 years ago who still thought Gordon Brown was the prime minister
In an age where knowledge is power raising children with that level of political ignorance scares me. And if that makes me a snob then I’m a snob.

Before opening this thread, I thought it was going to be REALLY obvious general knowledge but a lot of what you've mentioned, I'd think quite a lot of people wouldn't know. I certainly wouldn't be able to list all the things you've listed for things to do in Rome and I think whenever anyone goes anywhere on holiday, people generally ask what there was to do there as they imagine you having actual experience of the place will be a lot more insightful in their answers than generic tourist info on the internet. Also, Rome may have been a focal point of interest to you even before you went but other people might not have any interest in the roman ruins, etc.

The chernobyl thing I'd kinda expect most people to know though so I agree with you on that.

By the way, I'm fairly academic and have 2 degrees from a top uni so I'm hardly a bimbo (but I do know high academia doesn't always equal high general knowledge either)

You don't have to have interest in Roman ruins to know that Rome was the centre of the Roman Empire and therefore has a lot of important archaeology. That is basic general knowledge. Also when I was young when few people I knew had ever been abroad, everyone knew about the Coliseum, even if just from corny films about fighting lions.