Partner said he wishes I were more curious about the world

[Bzzzzzzz]

I am educated to Master's level, have lived in a couple of different countries and speak other Languages so I did think I was curious to some level at least. I read the news daily.
My partner doesn't have the qualifications and has mostly worked in 'menial' roles but he certainly reads a lot, has a lot of general knowledge and knows a lot about music.
I'd say I read more non fiction, I do occasionally read fiction but sometimes feel a bit embarrassed that I should have read a lot of the famous novels that I haven't.

Anyway I can occasionally be ditzy.
I was chatting to him yesterday and I said something about the topic of indigenous people. Looking back it was clumsily worded really, but I know what I meant.
He reacted as if I'd asked him to spell my own name. He said, "Omg seriously!!" "Like come on!!" "How on earth can you not know that!!" "What the hell!"
He was clearly annoyed, and I told him that I didn't think it had warranted such an angry reaction, I hadn't said anything controversial or offensive.
Later on we got into a discussion about it and I asked him if he'd have reacted like that if someone else had said it, i.e. a colleague or family member. I couldn't imagine him doing so. He said, "No, as I don't think they'd say something like that." He then calmly explained the mistake I'd made about indigenous people and I told him that's all that had been required.

His elderly aunt said she couldn't picture where NYC was on a map and he didn't say anything to her, but told me later on that he was frustrated at her 'lack of knowledge and curiosity."

Anyway during our discussion he did apologise for overreacting and then told me that I'm great but he "wishes I had more curiosity about the world."

I told him that I understood but I suppose now I'm second guessing. I like to travel, I watch a lot of travel documentaries, I'm interested in current affairs and happy to try new things. It's not the same as saying " You're great but I wish you did the dishes more." For instance.
Just interested to see what others think. I don't want someone to feel intellectually superior to me, though I'm probably just being too sensitive. Not sure what to do.

Could you tell him that you notice he keeps doing these little comments and youd like him to pack it in, since we all have different interests and passions. If he thinks something is fascinating, youd rather he shared it with you in a positive way rather than passive aggressively or critically, as its unkind

well reading what you’ve said I think he needs calling out. He appears to want to validate his own self esteem by making you out to be dim. He is gaslighting you- ok not abuse and LTB stuff but you really must tackle this head on and tell him to stop using you to boast his self esteem. If he knows not to do it to other people then he should not do it to you. Tell him a sign of true curiosity is to Try and figure out empathically why someone would struggle to say something or comes out with something wrong and walk in their shoes, not just uncuriously label them with a tag - which is simply lazy thinking.

you can do it in a nice way to reassure you that you know he is intelligent and has a lot of knowledge, but not everyone is either a memory based encyclopaedia. Nor does everyone have so little stuff in their head that they can instantly find the right words or terms for everything and there is a difference between being less than eloquent or forgetful and “not curious”.

Then Tell him to stop it as it is offensive and simply untrue. You’d not have got to where you have without curious and he doesn’t get to be the world barometer on Curiosity indices.

everytime he tries to do it…repeat you are not the barometer of curiosity and walk away

Is it possible he's insecure about his lack of qualifications and job, and projecting?

My friend is educated to Masters level and her DH is a warehouse worker with GCSE qualifications. So she also earns about 3 maybe 4 times his salary.
He is a constant know it’s all type, it’s obvious that he has some sort of insecurity about it.

I don’t care that my friends DH doesn’t have qualifications I do care that he is a wanker that tries to put one over on people by being deliberately difficult with language. Does sound like a chip on his shoulder type.

I remember my then partner's sister and her husband announcing the impending birth of their first child. She said they had done all the travelling they needed and were now ready to settle down.

They had been to Bournemouth and Benidorm.

It's interesting that the OP won't tell us what she said. I've heard some shocking stuff during the Commonwealth games, from very educated people. I think education is the key to breaking down racism. The history of NY is linked to Jewish history. But we don't all have time to learn and in the elderly aunts case, you were dependant on what books were in the library. So you cut people some slack. I'm finding my bf frustrating because he wants me to watch fiction on TV with him and criticises my phone use, but I'm often reading world history on my phone. I don't like a lack of curiosity in others. The sea one does make me think he being unreasonable. The physical geography isn't as important as the human history side. So I wouldn't say that someone pointing to it on a map was the be all and end all.

@schmalex I didn't care, but he had a massive chip on his shoulder and loved to tell me that for a supposedly intelligent person I could be really stupid.

My ex loved to say this to me. He was the one with the "inferior" (for want of a better word) qualifications.

@Discovereads @thedancingbear I agree with you both that if she's been racist he should address it immediately and firmly - but he responded with "Omg seriously!!" "Like come on!!" "How on earth can you not know that!!" "What the hell!"

That doesn't sound like a man angry at racism.

To be fair, she hasn't been back at all. However the information that we do have: she was talking about 'indigenous people' and 'british history' does sound iffy. It could be something and nothing, or it could well be in Nick Griffin territory.

who told you he was at the wrong university with the wrong support? Was it him or maybe his parents? It does sound to me as though his comments are intended to make him feel better about himself by denigrating you which is not an attractive behaviour. So how good a person is he really?
Think now.....has he done this put down stuff before? Does he do it often? How long have you been together?

Sounds like he feels intellectually inferior and is trying to piss on your masters tbh.

I'm going against the grain. He didn't say I wish you knew more or travelled more. Curiosity implies looking outwards, being interested and not yet having strong opinions about things. I think I have had exes like you that talk as if something is fact but really it's an ignorant opinion they've never been interested to challenge. It's frustrating trying to talk to someone who has an insular and unenquiring mind. They say they mean something completely different but just said it wrong too.

It's much more interesting to talk to someone that has a curious mind. A lot of people have their degree, do their gap year and then feel that's it, that's enough pretending to be interested in things that aren't my life. Those are boring and frustrating people to converse with.

@midgetastic "... It's hardly racist but I rather think the French took Angola... so might class as dim"

I didn't know that. However, I do teach STEM subjects in a Russell Group university, sit on an educational panel as an external advisor for another university, making decisions about academic rigour of their proposed programmes up to doctorate level, and assess and make decisions on academic staff's applications for the HEA.

But I'm classed as dim. Right. Cheers.

No, I am not having a go at you, but pointing out that knowing or not knowing certain facts is often related to individuals' interests.

Because he said she wasn't curious about the world and she's demonstrating that she is, by having lived and worked abroad and educated herself.

What a pretentious arse. LTBB (I added an extra B for boring)

OP do you think he is perhaps bitter/insecure that you are highly educated and well travelled and that this, display of superiority is what it seems like he was trying to display, is maybe insecurity in his own life achievements?

No, it sounds like a man shocked and annoyed at racism.

we can all be a bit ditzy at times. I’ve said some stupid things before (my geography knowledge is AWFUL) and all my partner reacts with is a jokey shake of the head or we laugh it off. It shouldn’t warrant him shouting at you! he sounds a little insensitive tbh and if I were you I would tell him how those comments make me feel.

Long topic, so I just read OP's posts.
My husband is like that. He really knows a lot, it's quite shocking sometimes how good his memory and general knowledge is. But it's the way he treats you bothers me a bit, and it's not even my husband. Those little stings like "you should be more curious" are red flag for me that he doesn't have as much respect to you as one would wish.

You didn't k ow it because it's not true @ImJustMadAboutSaffron. It was the Portuguese.

Well if it makes you feel better, it was the Portuguese who colonised Angola, so I wouldn't take that poster's judgment to heart

Those facts don't demonstrate curiosity at all.

The most incurious and ignorant people I've ever met have been in expat communities.

University was rife with people who thought very highly of themselves because they were smart and good in their field, but had zero interest in anyone outside their social milieu.

It's rudeness, sorry, and intellectual snobbery to boot.
Who is he to say what facts you should and shouldn't have learned by heart (and, particularly he failed his degree - maybe this is at the heart of his need to prove himself?)
How does he react if you correct him on a point - next time he asks you a question, maybe even where is the ketchup or if his shirt is clean, could you react the same way.
"OMG, seriously? How on earth could you not know that? What the hell..."😆

I have a friend who is perhaps similar to you. Master’s level education but her general knowledge is abysmal and she comes out with some howlers that make me go wtf. I do get frustrated at her lack of curiosity, so I understand where your DP is coming from.

So many people missing the point.

Even if OP did say something racist, her loving partner has 2 options.

1. Give her the benefit of the doubt as he knows and loves her and knows she is not racist. Explain kindly that what she said was racist.

1. Accept that she is a massive racist and re-evaluate their relationship.

Neither of these requires shouting or asking her to change. These sorts of relationship issues are not about the specific thing that makes the couple incompatible. They are about the refusal of one party to acknowledge that incompatibility is just a thing and the only solution is to end the relationship, not yell at the person and expect them to change.