England's young adults trail world in literacy and maths

[Audley Strange]

Oh yeah reverse intellectual snobbery is definitely a thing. Cute ignorance giggles works for children, not so much when you are out in a workplace, then you just look like someone with learning difficulties.

[laklak]

It's particularly prevalent among the Fundys. Everythin Ah needs to no is in this here book, teh Bable!

Oh yeah? So what's the recommend valve lash on a '64 Chevy 283 block with 327 fuelie heads?

[JimC]

I've got more. How about the archeology student who though Egypt was in Eastern Europe?

Shit man, I'm not even that clever but there does seem to be something lacking in general knowledge education.

My friend's wife didn't know that the American Civil War was in the 1800s, or whether it came before or after World War 1. She then proceeded to give a lecture the fact that it didn't matter when things occurred, where they occurred or who was involved. All that mattered is "Why" they happened.

So, smart ass me followed up, while cracking a beer open.....and I asked, "So, why did the Civil War happen?" Her answer was "fuck you."

I laughed my ass off, but of course she couldn't answer it. Without having some skeleton of knowledge of who, what, where and when, you just can't coherently answer why and how. Plain and simple. If you can't place the Civil War before World War 1 -- if you can't puzzle that out -- then you know almost nothing about either event, and can't possibly explain anything to do with why or how things happened. I mean, she couldn't even say which one came first -- if you gave it 2 seconds thought, and realized that there were tanks and airplanes in World War 1, you should at least understand that the Civil War had to come first. So, if you don't know any of the details of these two events, you not only can't put them in the right order, but you can't know the more complex issues of why and how.

I'm a big believer in a good dose of the much-maligned "rote memorization" of names, dates, places, and such. i don't consider that a complete education, but it is the first layer of the pyramid. It's basic. It's the easy part. The more difficult, demanding and complex parts are the whys and the hows.

I agree. I wonder how much of the background knowledge we took for granted came either from wide reading (declining these days) or old-fashioned, structured teaching of history (also in decline)

[Coito ergo sum]

Oh yeah reverse intellectual snobbery is definitely a thing. Cute ignorance giggles works for children, not so much when you are out in a workplace, then you just look like someone with learning difficulties.

I find it fairly common among adults, which is sad.

And, there is a streak of anti-intellectualism in the US, as if being smart or educated is itself something to be avoided.

[Seabass]

Perhaps we need to put a little bit more of stigma on not knowing stuff....lol

I find it fairly common among adults, which is sad.

And, there is a streak of anti-intellectualism in the US, as if being smart or educated is itself something to be avoided.

This seems a bit ironic coming from you Coito, given your penchant for defending Republicans. Those fuckers are as anti-intellectual and anti-science as they come.

[JimC]

Perhaps we need to put a little bit more of stigma on not knowing stuff....lol

This seems a bit ironic coming from you Coito, given your penchant for defending Republicans. Those fuckers are as anti-intellectual and anti-science as they come.

Well, the tea party rump are like that, from all one reads about them... Your standard "moderate" conservative republican would value education, even if he'd prefer it done in a somewhat old fashioned way...

[klr]

Perhaps we need to put a little bit more of stigma on not knowing stuff....lol

This seems a bit ironic coming from you Coito, given your penchant for defending Republicans. Those fuckers are as anti-intellectual and anti-science as they come.

Well, the tea party rump are like that, from all one reads about them... Your standard "moderate" conservative republican would value education, even if he'd prefer it done in a somewhat old fashioned way...

"Get out your abacuses ..."

[JimC]

Perhaps we need to put a little bit more of stigma on not knowing stuff....lol

This seems a bit ironic coming from you Coito, given your penchant for defending Republicans. Those fuckers are as anti-intellectual and anti-science as they come.

Well, the tea party rump are like that, from all one reads about them... Your standard "moderate" conservative republican would value education, even if he'd prefer it done in a somewhat old fashioned way...

"Get out your abacuses ..."

My lads complain when I tell them to do that, they mutter something about the other classes being able to use "calculators", whatever the hell they are...

[Xamonas Chegwé]

Perhaps we need to put a little bit more of stigma on not knowing stuff....lol

This seems a bit ironic coming from you Coito, given your penchant for defending Republicans. Those fuckers are as anti-intellectual and anti-science as they come.

Well, the tea party rump are like that, from all one reads about them... Your standard "moderate" conservative republican would value education, even if he'd prefer it done in a somewhat old fashioned way...

"Get out your abacuses ..."

My lads complain when I tell them to do that, they mutter something about the other classes being able to use "calculators", whatever the hell they are...

Witchcraft!!1!

[Coito ergo sum]

Perhaps we need to put a little bit more of stigma on not knowing stuff....lol

I find it fairly common among adults, which is sad.

And, there is a streak of anti-intellectualism in the US, as if being smart or educated is itself something to be avoided.

This seems a bit ironic coming from you Coito, given your penchant for defending Republicans. Those fuckers are as anti-intellectual and anti-science as they come.

i only defend them when warranted, and I have also defended Democrats. I've even defended Obama from time to time. I calls 'em like I sees 'em. And, sometimes people oppose the "other party" simply because they are the "other party." I see that a lot on various threads, especially those who refuse to hold "their guy" to the same standard they hold "the other guy."

I am not a Republican and I do not like their stances on scientific issues. However, there is plenty that sucks about the Democrats, so I'm not a Democrat either.