I got drawn in by one of those click baits that was designed to show how ignorant people are about what would be considered basic knowledge 50 years ago. The plan was to show people a map with one country outlined in red. Then they were asked what country it was. There was some kind of reward but none were awarded.
The country was Bangladesh. It was not surprising that no one knew the name of the country but when he asked them what was the country to the left the real ignorance was announced. For those who went to public school in the last 20 years it was India, one of the most recognizable shapes in geography. A couple got that but some had such brilliant suggestions as “Africa”. One proposed two cities.
I doubt if it was stupidity as much as ignorance. What troubles me is that these people had so little curiosity about the world that they had never picked up any of this information. Have they never looked at a globe? Do they ever read anything not posted on Facebook? Have they never leafed through an atlas? They have the ability. They can recite nonsense about their favorite celebrities. They can list the drinks available at their favorite hot spot. They can do awesome things with their phone but their awareness seems to stop six inches from their nose.
Help us.
homo unius libri
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Comments are welcome. Feel free to agree or disagree but keep it clean, courteous and short. I heard some shorthand on a podcast: TLDR, Too long, didn't read.