How much should one know?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Somewhat of a continuation of my previous thread, which left me with some unanswered questions.

I realize that this is a very ambiguous question, so I guess I’m just looking for some sort of general consensus in terms of knowledge/wisdom we should have. How much “should” an average person (in your opinion) know in general? For example, if you were to engage in conversation with someone you haven’t met before, what subjects in topics of conversation would you bring up that you’d expect them to already have a working knowledge about, without requiring explanation?

I’ll try clarifying things more later on, but I’ll give some examples.
[ul]
[li]How much would you expect one to know about cultures / geographical locations (and/or their own)?[/li][li]How much would you expect one to know about religions?[/li][li]How much would you expect one to know about more academic fields (ex. mathematics, sciences, economics)?[/li][li]How much would you expect one to know about themselves?[/li][li]How much would you expect one to know about the “outside world” (ex. news stories)?[/li][li]How much would you expect one to know about “entertainment subects” (ex. music, sports, television)?[/li][/ul]
Very broad, I know. There’s also stuff like age as a huge factor (and don’t even start with mental disabilities and whatnot…)

As an ending note, if you’d rather not go too far into the above, a variant of the question I’d like to pose: How much (in your opinion) “should” one know at a minimum?

2

My opinions:

[quote=“Altivu, post:1, topic:643601”]

[li]How much would you expect one to know about cultures / geographical locations (and/or their own)?[/li][/quote]

At the world level, an adult should know the continent of most countries, and be able to make a good guess for the ones they don’t know (e.g. any “-istan” country is probably in central or southern Asia). They should know of (list, not speak) the major languages spoken in their own country and any important neighboring countries, and the major ethnic groups in their own and neighboring countries. They should know enough about world culture to not be shocked by common practices in other countries (like they’re not totally surprised if they see people not eating or shaking hands with their left hands, etc).

[quote]
[li]How much would you expect one to know about religions?[/li][/quote]

Know the general geographic and historical origins of the major religions of the world and their own country (e.g. know that Islam comes from Arabia, was started around the 7th or 8th century, and is a majority religion in many North African and SW Asian countries, and a large minority religion in many other places). They should know the (broad) difference between Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, etc.

[quote]
[li]How much would you expect one to know about more academic fields (ex. mathematics, sciences, economics)?[/li][/quote]

Basic algebra and geometry for math. A general understanding of evolution, plate tectonics, genetics, Newtonian physics (and knowledge of the existence of if not the actual workings of relativity), basic thermodynamics, basic scale of the solar system (and the 8 planets in order along with knowledge like “Saturn is the one with rings”, “Mars is the red one that’s the next farthest out”, “Jupiter and Saturn are the biggest and have a handful of big moons”, etc.), galaxies, and the universe. For social sciences- basic supply and demand, basic world history with more detailed history of their own country (you should know the general timeframes of WWI and WWII along with the major players, you should know the general time frame of major revolutions [American, Russian, Chinese, etc].

More later.

3

My, iiandyiiii, those seem like rather awfully high standards for an average person, although this IS the Straight Dope after all…can’t really say much about that.

Any other opinions? This thread is feeling kinda lonely.

4

I still haven’t gotten to the “non-academic” portion of your question, but as to the high-standards, I’m well aware that many or even most Americans (I can’t speak to the knowledge of people in other countries) wouldn’t meet these standards.

5

I’ll endorse iiandyiiii’s general level of education.

Robert Heinlein famously said, “A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”

How much should we know? At least a little more than we knew yesterday.

An intelligent person ought to have a decent encyclopedia, and, when he or she has looked up what they sought, should keep on looking for a while. We should have the basic interest in the world to keep on learning.

(And, alas, a big part of that also involves “unlearning” things which we think are true, but which aren’t. Backhanded ignorance. This is one of the best things about the SDMB: if I mention something, and it is in error, people are not shy about saying so!)

6

I would say seven. Seven is good enough.

7

[ul]
[li]That I love you[/li][li]That if you loved me too, what a wonderful world it would be[/li][/ul]

8

That stars are very distant versions of the sun.

My variation on this thread is that you need to know what you know and know what you don’t know and know the difference. Because before you know it, every “expert” is going to be telling you you need to know a buttload about their special field to survive.

9

They should also be able to know which way is North, South, East, and West…day or night, in any part of the world, and be able to use the Sun and stars to do so.