# Omnibus Stupid MFers in the news thread (Part 2) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 5, 2024, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657 "2024-01-05T16:15:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 103
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2024, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2041 "2024-08-02T21:46:31Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > And they’re expressed in _Arabic_ numerals! Someone needs to create a meme that claims that woke schools are trying to change all math classes to use Arabic numerals in favor of diversity. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2024, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2042 "2024-08-02T22:42:20Z")
Al-Jebra, Al-Jazeera, what’s the difference? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2024, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2043 "2024-08-02T23:03:12Z")
I have an actual use for Al-Jazeera? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2044 "2024-08-03T00:24:54Z")
What about Al-Fabet? We use that every day. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2045 "2024-08-03T00:58:33Z")
I think I’ve actually seen that ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2046 "2024-08-03T05:55:01Z")
And these guys make such a big deal about being al Fah males. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2047 "2024-08-03T06:15:37Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > al Fah males Don’t you mean ألفا ملي? (It’s just a transliteration.) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2024, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2048 "2024-08-03T06:59:07Z")
I’m still trying to understand the difference between Strong Al and Weak Al. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2049 "2024-08-05T06:43:29Z")
[The Dutch child rapist is out of the Olympics.](https://sports.yahoo.com/convicted-rapist-van-velde-olympics-201043489.html) He and his beach volleyball partner lost to Brazil. The link goes to Yahoo Sports. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2050 "2024-08-05T14:04:40Z")
Real Americans [have already spoken out](https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/poll-56-percent-of-americans-dont-want-arabic-numerals-taught-in-schools) about keeping Arabic numerals out of our schools and away from our children. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2051 "2024-08-05T14:07:42Z")
Van de Velde is not a name [associated with positives](https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/24042263/how-jean-van-de-velde-threw-away-open-championship-carnoustie-one-most-famous-meltdowns-sports-history) in sports. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2052 "2024-08-05T14:13:08Z")
I’ve always hated that stupid ‘ha ha you’re a racist’ joke/gotcha. People only know what they’re exposed to/taught. I made it through a private grade school, a good public HS and my college degree is in math. I don’t recall ever running across “Arabic numerals” until the first time I saw one of these polls. To be clear, all I’m saying is that I didn’t know what it meant because I wasn’t aware of the term. Maybe I just happened to have teachers that never mentioned it. Maybe they did mention it but I wasn’t paying attention that day. To me, it’s on par with getting people to sign a petition to ban “dihydrogen monoxide” because of all the harmful effects it has only to laugh at them for not knowing what “dihydrogen monoxide” is. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2053 "2024-08-05T14:23:50Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > To me, it’s on par with getting people to sign a petition to ban “dihydrogen monoxide” because of all the harmful effects it has only to laugh at them for not knowing what “dihydrogen monoxide” is. I think the point isn’t only that many people don’t know what dihydrogen monoxide is; it’s that many people will sign a petition without understanding the issues. I’ve come across people trying to get petition signatures who were puzzled that I actually wanted to read the thing before signing (or sometimes not); apparently most people don’t. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2054 "2024-08-05T14:27:28Z")
This is where critical thinking should kick in. “I don’t know what that’s referring to, therefore I will say that I don’t know/have no opinion/won’t answer the question until or unless I’m provided with more information.” It’s _okay_ to not know what Arabic numerals are. It’s _okay_ to not know who Lemaître was (I certainly didn’t until I read that article). It’s _okay_ to not know a whole bunch of things because you’ve simply never come across it or needed to know it. It’s _not okay_ to base all your current knowledge on what you learned 30 years ago in grade school and therefore any new information must be evil. It’s _not okay_ to absolve yourself of all responsibility to seek understanding of issues. It’s certainly _not okay_ to enact policies, vote for legislation, abuse people or otherwise spew hate because of all the things you don’t care to learn about. So many people act like this, and it’s not okay. If I had stopped learning in high school I think I’d be a profoundly stupid person. These polls are funny and the media reporting is usually mocking, but I think they have value (if well constructed) in identifying biases, lapses in education and social communication, etc. I imagine the research itself and the media reports aren’t exactly aligned. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2055 "2024-08-05T14:54:31Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I made it through a private grade school, a good public HS and my college degree is in math. I don’t recall ever running across “Arabic numerals” until the first time I saw one of these polls. We were taught about Arabic numerals and Roman numerals in (public) elementary school. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2056 "2024-08-05T14:55:53Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > We were taught about Arabic numerals and Roman numerals in (public) elementary school. Same. Although, I did read my parents’ World Book Encyclopedia for fun, too. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2057 "2024-08-05T15:12:13Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > We were taught about Arabic numerals and Roman numerals in (public) elementary school. So were we; I think pretty much in the context of teaching us Roman numerals, or at least enough of them to be able to work them out in the contexts in which we were likely to see them. But I don’t think that’s the main issue. It’s the willingness to get upset without taking any trouble to sort out whether there’s anything you actually want to get upset about. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2058 "2024-08-05T16:53:30Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > To me, it’s on par with getting people to sign a petition to ban “dihydrogen monoxide” because of all the harmful effects it has only to laugh at them for not knowing what “dihydrogen monoxide” is. I think that there is a bit of difference between arabic numerals vs the dihydrogen monoxide (DHM), or the Lemaître creationaism example given in the article. With the latter two you feel they had a general understanding if what the issue is, even if they were fooled in detail. In the Dihydrogen monoxide, the people thought that they were banning a dangerous chemical, and with the Lemaître example the assumption was that it was teaching religious creationism in schools. Both of these are real issues that a person may have opinions about. But what did the people who were against the teaching of Arabic numerals think they were preventing, even in a vague sense? What did they mistakenly think that the students were being taught? The answer is they had no idea but they saw the word Arabic, and knew it must be bad. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2059 "2024-08-05T17:08:00Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > I think the point isn’t only that many people don’t know what dihydrogen monoxide is; it’s that many people will sign a petition without understanding the issues. That, but the fact that things like this get reported also illustrates a media tendency to publicize stupidity. I’m reminded of the Jay Walking series that Jay Leno used to do on _The Tonight Show_. I’m sure there were people who gave intelligent answers to his questions. Those people didn’t get on the show. The message was clear; if you want attention, be stupid. Years ago, I was watching local evening TV news. The happy, smiling anchors introduced a story about the first discovery of a planet outside our solar system. Then they cut to network footage explaining how the planet couldn’t be seen, but periodic shifts in the light coming from the star indicated that a planet must be there. Cut back to the anchors in studio, and one of them said “I didn’t understand any of that”. They both smiled. It struck me at the time that news used to be presented by people who wanted to seem smart, and trustworthy. Now it’s more important to appear friendly and approachable, intelligence be damned. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2024, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2060 "2024-08-05T17:23:26Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Cut back to the anchors in studio, and one of them said “I didn’t understand any of that”. They both smiled. It struck me at the time that news used to be presented by people who wanted to seem smart, and trustworthy. Now it’s more important to appear friendly and approachable, intelligence be damned. It’s bonding with their viewers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657.md?page=102) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657.md?page=104)