sirlkle, when you see the black box that means the author of that post has put information in it that you may not want to read. For instance, in a thread about the Star Wars movies someone might put the info that Darth Vader is Luke’s father in such a box, so as not to “spoil” the movie for those who haven’t seen it yet. If you want to read what’s in the box, click on it and “paint” it with your cursor (meaning hold the mouse button down as your drag across). The contents of the box should then be readable.
You can also triple left click while the cursor is in the field and the whole box will be readable.
I’ve run into a pretty stunning amount of people…including a fair amount of film students…who had no clue that India has a movie industry, much less the most prolific movie industry in the world.
Unknowing I write
Meterless yuppie haikus
See my ignorance
Weirdly enough, I had someone reveal the same gap in their knowledge a couple of weeks ago. This guy is one of the most intelligent people I know, so I thought he was joking when he thought birds were mammals.
I know this is more of a brain fart then anything else, but while over at a friends house one day (she had been living their for about a year), she looked at me and said “Joey, where does the garbage disposal empty into?” I replied “Down the Drain,” by the look on her face I had to say “For a second, you though it emptied into a garbage under the sink that you haven’t emptied in year didn’t you.” The look on her faced then changed to a look of “duh?!”
Nawww, they don’t let that type of person post here.
Do they? :eek: :eek: :eek:
I always thought Goebbels was a turkey on South Park. I liked Goebbels. He was funny…
You BASTARD!!!
I spent one afternoon on duty in the calculus tutor room where my major accomplishment of the day was defining ballast for everyone who came through the room. [It was being dropped from a hotair balloon and had such and such a velocity…]
I was amused.
There was the farm boy from Idaho that was in Texas last holiday season and “forgot” that Thanksgiving is always on Thursday.
Good question. I think the MOST annoyed I ever have been regarding someone’s ignorance was this:…
I was watching Jay Leno one night (I don’t watch very much TV, but I occasionally turn it on and channel surf when I have insomnia).
Anyway, he was introducing the “Wazzzuuupppi” guys. And his introduction was something like this;
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last several months, you know who these guys are.
And not being much of a TV watcher, I first thought “no, who ARE they?, I have never heard of them” and secondly “wait, excUUUUU Huuuuse ME Jay, but I think you’ve got it a bit bass ackward here. You mean to tell me that if I’ve been out actually LIVING, working and doing, and not slumping on the couch catching Hollyweirds flavor of the day on the boob tube every day, I’M the one that’s been living under a rock”???
That stunned me as being pretty ignorant.
Secondly to answer your real question, there is so much to know in the world, even people who are in highly trained in professions like medical research or rocket science are not cognizant of ALL phases of their chosen profession.
So, if a person has a full and complex life, no, it doesn’t surprise me that a person might miss something like that. I’m not a huge history buff. I know OF most fairly well known historical figures, but not necessarily what they were known for, regarding each and every one of them.
And if the subject is war or politics, my eyes will glaze over in about a nano-second.
I don’t consider not knowing every fact or trivia bit “ignorance”. Just something that perhaps that person never had the chance or interest to explore and learn well.
I’m one that vaguely knows OF Goebbels, but only because we studied him (with dozens of other historical figures) either in HS or college (shows how much he must have interested me huh?).
There are only 24 hours in the day. That a person has different and perhaps not as heavy pursuits as one who delves deeply into Nietche, Marx, Marcus Aurelius (sp?) doesn’t make them less intelligent, learned or cerebral than the person that does. It also doesn’t make them ignorant. Perhaps their 24 hours is spent in pursuing art, psychology and health and human services etc.
Sorry this wasn’t meant to be a lecture, but an answer. Anyway, I hope that helps answer your question? At least from this person humble opinion, hehe.
Um, that a majority of people I work with had never heard of the phrase “The butler did it!”. I found that rather astounding.
Another example although I’m not sure if this is an example of ignorance or miscommunication.
I’m at work and someone just handed me a quarter. As is my habit, I flip it over to see if it’s one of the state designs. I say, “Shouldn’t we be getting a new one soon?”
The guy who gave me the quarter picks up on what I’m saying and asks “What was the last one?”
“Illinois, I think. Aren’t we due for another one?”
Okay, we were being somewhat indirect. At this point, the third guy in the room asks, “What are you talking about? Are there new quarters coming out?”
I answer, “Yes, I think we’re due for the next state quarter.”
The guy then asked, “What do you mean; state quarters? Are they putting a new design on quarters?”
At this point, there was a phone call for me which diverted the conversation and we never got back to it. So I don’t know if this guy is actually unaware of the existence of the state quarters or if he just wasn’t picking up the thread of our conversation.
To answer CanvasShoes post: yes, obviously no one can know everything. In my mind, that’s unfortunate. In an ideal world, I’d know it all; everything from quantum mechanics to professional wrestling. I’d be able to knowingly discuss The Tale of the Genji with professors and Spongebob Squarepants with preschoolers. But there’s only so many hours in a day and so many days in a lifetime.
I think there is a value to seeking out common knowledge. Regardless of its intrinsic value, if 90% of the people you know are familar with something, it has worth as a common reference. Les Enfants du Paradis is probably a better movie than Titanic but which one is going to come up more often in conversation?
In my opinion, the most important thing the average person does in an average day is communicate with other people. Communication is the foundation of human society. And a set of common references is second only to a common language in importance in communications.
It always suprises me, though it shouldn’t anymore, when I encounter people who don’t realize that Alaska is part of the USA. It’s one thing when I’m out of the country talking to other forgeign travellers and have to explain that Alaska is a US state, it’s an understandable that an Aussie on vacation in Belize might think that Alaska is an independent country or a Canadian provence. However when other Americans ask me if they need a passport or visa to travel to Alaska I’m always taken aback. I’ve also heard the phrase “Do you take American money?” uttered way too many times in Anchorage. I was also shocked when just last night I had to explain to a (native Texan) friend that Alaska is by far the largest state in the union.
More commonly though I shock people with [i[my* ignorance of sports, current movies, television programs and other elements of pop culture. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss 
I did not know that.
Moderator’s note:
I think the only reason you keep posting personal attacks in IMHO is because either:
a) you’re incapable of understanding direct warnings
b) you’re trolling.
Time to die.
TVeblen,
for the SDMB
For what it’s worth, I was the subject by Crystal Task’s remarks but they didn’t bother me. I was willing to cut her some slack in view of her age and her “newbie” status. That and the fact I’m able to defend myself if the need arises. So you didn’t need to ban her on my account.
Understood, granted and agreed. You’re a great poster and can most certainly hold your own in all quarters and against all comers. This is a fine distinction, so please don’t take offense where none is intended, but the banning was for repeated offenses against the forum, not you personally. (Trying to lift the onus off of you, actually.) He/she persisted in personal attacks where it was inapporpriate and unprovoked.
“The idea, not the poster.”
If he/she wants to plead a case, our e-mails are available. At the very least we’d expect some recognition of where to vent. Match the company or make do with usenet, etc.
Veb
FWIW I thought your responses to her were measured and hilarious.