# Why is the fight against ignorance taking so long? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 3, 2009, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-fight-against-ignorance-taking-so-long/484208 "2009-02-03T03:02:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![achilles\_bogart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/58956e/32.png) [@achilles\_bogart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/achilles_bogart)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-fight-against-ignorance-taking-so-long/484208/1 "2009-02-03T03:02:42Z")
I think its because many people are in love with the sound of their own voice to the point that they cease to listen to other voices. ---
**Author:** ![LilShieste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@LilShieste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilShieste)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-fight-against-ignorance-taking-so-long/484208/2 "2009-02-03T03:06:31Z")
Pretty much. In a lot of cases, it boils down to the spread of misinformation for one reason or another. That misinformation is difficult to reign in. Especially with the intarwebz. ---
**Author:** ![spike404](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@spike404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spike404)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-fight-against-ignorance-taking-so-long/484208/3 "2009-02-03T03:11:01Z")
Better define what you think ignorance means. A lot of folks thinks it means stupid, it does not. I am fairly sure that Einstein was ignorant of American football; although I am ignorant of the accuracy of my statement. ---
**Author:** ![Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fake_Tales_of_San_Francisco)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-fight-against-ignorance-taking-so-long/484208/4 "2009-02-03T03:12:40Z")
Interesting. Then I assume if every baby were genetically altered to grow up with an irritating, grating voice then the world would not longer be ignorant. I think the fight against ignorance is synonymous with the fight against evolution. And by that I don’t mean against the theory, but how we humans are increasingly becoming aware of our programming and have the ability to defy it. Those who are very ignorant are normally following their genetic programming to the letter. Those who aren’t aren’t end up screwing up the evolution process. To the point that very clever people have figured out how we can destroy the entire human race with explosives. That’s pretty much as counter-evolutionary as you can get. If we were still apes, ignorant, then things would be OK, I think. Although not for us, we’d probably go extinct eventually. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-fight-against-ignorance-taking-so-long/484208/5 "2009-02-03T03:41:20Z")
There is ignorance all over the political spectrum, but no one embraces it like the republican base. I’m not talking conservatives in general, I specifically mean the kind of people who think Palin was a good idea and who tear up when they hear about Joe the Plumber’s travails. A lot of this country wants easy, simple answers and they act as an echo chamber reinforcing the ignorance until it sounds like common sense. This definitely happens on the other side of the spectrum as well. _911-was-a-conspiracy-ers_ I’m pretty sure tend to be liberal. But it seems like there are a whole lot less of them than the Freepersin this country. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-fight-against-ignorance-taking-so-long/484208/6 "2009-02-03T03:58:22Z")
> [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](#): > > Interesting. Then I assume if every baby were genetically altered to grow up with an irritating, grating voice then the world would not longer be ignorant. Well, either that, or a taxi cab driver, or a barber. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-fight-against-ignorance-taking-so-long/484208/7 "2009-02-03T04:11:13Z")
take your pick > **[List of cognitive biases](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases)** > > Cognitive biases are systematic patterns of deviation from norm and/or rationality in judgment. They are often studied in psychology, sociology and behavioral economics. > Although the reality of most of these biases is confirmed by reproducible research, there are often controversies about how to classify these biases or how to explain them. Several theoretical causes are known for some cognitive biases, which provides a classification of biases by their common generative mechanism (such as noisy... ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-fight-against-ignorance-taking-so-long/484208/8 "2009-02-03T04:12:19Z")
This is a sensational thread. It’s titled “Why is the fight against ignorance taking so long?” and then takes a detour into what I assume is some kind of cooperative, absurdist art project. The first four posts have spelling and grammatical errors, the OP most of all, and the the fifth post is a political hijack. ExTank breaks the streak, but I’m predicting great things. Just to ensure I get Gaudere’s out of the way: Its gonna be alot of fun; supposibly!!! ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-fight-against-ignorance-taking-so-long/484208/9 "2009-02-03T04:23:07Z")
> [@achilles\_bogart](#): > > I think its because many people are in love with the sound of their own voice to the point that they cease to listen to other voices. Exactly. I always listen to the other voices. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-fight-against-ignorance-taking-so-long/484208/10 "2009-02-03T04:34:55Z")
> [@achilles\_bogart](#): > > Why is the fight against ignorance taking so long? Because nobody validates parking. You go to the shrink because you’re not sure which voice in your head is telling the truth and he only validates one ticket. ---
**Author:** ![PCFiend](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@PCFiend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PCFiend)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-fight-against-ignorance-taking-so-long/484208/11 "2009-02-03T04:39:53Z")
Yes, IMO it is group-think and a sense of entitlement which prevents some people (historically white males) from catching on to new ideas and, in turn, fresh ways of seeing the world that don’t decay into the cognitive biases listed on that wiki page. Happened all the time throughout history and I assume will continue in some form or another for some time. Also grammar Nazis are to blame, RickJay, haha. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-fight-against-ignorance-taking-so-long/484208/12 "2009-02-03T04:47:11Z")
For one [your brain gets an emotional “high” by dismissing information you disagree with but can’t rationalize out of hand, as well as by thinking or hearing things that agree with your world view](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11009379). In addition, according to that link, it appears the unpleasant parts of the brain briefly light up with contrary information, so it makes some sense that, subconsciously, you tend to avoid facts contrary to your opinion, and even if you do hear them you dismiss them anyway. (I can already hear both sides of every issue known to man saying “Yeah! I hate it when THEY do that.”) This doesn’t necessarily explain everything (i.e. why don’t we have more people competent in higher maths), but does help represent the reason people raised in certain backgrounds tend to dismiss certain polarized issues, such as evolution (please don’t turn this into an ID debate, if you disagree insert your side on whatever hotbed topic you choose) even when there’s no one around to reinforce their beliefs. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-fight-against-ignorance-taking-so-long/484208/13 "2009-02-03T05:15:30Z")
> [@achilles\_bogart](#): > > I think its because many people are in love with the sound of their own voice to the point that they cease to listen to other voices. I think it’s because some people seem to think that anything they don’t agree with/believe in must be ignorance. It would take a looooong time to fight that! ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-fight-against-ignorance-taking-so-long/484208/14 "2009-02-03T08:30:13Z")
Well, we all start out ignorant of everything. It’s not like ignorance is a thing in itself, it’s just a lack of something else. ---
**Author:** ![Cider\_Depot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Cider\_Depot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cider_Depot)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-fight-against-ignorance-taking-so-long/484208/15 "2009-02-03T11:54:03Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > Well, we all start out ignorant of everything. It’s not like ignorance is a thing in itself, it’s just a lack of something else. We all start ignorant. Some seek to learn. Some pick up a thing or two over the course of things. Then there’s those who don’t have a taste for it. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-fight-against-ignorance-taking-so-long/484208/16 "2009-02-03T12:12:30Z")
> [@achilles\_bogart](#): > > I think its because many people are in love with the sound of their own voice to the point that they cease to listen to other voices. Your thought is wrong. Knowledge requires two things: 1. The existence of correct information. 2. The capacity to grasp that information. Aside from the fact that “other voices” are typically wrong, where knowledge does exist, the biggest problem is that half the population has a sub-average IQ, and is thus bound by lack of capacity to a sub-average store of knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-fight-against-ignorance-taking-so-long/484208/17 "2009-02-03T14:40:58Z")
We have to ask why people embrace false information. One reason is maturity of intellect. We have to be aware that a lot of the information coming at us is skewed. Just because you heard it on TV or read it {does this still happen} somewhere doesn’t make it factual. The pursuit of knowledge about anything requires effort and many people simply won’t make the effort. It would be nice if people put a little more time into improving themselves rather than the latest reality show. {or a discussion board} 🙂 As someone mentioned up thread people can be ignorant of certain things because they don’t see those things as relevant to their lives or they simply don’t have the time. Someone working hard to support and take care of a family might want to have time to do the research but simply doesn’t. It’s not a priority. If I was going to pick the number one reason I’d say it’s emotion. We are complex beings of intellect and emotion. Intent and emotional attachment to bad information is a huge issue. When we see discussions on the board about politics or religion we see posters who have an emotional investment in bad information and defend it for that reason. To fight ignorance we can’t just present correct information, although that’s a crucial component. We must strive to understand and address the emotional connection to bad information. Much more difficult. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-fight-against-ignorance-taking-so-long/484208/18 "2009-02-03T14:49:52Z")
Because them ignorants don’t die easy nor rest in peace, neither. They comes back. 'N when they comes back they’s _mad_. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-fight-against-ignorance-taking-so-long/484208/19 "2009-02-03T15:43:55Z")
Sadly sites like this preach to the converted. The people who reach out for knowledge are generally those that need it the least (in as far as “needing” knowledge can be clearly defined). ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-fight-against-ignorance-taking-so-long/484208/20 "2009-02-03T16:25:08Z")
Another reason is that it’s more or less impossible to dispell someone’s ignorance against his will. To learn, you have to be willing to listen. Similar to the OP’s point, I think, but it’s not just about people who love to hear themselves talk. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-fight-against-ignorance-taking-so-long/484208.md?page=2)