Home
»
Trains Magazine
»
Forums
»
General Discussion
»
Some people just don't know their history

Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
Note to Mersenne6: Very much the same thing happened to me in school regarding computer-synthesized speech. It hurt and I sympathize with what happened to you. On the other hand, consider how your simple act of reading that book goes beyond having a superior knowledge of Edison's career or the invention of nitroglycerin. The other people, unless they changed their ways or ran into particularly inspired teaching, are the ones who suffer. .. I bet many of those people, conditioned as they are to "facts" being spoon-fed them, are the ones who take out second mortgages to "consolidate" consumer debt, that debt based on credit cards that offer the screamer low APR's to very few people (that info not on TV but in very small print in the direct-mail. Besides the teacher's turning your differing but superior knowledge into a popularity contest against you, which was totally unprofessional, the lesson the class got was threefold: a) don't challenge anything; and b) if it's spoon-fed to you via mass media (especially TV), it must be true, leading to the absurdity of c) the mass of people can determine historical (or any empirical) fact by relying on their feelings and "safety in numbers." We laugh today about the Tennessee legislature revising Pi from 3.14159 down to three, to spare Tennessee children all that bother, but of course that kind of thing goes on today, too. I just hope it isn't on the rise. I'm not even all THAT smart, but things I've been taught to look at with curiosity is so often labeled "boring" by my fellow Baby Boomers (apparently the goal of a fully realized American life is now never having to read any books). When I look at things with what I consider a healthy skepticism I often am told is "cynical" instead. You want cynicism? Look at the tens of thousands of people who deliberately stayed in New Orleans, despite official prediction. But of course, if you want it badly enough, reality will step aside . . . until you get pulled off a roof. Now that I'm an old f**t of fifty, I frequently wonder whatever happend to common sense. And COMMON KNOWLEDGE!
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag