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Thread: Ignorance in our Modern World and why I abhor it...

  1. #61
    How can 'the paper' claim our political knowledge doesn't increase much after college, tho? Anyone who has to make a budget, hire or fire employees, apply for a grant, or follow federal and/or local laws eventually gets dragged into it.

    How a bill becomes a law used to be standard fodder for kiddies, with a theme song and everything. Maybe things are just too dummied down now for entertainment value?

  2. #62
    Erm, I said the exact opposite above. Knowledge increases, but it doesn't increase more for people who went to college. And people who go to college tend to be the ones that were more knowledgeable to start with.
    Hope is the denial of reality

  3. #63


    It still is standard fodder for kiddies, without the song. 3rd grade social studies here, I'd assume in most other places as well.

    I have a dvd of all of Schoolhouse Rock, though, my kiddies have gotten some use of it.

    Incidentally, they knew the answers to all of Icky's 5 questions but Tito.

    They then continued it by listing Supreme Court Justices.
    We're stuck in a bloody snowglobe.

  4. #64
    They shouldn't bother going to college then.
    Hope is the denial of reality

  5. #65
    Quote Originally Posted by Loki View Post
    That a college education doesn't actually make people more knowledgeable about politics....
    Quote Originally Posted by Loki View Post
    According to the article, political knowledge does it increase a decent amount throughout a person's life, it just doesn't increase more for college graduates. Apparently the best indicators of someone's political knowledge later in life are their grades in social studies (in high school), overall grades in high school, political participation in high school, and having politically knowledgeable parents. The best negative indicators are being female and being black.
    Quote Originally Posted by Loki View Post
    The average result on the above was something like 2.5 out of 5.
    Quote Originally Posted by Loki View Post
    Erm, I said the exact opposite above. Knowledge increases, but it doesn't increase more for people who went to college. And people who go to college tend to be the ones that were more knowledgeable to start with.
    You'd better hope college increases knowledge of Poli Sci if you're teaching Poli Sci!

    As for other majors, you mean it's the same quantifiable RATE of learning outside their major as it is for just high school grads....huh?


    School House Rock Also, my younger son took that 'test' when he was in 7th grade (administered by his older brother, tho) and aced it. His social studies and history teachers love him, but the district wants him to be more into math and science.....

  6. #66
    Quote Originally Posted by GGT View Post
    You'd better hope college increases knowledge of Poli Sci if you're teaching Poli Sci!

    As for other majors, you mean it's the same quantifiable RATE of learning outside their major as it is for just high school grads....huh?


    School House Rock Also, my younger son took that 'test' when he was in 7th grade (administered by his older brother, tho) and aced it. His social studies and history teachers love him, but the district wants him to be more into math and science.....
    The point is that the people who'll major in poli sci are generally the ones who are already interested in politics.

    If people go to college with no knowledge of politics, they generally leave college with no knowledge of politics.

    I think everyone should learn to their strengths, though it's slightly disconcerting when a majority of the chemistry and engineering students and professors here are not American. Also keep in mind that knowing facts is actually not particularly useful (assuming you could learn them when you need it); the point of the social sciences is to teach people how to think and express those thoughts.
    Hope is the denial of reality

  7. #67
    The best negative indicators are being female and being black.
    Depends on the female.

    Black gurls don't get enough beef?

  8. #68
    That's probably where culture comes in. It's just not "cool" for those groups to be interested in politics. Both groups make up a disproportionately small number of grad students, too.
    Hope is the denial of reality

  9. #69
    I don't know about that....maybe the underlying difference is a Liberal Arts education vs specialized one?

    In the US it can also mean the difference (for example) between an RN with an Associate Degree or an RN with a Bachelor Degree.

  10. #70
    1) There are many dumb people. No amount of opportunity will change that. Ever.
    2) Gullibility. A high number of moderately bright, and even some exceptionally bright people have no critical thinking skills. Either nobody ever tried to teach them, or they just don't have the requisite wiring.
    3) Homo rationalicus is great at avoiding inconvenient truths.

    Add these up and you get a profoundly ignorant population, many of whom will devote their lives to increasing the level of ignorance in our society. The truly amazing thing is that humanity managed to get as far as it has with that much dead weight.

  11. #71
    "Now, i dont know anything about Afghanistan, but, speaking as a mother, i know its full of terrorists."

    People LOVE ignorance, as long as it supports their gut instincts. See: anywhere that votes for far right parties like the BNP. "Its the darkies fault that you are poor and scared and your life can easily be summed up by one of Pink Floyds more depressing songs. THE DARKIES! RAAAAAAR!"
    "Son," he said without preamble, "never trust a man who doesn't drink, because he's probably a self-righteous sort, a man who thinks he knows right from wrong all the time. Some of them are good men, but in the name of goodness, they cause most of the suffering in the world. They're the judges, the meddlers. And, son, never trust a man who drinks but refuses to get drunk. They're usually afraid of something deep down inside, either that they're a coward or a fool or mean and violent. You can't trust a man who's afraid of himself. But sometimes, son, you can trust a man who occasionally kneels before a toilet. The chances are that he is learning something about humility and his natural human foolishness, about how to survive himself. It's damned hard for a man to take himself too seriously when he's heaving his guts into a dirty toilet bowl.

  12. #72
    Or people just get tired with so many options and choices. So many opportunities to act on ideology that choosing becomes too energy-time consuming. Case in point--Choobs saying he wants the Easy Button for his health insurance.

  13. #73
    Let sleeping tigers lie Khendraja'aro's Avatar
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    Fun fact: Conservatism is linked to a lower average IQ
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  14. #74
    ... and I always thought it was linked to age.
    Quote Originally Posted by Steely Glint View Post
    It's actually the original French billion, which is bi-million, which is a million to the power of 2. We adopted the word, and then they changed it, presumably as revenge for Crecy and Agincourt, and then the treasonous Americans adopted the new French usage and spread it all over the world. And now we have to use it.

    And that's Why I'm Voting Leave.

  15. #75
    Quote Originally Posted by Khendraja'aro View Post
    Fun fact: Conservatism is linked to a lower average IQ
    Atheism, liberalism, and male homosexuality are also loosely linked to higher IQ. Margins are fairly small, so aren't you glad about that when you check your testes?

  16. #76
    Senior Member Flixy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GGT View Post
    Atheism, liberalism, and male homosexuality are also loosely linked to higher IQ. Margins are fairly small, so aren't you glad about that when you check your testes?
    Male homosexuality, or admitting to male homosexuality? Don't buy the first, the second seems plausible.
    Keep on keepin' the beat alive!

  17. #77
    Quote Originally Posted by GGT View Post
    Or people just get tired with so many options and choices. So many opportunities to act on ideology that choosing becomes too energy-time consuming. Case in point--Choobs saying he wants the Easy Button for his health insurance.
    I would not consider Choobs, with his attitude towards learning, an example of an intelligent person who's desire to educate themselves being overwhelmed by too many choices...
    . . .

  18. #78
    Quote Originally Posted by Khendraja'aro View Post
    Fun fact: Conservatism is linked to a lower average IQ
    So is being black. If you're going to accept one, you're going to have to accept the other.
    Hope is the denial of reality

  19. #79
    Quote Originally Posted by Flixy View Post
    Male homosexuality, or admitting to male homosexuality? Don't buy the first, the second seems plausible.
    Male same-sex preference. Was a "study" linked in the news recently. Females and lesbians didn't skew the results. Some attempt to correlate changing social norms with neuroscience that didn't quite meet scientific muster (IMO), but was still interesting.

  20. #80
    Quote Originally Posted by Illusions View Post
    I would not consider Choobs, with his attitude towards learning, an example of an intelligent person who's desire to educate themselves being overwhelmed by too many choices...
    *whose*

    Just repeating what he's posted, don't shoot the messenger.

    I don't know what more you want or expect from others, Illusions. Intelligent people are often very busy and have to balance many levels of "intellectualism" with their real lives. Some very smart people aren't Type A achievers, so it can look like a laziness. Some really stupid people have determination and social skills that make them appear committed to intellectualism, but they're really not.

    Who or what, exactly, are you complaining about again? It got lost in translation.

  21. #81
    Let sleeping tigers lie Khendraja'aro's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GGT View Post
    Atheism, liberalism, and male homosexuality are also loosely linked to higher IQ. Margins are fairly small, so aren't you glad about that when you check your testes?
    It's a difference of 6 points when regarding religion, a difference of 11 points regarding left vs. right

    Quote Originally Posted by Loki View Post
    So is being black. If you're going to accept one, you're going to have to accept the other.
    Uh, no?

    http://www.skepdic.com/iqrace.html
    When the stars threw down their spears
    And watered heaven with their tears:
    Did he smile his work to see?
    Did he who made the lamb make thee?

  22. #82
    Quote Originally Posted by Khendraja'aro View Post
    Fun fact: Conservatism is linked to a lower average IQ
    Quote Originally Posted by GGT View Post
    Atheism, liberalism, and male homosexuality are also loosely linked to higher IQ. Margins are fairly small, so aren't you glad about that when you check your testes?
    Source please.


    Quote Originally Posted by Loki View Post
    So is being black. If you're going to accept one, you're going to have to accept the other.
    not true at all. Having black skin is not the same thing as choosing to support selfish, hateful, short sighted and self destructive policy.
    The Rules
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  23. #83

  24. #84
    Quote Originally Posted by Khendraja'aro View Post
    Are you actually denying the fact that there's a correlation? Hell, there are studies showing that the average IQ in developing countries is lower than in developed ones. Of course I don't buy the explanation for a variety of reasons, but those same reasons applying to not buying the BS about political ideology and IQ.

    Kanazawa is a fraud and has absolutely no idea what he's talking about or how to conduct proper research. He's the same guy who claims developing countries are poor because they have low rates of IQ. His most recent article claims that civil wars are fought to gain control over fertile women. His methodology is less sophisticated than that of someone who's taken one stats class.
    Hope is the denial of reality

  25. #85
    Heh heh:

    The IQ differences, while statistically significant, are not stunning -- on the order of 6 to 11 points -- and the data should not be used to stereotype or make assumptions about people, experts say. But they show how certain patterns of identifying with particular ideologies develop, and how some people's behaviors come to be.
    Nice disclaimer but that's the only interest I have in this story.

    Quote Originally Posted by Loki View Post
    Kanazawa is a fraud and has absolutely no idea what he's talking about or how to conduct proper research. He's the same guy who claims developing countries are poor because they have low rates of IQ. His most recent article claims that civil wars are fought to gain control over fertile women. His methodology is less sophisticated than that of someone who's taken one stats class.
    You know you should post a source to back this opinion. So lets have it.
    The Rules
    Copper- behave toward others to elicit treatment you would like (the manipulative rule)
    Gold- treat others how you would like them to treat you (the self regard rule)
    Platinum - treat others the way they would like to be treated (the PC rule)

  26. #86
    Quote Originally Posted by GGT View Post
    Male same-sex preference. Was a "study" linked in the news recently. Females and lesbians didn't skew the results. Some attempt to correlate changing social norms with neuroscience that didn't quite meet scientific muster (IMO), but was still interesting.

  27. #87
    Quote Originally Posted by EyeKhan View Post
    You know you should post a source to back this opinion. So lets have it.
    I've read his actual articles. Not too hard to find. I believe Wiki has the names of some of them.
    Hope is the denial of reality

  28. #88
    Quote Originally Posted by Loki View Post
    I've read his actual articles. Not too hard to find. I believe Wiki has the names of some of them.
    Are you claiming authority as an expert to back your denouncements of his work?
    The Rules
    Copper- behave toward others to elicit treatment you would like (the manipulative rule)
    Gold- treat others how you would like them to treat you (the self regard rule)
    Platinum - treat others the way they would like to be treated (the PC rule)

  29. #89
    So what's the big deal here? Even the side panel of the CNN article says:

    None of this means that humans are evolving toward a future where such traits are the default
    Could also argue if they defined conservative or liberal "properly". As I said, it was just interesting.....

  30. #90
    Quote Originally Posted by EyeKhan View Post
    Are you claiming authority as an expert to back your denouncements of his work?
    Yes, the articles I mentioned were published in a poli sci journal. I do have some experience reading and critiquing poli sci articles, being in grad school for 3 years and all. I've actually send one of his articles to several of my friends here, and all thought the guy is an incompetent idiot. The consensus was: how the hell did he get published.

    Quote Originally Posted by GGT View Post
    Could also argue if they defined conservative or liberal "properly". As I said, it was just interesting.....
    Especially when "liberals" are twice as likely to believe in astrology than "conservatives". If that's not a sign of a lack of intelligence, I'm not sure what is.
    Hope is the denial of reality

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