Ignorance is Bliss?

Submitted by hatsrus on December 22, 2007 - 5:56am. life | observation

Yesterday my husband called me over to see something he had found on a famous video site. I really couldn't believe my eyes and ears and think it must be a hoax.

The clip purported to be from an American TV game show. It showed an American woman competing against a schoolboy who I would estimate at btween eight and ten years old. The question master asked the question " Budapest is the capital of which European country?". The woman said first that she thought Europe was a country and she'd never heard of Budapest. Her final answer was "France", after first asking whether France was a country. The young lad was smiling to himself at the woman's ignorance, and,correctly,answered "Hungary".

If this clip was not a hoax, two things strike me about it; firstly that an adult could be so ignorant as to think Europe is a country or to even question as to whether France is a country and the second was that this woman was not even ashamed of her ignorance. It also struck me that I probably know more about the geography of that woman's country than she knows about the continent that I live on.

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LOL Hats!!

Submitted by Sassys on December 22, 2007 - 11:27am.

Sassys

I used to laugh at the American tourist's that would come to Spain and would always wear a big Sombrero!! As far as they were concerned "Spanish is Spanish" Never mind that it's a TOTALLY different continent and culture. America has always been a place where "Out of sight, out of mind" It's a crying shame. This woman must be mortified to know that the rest of the world knows without a shadow of a doubt that she is a moron.
Rightfully so:)

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sassy, I couldn't believe that the clip was real, I always

Submitted by hatsrus on December 23, 2007 - 1:42am.

thought that the portrayal of Americans as ignorant of the rest of the World was a comic stereotype used by comedians for cheap laughs. Hatsrus

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Unfortunately, Hatsrus,...

Submitted by Catfish on December 23, 2007 - 9:39am.

it's very real. Truthfully, I'm not as strong on geography as I'd like to be, mainly because I have nowhere I want to go other than being in the United States, and possibly a couple of Canadian cities. So, though I know that Europe is a continent, and could name lots of countries, I couldn't tell you where any of them were, outside of Italy and England.

That, plus the fact that this is a pretty big country that most of us will never see all of, kind of makes us a bit egocentric, I hate to say. For that matter, I'm not even sure they still teach geography in school; don't have a kid to ask either.

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Catfish, There are many beautiful places in the Old

Submitted by hatsrus on December 26, 2007 - 4:02am.

World just as there are exciting and wonderful things to see in America. As someone who lives in another culture to the one I was born into, I can say categorically that cultural differences are very interesting and the study of them helps one to understand other members of the human family. Hatsrus

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No denying, Hatsrus,...

Submitted by Catfish on December 26, 2007 - 2:31pm.

that there are wondrous things to see in other countries. There's just a whole bunch of things to see in this one also, and most people never come close to seeing even percentages of them. That, plus this fear that people in other countries don't like us, and we don't speak any of those languages, stops a lot of people, let alone the cost.

As for me, since "old world" doesn't really apply, I've only wanted to visit Australia, and for that to happen, I need three weeks minimum.

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Of course some Americans...

Submitted by huttriver10 on December 22, 2007 - 3:45pm.

are a bit like the old flat earth believers of centuries ago, they aren't too sure whats out there.Kiwi Riverman

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It would seem so Hutt, but she wasn't even ashamed of her

Submitted by hatsrus on December 23, 2007 - 1:47am.

lamentable ignorance, I think for me what clinched was the other contestant, the young lad smiling because he, at his tender age, knew that he had much more knowledge than she.

Hatsrus

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And to add to this great title Hats

Submitted by Sassys on December 23, 2007 - 12:20pm.

Sassys

If ignorance is bliss...then the lady you talk about must be on a perpetual cloud nine:) LOL.

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That's just it Catfish

Submitted by Sassys on December 23, 2007 - 12:19pm.

Sassys

kids in the USA do learn Geography...but it's all based on American Geography. Even with that being said, try asking a couple of teens here what the Capital of America is...it just might surprise you how very poorly they retain whatever bit of Geoghraphy they do learn.

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You know, Sassys,...

Submitted by Catfish on December 23, 2007 - 12:43pm.

I don't remember American geography at all. I remember having to learn all the names of states and capitals, which was easy, but that's about it. I also remember taking social studies where we learned about other countries, but I never had any concept of where any of those countries were specifically, only the continents they were located in. If I hadn't lived out of the country for a short while as a kid, I might not have ever had a concept that every place mentioned wasn't part of the United States. :-)

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oh so true

Submitted by spookyyank on December 23, 2007 - 12:30pm.

I've seen it for ages! Everything from my ex mother in law who was shocked to see national magazines actually sold outside of New Jersey to grown men and women who had no idea what the UK actually represents! And, while most of those folks probably will never travel outside the US, too many do who make no attempt to learn about the country they're visiting. The end result is always the same - bad, rude behavior!

And, sassys comment! Boy do I know that one well! You have no idea how many times I've personally been told - "You're Spanish?" "Well, no. Mexican." "Oh! Same thing!"

Er, EXCUSE ME????????

STALKING EDGAR ON MYSPACE

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Indeed, sassy we have a scottish friend who lives here in

Submitted by hatsrus on December 26, 2007 - 4:04am.

France who is constantly being told he is English which he most certainly is not!Hatsrus

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Something like that is indeed

Submitted by James24 on January 30, 2008 - 8:18am.

shameful. Yet how many people I see on the Weakest Link here in the UK excel in ignorance and how many of them would know what the capital city of Nebraska is? I admit that I find it quite sad when someone is clearly not interested in anywhere else apart from their own backyard.

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Yes, James people in the UK on the weakest link

Submitted by hatsrus on February 19, 2008 - 12:54am.

are lamentably ignorant sometimes. I think perhaps they don't have the general knowledge quizzes which I enjoyed at school.

What clinched it for me was the smile on the little boy's face because he knew the answer and also knew that the woman's thinking was also completely wrong. I agree with you that most people, myself included, would be unable to name the capital of Nebraska but then Nebraska is a constituent state of the USA and not a country. Many would however be able to name at least some of the state capitals.

Hatsrus

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