Stuff We Should Know?
#21
(05-08-2013, 09:51 AM)tvguy Wrote:
(05-08-2013, 07:42 AM)Wonky Wrote:
(05-07-2013, 10:03 PM)Tiamat Wrote:
(05-07-2013, 10:02 PM)tvguy Wrote:
(05-07-2013, 08:35 PM)Tiamat Wrote: Funny. That's one I didn't actually know the definition of.
Science was just about the only class I like when in school. I've also studied refrigeration. My dad was a refrigeration man. But I think I really just remembered it because it's kind of bizarre.

That's where you're culturally literate, I guess.

I wonder if the point is somehow out there wondering in the wilderness.

From the link listed:

Perhaps the reason cultural literacy might be most important, however, is reflected in these words from Benjamin J. Stein.
"The kids I saw (and there may be lots of others who are different) are not mentally prepared to continue the society because they basically do not understand the society well enough to value it.

Knowing what absolute zero is, is important only in context. And that's the entire point made so many years ago by the Prof. Hirsch.

General knowledge is important for our understanding of the "world around us" to borrow a phrase. A complete reading of the posted link makes this clear. A complete reading is what Hirsch may have intended in the first place.

I did read it and I did understand it. It was simple to understand. Just because I thought that knowing what absolute zero is was a poor example doesn't mean anyone missed the entire point.
I have grand kids, one in college. Sometimes I'm flabbergasted at what they don't know.Smiling

I'm sure you understood the entire point.
As we age we hope to gain knowledge, wisdom, and information. Sometimes our young people get sidetracked in peer groups and don't know enough about the larger world.
The hope of discussions such as this is that we all, in one way or another, direct our attention toward the things we can learn or become aware of, and maybe less time proving a point that is, in fact, provincial.

One of the things I enjoyed about an occasional post by ILCC, was the absolute purity of a line or two in which he made me aware of something I had never before considered. His madness (or whatever afflicted him) often made it difficult to get past his terrible racial slurs (for instance) and see the clarity of his good lines of prose.

We take from our daily experiences little bits an pieces that add to the total of our "cultural awareness". In my own expeirence, I've found that I miss more than I notice. The neat thing about our human condition is that we can always strive to make changes if we want to focus. Or not.

It's a trip. Seen both ways.
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#22
The only one I hadn't heard of was 'tabula rasa'. The rest of them I knew but was a bit foggy on 'Valhalla' (I knew it was some kind of heaven). I knew 'Iago' was a Shakespearean character but not sure from which play.

I wonder why knowing about these things equates to cultural literacy? Interesting.
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#23
(05-08-2013, 04:40 PM)TennisMom Wrote: The only one I hadn't heard of was 'tabula rasa'. The rest of them I knew but was a bit foggy on 'Valhalla' (I knew it was some kind of heaven). I knew 'Iago' was a Shakespearean character but not sure from which play.

I wonder why knowing about these things equates to cultural literacy? Interesting.

I wonder too why the author choose those. Hirsch's book listed many, many examples that I think were more representative. Like, who's buried in Grant's tomb kind of thing. Well, maybe not that.

I don't have a clue about "Iago", but I'm not "culturally aware" of The Bard's writings. Most of us know the St. Cristin's day speech, or the advice given to the lad in Hamlet that ends with “This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day Thou canst not then be false to any man.”
But Shakespeare was not a big part of my early years and later I found it too damn hard to follow the rhythm of his writing. I suppose one should make an effort because there's no doubt the guy was a genius and left a trove of wonderful writing. There's just too much good mystery writing out there. Smiling

Whatever. We do the best we can with what we have I reckon.
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#24
(05-08-2013, 04:40 PM)TennisMom Wrote: The only one I hadn't heard of was 'tabula rasa'. The rest of them I knew but was a bit foggy on 'Valhalla' (I knew it was some kind of heaven). I knew 'Iago' was a Shakespearean character but not sure from which play.

I wonder why knowing about these things equates to cultural literacy? Interesting.


Well, what's your definition of cultural literacy then? To me it's just an awareness of culture really. I'm weak in Shakespeare. Always have been. Tabula Ras? Got it.
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#25
(05-09-2013, 09:55 PM)Tiamat Wrote:
(05-08-2013, 04:40 PM)TennisMom Wrote: The only one I hadn't heard of was 'tabula rasa'. The rest of them I knew but was a bit foggy on 'Valhalla' (I knew it was some kind of heaven). I knew 'Iago' was a Shakespearean character but not sure from which play.

I wonder why knowing about these things equates to cultural literacy? Interesting.


Well, what's your definition of cultural literacy then? To me it's just an awareness of culture really. I'm weak in Shakespeare. Always have been. Tabula Ras? Got it.

Good question Tia, what it cultural literacy? And, that's what Hirsch attempted to answer in his book. This WebSite we have been discussing is really only a sidebar to the book, a review as it were.
Most likely there is no true definition of "culture literacy". It's a subjective kind of thing, but like the Justice on SCOTUS said about pornography, I can't define it but I know it when I see it.

Ms. Palin actually thought the head of government in the United Kingdom was the queen. That's a clue about cultural awareness. Not being able to locate Florida on an unmarked map us the U.S. might be an example. Not knowing who gave the Gettysburg address might be another.

On the other hand, as you point out, not knowing every Shakespeare quote is just too stringent a test. Or not knowing the names of the crew of Apollo 13, for instance. (Of course every citizen should know baseball's infield fly rule. Laughing )

Hirsch was making a point. It was that our "broader" society lacks historical and social awareness that are important to our national conversation.

One could do worse than the find a copy of the book. And by the same token, one could never read it and be cultural aware.
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#26
(05-10-2013, 07:51 AM)Wonky Wrote: Ms. Palin actually thought the head of government in the United Kingdom was the queen.
Too funnyLaughing Everyone knows it's the king, duh!



Quote: That's a clue about cultural awareness. Not being able to locate Florida on an unmarked map us the U.S. might be an example. Not knowing who gave the Gettysburg address might be another.

Man is she stoopy,Florida is the country shaped like a boot and I don't know his first name but obviously Gettysburg was the guy who gave the speech, sheesh.
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#27
(05-10-2013, 08:06 AM)tvguy Wrote:
(05-10-2013, 07:51 AM)Wonky Wrote: Ms. Palin actually thought the head of government in the United Kingdom was the queen.
Too funnyLaughing Everyone knows it's the king, duh!



Quote: That's a clue about cultural awareness. Not being able to locate Florida on an unmarked map us the U.S. might be an example. Not knowing who gave the Gettysburg address might be another.

Man is she stoopy,Florida is the country shaped like a boot and I don't know his first name but obviously Gettysburg was the guy who gave the speech, sheesh.

Hot digitty dog, you're write on top of everthing.
But not everboby had the schoolin' you got.
Nearly as I can figure you could be governor of Texas or maybe even county commissioner of JoCo.
But enough. Go back to your crayons and please, try to stay within the lines.
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#28
(05-10-2013, 08:12 AM)Wonky Wrote:
(05-10-2013, 08:06 AM)tvguy Wrote:
(05-10-2013, 07:51 AM)Wonky Wrote: Ms. Palin actually thought the head of government in the United Kingdom was the queen.
Too funnyLaughing Everyone knows it's the king, duh!



Quote: That's a clue about cultural awareness. Not being able to locate Florida on an unmarked map us the U.S. might be an example. Not knowing who gave the Gettysburg address might be another.

Man is she stoopy,Florida is the country shaped like a boot and I don't know his first name but obviously Gettysburg was the guy who gave the speech, sheesh.

Hot digitty dog, you're write on top of everthing.
But not everboby had the schoolin' you got.
Nearly as I can figure you could be governor of Texas or maybe even county commissioner of JoCo.
But enough. Go back to your crayons and please, try to stay within the lines.

Well I ran for country conmissioner for Josefine county and some guy names seagullman got more votes.Sad
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#29
I thought the Gettysburg address was that piece of paper with directions to Gettysburg on it.
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#30
(05-10-2013, 07:51 AM)Wonky Wrote:
(05-09-2013, 09:55 PM)Tiamat Wrote:
(05-08-2013, 04:40 PM)TennisMom Wrote: The only one I hadn't heard of was 'tabula rasa'. The rest of them I knew but was a bit foggy on 'Valhalla' (I knew it was some kind of heaven). I knew 'Iago' was a Shakespearean character but not sure from which play.

I wonder why knowing about these things equates to cultural literacy? Interesting.


Well, what's your definition of cultural literacy then? To me it's just an awareness of culture really. I'm weak in Shakespeare. Always have been. Tabula Ras? Got it.

Good question Tia, what it cultural literacy? And, that's what Hirsch attempted to answer in his book. This WebSite we have been discussing is really only a sidebar to the book, a review as it were.
Most likely there is no true definition of "culture literacy". It's a subjective kind of thing, but like the Justice on SCOTUS said about pornography, I can't define it but I know it when I see it.

Ms. Palin actually thought the head of government in the United Kingdom was the queen. That's a clue about cultural awareness. Not being able to locate Florida on an unmarked map us the U.S. might be an example. Not knowing who gave the Gettysburg address might be another.

On the other hand, as you point out, not knowing every Shakespeare quote is just too stringent a test. Or not knowing the names of the crew of Apollo 13, for instance. (Of course every citizen should know baseball's infield fly rule. Laughing )

Hirsch was making a point. It was that our "broader" society lacks historical and social awareness that are important to our national conversation.

One could do worse than the find a copy of the book. And by the same token, one could never read it and be cultural aware.

No matter what, I still suck at Jeopardy.
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#31
(05-10-2013, 08:38 AM)Tiamat Wrote:
(05-10-2013, 07:51 AM)Wonky Wrote:
(05-09-2013, 09:55 PM)Tiamat Wrote:
(05-08-2013, 04:40 PM)TennisMom Wrote: The only one I hadn't heard of was 'tabula rasa'. The rest of them I knew but was a bit foggy on 'Valhalla' (I knew it was some kind of heaven). I knew 'Iago' was a Shakespearean character but not sure from which play.

I wonder why knowing about these things equates to cultural literacy? Interesting.


Well, what's your definition of cultural literacy then? To me it's just an awareness of culture really. I'm weak in Shakespeare. Always have been. Tabula Ras? Got it.

Good question Tia, what it cultural literacy? And, that's what Hirsch attempted to answer in his book. This WebSite we have been discussing is really only a sidebar to the book, a review as it were.
Most likely there is no true definition of "culture literacy". It's a subjective kind of thing, but like the Justice on SCOTUS said about pornography, I can't define it but I know it when I see it.

Ms. Palin actually thought the head of government in the United Kingdom was the queen. That's a clue about cultural awareness. Not being able to locate Florida on an unmarked map us the U.S. might be an example. Not knowing who gave the Gettysburg address might be another.

On the other hand, as you point out, not knowing every Shakespeare quote is just too stringent a test. Or not knowing the names of the crew of Apollo 13, for instance. (Of course every citizen should know baseball's infield fly rule. Laughing )

Hirsch was making a point. It was that our "broader" society lacks historical and social awareness that are important to our national conversation.

One could do worse than the find a copy of the book. And by the same token, one could never read it and be cultural aware.

No matter what, I still suck at Jeopardy.

Every category?Laughing I suck at opera or anything Shakespeare or Hamlet but I do quite well in zoology, sciences, biology or similar categories.
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#32
(05-10-2013, 08:42 AM)tvguy Wrote:
(05-10-2013, 08:38 AM)Tiamat Wrote:
(05-10-2013, 07:51 AM)Wonky Wrote:
(05-09-2013, 09:55 PM)Tiamat Wrote:
(05-08-2013, 04:40 PM)TennisMom Wrote: The only one I hadn't heard of was 'tabula rasa'. The rest of them I knew but was a bit foggy on 'Valhalla' (I knew it was some kind of heaven). I knew 'Iago' was a Shakespearean character but not sure from which play.

I wonder why knowing about these things equates to cultural literacy? Interesting.


Well, what's your definition of cultural literacy then? To me it's just an awareness of culture really. I'm weak in Shakespeare. Always have been. Tabula Ras? Got it.

Good question Tia, what it cultural literacy? And, that's what Hirsch attempted to answer in his book. This WebSite we have been discussing is really only a sidebar to the book, a review as it were.
Most likely there is no true definition of "culture literacy". It's a subjective kind of thing, but like the Justice on SCOTUS said about pornography, I can't define it but I know it when I see it.

Ms. Palin actually thought the head of government in the United Kingdom was the queen. That's a clue about cultural awareness. Not being able to locate Florida on an unmarked map us the U.S. might be an example. Not knowing who gave the Gettysburg address might be another.

On the other hand, as you point out, not knowing every Shakespeare quote is just too stringent a test. Or not knowing the names of the crew of Apollo 13, for instance. (Of course every citizen should know baseball's infield fly rule. Laughing )

Hirsch was making a point. It was that our "broader" society lacks historical and social awareness that are important to our national conversation.

One could do worse than the find a copy of the book. And by the same token, one could never read it and be cultural aware.

No matter what, I still suck at Jeopardy.

Every category?Laughing I suck at opera or anything Shakespeare or Hamlet but I do quite well in zoology, sciences, biology or similar categories.

I might be able to compete at Jeopardy. IF they would give the contestants 12 minutes to push the little clicker thing. My recall is in the toilet. And, if the only category was "hall monitoring".

But come to think about about it, Jeopardy is pretty much a game of Cultural Literacy. Ever notice they don't have a blackboard for math problems?
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#33
(05-10-2013, 08:42 AM)tvguy Wrote:
(05-10-2013, 08:38 AM)Tiamat Wrote:
(05-10-2013, 07:51 AM)Wonky Wrote:
(05-09-2013, 09:55 PM)Tiamat Wrote:
(05-08-2013, 04:40 PM)TennisMom Wrote: The only one I hadn't heard of was 'tabula rasa'. The rest of them I knew but was a bit foggy on 'Valhalla' (I knew it was some kind of heaven). I knew 'Iago' was a Shakespearean character but not sure from which play.

I wonder why knowing about these things equates to cultural literacy? Interesting.


Well, what's your definition of cultural literacy then? To me it's just an awareness of culture really. I'm weak in Shakespeare. Always have been. Tabula Ras? Got it.

Good question Tia, what it cultural literacy? And, that's what Hirsch attempted to answer in his book. This WebSite we have been discussing is really only a sidebar to the book, a review as it were.
Most likely there is no true definition of "culture literacy". It's a subjective kind of thing, but like the Justice on SCOTUS said about pornography, I can't define it but I know it when I see it.

Ms. Palin actually thought the head of government in the United Kingdom was the queen. That's a clue about cultural awareness. Not being able to locate Florida on an unmarked map us the U.S. might be an example. Not knowing who gave the Gettysburg address might be another.

On the other hand, as you point out, not knowing every Shakespeare quote is just too stringent a test. Or not knowing the names of the crew of Apollo 13, for instance. (Of course every citizen should know baseball's infield fly rule. Laughing )

Hirsch was making a point. It was that our "broader" society lacks historical and social awareness that are important to our national conversation.

One could do worse than the find a copy of the book. And by the same token, one could never read it and be cultural aware.

No matter what, I still suck at Jeopardy.

Every category?Laughing I suck at opera or anything Shakespeare or Hamlet but I do quite well in zoology, sciences, biology or similar categories.


No actually I got two final Jeopardy questions in the last week. But overall, I suck.

Quote:I might be able to compete at Jeopardy. IF they would give the contestants 12 minutes to push the little clicker thing. My recall is in the toilet.


I agree. I usually know the answer but spend more time converting the "answer" and trying to think of the actual question to respond in time.
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#34
I mark the passing of time by how Alex Trebek ages.


PS: Merv Griffin authored the show. Anyone else remember Merv? Butter would not melt in his mouth.
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#35
(05-10-2013, 09:00 PM)Wonky Wrote: I mark the passing of time by how Alex Trebek ages.


PS: Merv Griffin authored the show. Anyone else remember Merv? Butter would not melt in his mouth.

Yep.
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#36
(05-10-2013, 09:16 PM)Tiamat Wrote:
(05-10-2013, 09:00 PM)Wonky Wrote: I mark the passing of time by how Alex Trebek ages.


PS: Merv Griffin authored the show. Anyone else remember Merv? Butter would not melt in his mouth.

Yep.

That's the problem with your posts Tia, you just can't seem to make you point and stop. On and on, and on, and on.

Two prospectors live in a shack in the desert. They don't talk much.
After a dinner of beans and cornbread they take a walk in the cool evening.
They come upon a carcass drying in the sand.
"Horse", say's one.
'Mule" says the other

They return to the shack and one of the old guy starts packing his duffel.
"Leavin'?" the other asks.
"Yep"
"How come"
"Too damn much arguing 'round here"
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