Unfortunately for your thesis, you can't even beat people into learning. If they refuse (and girls are just as capable of this as boys - Hazel will give you myriad examples) there's no way on earth to make them interested. What do you do then?
H is not an exception - she may not be one of the hordes of thousands, but she's definitely not an outstanding example of juvenile genius. She's much less scary bright than I was, for example - and look where being scary bright got me. Just because you know stuff doesn't mean you know everything (I married the ex-git, for example). Nick is the best example of someone I know who got where he is through sheer brains, but there aren't that many of them.
Blame the Quaker bit if you like (and I had tendencies before being sent to them for school, I'm sure. so it's not all their fault) but I don't see why people who have no interest in that sort of thing should be forced to conform to some arbitrary notion of what constitutes educated. What you actually want is for them to be able to run a life, and I don't recall the last time I heard of someone dying or irretrievably fucking up their children or whatever because they were unaware that Charles Dickens was a real chap.
You still haven't answered how it's the fault of the politicians that there are people who will not learn, or have no interest in learning.
Have to go to work, or I could carry on for ages. I do, however, agree with you that life would be much more pleasant if everyone knew at least a bit about everything - but I don't regard it as my business (or that of politicians) if they choose not to. Avoid them where possible, patronise in one's head if you can't. Try it - quite satisfying. I find running Idiot Wind on constant loop in the brain helps.
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timeasmymeasure
Re: In which I call you a fascist, but I'll keep talking to you anyway
Date: 2008-02-05 08:01 am (UTC)H is not an exception - she may not be one of the hordes of thousands, but she's definitely not an outstanding example of juvenile genius. She's much less scary bright than I was, for example - and look where being scary bright got me. Just because you know stuff doesn't mean you know everything (I married the ex-git, for example). Nick is the best example of someone I know who got where he is through sheer brains, but there aren't that many of them.
Blame the Quaker bit if you like (and I had tendencies before being sent to them for school, I'm sure. so it's not all their fault) but I don't see why people who have no interest in that sort of thing should be forced to conform to some arbitrary notion of what constitutes educated. What you actually want is for them to be able to run a life, and I don't recall the last time I heard of someone dying or irretrievably fucking up their children or whatever because they were unaware that Charles Dickens was a real chap.
You still haven't answered how it's the fault of the politicians that there are people who will not learn, or have no interest in learning.
Have to go to work, or I could carry on for ages. I do, however, agree with you that life would be much more pleasant if everyone knew at least a bit about everything - but I don't regard it as my business (or that of politicians) if they choose not to. Avoid them where possible, patronise in one's head if you can't. Try it - quite satisfying. I find running Idiot Wind on constant loop in the brain helps.