Name: Anonymous 2008-01-05 10:39
A few days ago I was talking to a person who was going to a university here in the United States, and he mentioned that he once took a "Middle East Studies" class. I asked him if he knew the difference between Sunni and Shi'a Islam and he didn't know. I then asked him if he could name any of the territories formerly controlled by the Ottoman Empire that became League of Nations mandates under British and French administration after World War I and he knew couldn't. I don't know what he's being taught but I think knowing the difference between the two main denominations of Islam and a major event in the region's history is important if someone is going to claim to be an "educated" on the Middle East.
Why do I, someone who had bad grades in high school and has never been given an opportunity to attend a university or college know more than someone who got good grades in high school and is attending an expensive university? It's not what you know that makes you "smart" but what you have, in this case money and an academic degree. I hate how the system works, it's all based on lies yet even the people who know this continue to participate. I'm not saying there are no experts on certain subjects but most of the people who claim to be don't really know anything.
I'm actually not too sure what most people perceive the word "smart" as. When a person like Ken Jennings wins on Jeopardy 74 times his critics say "knowing random things doesn't make you smart". When someone is good at chess they say "having tactical skill and strategy doesn't make you smart". When someone is good at the Rubik's cube, the critics say "figuring stuff out doesn't make you smart". What exactly does make you smart? Having an academic degree from Harvard or Yale University and nothing more? I don't want to be that kind of smart.
Why do I, someone who had bad grades in high school and has never been given an opportunity to attend a university or college know more than someone who got good grades in high school and is attending an expensive university? It's not what you know that makes you "smart" but what you have, in this case money and an academic degree. I hate how the system works, it's all based on lies yet even the people who know this continue to participate. I'm not saying there are no experts on certain subjects but most of the people who claim to be don't really know anything.
I'm actually not too sure what most people perceive the word "smart" as. When a person like Ken Jennings wins on Jeopardy 74 times his critics say "knowing random things doesn't make you smart". When someone is good at chess they say "having tactical skill and strategy doesn't make you smart". When someone is good at the Rubik's cube, the critics say "figuring stuff out doesn't make you smart". What exactly does make you smart? Having an academic degree from Harvard or Yale University and nothing more? I don't want to be that kind of smart.