5 ms·

Is there really a considerable portion of American (or we could say Western) society that is practically illiterate? This seems counter-intuitive to me, I thoug

by hugh 18y ago

Is there really a considerable portion of American (or we could say Western) society that is practically illiterate? This seems counter-intuitive to me, I thought it was hardly possible to function at all without a basic understanding of the written word. If these people are out there, I have certainly never had any deep face-to-face conversation with them. Try reading the comments on youtube. I'd expect even a car mechanic to have enough brains to grasp some abstract literary concepts. A car mechanic has enough brains to grasp some pretty complicated mechanical concepts, but for whatever reason he can quite easily fail to grasp a simple literary concept no matter how well it's explained. In the same way, I'm sure I can find you plenty of professors of English who are incapable of grasping how an engine works. In both cases, I'm not sure whether they're genuinely incapable, or whether they just have psychological barricades set up which lead them to think that this kind of knowledge is "beneath" them. You'd have a hard time convincing me that most people who can't comment intelligently on 'The Wizard of Oz' are fit do be much more than corporate monkeys. Most people out there probably just don't think that commenting intelligently on The Wizard of Oz is a worthwhile thing to do.

edw519 18y ago
...whether they just have psychological barricades... I'm convinced that this is the bulk of the problem. Perhaps I'm still an idealist, but I have always believed that almost anyone can learn almost anything. Ever think of asking a parent how many times they'd let their baby fall before they gave up teaching him to walk? They'd look at you like you're from another planet. They'd probably answer, "He'll keep trying and falling until he walks." Think how far ahead everyone would be if all teachers were like parents of one-year-olds.
- oz 18y ago
  Aha, but walking is an inherent human capability, waiting to be learned. I honestly don't think that everyone can learn anything. we can certainly do better than the status quo, but expecting the average layman to grasp advanced physics seems a bit of a stretch. There's something to be said for raw talent.
  - edw519 18y ago
    I was careful to use the word "almost" twice. The interpretation of "almost" is obviously up to the reader. With that in mind, if you could teach many "average laymen" to grasp advanced physics, I really wouldn't be all that surprised. Of course, there is something to be said for raw talent, lots of which remains hidden because of many factors. The power of human capability never ceases to amaze me, even under the most difficult circumstances.
    - MaysonL 18y ago
      I have a feeling that almost all three-year-olds could be brought (over time) to an understanding (by age 12-15) of a reasonable portion of advanced physics. However, after a few years of indoctrination in most schools, almost all of them will have become almost incapable of doing so.
      - edw519 18y ago
        My "lots of which remains hidden because of many factors" = your "few years of indoctrination in most schools".
    - hugh 18y ago
      I dunno, advanced physics still baffles the hell out of me. And I'm an advanced physicist.
neilk 18y ago
One thing to remember about Youtube commenters; many of them are not English speakers. Compared to my Filipino or Mandarin, their English is pretty good. But if you want to criticize what they're saying, that's a bit different.
- maw 18y ago
  I can read the comments on videos in Spanish, and let me tell you: they're not pretty. I expect readers of other languages would say the same.
- sofal 18y ago
  I think people overestimate the difficulty of learning a new language. Compared to my Portuguese, their English is downright embarrassing and shameful, and I'm not proud of my current Portuguese due to lack of practice. It's not that hard to learn decent grammar, especially with the resources available to those with Internet access. The fact that these kids can hammer out imbecilic English sentences doesn't impress me.

by hugh 18y ago

edw519 18y ago

...whether they just have psychological barricades... I'm convinced that this is the bulk of the problem. Perhaps I'm still an idealist, but I have always believed that almost anyone can learn almost anything. Ever think of asking a parent how many times they'd let their baby fall before they gave up teaching him to walk? They'd look at you like you're from another planet. They'd probably answer, "He'll keep trying and falling until he walks." Think how far ahead everyone would be if all teachers were like parents of one-year-olds.

oz 18y ago
Aha, but walking is an inherent human capability, waiting to be learned. I honestly don't think that everyone can learn anything. we can certainly do better than the status quo, but expecting the average layman to grasp advanced physics seems a bit of a stretch. There's something to be said for raw talent.
- edw519 18y ago
  I was careful to use the word "almost" twice. The interpretation of "almost" is obviously up to the reader. With that in mind, if you could teach many "average laymen" to grasp advanced physics, I really wouldn't be all that surprised. Of course, there is something to be said for raw talent, lots of which remains hidden because of many factors. The power of human capability never ceases to amaze me, even under the most difficult circumstances.
  - MaysonL 18y ago
    I have a feeling that almost all three-year-olds could be brought (over time) to an understanding (by age 12-15) of a reasonable portion of advanced physics. However, after a few years of indoctrination in most schools, almost all of them will have become almost incapable of doing so.
    - edw519 18y ago
      My "lots of which remains hidden because of many factors" = your "few years of indoctrination in most schools".
  - hugh 18y ago
    I dunno, advanced physics still baffles the hell out of me. And I'm an advanced physicist.

neilk 18y ago

One thing to remember about Youtube commenters; many of them are not English speakers. Compared to my Filipino or Mandarin, their English is pretty good. But if you want to criticize what they're saying, that's a bit different.

maw 18y ago
I can read the comments on videos in Spanish, and let me tell you: they're not pretty. I expect readers of other languages would say the same.
sofal 18y ago
I think people overestimate the difficulty of learning a new language. Compared to my Portuguese, their English is downright embarrassing and shameful, and I'm not proud of my current Portuguese due to lack of practice. It's not that hard to learn decent grammar, especially with the resources available to those with Internet access. The fact that these kids can hammer out imbecilic English sentences doesn't impress me.