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Do you have a list? I'm interested. I was surprised that even in 2020 you have people making up straight lies about covid, while I believed that the wild theor

by est31 6y ago

Do you have a list? I'm interested. I was surprised that even in 2020 you have people making up straight lies about covid, while I believed that the wild theories that people had about the plague back in the day (e.g. the one that blamed the jews for it) were born from the fact that these people haven't went to school and were badly educated. But now they can write and relevant parts of the population claim similar things. And COVID is way less deadly than the bubonic plague is. This is a pandemic in easy mode. We would have been in for much worse had it been like the bubonic plague.

wuschel 6y ago
I second that - this is very interesting, I would love to see some sources, too.
adamsea 6y ago
Sadly these days the ability to read and write is insufficient in order to be an informed citizen because of how complex our media world is. One really needs to have some solid critical thinking skills in order to be able to judge the overall reliability and trustworthiness of a book, article, tweet, news episode, etc. And ideally have some fundamental historical knowledge, basic math, logic, fundamentals of science, etc. Id argue many Americans are, through no fault of their own, not well-educated. EDIT: I cribbed from Noam Chomskys description of what it means to be educated: https://www.openculture.com/2016/04/noam-chomsky-defines-what-it-means-to-be-a-truly-educated-person.html https://www.openculture.com/2016/04/noam-chomsky-defines-wha... 'Humboldt, Chomsky says, “argued, I think, very plausibly, that the core principle and requirement of a fulfilled human being is the ability to inquire and create constructively, independently, without external controls.” A true education, Chomsky suggests, opens a door to human intellectual freedom and creative autonomy.'
DyslexicAtheist 6y ago
not OP but ... John Kelly: The Great Mortality An Intimate History of the Black Death Robert S Gottfried: The Black Death - Natural and Human Disaster in Medieval Europe Samuel K. Cohn, Jr.: Cultures of Plague: Medical Thought At the End of the Renaissance Philip Ziegler: The Black Death Giovanni Boccaccio: The Decameron there are some fictional works that I enjoyed such as Ken Follet World Without End (should be read after Pillars of the Earth IMO) and it's probably not enough on-topic for what you're asking.
- est31 6y ago
  Thanks!

by est31 6y ago

wuschel 6y ago

I second that - this is very interesting, I would love to see some sources, too.

adamsea 6y ago

Sadly these days the ability to read and write is insufficient in order to be an informed citizen because of how complex our media world is. One really needs to have some solid critical thinking skills in order to be able to judge the overall reliability and trustworthiness of a book, article, tweet, news episode, etc. And ideally have some fundamental historical knowledge, basic math, logic, fundamentals of science, etc. Id argue many Americans are, through no fault of their own, not well-educated. EDIT: I cribbed from Noam Chomskys description of what it means to be educated: https://www.openculture.com/2016/04/noam-chomsky-defines-what-it-means-to-be-a-truly-educated-person.html https://www.openculture.com/2016/04/noam-chomsky-defines-wha... 'Humboldt, Chomsky says, “argued, I think, very plausibly, that the core principle and requirement of a fulfilled human being is the ability to inquire and create constructively, independently, without external controls.” A true education, Chomsky suggests, opens a door to human intellectual freedom and creative autonomy.'

DyslexicAtheist 6y ago

not OP but ... John Kelly: The Great Mortality An Intimate History of the Black Death Robert S Gottfried: The Black Death - Natural and Human Disaster in Medieval Europe Samuel K. Cohn, Jr.: Cultures of Plague: Medical Thought At the End of the Renaissance Philip Ziegler: The Black Death Giovanni Boccaccio: The Decameron there are some fictional works that I enjoyed such as Ken Follet World Without End (should be read after Pillars of the Earth IMO) and it's probably not enough on-topic for what you're asking.

est31 6y ago
Thanks!