Ignorance is bliss
These days, we have the world of information at our fingertips. Compared to the information a person had access to just 50 years ago, it is mind-blowing. But unfortunately, it seems like ‘ignorance is bliss’ still rings true for many people.
To put things into perspective, you can learn about any subject, topic, or skill on the internet. The information is readily available on the internet. And what do we do with the power of the internet? We watch cat videos, take selfies, start arguments with strangers, and make fun of orange people who used to be president. (If I’m honest, I’m not completely against that last one.)
Why am I writing this?
This week, when I was brainstorming this post, I thought about something I saw on the Ellen show a few years ago. This was before everyone found out that she was evil. But I digress.
It was Mark Harmon week because apparently, that was a thing. To be honest, I didn’t know his name was Mark Harmon—I just called him the stepdad from Freaky Friday and that ‘old dude from NCIS’.
Anyway, as part of Mark Harmon week, they took a bunch of random people off the street and showed them a picture of Mark Harmon, as well as one of another historically famous people.
There was one guy that just stood out above the rest for his ignorance. They showed him two pictures: one of Mark Harmon and one of Gandhi. Then they asked him who these people were. He easily identified Mark Harmon, and then looked at Gandhi and guessed that he was Albert Einstein.
It gets worse. They then asked him what Einstein was famous for and he said, “he invented electricity.”
How the hell do you not know who Gandhi was? And Einstein didn’t invent electricity!
I wish I could find a video on YouTube for this, but the ones out there are of terrible quality.
Why?
Obviously, there are plenty of things I don’t know. I’d like to think I have good general knowledge, but I can be better. However, some people are way worse than me. So many people lack the most basic general knowledge.
For instance, I had a friend who didn’t know there was a war in Vietnam. I know South Africa has a pretty shitty education system, but come on. Did they think all those movies about the war were pure fiction? (Okay, yes, Hollywood takes liberties with historical accuracy, but still).
Also, one day I was at the grocery store with my mom and there was a special offer on eggs. This woman stacked box after box of eggs into her trolley and said to her friend: “I’m going to buy a lot because they can’t go bad.”
First, we didn’t correct her… because we’re bad people. Actually, we’re horrible people, because my mom and I went around the corner and laughed our heads off. Second, seriously, lady? Didn’t you play “rotten egg” as a child?
Lastly
In short, we invented the internet to save us time, yet it is one of our biggest time wasters. More importantly, we invented it to make educational information available to everyone, but no one is using it.
Do you have any “ignorance is bliss” stories? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.
Michelle
P.S. If you’d like to contact me, feel free to comment below, send an email to thatmichelleperson@gmail.com, or follow me on Twitter @M_ClutterBox.
