Ignorance.

[Canid117]

The only true good is knowledge and the only true evil is ignorance.

I did not know where the Mausoleum was until a few days ago (Halicarnassus).

In south west Turkey if I am not mistaken.

 

[ExaltedK9]

I know that everyone is human (the humans, anyway) but it really does piss me off when people don't know basic, important, and easily attained information. I hate hearing people say things like: "Whats 9/11", or "How do you spell (insert any word a 6-year-old should know here).

Ignorance is damaging.

It just reinforces my fear that mankind is on an intellectual decline.

 

[astrav1]

I don't know about a lot of musical theater stuff, considering I go to a school for performing arts, I get a load of crap for it.

 

[Aerodyamic]

There's the kind of ignorance were you simply don't know things. And then there's the kind were people perpetuate fallacies because they refuse to accept truth.

The latter is the kind I take issue with.

Ignorance is bliss, and I is one happy ************. The difference here is that I'm generically ignorant, rather than ignorant on a targeted basis, which jives pretty nicely with your definition.

 

[zehydra]

2. What is your view of ignorance and responsibility?

Igorance is ignoring reality. Theres empirical evidence & reason for(against) X, but I don't(do) believe X.

Responsiblity, in this case, is your duty to further your understanding of the universe.

OP I think you may be mixing terms. Ignorance is quite different from inexperience.

this is untrue. Ignorance is not knowing something. That's it.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ignorance

YOU are mixing terms.

 

[zehydra]

There's the kind of ignorance were you simply don't know things. And then there's the kind were people perpetuate fallacies because they refuse to accept truth.

The latter is the kind I take issue with.

the latter is also not a valid definition of ignorance, but one that is commonly used.

Drives me up the wall.

 

[guntotingtomcat]

If an American citizen beyond the age of 12 was unaware of who nuked who in WWII then they need beaten within an inch of their life for being a complete and utter useless waste of human life.
It's not cute.
It can be remedied.
It should be remedied and accented with a swift backhand so they'll know better in the future.
Ignorance gets people harmed, stunts society as a whole, and is probably going to be the cause of the fall of western society.
It's an absolute gift if you can educate these people without violence, but it's one that not everyone possesses.

Okay, do you want to back up that viewpoint? Why is it the guy's fault if he has never been told this?
I have no real viewpoint either way, but I'd like to see a reasoned response.

 

[SD-Fiend]

Why do we punish ignorance?
You know the scenario. You say "Sorry, where did the astronauts go?" or "Who got nuclear bombed in world war two?" or "Where does the Pope live?"
Basically, we have all been in the situation, or we know someone who has been in the situation, where there is a catastrophic common knowledge failure.
Every time I've seen this happen, people aren't just surprised, they're annoyed, to the point of being hostile. "How can you go through life and not know that!?" they say. "What is wrong with you!?", "Go read a book!" or "You're a retard!"
This peeves me. After all, we don't control what information we are exposed to in our lives. If we're ignorant, is it not the fault of our parents/teachers/circle of friends?
I would argue, though, as we live in a democracy (most of us) that we have a responsibility to make ourselves as intelligent as possible, to the best of our ability. If the population is smart, they'll probably pick the best leader. If the population is not so smart, they'll merely pick the most charismatic leader.
Surely we are allowed to not know the odd commonly known fact, however. For me, I didn't know that Britney Spears was American. And I can't name a single Rolling Stones song.

Anyway, I have two questions for you, to answer at your leisure.
1. Have you ever found yourself completely ignorant of some fact everyone else knows?
2. What is your view of ignorance and responsibility?

EDIT: I mean ignorance to mean 'not knowing something', not 'ignoring the facts'. That may not be the correct definition, so for that, soz. Ironic error, considering the subject.

If an American citizen beyond the age of 12 was unaware of who nuked who in WWII then they need beaten within an inch of their life for being a complete and utter useless waste of human life.
It's not cute.
It can be remedied.
It should be remedied and accented with a swift backhand so they'll know better in the future.
Ignorance gets people harmed, stunts society as a whole, and is probably going to be the cause of the fall of western society.
It's an absolute gift if you can educate these people without violence, but it's one that not everyone possesses.

so if I am ignorant of a visitors culture I should be punished?

 

[guntotingtomcat]

2. What is your view of ignorance and responsibility?

Igorance is ignoring reality. Theres empirical evidence & reason for(against) X, but I don't(do) believe X.

Responsiblity, in this case, is your duty to further your understanding of the universe.

OP I think you may be mixing terms. Ignorance is quite different from inexperience.

this is untrue. Ignorance is not knowing something. That's it.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ignorance

YOU are mixing terms.

You get a smiley face.

At least SOMEONE checked a dictionary.
(Perhaps I should have...)

 

[Dimensional Vortex]

I met people in Year 7 or Grade 7 who didn't know who Hitler was, they didn't know who the Nazis were they didn't know Stalin, Maozenung (or however you spell it) was either. They didn't know about massively significant events that have happened within the last 100 years e.g. Fall of the Berlin wall, Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing, Chernobyl I doubt they even knew how out country, Australia even got inhabited by the English and others. Also you can't say that this was because there parents didn't want them to know, or there parents thought it was bad for them, because I hear them all day talking about Ass's In Cream Brotherhood (Assassin's Creed Brotherhood) We were also taught this at school, we did an entire term on the creation of Australia, I guess some people are so obliged to not learning common knowledge, and only playing games that will get old within a year or two like Ass's In Cream Brotherhood.

 

[guntotingtomcat]

People asking.. "if I've never been exposed" then that's not your fault. It's not. If it is information that's readily available (like the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic strikes during WWII) and you've stayed that oblivious to it for a certain amount of time- Then you're broken.
That little bit of insight into how little you're able to absorb by simply existing means you have serious mental issues that need to be challenged.
Getting slapped for not knowing something puts an action to that challenge. From that point it's up to you what you're willing to do with that challenge.
You can whine. You can fight back. You can start paying attention to the obvious information that exists for a reason around you.
All viable responses, but the action has to taken. That's why people react aggressively (anywhere from grasps to sneers of utter disgusts to punches to the teeth) to sheer ignorance. If you're not willing to learn from the obvious then you're a special kind of threat.
Now if I got dropped in Turkey and went to a diner there I'd have no clue on the customs and would be ignorant, and I may ask questions or I may just observe others and pick it up from there. Learning isn't what bothers people.
Now if I didn't know and I just went at it my own way and didn't pay attention to the customs and somehow offended someone's culture; they're allowed to hit me. They're allowed to. Being oblivious to your surroundings.. Look if they were offended and politely corrected me and showed me how I'd appreciate the extreme patiences and generosity they showed me. Because that isn't a right, you don't have a right to be stupid and then be patted on the head.
It's an extreme opinion I know, but it should really put in to perspective how nice people really are. Because the reality of these reactions should be your ass being kicked, then hope that you'll know better next time.

Much better, thanks!
Yes, I would agree that some knowledge is beyond normal ignorance, like the names of the days of the week.
We seem to be entering the territory of the functionally disabled here, though. Would a kick in the ass really help them?
To those that aren't functionally disabled, and are just bewilderingly naive, yes, they should probably remedy themselves somehow.

 

[Kurokami]

Why do we punish ignorance?
You know the scenario. You say "Sorry, where did the astronauts go?" or "Who got nuclear bombed in world war two?" or "Where does the Pope live?"
Basically, we have all been in the situation, or we know someone who has been in the situation, where there is a catastrophic common knowledge failure.
Every time I've seen this happen, people aren't just surprised, they're annoyed, to the point of being hostile. "How can you go through life and not know that!?" they say. "What is wrong with you!?", "Go read a book!" or "You're a retard!"
This peeves me. After all, we don't control what information we are exposed to in our lives. If we're ignorant, is it not the fault of our parents/teachers/circle of friends?
I would argue, though, as we live in a democracy (most of us) that we have a responsibility to make ourselves as intelligent as possible, to the best of our ability. If the population is smart, they'll probably pick the best leader. If the population is not so smart, they'll merely pick the most charismatic leader.
Surely we are allowed to not know the odd commonly known fact, however. For me, I didn't know that Britney Spears was American. And I can't name a single Rolling Stones song.

Anyway, I have two questions for you, to answer at your leisure.
1. Have you ever found yourself completely ignorant of some fact everyone else knows?
2. What is your view of ignorance and responsibility?

EDIT: I mean ignorance to mean 'not knowing something', not 'ignoring the facts'. That may not be the correct definition, so for that, soz. Ironic error, considering the subject.

You're mistaking ignorance for obliviousness, though perhaps your point is moreso that other people seem to.

Ignorance is something a person does actively, chooses to neglect/ignore something because its inconvinient to their way of thinking, hence racists are often considered ignorant.

PS: I hear ignorance is your new best friend.

(song reference, not implying anything by that. =])

 

[Kurokami]

2. What is your view of ignorance and responsibility?

Igorance is ignoring reality. Theres empirical evidence & reason for(against) X, but I don't(do) believe X.

Responsiblity, in this case, is your duty to further your understanding of the universe.

OP I think you may be mixing terms. Ignorance is quite different from inexperience.

See, that's the problem though, isn't it? You can't really prove anything, you can only point at it and say that it's 'probably the case', don't get me wrong, the evidence might be bursting at the seams, but anything can be fabricated.

Example: Holocaust deniers, in no way could I possibly side with them and I find the entire claim to be disgusting, but I certainly can't 100% prove that they are wrong.

 

[bassdrum]

People like gloating and feeling superior--it's validation for your ego to be able to tell someone something basic. Because you have to tell them something that seems inherently obvious to you, you get to feel smarter than them (at least until you don't know something and they can feel smug about you being the clueless one).

With regards to your questions:

1) Yes. All the time. Nobody knows everything, and I live in a different cultural bubble from everyone else (I listen to different music, play different games, watch different movies/TV shows...). It's very easy to not know what's going on that way.

2) Nobody knows everything, and that's perfectly acceptable. That said, it's just as logical for people to feel vindictive about helping someone clueless--it's basic ego stroking, and everybody likes to feel useful and intelligent.