Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with ignorance

"No sweetie, not all black people drink grape kool-aide."

Eleutherios — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:14:13 -0800

Help! My new girlfriend is skeeved out by minorities. Should I break up with her? I've been dating this girl for three weeks. She's great, she's smart, athletic, cute, and confident. Hell, she was even open to us having a threesome with another girl.

But, there's something that has been bothering me. She's not very confortable being around minorities, as a group. She has already dropped the N-bomb twice. She refers to Hispanics as "Mexicans". She locks her car doors whenever she sees a man of color, even if he's wearing a business suit and she's driving in the financial district! When we go to parties, she's super outgoing even if she doesn't know the people, but when I took her to a black party once, she suddenly got shy and stayed by my side the whole night.

She's not the first one. Back when I dated men, one guy broke up with me, and several avoided dating me in the first place (though they admitting to liking me otherwise), because I had a very diverse group of friends. They thought it was weird, and didn't want to be associated. Don't let me get started on how many times I get turned down, because I'm not blonde. It seems that I am always finding myself attracted to those who turn out to have racial or color issues.

Sorry for going off on a tangent, but I don't know if I can go on dating a girl who has racial prejudices. I have close friends of all sorts of different backgrounds, I even have a somewhat racially mixed family, on my dad's side. Right now, I just can't see her fitting into my life, but I'm really into her. How should I handle this? If I do break up with her, how should I avoid meeting women like this in the future? This is confusing because, I tend to run with very liberal crowds, but somehow I am still finding intolerant people.

Academic Shibboleths

d. z. wang — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 03:18:55 -0800

A recent tomorrow was criticized for describing a mathematician as working with equations and "running the numbers". What are the canonical signs that someone doesn't know much about your field, or only picked up enough to make cocktail-party conversation? (categorized science and nature, but other disciplines welcome!) And, to take things to the next logical step, what kind of questions could an ignorant but curious person ask of you or a colleague that you would love to answer? For example, following a speech by Sarah Palin, several biology majors were just waiting for an excuse to tell me exactly how much money fruit flies deserved.

Raising a family in New Zealand. How much has where you grew up determined your personality?

scazza — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 09:02:13 -0800

How much has where you grew up determined your personality? How important is location? Those who grew up in New Zealand, how much has its culture and limitations shaped you? Children of expats, how did having expat parents influence you? Any Americans in NZ want to tell me why they are raising their children there? And I'm not asking this since I just saw "Away We Go." It just occurred to me the similarity of this question. I often think about where would be the best place to raise a child. Yes circumstance usually dictates, but let's forget that for the moment. I am American but also a New Zealand citizen where my large family on my father's side lives in Auckland. I have always heard that NZ is an amazing place to raise your child, however I have some concerns that maybe you all can help me with.

My experience has mostly been of Auckland and my own family. My family network there is very large and insular with very little room for individuality. I don't think anyone in my generation there has gone to college and they all work for the family business. They all talk of leaving but never do. They are an amazing family, but culturally ignorant and occasionally offensive (for example re gays). I am an artist, my partner a lexicographer, we adore the outdoors, but also like intelligent conversation and debate about everything, anything (University of Chicago life of the mind anyone?). We have considered raising our future children in NZ but basically I don't want them to grow up to be like the rest of my family there, isolated in terms of cultural and intellectual knowledge and respect, open-mindedness and curiosity. Individuality, achievement is a very American value, one that can sometimes be taken too far, but I don't want to rob my children of it if they grow in a more insular culture. My cousin tells me it gets more insular as you move south in NZ from Auckland but I don't know whether to believe her, and I wouldn't want to live in Auckland.

How much does or has location determined your personality? I think it's determined by your parents more than anything (contradicting conventional thought that it's your friends who are the most influential, but I've just never encountered that in anyone I know) but what about extended family?
I've heard Wellington is the culture capital of NZ, is this true? Are there other places? Is it true that cultural exposure declines as you head south?
Those who have grown up in NZ, have you felt a full cultural and intellectual exposure and life?
Any Americans in NZ want to tell me their stories? Why and where do you live in NZ? (Though it would be Saturday for you now, so are you even checking MF?)
Friends I've known who left NZ to see the world have all moved back. What's up with that?

93% of MeFites Can't Find the Nation of Niue on a Map

Weebot — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:50:07 -0800

How stupid are these surveys about American stupidity? Since the publication of Rick Shenkman book, I've been hearing look-how-dumb-we-are statistics more often. Such gems include "70% believed that Saddam Hussein was behind 9/11", "Six in ten can't find Iraq on a map", and "33% of young Americans cannot find Louisiana on a map". There are many others, but you get the idea.

I've always been hesitant to take these stats at face value because the news stories about them are usually without context, and the stats themselves look suspiciously cherry-picked. But since Shenkman's book has caused these stats to pop up with more frequency, I want to know just how accurate they are. Is America that stupid, or do these studies get played up because it makes a good story? Are any of these studies online, and if so, do they break their results down by demographics? Are there any particular studies that are, well, more disheartening than the ones already mentioned?

I'm most interested in the demographic breakdown in these studies, actually. I've always figured there were more to these stats than the AP wire stories ever say. Any help, AskMeFites?

You have been looking at that painting a bit too long and it's making me feel like a nube

brandnew — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 04:32:24 -0800

Appreciating the visual arts: what should I be looking at? What should I be thinking about? OK, I love art. I had done several years of art technique in drawing, painting, and ceramics throughout middle school and high school, and a little bit more in college. I have taken (a while ago), classes on art history, so I vaguely remember the different art periods, and the meaning of art from a period perspective. I can appreciate the social aspects and movements that drive art. I understand a wee little bit on art theory - form and color, in particular, but not much.

Here's the problem: When I'm at a gallery or a museum, a lot of times I just don't understand what I'm supposed to be looking at. ISo, fall back to the aesthetics. I also try to role-play the artist - try to understand why they had made one decision over another. Finally, I try to appreciate the art technique.

But, to be totally and ignorantly honest, 75% of what I see, I don't understand. This is especially true in contemporary galleries, where I'm looking at art from this period. I end up passing up most of the art on the wall, because it's not immediately interesting or appealing. Especially photography - oftentimes, I'm puzzled and asking myself "why".

I really want to understand what I'm supposed to be looking at. But, I want to better appreciate art. I don't want to feel out of the know.

What are all of those other people (you) looking at when they look at a painting or sculpture? They seem to be standing there for a very long time.

Are there blogs or books that I can read to help decrease my art ignorance?

People who live under a rock

sixcolors — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:26:18 -0800

How do people become stupid? Or, shall I say "How do people STAY ignorant?" We all came into the world ignorant about how life works. Some wisen up, others stay in the dark. What is it that separate those two kinds of people?

With the information explosion (internet, wikipedia, tons of tv stations/shows, the news) that we had within the last decade, how can anyone remain uneducated about basic things?

Some examples:
*I know a MAN who is 55 years old and does not know what testosterone is. But, he watches tons of educational TV like the discovery channel, TLC, history channel, KDNL, etc.
*I know people who are in COLLEGE, who think Africa is a country. I know several people who don't know how to ride a bike. Some college kids think a woman will not get pregnant or an STD if he "pulls out".
*I am in grad school and my mom's a teacher, I didn't know what tenure was until it came up in classroom discussion during my first semester. I also had no knowledge of what was a flagship university.

The existence of my own ignorance is the most alarming. Furthermore, is that I don't know HOW I became ignorant and what to do about it. I watch the news, I browse metafilter and wikipedia to learn new stuff, I watch educational TV shows, I went to college, my mother went to college, I'm getting my Master's in May, I like to read non-fiction, I am curious about the world...yet I feel that I am still very naive.

It's because I'm brown, isn't it?

liquorice — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:35:01 -0800

Am I reading too much into assumptions made by strangers or are they the ones at fault? I was introduced by a friend to a friend of hers recently, whose first question after the pleasantries where exchanged was, "Are you guys related?". We really look nothing alike. At all. The only thing we share in common is a similar cultural ancestry (different shades of brown). Now, I usually wouldn't think much of it (and I shrugged it off at the time) but this has happened to me a few times and not with the same friend. It has always been with someone else who shared similar background, i.e, the only thing we actually have in common is that we're both brown! I wouldn't go so far as claiming these people were racist, but more likely, ignorant? We do live in a white-majority suburb but not overwhelmingly so particularly not on campus where this most recent incident occurred.

Do you think I'm right in assuming that they just think we're related because we share the same colour rather than the off chance that we might actually look related? (Let me stress again that we really don't. Really. And I haven't with the other people this has been asked of, either.)

Would it have been off-colour (ha!) to call them out over it? I did want to say jokingly at the time "You only think that because we're brown, don't you?" Too inappropriate or just enough to make them realise where they have mis-stepped?

If you feel that that would be too rude to say to someone you've just met, what do you recommend be done about it instead? I don't want to let it slide, to be honest. It is obviously not malice on their part but I am sick of assumptions like this being made about because I'm an Other race.

Finally, am I just way off-base? Do I need to dial down my sensitivity levels when it comes to issues of race?

I know "Krebs Cycle", "junk DNA", and other cool phrases

tzikeh — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 22:09:55 -0800

Apparently, ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny! Which I can only assume means something! I've searched the AskMeta archives, and seen the phrase "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny" used about ten times, but none of them explains what the phrase means. Could someone give me an explanation in very, very small words? My knowledge of biological processes is limited to a) what I can remember from 1986 in AP Bio, and b) what I experience first-hand when I eat too much chili.

Is there a word or phrase that describes the experience of learning there is an established academic definition for an idea you thought was yours alone?

Lownotes — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 19:37:53 -0800

Is there a word or phrase that describes the experience of learning there is an established academic definition for an idea you thought was yours alone? I often have an epiphany or long-held viewpoint about a subject and thought it was all my own, but when I go online to research it, I find my epiphany is decades old and by now is well-researched and established.

Is there a term for this sort of ignorance? Has anyone written about this in detail?

Im worried that I believe in my beliefs too strongly.

JokingClown — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 07:10:00 -0800

I am not stupid, but I know nearly nothing and will never change this fact. Help me accept this. When humans are babies, they take in information from the world around them. It is necessary for them to create beliefs, and make decisions about their world, in order for them to function in it normally. This is why children are curious. Once humans feel safe in their environment, they tend to not bother asking questions and being curious. Their knowledge curve becomes close to stagnate.

I need information, book recommendations especially, about why humans have false beliefs. How can humans be deceived? How can emotions be altered? Books about the placebo effect, books about self deception. People create lies unconsciously to make their world comfortable.

I'm worried that I believe in my beliefs too strongly.

From time to time I think I truly understand something, say a subject in politics, I feel superior in a way to others when it comes to that subject. Then I learn something that blows my mind, and I realize how little I knew. This is a good thing. Basically, I want to read books that will make this happen more, also, make me realize and NOT FORGET that I know very little, and much of what I think I know is wrong.

Thanks in advance.

Since when did farmers grow circular crops?

louigi — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 15:13:07 -0800

These are not crop circles, they are circular crops in south-western Alberta. What's the advantage over rectangular fields? I was speculating about some kind of technology that would make circles efficient to water, but I'd love it if anyone with an inside scoop knew what was really going on.

"This is where the party ends..."

afroblanca — Sat, 16 Jul 2005 20:45:34 -0800

JewishHistoryFilter : Can anybody recommend a good book that dissects the common Jewish conspiracy theories and discusses their history? Extra points for readability. I have a roommate that occasionally expresses ridiculous ideas about Jewish people. Specifically, he makes references to a "Jewish Conspiracy." Usually, I would completely write off someone like this. However, I think that my roommate says these things out of ignorance and not bigotry. He's a good person, and I wouldn't generally call him a racist. I should mention that he's really into conspiracy theories, and at times is prone to the attendant sloppy thinking.

It would be nice to find a book that was very readable, and wasn't written in too much of an "academic" style. Reason being that I actually want him to read it, and if it isn't very accessible, he might just put it aside.

I really want to educate him on this, because if I can't, there really isn't any way that I can continue to live with him.