Re: Things everyone should know...

On 21 Aug 2006 09:09:11 -0700, "Krusty" <jeffsmall@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

dan.alex wrote:
"Krusty" <jeffsmall@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1156174785.663193.66030@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1. How DNA works to pass on inheritance.
2. How molecules bind to each other (weak and strong nucleic forces)
and their interactions.
3. Calculus (Integration and the Differential)
4. Analysis of Variance and a basic understanding of Statistics.
5. The Scientific Method
6. Classic Literature (Greek/Roman Mythology, Shakespeare, Homer, etc)
7. One classic American Novel (My pick is "On the Road" by Kerouac, or
perhaps Kesey's OFOTCN)

Any others spring to mind?

Know where Iraq is on the map.

Geography. Good one. Seriously. I always take that one for granted.
When you've travelled all over the world you just sort of learn, "oh, I
was there...and I was there" but I guess if you haven't been fortunate
enough to travel extensively, the next best thing is a good solid
geography foundation.

I'd expand that to the whole middle east. People don't know where
Afghanistan is, or Kashmir, or Tibet, etc. I bet where I work I could
ask everyone to point on the map where the UAE is and not a single
person would even come close.

I dated a woman once who seemed surprised to learn that Egypt is in
Africa. And I taught a freshman ROTC course with a lesson on
geopolitics; the "exam" had tough questions like "name 3 African
nations and their capitals" (we weren't allowed to ask "comprehension
level" questions in the first year, only "knowledge level"), and the
majority of the students totally blew that one*. And I was like, "I
learned this stuff in the freakin' SEVENTH GRADE!!"

* I let them choose the countries from a map. There are, what, 47
nations in Africa; you'd think they'd go for easy ones like Libya,
Egypt, and maybe South Africa... but no. I got results like "Berlin is
the capital of Sudan" and "France is the capital of Niger." Sad.

Eminence
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