You have to laugh (or you would cry).
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@marian said:
I think it's read Budapesh in Hungarian (Gaieus correct me if i'm wrong).
Budapesht - "s" is always spelled as "sh" in Hungarian.
(Thanks Marian for mentioning it)Now just a bit of information for those interested:
The first serious settlement was founded by the Celts on the top of Mount Gellert. This can be found on the western bank of the Danube,a bit to the south from the very centre.:
Then the Romans founded a legionary camp (in the proximity of which later evolved a town) called Aquincum. This is also on the western bank but quite far to the north. He, during history,a settlement called "Old Buda" evolved (probably referring to the Roman ruins and the knowledge of the region's history - already mentioned in a 12th century codex):
In the 13th century, after the Mongol invasion and serious devastation,king Bela IV founded his new capital called "Buda" - again,on the western bank (that is hilly while the eastern is flat). The castle stillexists (surely rebuilt severaltimes -lat serious renovation happened after it was destroyed in the siege in WW2):
(for some reason people tend to take photos of it at night all the time)
Then during history,another town evolved on the opposite, eastern bank of the Danube and it was called "Pest". The three towns kept evolving independently until the 19th century. In the 1840's,the first "constant" (stone) bridge connected the two banks. It was designed by a Scottish architect/engeenier, Adam Clark.
Then in 1873, the three towns were united and the name - from the two main parts - became Budapest (previously it was also referred as "Pest-Buda").
Or actually I could've just linked a Wikipedia article instead
Now as I think of it, I would probably fail to name more than just a couple of state capitals in the USA. But also, I believe that the inward thinking of Americans and more precisely the education system (which generates it) as well as the isolation policy of the government for the last century or so is to be blamed for such ignorance about the "rest of the word" - btw has anybody ever thought about this term itself? There is "us" and there is "the rest").
I don't want to go into the foreign policy of the USA now and I'm definitely not saying that this is really on purpose but this ignorance is at least "comfortable" for American foreign policy in the Middle East.
For us, it seems to be "ridiculously stupid" but the case is that things that change the world are happening to us. Or at least during the last century-so for us it seems to be "more natural". "Average" Americans don't go to wars (well,with a couple of exceptions) and more importantly,such things don't go there.
Let me finish this with a joke that describes this the best:
*In Mukachevo, an old man reaches the age of 100. Journalists come from everywhere to interview him. One of them asks him about his life. He says:
"Well, I was born in the Austrian-Hungarian empire, then went to elementary school in Czechoslovakia, then I went to secondary school in Hungary, then to university in the Soviet Union then got retired in Ukraine."
"Wow - says the journalist - you have travelled a lot in your life!"
"Me? - says the old man - I have never been outside of Mukachevo!
"* -
I think the video does portray the "average" american...or close to it. Depending on the types of TV programs they watch, other "average" folks would probably have had the answers to those questions...but would have failed equally on others of similar difficulty. (I couldn't answer a couple of them either...but I didn't think it was funny: so in that sense I guess I'm not really "average".)
I wouldn't call this stupidity either, I'd call it ignorance. (Some of the folks shown would surely have shined if asked about what they care about.) There are a lot of reasons we americans are ignorant, some somewhat understandable, some not so much...but the bottom line: we better get with it soon.
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we can blaim it on ignorance when it's about europe and other countries or policies of the US..but come on, you don't know where KFC comes from but you know that it means; kentucky fried chicken....and the question with countries starting with "U" ok you don't know Ukraine and Uganda but...you live in the US and say Yugoslavia....
What i wanted to point out is there is an ounce of stupidity there not just ignorance. -
My friends and I were talking about our kids the other day. We mentioned a standard test that they've all recently taken. When I mentioned my son scored over 4 times the benchmark for all scores they were looking for some magic reason as to why he did so well.
Is he just gifted? How did he score so high?
Truth is I think he's around the same intelligence that his mom and dad are (which I consider average... ok above average) but the exception is we read a minimum 15minutes a day to him and then discuss it. Whenever he has a question, we explain it. So, he maybe smarter and look better in the scores, but it's mostly due to his own hard work.I'd love to say it's not the average american in the video, but I think that is the average american. I think we need to turn our focus inward a bit. Let the world take care of itself and let's take care of us for awhile. Like Barack said "Lead by the power of our example, rather than the example of our power."
I think we have lost that here. The entitlement culture has consumed us and it only helps the lobbyist and lawyer types. I think we can learn a lot from tv, if we'd only watch things with some educational value. Instead we get caught up in ridiculous shows like watching d-list celebs dance or some random teenage 16th birthday. I mean really who gives a shit about that. I'm much more interested into what makes Putin tick. What molded him to be the way he is or how it was that John Adams was able to hold a fragile group of colonists together to help form a country.
I think Marian is right, there is some truth in the ounce of stupidity argument. What continues to boggle my mind is how people cannot care to even be somewhat interested in the world they live in. -
@ pav_3j
@unknownuser said:
there are three kinds of people in this world, those that are stupid, and those that aren't.
And so, who's the third category
cheers
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@ pilou
why not -
@gaieus said:
Now as I think of it, I would probably fail to name more than just a couple of state capitals in the USA.
So you can name a few STATE capitals and she doesn't even know that France is a COUNTRY.... mmmm me thinks that is big difference.
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mmmm i think... mmmmmm she is frommmm South mmmm America
Youtube Video -
is he ?
Youtube Video -
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Original clip. This one woman, obviously undereducated, didn't know much about geography, but the kids knew it.
The US does indeed have a poor educational system, but this clip doesn't reflect it as much as showing how some people will be willfully ignorant. I think it has more to do with filling your head with nonsense, rather than knowing something about the world. Some people have little curiosity about anything outside their neighborhood, it seems. I don't understand it. Since I was a kid I loved maps and stories about far away places. Jay Leno's man-on-the-street segments are funnier.
Euros on the otherhand can't turn around without tripping on another country. It's definitely a different mindset.
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I'm told that if you want to see stupid British people live on tv then tune into "Big Brother"!
http://www.channel4.com/bigbrother/Personally I think it joins the rest of the tv soaps as "the opiate of the masses".
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This Bimbette was only ON The show in the first place because she is such an idiot. It makes for much better television to see some fluffhead look stupid in front of 50 million people and hope she wins $25K for charity. It's Entertainment! Why do you think that the "Jay Walking" segments on Leno are so funny? You notice they didn't ask Jeanne Kirkpactrick, or Madeline Albright to come on to play for their favorite charities.
It doens't reflect poorly on American Education . .but it doesn't say a whole lot for American Entertainment.
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@unknownuser said:
Why do you think that the "Jay Walking" segments on Leno are so funny?
Well, I find it surprising people don't know some things that seem quite common. It is just a surprise and that surprise is part of comedy. Then Jay leads them along and his expressions are funny. Sorry... I'm not ridiculing the people or putting them in a class etc. I'm sure he picks out the "best" ones. And the people are having fun talking to a celebrity.
As for what I think of American entertainment: I don't have a TV. I actually haven't seen that show for years.
But I do think education has been better. Especially here in California. You're right the TV segments don't prove anything on that score.
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My wife loves to watch Food Network. Some of the shows are entertaining but while walking past the TV tonight she was watching Iron Chef America. I kid you not, they did a slow motion "Instant Replay" of a guy scraping a piece of fish... Now where did I place my book?
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@unknownuser said:
I kid you not, they did a slow motion "Instant Replay" of a guy scraping a piece of fish.
I don't see what's wrong with that. He was just demonstrating the correct use of the Scale tool.
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I guess I would really be concerned if on "5Th Grader" the contestant dumps it on the first grade level and That person is a TEACHER.
Be afraid. . .be very afraid.
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I wouldnt name that stupidity....i would name it INDIFFERENCE...Why?
Maybe i'm not right but,for lot of time and still ,they think like this: If we are on a floating boat,everything is cool(so we dont care that Europe is a continent and France is in Europe not in Australia).
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