Thread: General knowledge

Hi Guys,

Having been born in 1980, I sit squarely with one testicle either side of the X and Y generational fence, if you believe in such dribble.

History as it was taught in schools when I was a nipper, basically centered around the "goodies" and the "badies", dumbed down to fit neatly into a 45 minute period (with room for stoppages) and so that the subject matter didn't get too full on for the little ones minds that it created more questions than answers, or at least the wrong questions, especially if you were schooled in the private catholic sector.

History was pretty much dropped from high school onwards (unless the student chose to pick it up) so if you didn't take an interest, you'd end up knowing nothing about anything that wasn't how to calculate the times table with a calculator. My "blue collar" (another tag I hate) parents picked up the slack with most things, but history just wasn't a subject we broached, just didn't spin any of our wheels, especially with me at the time.

History, and how it is presented (for want of a better word) is a bare bones affair in schools now days as it is just too complex a subject to really get into ether sides of the coin in any great detail, especially with the focus now days on "modular" and "vocational" based training and, IMHO, the political correctness now facing schools in this more multicultural society.

I admit, my knowledge about various political and social events that have occurred is minimal at best, and what I do know is based either on looking it up myself or "soundbites" from various media sources. Out of this I have formed my own "take" on historical and current events, mostly wrong as I vary rarely have all the facts, or the research matter was incorrect (Wikapeadia has a lot to answer for).

I believe this is what most of the "kiddies" are now presented with in schools, which I think speaks volumes about society as a whole inclusive of educators, parents, community leaders and the students themselves.

Originally Posted by clean32

"Goebbels, who devised the modern propaganda machine" as still used today

"been semi-respectable racial theories. " much of which is proven correct and in use today.

The modern propaganda machine has gone far beyond Goebbels, although I doubt it is any more effective. But it is much more widely used.

The racial theories that Aryan supremacy were based on have been utterly debunked. I don't know what you are referring to, but as far as I know the last support of them collapsed with the revelation of Eysenck's fake data.

Any resurgence of them is unlikely today with the increased understanding of genetics and the mechanism of human evolution.

John

All you need to know about the NAZI party:

Hitler has only got one ball,
Göring has two but very small,
Himmler is somewhat sim'lar,
But poor Goebbels has no balls at all.

Originally Posted by JDNSW

The modern propaganda machine has gone far beyond Goebbels, although I doubt it is any more effective. But it is much more widely used.

The racial theories that Aryan supremacy were based on have been utterly debunked. I don't know what you are referring to, but as far as I know the last support of them collapsed with the revelation of Eysenck's fake data.

Any resurgence of them is unlikely today with the increased understanding of genetics and the mechanism of human evolution.

John

ops my bad, i read it as radical and had my head on economics. as in the radical ( for the times) economic policy. into days parlance "simulate".

there racial polices Yes a load of balderdash. how ever at that said at that time nationality was still a newish form, there was still more thinking along race lines or religious lines than national boundaries. for example the Rhineland and Hitlers reasons for annexing the german speaking Chechs. even today with Georgia and recently yugoslavia. its a hard topic to fathom if you grew up in australia but europe is still divided this was in many respects.

Originally Posted by clean32

ops my bad, i read it as radical and had my head on economics. as in the radical ( for the times) economic policy. into days parlance "simulate"
..... ..... .... ..
.

I think you meant "stimulate".

I have a 9 year old boy that can answer almost any question relating to the history of our fair planet (especially its millitary history). He always has his nose in a book, I guess he inherited his insatiable thirst for knowledge from his dear old dad. The big difference between us is that he has access to a lot more books than I ever did.

He is a very clever little cookie but the downside is that he misses a lot of wonderful scenery from the backseat of the defender cause he is reading.

There is a lot of information out there, kids just need to be encouraged to access it and also to learn what information is reliable - what Aussie kids might learn about WWII will be different to what Japanese kids are tought.

The truth will always lie somewhere in between.

Originally Posted by rockyroad

Iwhat Aussie kids might learn about WWII will be different to what Japanese kids are tought.

The truth will always lie somewhere in between.

i can answer that, Japanese Kids are taught Nothing, they know nothing.

one of the lessons learnt from WW1 and the rise of hitler, the banishment of the Kizer from germany is the reason why the emporia of Japan was not removed or persecuted. and most of the history hidden ( out of embarrassment) That is also why the emporia has never apologized for the Pacific war, because no one in japan would know what he was talking about, as well as the americans removing him or white washing his involvement.

What I have learnt from all this is that bad spelling comes from people of all ages.

I am not a history buff but wish I knew more, especially after watching The Quiet American. Opened my eyes to how much I didn't know about a topic that was mentioned pretty often when I grew up.

However it will always be the case that one generation has little interest in what happened a couple of generations ago. I was born mid 6o's and know a few WWII stories but very little about WWI and don't even know who fought the Crimean. I don't think it makes me a moron nor prevents me being a productive member of society.

But I reckon everything I know came from fiction books and movies with the odd history channel show.