Why we have dummies in the charge of our country and,

[Christiern]

What it took to get an 8th grade education in 1895...

Remember when grandparents and great-grandparents stated that they only had an 8th grade education?

Well, check this out. Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in 1895? How about right now?

This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina,Kansas,USA. It was taken from the original document

on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library inSalina, and reprinted by the Salina Journal.

8TH GRADE FINAL EXAM:SALINA,KS- 1895

GRAMMAR (TIME: one hour)

1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.

2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications.

3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph

4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of "lie,""play," and "run."

5. Define case; illustrate each case.

6 What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.

7 - 10... Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

ARITHMETIC (TIME: 1 hour 15 minutes)

1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.

2. A wagon box is 2 ft. Deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. Wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?

3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs. For tare?

4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?

5. Find the cost of 6,720 lbs. Coal at $6.00 per ton.

6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.

7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. Long at $20 per metre?

8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.

9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?

10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt

U.S.HISTORY (TIME: 45 minutes)

1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided

2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus

3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.

4. Show the territorial growth of the United States

5. Tell what you can of the history ofKansas.

6. Describe three of the most prominent battles attles of the Rebellion.

7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, and Howe?

8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.

ORTHOGRAPHY (TIME: one hour) (Do we even know what this is?)

1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication

2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?

3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals

4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u.' (HUH?)

5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions under each rule.

6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.

7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis-mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.

8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.

9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane , vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.

10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

GEOGRAPHY (TIME: one hour)

1 What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?

2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas?

3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?

4. Describe the mountains of North America

5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco.

6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of theU.S.

7. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.

8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?

9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.

10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.

Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete.

Gives the saying "he only had an 8th grade education" a whole new meaning, doesn't it?!

BTW, the above is courtesy of Mr. D'Imperio.

[GA Russell]

Chris, I have admiration for the schools which gave their students a good education. But I wonder two things:

1) With the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act, there has been a great deal of talk about "teaching to the test". I wonder if the schools of the 1890s did the same thing.

2) I wonder what percentage of the American population of 1895 could pass that exam.

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

Yeah, and back then every one of those kids knew how to shoot too! And what? No religion portion? I highly doubt that. Chris, did you cherry pick this thing? Ask 'Wingy' for the full version. ...and since he's a resident of NY, see if he can't also dig up for us an equivalent 2006 version from a public school -- preferably one where Columbus is vilified and called a murderous scoundrel.

[BERIGAN]

Winehouse is British.....so they must accept some blame as well....

I think I first saw this email about 5 years ago...If it's true, we are mighty dumb these days.

[Guy Berger]

First, there's no doubt that large parts of our country are woefully uneducated.

That said, I think you can't judge the past relative to the present using this test unless you know comparative test scores and have comparable testee populations.

Guy

[BERIGAN]

First, there's no doubt that large parts of our country are woefully uneducated.

That said, I think you can't judge the past relative to the present using this test unless you know comparative test scores and have comparable testee populations.

Guy

I know it's just circumstantial evidence, but listening to the cultural references in the pop songs of the 20's and 30's and comparing them to today....

I'd love to see 50 cent use lyrics like these!

He said my cerebellum was brilliant,

And my cerebrum far from N.G.,

I know he though a lotta

My medulla oblongata,

But he never said he loved me.

And France has some dopey folks right now as well....

Marion Cotillard's 9-11 Conspriacy(And moon landing!)

Edited March 2, 2008 by BERIGAN

[BERIGAN]

Well, it's a fake test...yet they show an 1870's teacher's certification test,and check out how hard that sucker was!!!! Fairly long, but interesting read....

http://www.snopes.com/language/document/1895exam.asp

Edited March 2, 2008 by BERIGAN

[patricia]

What it took to get an 8th grade education in 1895...

Remember when grandparents and great-grandparents stated that they only had an 8th grade education?

Well, check this out. Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in 1895? How about right now?

This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina,Kansas,USA. It was taken from the original document

on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library inSalina, and reprinted by the Salina Journal.

The test that Mr D'Imperio sent to you, Chris, was actually forwarded to him by me and originated with my youngest daughter, who sent it to me.

No matter. It's a test that most of us, including those who hold the reins of power, like Dubbya would fail.

It's interesting, I think, to note that many respected Canadian journalists did not graduate from highschool.

A few who are very well known here are Gordon Sinclair, [8th grade], Betty Kennedy, [8th grade] and Peter Jennings [yes, the late ABC anchorman, 10th grade].

When asked about their lack of formal education they all said that they left school because they had opportunities that they couldn't pass up.

All of them also said that they never stopped reading everything they could get their hands on.

All of them travelled, learned foreign languages, immersed themselves in other cultures and knew that their formal education was not the end of learning.

Contrast that with graduates of, oh I don't know, Harvard, Yale etc. who think that being in possession of a piece of paper that says they graduated from a prestigeous university means that they don't have to continue to learn.

Truly intelligent people know that formal education is just the beginning of their intellectual journey.

Edited March 3, 2008 by patricia

[patricia]

One thing that used to be done that doesn't seem to be done anymore is to hold a student back if they don't learn the material for the grade they are in, before advancing to the next one.

If I were to pick one of the most obvious faults in today's elementary and middle schools, it would be that it's not certain that a student has even basic skills when they graduate highschool.

Although there are many good arguments for social promotion, all of them forget that the purpose of education is primarily to teach skills needed for a modern world.

BTW, I thought that the note Erin attached to the test when she sent it to me was funny. She said, "If I had had to pass this test, I never would have advanced beyond 8th grade. Good Lord!!"

Edited March 2, 2008 by patricia

[Quincy]

Marion Cotillard's 9-11 Conspriacy(And moon landing!)

Okay, looks like I'm not going to be stalking her after all.

[patricia]

Marion Cotillard's 9-11 Conspriacy(And moon landing!)

Okay, looks like I'm not going to be stalking her after all.

Was that a sigh of relief I heard from Paris, or wherever Cotillard lives?

[Big Al]

8TH GRADE FINAL EXAM:SALINA,KS- 1895

GRAMMAR (TIME: one hour)

1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.

Firing interns, soliciting interns, soliciting money, hiding money, starting wars, hiding dead bodies, hiring attorney generals, firing attorney generals, and scheduling hair appointments aboard Air Farce One

2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications.

Whatever I say, goes. Ain't no modification needs to be made.

3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph

Why? Ornette got rid of that years ago.

4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of "lie,""play," and "run."

The principal part of a verb is the action, as evidenced by the following sentence: when I lie, I don't play around, and you better not run.

5. Define case; illustrate each case.

My lawyer says to take the Fifth. I shall illustrate that by ordering a fifth. A case of it.

6 What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.

Eye hav know eye dee ah what(?) yr talking uh bout.

7 - 10... Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

See number 5.

ARITHMETIC (TIME: 1 hour 15 minutes)

1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.

If I make more money, the government takes more money, and I get less in return. If I make less money, the government takes less money, and I get more in return. This is the Associative Principal, which states that if I associate with poor people, I'll get rich quick. (Rich Quick was a guy I knew, we went to different high schools together, he always said he would be wealthy)

2. A wagon box is 2 ft. Deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. Wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?

Nobody puts wheat inside a box, unless someone's found a new and more environmentally friendly way of securing those hops a lot faster than they did in the good old days, when you would just lock 'em up with the local drunks and let them all ferment together.

3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs. For tare?

Is the wheat fresh? How old is the wheat? Were there any mad cows grazing nearby? This question is entirely too vague, and my lawyer has advised me not to answer.

4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?

$50 per month??? Criminy, who the hell is THEIR lobbyist???

5. Find the cost of 6,720 lbs. Coal at $6.00 per ton.

Today? $20.16, but with the cost of oil, that goes up another $1/ton every day.

6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.

7 percent? Not interested.

7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. Long at $20 per metre?

Uh, this is Kansas, which is in AMERICA! We don't need no stinkin' metric system!

8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.

10 percent? Now you're talking! Who'd give discount on $300 bucks anyway? That's just asking to be audited! Forget it! I'm lawyering up again, and ordering another fifth. Would you like one?

9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?

Like, I don't dig squares man, y'know? If I wanted a farm, man, I'd like, want that farm to be filled with a whole lotta hip cats & chicks, you dig? I don't want no squares named Rod in my farm, man, like I'm not hop to that, dig?

10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt

I promise to write you a check as soon as I receive some money from Rich Quick.

U.S.HISTORY (TIME: 45 minutes)

1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided

BC: Before Clinton

AD: After Dubya

It doesn't get much more epochal than that.

2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus

Whose version, the tradionalists or the revisionists? Or the Injuns?

3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.

The war was over oil. The result was the Quakers.

4. Show the territorial growth of the United States

As of right now, Texas is still too damn big for its own good, and Louisiana is just too damn big period. We gotta cut it down so God can stuff all those poor uneducated bastards into Oklahoma.

5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas.

Kansas was created by evolution, which then evolved into a very nice creation.

6. Describe three of the most prominent battles attles of the Rebellion.

What the hell is a battle attle?

7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, and Howe?

The first offensive line for Notre Dame.

8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.

1607: birth of jazz when Buddy Bolden discovers the first Marsalis

1620: Louis Armstrong invents dixieland before dixie even has a land

1800: Birth of bebop

1849: Birth of hard bop

1865: Birth of Chris Albertson

ORTHOGRAPHY (TIME: one hour) (Do we even know what this is?)

1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication

Alphabet: a type of soup

Phonetic: communication through wires

Orthography: the study of teenage teeth

Etymology: the study of eating habits (as in, "what did you et today?")

Syllabication: c'mon, that's not even a real word

2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?

The school bell, which signifies the beginning and ending of class

The explosion, which signifies that lunch is ready

The sunburst, which signifies that a 6th grader has begun puberty with its first display of acne

The body slam, which is when a big fat kid gets on a see-saw and a little skinny guy get shot into space; conversely, it's when the little skinny guy is up in the air, and the big fat kid gets off, thus causing the little skinny kid to come crashing down thus causing his vertebrae to shatter and his spinal cord to become a permanent ground fixture.

3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals

Trigraph: three graphs, duh!

Subvocals: Florence Ballard and Mary whats-her-name come to mind, even though technically they haven't been born yet. Diana Ross will be with us forever, unfortunately.

Diphthong: such language!

Cognate letters: the letters that make up the spelling of your favorite liquor

Linguals: a type of pasta

4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u.' (HUH?)

Will u accept diamonds? They are a ghoul's beast fiend u know!

5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions under each rule.

Finale?

6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.

7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis-mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.

Bi: goes both ways

Dis-mis: see ya!

Pre: Coming right up!

Semi: 18-wheeler

Post: Rival to Kelloggs

Non: French for no

Inter: such language! I thought this was Kansas!

Mono: so much better than stereo!

Sup: I'm fine; sup with u?

8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.

I will "di" if I have to keep being "critical" about everything. This is adversely affecting my self-esteem. My lawyer has advised that I should have another drink.

9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane , vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.

It's a damn sight that Jerry Jones asked the city of Arlington to cite "eminent domain" to take away those people's homes so he could build his new Cowboys stadium site. I'm not going to feign knowledge: I haven't a fucking clue what fain and fane mean. I do know that the weather vane says Jerry Jones is extremely vain, and his actions against those people's homes makes the blood in my vein boil. I mean, he had the gall to raze those people's houses, just so he could raise up for himself a big Death-Star-lookin' stadium that blocks out the suns rays to everyone on the east side of the stadium.

10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

Enevoldsen. That's long enough for ten words, and nobody really knows how to pronounce it anyway!

GEOGRAPHY (TIME: one hour)

1. What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?

Weather. Whether.

2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas?

God did it.

3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?

Rivers are good for fishin, swimmin, gettin nekkid, gettin lucky, washin up, takin a dump, and drinkin water. Oceans are good because the river takes all that shit down to it.

4. Describe the mountains of North America

They're big, covered with snow, and people try in vein/vane/vain to ski them every spring break.

5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco.

They're all volcanoes. I think.

6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.

Has Las Vegas been invented yet?

7. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.

England, France, and a bunch of little countries no one cares about.

8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?

Because the Pacific is just so much hipper than those frosties on the east coast, man.

9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.

Osmosis, photosynthesis, and a whole lotta other words I haven't used since sophomore-year biology.

10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.

The earth in the sky goes round and round, round and round, round and round! The earth in the sky goes round and round, all on a Sunday morning. The earth is inclined to do whatever God says to do.

Alright, half hour and didn't even break a sweat. I'm going to bed.

Edited March 2, 2008 by Big Al

[patricia]

Big Al would have been the big gomer in the back row in 1895, who got big laughs for the answers on his final exam from all his buddies and, back then, would have repeated 8th grade.

Edited March 2, 2008 by patricia

[zen archer]

What it took to get an 8th grade education in 1895...

Remember when grandparents and great-grandparents stated that they only had an 8th grade education?

Well, check this out. Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in 1895? How about right now?

This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina,Kansas,USA. It was taken from the original document

on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library inSalina, and reprinted by the Salina Journal.

8TH GRADE FINAL EXAM:SALINA,KS- 1895

GRAMMAR (TIME: one hour)

1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.

2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications.

3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph

4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of "lie,""play," and "run."

5. Define case; illustrate each case.

6 What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.

7 - 10... Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

ARITHMETIC (TIME: 1 hour 15 minutes)

1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.

2. A wagon box is 2 ft. Deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. Wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?

3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs. For tare?

4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?

5. Find the cost of 6,720 lbs. Coal at $6.00 per ton.

6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.

7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. Long at $20 per metre?

8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.

9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?

10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt

U.S.HISTORY (TIME: 45 minutes)

1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided

2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus

3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.

4. Show the territorial growth of the United States

5. Tell what you can of the history ofKansas.

6. Describe three of the most prominent battles attles of the Rebellion.

7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, and Howe?

8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.

ORTHOGRAPHY (TIME: one hour) (Do we even know what this is?)

1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication

2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?

3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals

4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u.' (HUH?)

5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions under each rule.

6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.

7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis-mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.

8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.

9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane , vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.

10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

GEOGRAPHY (TIME: one hour)

1 What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?

2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas?

3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?

4. Describe the mountains of North America

5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco.

6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of theU.S.

7. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.

8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?

9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.

10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.

Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete.

Gives the saying "he only had an 8th grade education" a whole new meaning, doesn't it?!

BTW, the above is courtesy of Mr. D'Imperio.

The test that Mr D'Imperio sent to you, Chris, was actually forwarded to him by me and originated with my youngest daughter, who sent it to me.

No matter. It's a test that most of us, including those who hold the reins of power, like Dubbya would fail.

It's interesting, I think, to note that many respected Canadian journalists did not graduate from highschool.

A few who are very well known here are Gordon Sinclair, [8th grade], Betty Kennedy, [8th grade] and Peter Jennings [yes, the late ABC anchorman, 10th grade].

When asked about their lack of formal education they all said that they left school because they had opportunities that they couldn't pass up.

All of them also said that they never stopped reading everything they could get their hands on.

All of them travelled, learned foreign languages, immersed themselves in other cultures and knew that their formal education was not the end of learning.

Contrast that with graduates of, oh I don't know, Harvard, Yale etc. who think that being in possession of a piece of paper that says they graduated from a prestigeous university means that they don't have to continue to learn.

Truly intelligent people know that formal education is just the beginning of their intellectual journey.

"If one studies too zealously, one easily loses his pants." --Albert Einstein

[patricia]

"If one studies too zealously, one easily loses his pants." --Albert Einstein

Indeed.

One should avoid at all cost losing one's pants.

Edited March 2, 2008 by patricia

[Big Al]

Well then, y'all don't wanna know what I was wearing (or not wearing) when taking the test.

[papsrus]

I'm not so sure lack of education is the problem. There are lots of students today who don't care about education because they see it's not necessary. They can make (relatively) good money fixing cars, which might be what they like to do anyways. But the best students today are almost certainly more learned and more in number than the best students of a century ago. The increase in population and advance of knowledge alone would make it almost impossible for it to be otherwise.

We have wonderful universities stuffed full of bright young kids. ... A century ago, ??

I read this article over at Salon the other day, and it dovetails with my own sense that one of the big problems we have today is this: With the advance of knowledge and the wide availability of a broad range of information today, people become convinced of a certain thing and once they are, almost nothing will move them from viewing it with certainty. I see that in the recent discussion here of the Kennedy assassination, for example. ... (I make no claim either way).

As the author of the above-linked article outlines, the way in which we become convinced of something is not necessarily through a dispassionate assessment of the knowable facts. Far from it.

From the article:

... What does it mean to be convinced? This question might sound foolish. You study the evidence, weigh the pros and cons, and make a decision. If the evidence is strong enough, you are convinced there is no other reasonable answer. Your resulting sense of certainty feels like the only logical and justifiable conclusion to a conscious and deliberate line of reasoning.

But modern biology is pointing in a different direction. It is telling us that despite how certainty feels, it is neither a conscious choice nor even a thought process. Certainty and similar states of "knowing what we know" arise out of primary brain mechanisms that, like love or anger, function independently of rationality or reason. Feeling correct or certain isn't a deliberate conclusion or conscious choice. It is a mental sensation that happens to us.

The importance of being aware that certainty has involuntary neurological roots cannot be overstated. If science can shame us into questioning the nature of conviction, we might develop some degree of tolerance and an increased willingness to consider alternative ideas -- from opposing religious or scientific views to contrary opinions at the dinner table. ...

Whatever you might think of the article, it does offer one explanation of why we have so many people running around today convinced of everything from flying saucers to a 6,000-year-old earth. And why nobody really listens to opposing views once they become convinced of something.

And, to get back to the title of the thread, that is one of the strongest criticisms of the people running the country today and the source of many of our current problems. They are convinced they are right. They don't listen to anything that doesn't reinforce already-held views. It's the extremism of certainty.

(Of course, I'm not sure I'm convinced of any of this ... just thought I'd throw it out there ...)

Edited March 2, 2008 by papsrus

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

(Of course, I'm not sure I'm convinced of any of this ... just thought I'd throw it out there ...)

You're too balanced by half

MG

[papsrus]

(Of course, I'm not sure I'm convinced of any of this ... just thought I'd throw it out there ...)

You're too balanced by half

MG

Hah! ... You might be onto something there.