The worst is when people feel they have some kind of monopoly on information

I posted this on a movie board when some asshat was touting his BA. (yay)

Anyway, it annoys me when people feel they have a monopoly on information
on the basis they are "experts" (as if people can not do their own research and come to their own conclusions). It can even be dangerous some times.

Of course some people really are experts in their fields. But there are those who feel, wrongfully in my opinion, they have some monopoly on the knowledge for various reasons.

The worst is when so called "experts" feel they are in full control of any given information due to their "extensive" background and shut others out because they "lack" any formal education, as if that is the only way to gain knowledge. This is Information that can easily be obtained via libraries, book stores and amazon.com for cheap or even FREE instead of throwing away thousands and getting the same thing others get for free, which is knowledge. Fact of the matter is, especially in regards to liberal arts and social sciences like sociology or psych, I have met, before, better read individuals who were highschool drop outs than people who had BAs or even MAs. Not impressed with a BA many times, it can mean very little (means more in STEM subjects IMO). Your BA just means you spent a few thousand (or tens of thousands) on a UNI degree. (I went to UNI myself and got a degree now realize what a scam it is in the USA - could have just borrowed the same exact books at a library for free or purchased off of amazon cheap).

Though, society places so much importance on degrees, you kind of need one these days...though I feel I learned nothing I could not have learned at a library.

 

I know the feeling. It's especially prevalent on the internet (duh). There's always some know it all trying to make people look like an idiot for no reason except to validate their own sense of self worth. It may come as a surprise to some, but most of us have the same access to information as everybody else. I read in a philosophy book about how the united states has a love/hate relationship with knowledge. On one hand, we won't believe a piece of information unless someone says it that we deem well versed in said field. Unless it's inconvenient to what one is trying to prove and then they say something like "what do you know you egghead? The details are too subtle for you academic types to grasp".

 

"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge" ~Stephen W. Hawking

 

Know-it-alls are definitely the most pleasant kind of people to be around.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuWhgyGWkgE"]The Bullwinkle Show "Mr. Know-It All" - YouTube





Hotwater

 

^^^Hey but that Mr. know-it-all DID know it all! :2thumbsup:

 

I never heard of that show before, but it was very watchable.

 

They're also a lot of fun at parties. I especially love it when they tell you that a matter of opinion is wrong.

 

Those were my generations cartoons, When I was a kid we watched the Rocky and Bullwinkle show every day.
Here's another regular feature on R&B
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C4xH216IBo"]Fractured Fairy Tales - Ridinghoods Anonymous - YouTube

 

The sure made some quality stuff back then. I'll YouTube some more of them, fo shizzle. :2thumbsup:

 

knowledge is a fundamental human right, which formal education rations with a teaspoon.

 

......:2thumbsup:



Cheers Glen.

 

tnx. cheers.

 

I think the American bachelor's system does need overhauling. In Britain, people do professional degrees from 18 to 22 or so. In some ways, your bachelors are equivalent to our school A levels or Baccalaureate. So its expensive, timeconsuming and doesn't give you a lot of benefits afterwards.

However, knowledge isnt/shouldnt just be about devouring a few books. It should also be about learning skills, and applying that knowledge. Also, a syllabus lets you take a body of knowledge and hone in on whats important.

Some people have a load of knowledge but its worthless. They're like Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man (without the casino jackpots).

So I think there are 2 sides to the argument, and truth is somewhere in the middle.