You haven’t experienced The Odyssey until you’ve read it in its original Klingon.
Fucking Liam
To be fair, the only people left on Xitter are idiots
The world is awash in morons and they aren’t localized to that venue, although by way of it’s very structure, it’s a venue that strongly attracts people incapable of holding two thoughts at the same time.
As G Carlin would have said, think how stupid the average person is and realize 50% are stupider than that. This is the world we live in - where the trivial thoughts emerging from society’s dreck take have equal stage and prominence to expertise and wisdom
I have to admit that I have not read the Illias or the Odyssey in school, either. We were made read books in school intendet to make children shy away from books, so they won’t touch any of them after school ever again.
Luckily I had read loads of good books by that time, so I knew that only a few are as horrible as the ones they made us read in school.
It does feel a lot like that, doesn’t it? Why else would the Bronte sisters be on the curriculum if not to snuff out any interest in literature?
It could be worse. We read Brecht and Kafka. Several works of them. I’ve never encountered worse waste of paper and ink than those idiots. And the rest was not much better.
Just because it was wasted on you doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea, Kafka’s short stories especially (Die Verwandlung, Ein Landarzt etc) are accessible for teenagers and a good gateway drug to get interested in other things. Which is really important for kids that don’t have natural access to literature at home.
Sorry, but I experienced “Die Verwandlung” as written diarrhea of a person with severe mental problems. “Der Prozess” didn’t improve my opition of him, either.
Well, lead a horse to water etc, doesn’t mean we should stop making teens read books in school they wouldn’t be exposed to otherwise. At least now you have both read and formed an opinion on two of the most influential and well regarded works of world literature. (And hopefully they also made you read a lot of other literature in diverse styles and genres.)
The problem is not about “reading books they would not read otherwise”. Sadly, many, if not most, kids don’t get exposed to books anymore except in school. And then they are confronted with unlikable stuff that makes them shy away from ever touching a book again.
I still hope that one day the people who decide what children and teens should read in school get their elitist heads out of their asses and actually try to get kids to read because they enjoy reading a book. Problem is that most people in that area seem to hate books that actually sell in the shops because people like to read them. Like I said about Reich-Ranizky once: he would not notice a good book if it bit him.
So the obvious solution is they should read more books, more varied stuff, not less. Popular, niche, basic, normative, weird, etc.
Of course, your assumption that all teens hate Kafka just because you do is demonstrably false. The assumption that books sell simply because they are actually better and more enjoyable to read is also false, there are a lot of other factors at play.
The kids that enjoy reading will find what is pushed in the book shops anyway, but kids from working class homes will never be exposed to anything else - and therefore have no chance to decide if they like it or not.
Only boring kids would find Wuthering Heights & Jane Eyre boring. Both books would be excellent choices in any curriculum. If you wanna talk boring early 19th century authors, Jane Austen is the name you’re looking for.
I found Wuthering Heights more miserable than boring.
the illias and the odyssey are ancient greek literature, I don’t think they’re that fun to read.
But, you still should be taught about their existence in history.
They were more fun to read than the sh-t the forced down our throats in school. At least Homer knew how to write a story.
There are basic versions of these stories with big drawings, mostly made for kids. Basically manga. When i was a kid(in Greece), 35 years ago, i had this
https://www.stratikis.gr/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/iliada-nea.jpg
This is Iliad and it was cooler than Odyssey. Badass dudes with almost divine powers fighting other dudes and entire armies on their own, while Gods are taking sides and fucking things up. Isnt that shonen.
Odyssey’s ending was cool though, even if it was a bit sad.
I first read the classic translation by Schwab when I was ten or eleven.
The Illiad and the Odyssey are classics and hardly American culture. They are western culture as a whole. No idea what the drama is about but some dude not knowing what the Odyssey is, is the same as not knowing any other classic. (There are too many to count, but not knowing the most popular ones are is like not knowing the titanic sank.) (Spoilers)
That’s the joke.
instead we studied useful things
Have you ever seen any British television quiz game shows? The amount of world geography and history most contestants seem to know is abismal, makes me scratch my head and seriously wonder what many of these people are doing there, in a game show about knowledge. What are they even doing there, in the delusion that they have a shot.
“What is the capital of Denmark?”
“Erm… pass.”This person’s comment is just another drop in the bucket in the sorry state of things.
I never got into geography, tbh. It’s not actually that useful for anything.
How would you know if you never got into it? Sounds ignorant to me
Thats fair, but it’s not even used for chartering and navigating, so what is it good for?
To clarify, though, when I say “geography” I’m referring to borders for countries, states, and counties on a large scale. Things like USGS terrain data and coordinate grids aren’t included.
Geography is very broad. See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography
yes it is. you learn how the world works. what gets exported from where. where the refugees come from and to, and why. what conflicts there are, where, and why.
Sounds pretty violent. I hear about refugees pretty well without it, personally. As an analogy, not everyone needs to be a meteorologist to know the weather.
yes, you dont need to know about the history of the weather and why it happens to understand that it will be raining tomorrow. But, i think it’s kinda relevant to know how and why to understand what side of a conflict to support.
geography also helps you understand the claims politicians make and to see if they’re bs
The actual physical location, which side of an imaginary line a person was born on, should absolutely mean fuck all when deciding who to side with.
Only what each side intends to do and is capable of doing, to minimize all possible harm and loss.
that’s… what I said? geography helps you understand what each side intends to do and is capable of doing.
geography ≠ topography
Lmao no
because your many years of experience with the subject geography have taught you that geography is topography?
In my geography class, we were taught about how weather and climate happens. Geography has as much influence on it as physics. So whenever someone points out why it is so cold if there is global warming, I teach them that warming temperatures fuels warm high pressure areas, which pushes out colder low pressure area. For example, if the American East Coast is experiencing extremely cold temperatures, the other side of the Atlantic would be experiencing warmer but rainy intense storms because the high pressure area is pushing the colder low pressure area to the US East Coast. As you can see, extreme weathers will only get worse because of climate change as the world gets warmer.
But I think the most practical everyday geography knowledge for people is knowing why the taste of tap water sucks. Just know that areas with limestone bedrocks have water that taste better. Limestone is full of calcium and other minerals, and filters groundwater quite well unlike in areas that have igneous rocks such as basalt or granite.
I don’t want to sound like I’m pontificating but I believe it’s important to have as much general knowledge as possible because you never know when those knowledge might have practical utility one day. You don’t have to memorise all the knowledge you learn, but it’s good if you can keep them at the back of your mind in case they are needed one day. But on the one hand, yeah there are more immediate practical concerns that requires more specific knowledge. Knowing about Jupiter will not fix a pipe leak in your kitchen. It’s about having the balance and knowing when to use seemingly useless knowledge, and what knowledge you need to use for more practical cases. Overall though, it’s better to have broad knowledge as it makes you more impervious to misinformation.
Well I learned about the atmosphere and ozone in science and chemistry classes and I learned math in Physics, and Meteorology should be a completely distinct subject from just naming municipal districts on a map.
geography also teaches you how the weather affects the earth via erosion, which lets you predict if it’s a good idea to build a house somewhere (not really relevant in 2034 though)
also, you’re confusing geography with topography
America is supposed to be like far cry 5 without the violence and like need for speed payback. And like new dawn without the violence in the spring. But also like playing cabela’s big game hunter, certain areas were kind of empty house and road wise. Meaning we raced hatchback cars/suvs on dirt roads, just flipping them wasn’t wanted so there was heavy metal in the bottoms or trunks and roll cages. If you get to Detroit then it’s like need for speed underground 2 and or midnight club mixed with max payne and four brothers.
Otherwise it was just amusement parks, coney islands and zoos or sea world and beaches, with fast food restaurants not called Mc Donald’s but it came to exist and places like Detroit came to exist. Detroit wasn’t that bad it was gangster as fuck though, fur coats, gold diamond jewelry, guns, cocaine, Escalades, of course there was pot, it’s like pot was legal back in the early 2000s and 90s then outlawed in 2007 then decriminalized in 2008 in Michigan, maybe because of dispensaries.
Head shops probably sold weed and other substances back then. Cocaine was and pharmaceuticals were widely used, Detroit or Detroit area was were pharmaceuticals were manufactured. It’s like medical marijuana was to get dispensaries back in Michigan and then they were specifically banned in the medical marijuana bill that was voted on, but pot was decriminalized so we didn’t get the legalization thing. This all just went on with local drug enforcement through the Westland police department. Because they were disease killed by them like wow cable.
It was like a more realistic version of Houston Texas rap music. All those guys did was buy gold and that’s why they had big chains. It was just like the show American Pawn. Detroit was just scary to think about like SUVs pulling up on the side of you with Al 47s and jackin or kidnapping you, like being robbed or killed at any time. This is why communication didn’t always go on at all. There were certain businesses people went to and tv existed or they went through tv commercials or the radio or road billboards, flyers, and people supported them or had a reason of going there instead of starting a business or making their own.
Detroit was entirely a western tavern or town where you would carry a pistol or two. And most of Detroit watched television during Kwame, Kwame was still here before he was mayor. I just go with the flow we all kind of got separated by diseases 20 years ago as self employed or sole proprietor Detroit.
Just cocaine dealers stayed in the winter or no one went many places so cocaine was more noticed or shoot outs over it back in 2003. It’s why it’s good to always give someone a free ounce or kilo to start selling and or using, or a front, fronting is repeat business but becomes like credit card debt without interest and you get used like slaves or as sellers or promoters/workers. But everyone needed some type of base salary to spend like ten or twelve grand a year or 25, people sitting or standing scare other incidents from taking place same with law enforcement. Yes everyone knew and cocaine was like legal or illegal and certain trials or chases went on. Men didn’t really go near each other or near dictators or they were doing business. If it’s not friendship one guys probably a porn producer or pimp. There’s definitely a big after market economy in Detroit, especially with automobiles.
Diamonds were but weren’t valuable, they were a more risky investment but yes they’re desirable and bought as earrings and things or even as bullion. This is why we didn’t constantly synthesize them. Custom jewelry work was just as much as custom anything work and resale value can fluctuate if you can even find a buyer, I didn’t buy chains back or I might melt them down. But molds got saved, no ones supposed to grow broke and some inflation did go on, so only drug dealers and sole proprietors kind of had money in places like Houston. Most sole proprietors were also drug dealers/sellers or buyers.
The world doesn’t revolve around America, but you’ll see idiots in Bumbfuck, Romania talking about Soros and wokeism. It’s got to be exhausting.
I find that people get more ticked off about the woke in non American countries even if it really doesn’t involve them (it should) but even then they increase their hostility because of it
Soros is a Hungarian Jew who survived the Holocaust and moved to America afterwards btw, so when someone from the Balkans is complaining about him it’s not ignorance, it means something very specific.
Still exhausting!
“The Jews are trying to replace us.” ?
Orban / the party in charge were saying Soros was using his money and power to flood Romania with immigrants.
Even more of a Nazi dog whistle than when the American right does it? I guess that would make it a Nazi Air Horn
More that it’s not just an idiot complaining about things supposedly happening in a different country.
As an American, I am going to dine on this single example as if it disproves the idea that we are insular and provincial hicks for the next decade.
nah, it just proves that brits are as stupid as you are, which is, tbh, is not a surprise /s
The /s is unnecessary, I can assure you we are stupid and nobody should be surprised.
it’s /s because someone could’ve implied that i consider americans and brits as the winners in this competition, when in fact, the only competition they’re winning is the one for the most villanous politic actions. USA is a leaéer here at the first glance, but brits literally created USA, so that kinda makes all of the USA villainy into a subset of the british one
edit: i was wrong, the best villains are the french, bc William the Conquerror is the reason brits exist, and therefore also the reason usa does
No country has a monopoly on villainy
i’m not saying they have, i’m entertaining the idea of this trio’s leadership in it in terms of quantity
We had Brexit. We can’t say nothing.
As a layman, i believe you have a stronger private school presence, which tend to specialize in order to differentiate. But I might be wrong because I have limited information on the topic of British education.
We have a strong private school presence, yes. Trouble is it leads to privilege and people get on in life not cause they’re clever, but cause they wear the right school tie.
People often choose the easier path, which in this case means choosing status over knowledge.
Certainly stashing it away in the ammo belt.
Just play “Age of Mythology”. Duh.
Most cultured Brit
Reminds me of this: https://www.tiktok.com/@emanrtm/video/7348507560032439585?lang=en
The problem is, I have this big bag of stones in my glass house, and I want to throw them at the UK for being dumb, but if I do, I also have to admit the US education system is trash.
Both can be true. We can be trash in different ways!
I can do both. I’m ot gonna let some backwater pit like the UK insult my home, especially since the UK is essentially completely dependent on the US at this point.
I’ll throw that stone for you
The British education system is almost as bad as the American education system. The biggest difference between our cultures is that a lot of Americans are willing to point out how incredibly racist our country is
So much broken glass, was it worth it? Now I have to go get the broom.
The amazing part is you somehow broke France and the Netherland’s glass too? Just so much to clean up.
It’s not just slavery minimization. A lot of far right Americans have taken over local school boards to ban books that talk about gay people existing or the fact that sex is something that happens, among other nefarious purposes. And a religious organization in Texas writes pretty much all the textbooks used across the country. It can’t be this bad in the UK can it?
I mean, I have no qualms with recognizing the US education system is garbage… It gives me more fire to try to improve it.
Its not even that great of a mini van. You can get better for cheaper!
The Honda Odyssey fucks hard
Like that Kia, right?
$10 says the dipshit in question did a frantic google, saw ‘ulysses’ and went james joyce.
Still not American though
Getting closer at least
…the US is not closer to the UK than Ireland though…
