Sometimes you forget

Sometimes you forget that the guys here aren't very well educated, especially the ones who speak English pretty well. You see these guys, and they're obviously intelligent, but they sometimes don't know the things you would naturally assume they would.

Disregarding the language barrier, which can be gotten around amazingly well with pantomime quite often, their basic knowledge of the world outside their immediate experience is woefully lacking.

For example today we were lamenting the heat (actually, the Iraqi guys were. I'm actively trying not to complain about it too much.) As often does, the topic turned to my home, which is just barely north of the 45th Parallel. This concept took a little show and tell to communicate, but was basically communicable with little problem.

But the basic idea of climate differing by latitude seemed not to make much sense. This is something that is a basic education issue in the Western world, but isn't apparently mentioned in the Koran (the perfect book, and the source of all necessary knowledge, for some.)

Notwhithstanding all the caveats on how many people still believe in fallacies and superstition, and can't predict basic physical principles in action, there is definitely something to be said for our Western worldview that encourages curiosity and cause-and-effect thinking. Western education may be on the decline, but it still handily beats most of the alternatives.

Tag: Patriot's Journey (with JimK, Scott, Lil, Doug, Moorewatch and our fearless leader Drumwaster)