General Ignorance
Nothing terrifies
me more than the collective ignorance of the general public – and this is
seldom more evident than during a mainstream television game show. A particular
favourite of mine is the National Lottery’s ‘In it To Win it’: a programme that
is best watched from behind your fingers.
I didn't have much of an opinion on Dale Winton until I watched him present it. Now he has my utmost respect; the patience he displays when confronted by the dregs of the population is nothing short of astounding.
A few months ago he asked a contestant “Which famous ‘Buzz’ was part of the crew of the 1969 moon-landing?”. The woman looked blankly at him and answered “Buzz Lightyear.”
It was the dismissive shrug she gave when Winton told her it was Buzz Aldrin that upset me most; she might as well have said “Why the Hell should I know that?”
A typical excuse that’s often given is “That was before my time”. That’s bullshit. The dinosaurs were extinct millions of years before the first human walked the planet – but that doesn’t stop us from knowing they existed. You also needn’t have been alive at the same time as Jesus, Shakespeare or Gandhi to know the basics.
If you were only aware of the events that occurred after your birth date you’d be a danger to society.
This level of ignorance may seem unimportant, but it does have frightening implications. In 2004, Blenheim Palace ran a survey of 2000 members of the British public in which 11% believed that Adolf Hitler was a fictional character. On top of this 33% thought Mussolini had never existed, 32% thought the Cold War never took place – and 6% believed the Martian invasion of HG Wells’ The War of the Worlds was based on a true story.
How can people confuse the facts of living memory with fiction?
My favourite lapse of knowledge took place on BBC1’s Pointless (and has been referenced in Doggett & Ephgrave's stand-up in the past). In a picture survey of a hundred people over a hundred seconds, eleven people couldn't correctly identify this planet:
I didn't have much of an opinion on Dale Winton until I watched him present it. Now he has my utmost respect; the patience he displays when confronted by the dregs of the population is nothing short of astounding.
A few months ago he asked a contestant “Which famous ‘Buzz’ was part of the crew of the 1969 moon-landing?”. The woman looked blankly at him and answered “Buzz Lightyear.”
It was the dismissive shrug she gave when Winton told her it was Buzz Aldrin that upset me most; she might as well have said “Why the Hell should I know that?”
A typical excuse that’s often given is “That was before my time”. That’s bullshit. The dinosaurs were extinct millions of years before the first human walked the planet – but that doesn’t stop us from knowing they existed. You also needn’t have been alive at the same time as Jesus, Shakespeare or Gandhi to know the basics.
If you were only aware of the events that occurred after your birth date you’d be a danger to society.
This level of ignorance may seem unimportant, but it does have frightening implications. In 2004, Blenheim Palace ran a survey of 2000 members of the British public in which 11% believed that Adolf Hitler was a fictional character. On top of this 33% thought Mussolini had never existed, 32% thought the Cold War never took place – and 6% believed the Martian invasion of HG Wells’ The War of the Worlds was based on a true story.
How can people confuse the facts of living memory with fiction?
My favourite lapse of knowledge took place on BBC1’s Pointless (and has been referenced in Doggett & Ephgrave's stand-up in the past). In a picture survey of a hundred people over a hundred seconds, eleven people couldn't correctly identify this planet:
Let’s face the
facts: WE’RE SCREWED.
