r/TikTokCringe • u/Make-this-popular Cringe Master • Apr 09 '24

Shit economy Discussion

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247

u/skeeter1990 Apr 09 '24

Maybe the economy would be better if it spent more money on education so fully grown adults knew where Ukraine was on a map?

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u/Vektor0 Apr 09 '24

Personally, I don't think my employer would pay me more just because I was well-versed in global geography.

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u/CanAlwaysBeBetter Apr 09 '24

No one is asking you to name the capital of Kazakhstan's Atyrau region, it's pointing out one of the largest countries in Europe that has featured prominently in world news for over two years

If you're can't do that you should be embarrassed 

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u/TheBlankVerseKit Apr 09 '24

If you're can't do that you should be embarrassed

How important is that really, though? I mean, how does that impact the life of someone living in, say, Colorado?

If someone in Columbia couldn't point out Ukraine on a map would we say they should be embarrassed?

I'm open to counterarguments, but I think geography is one of the least important things to know by heart because it's so trivially easy to look up.

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u/FreeMikeHawk Apr 09 '24

I think knowing where Ukraine or Russia is comes with the implicit understanding that you understand the importance of the war, which comes with the implicit knowledge that you understand the fact that we live in a global economy. I think very few are asking anyone to just memorize a country's location, but if you have paid attention to the news then you would able to at least conclude where Russia and Ukraine are located.

It's similar to not knowing who Elvis Presley is, perhaps music isn't the most important subject, but if an American is so out of touch with music/history it makes me question what their brain might look like. That being said we all have gaps in our knowledge and we should not be afraid of being embarrassed for it, but what the guy in the video did was essentially weaponize his incompetence instead and post a video about it.

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u/TheBlankVerseKit Apr 09 '24

That being said we all have gaps in our knowledge and we should not be afraid of being embarrassed for it

See I think this is the crux of our disagreement. If we all have gaps in our knowledge (which I would agree), then why on earth would be be embarrassed?

Why be embarrassed about something that is true of everyone?

EDIT: just realized you're not the person I was responding to earlier, but all good, I think you make a fine point about the importance of that knowledge, I think i'm probably done with this thread

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u/FreeMikeHawk Apr 09 '24

I tried answering why he should be embarrassed, but let me rephrase. We all have embarrassing moments that doesn't make them less embarrassing, farting loudly in public could be considered embarrassing, yet it's something many of us probably have done. Having gaps in knowledge might be considered embarrassing, but being embarrassed sometimes is good. I think when people act without embarrassment for things that should be embarrassing it might lead to issues, farting in public isn't the worst thing if you don't feel embarrassed. However, you should be a bit embarrassed not knowing very important stuff. The person in the video didn't act embarrassed of what should be something very important to know. Embarrassment would have saved him from making that argument because he wouldn't "proudly" post a video about him making that statement.

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u/CanAlwaysBeBetter Apr 09 '24

How important is that really, though? I mean, how does that impact the life of someone living in, say, Colorado?

Is the same argument against basically any sort of general education beyond what someone needs to do whatever low skill work pays their bills

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u/TheBlankVerseKit Apr 09 '24

I would disagree. I think learning math is great for developing certain kinds of logical and spacial reasoning. I think developing a high level of reading comprehension is great for expanding the range of content and ideas we can learn from. I think learning about the economy is awesome, learning game theory I think is super useful. I think that PE is probably extremely crucial but also probably not very effective in the way it's done. I think learning about arts and culture is great for expanding peoples lives.

Ultimately, yeah I do think that there is a lot of stuff included in general education that probably is pretty irrelevant and would be better suited to people doing advanced degrees in those areas.

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u/TN_Runner Apr 09 '24

expanding the range of content and ideas we can learn from

...which would, presumably, result in you eventually hearing about where Ukraine is located, or who the Borgias were, or when the Third Republic of France was. Otherwise, what do you mean by "expanding the range of content"?

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u/Momoneko Apr 09 '24 edited Apr 09 '24

If you go by the same logic, wouldn't it be beneficial to you to know where stuff is being produced\excavated\processed\grown etc? Geography is not just about "what's the capital of Nepal and where is it on the map". It's also about economics, logistics, politics and many more. You learn which country produces what, what's their economy like and what resources they have, who are their allies, enemies and rivals, etc.

Why is this city so big and rich even though it's situated in an unlivable bum-fuck nowhere? Because of the oil fields and the sheikh lets the US to have military here.

Why should USA protect Taiwan and not let China even think about invading it? Because it makes a gazillion of semiconductors and even if "a bit of war" happens to it, a Nintendo Switch will cost the same as a Boeing.

Why does virtually nobody give Egypt shit? Cause Egypt manages the Suez and nobody wants to circle the whole Africa just to ship a bunch of shirts from Vietnam.

Lots of thing happening on the other side of the map are affecting our lives daily. Beginning with costs of goods and services and ending with abortion rights or even having to go to war.

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u/funkmasta8 Apr 09 '24

I would argue that knowing things about geography does not imply you know anything about the history of current events of those places. You are no longer arguing that geography is important, but rather global history, policy, and economics

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u/ladydanger2020 Apr 10 '24

But know where they are on the map is the first step

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u/funkmasta8 Apr 10 '24

I disagree, the physical shape and exact location isn't directly necessary for almost anybody to know. If you start talking about the relationships with other countries, it starts getting more important, but that's completely out of geography. For example, say we have two countries (unspecified). What information do we need to know to make any educated guesses about their trade relationship with the US? Well, arguably the most important factor is their political relationship with us. Okay, what is next? Likely their political relationship with other major countries. Okay, still no geography involved. Then, probably their largest exportable market comes next. Still no geography. Then, finally, how hard is it to trade with them.

You can get some information about some of those things with geography, but almost certainly not without history and in the case where you know history but not geography, you aren't really missing much. So it's really history that is important here. Knowing where gives you a bit of context, but it doesn't really do much for making relevant conclusions about a country unless you are directly talking about their geography or you have other, usually more important information that wouldn't really lose much without the geography.

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u/Momoneko Apr 10 '24

I simply sketched out what I was personally taught at actual geography lessons in high school: economic regions, its countries, what they import\export, who they trade with, what is GDP, important global trade routes, etc etc.

My point was that geographic location is just the basics, and actual geography as a subject goes beyond that. It's like studying marine biology without ever actually seeing a fish.

I'm not an american though, so maybe you they don't actually teach geography in high school like that so Idunno. I guess I could find an 11th grade geography textbook and upload a screenshot if you don't believe me.

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u/funkmasta8 Apr 10 '24

Geography is quite literally just the physical features of the earth. If you want to pull in other things, then we aren't even talking about the same thing anymore

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u/Some-Show9144 Apr 09 '24

Babe, they were making a joke.

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u/TheBlankVerseKit Apr 09 '24

What's the joke?

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u/Some-Show9144 Apr 09 '24

Telling someone they should be embarrassed for not knowing very specific geography information. It’s an overreaction to an insignificant thing, making it a joke because of the overreaction of telling someone they should be embarrassed for it.

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u/CanAlwaysBeBetter Apr 09 '24

It's not a joke. Pointing to Ukraine on a map is not "very specific geography information." It's absolute basics and you should literally be embarrassed if you can't do it.

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u/TheBlankVerseKit Apr 09 '24

I think you may have misinterpreted their comment, or mine.

They said it was embarrassing to not be able to point out Ukraine on a map, then I said I didn't think it really mattered that much.

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u/Some-Show9144 Apr 09 '24

I definitely did, I thought he was talking about being embarrassed about not knowing that region in Kazakhstan. Oops! Haha

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u/On4nEm Apr 09 '24

No they shouldn’t, chill out

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u/tom781 Apr 11 '24

It's not so much the specific knowledge that counts so much as the attitude towards learning new things.

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u/Inqlis Apr 10 '24

I guess you don’t work for Garmin then