Is Not Knowing the Capital of Canada a Problem?

[Mudcat]

I'll tell you why it's important to know the name of Canada's capital city: I just put it on today's quiz as a 2-point bonus. Two students (out of 24) got it correct; both admitted to having seen this story in the news today.

So I should mindlessly absorb every bit of trivial bit of information I come across in the off chance that it might appear as a bonus question on a quiz? Sorry, but that don't fly with me.

Most popular answer? "Quebec"

Glad I wasn't the only one who thought this.

Weirdest answer? "Denmark"

I'll grant you geography isn't my strongest subject, but isn't Denmark a European nation?

Frankly a similar knowledge test should be done at, say, University of Toronto, asking students what the Capitol of the U.S.A and/or Mexico are. I expect the results would be better than those described in the O.P.

Considering the results reported in the original post are surely attempts at confirmation bias and poisoning the well, I'm sure you could if you only reported the favorable results.

 

[joesixpack]

Neither of those share a 4,000 mile long border with Canada (over 5,500 if you count the Alaskan border).

Also the capital of Belarus is Minsk. I honestly did know that one without checking. Ecuador is... yeah I don't know that one.

Yeah, Canada doesn't share a border with any nation of 1/10th her population and GDP. So there isn't really an similar question you can ask a Canadian.

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

By "there" I meant the seat of government.

Which is?

 

[theprestige]

Which is?

Toronto?

 

[joesixpack]

Which is?

Canada City?

 

[Mudcat]

Which is?

Africa?

 

[Fitter]

<snip>

I don't think anybody has a clue where in Canada the real Victoria Island is.

I spent two weeks there waiting for a propeller. It was during winter, I do not recommend the experience.

 

[The Shrike]

Mudcat, don't lose your sense of humor on this one.

 

[Mudcat]

Mudcat, don't lose your sense of humor on this one.

I'm not sure I ever had a sense of humor, to be honest.

 

[TjW]

You would be surprised how many people out west here call Vancouver Island, Victoria Island, likely because of B.C.'s capitol being on it.

I don't think anybody has a clue where in Canada the real Victoria Island is.

Of course not. That's Victoria's Secret.

 

[IMST]

I quote simply don't believe that educated citizens of the USA have never read a newspaper or seen a news broadcast on TV which names the capital of their neighbour Canada.

I live not too far from the US-Canada border over here on the west coast and visit with some regularity. I've always had a good time visiting and I make and effort to pay attention when news up there comes up. It's amazing how thoroughly Canada is ignored in the news here. There's a weekly feature on my local NPR station's midday show that I try to catch pretty frequently where a Canadian journalist (Vaughn Palmer of the Vancouver Sun) gives a basic primer in what's going on in the Vancouver area specifically and to a lesser extent Canada in general. I almost never have heard about a story before he tells us about it. I marvel at that with some regularity.

 

[MikeG]

........All this fetishization of trivia has some hilariously absurd implications:.......

The very fact that you think it trivia is revealing.

There are three things I find astonishing about this thread. Firstly, that people are so insular as to consider stuff which doesn't directly effect them personally as trivial. Secondly, that it is possible for some people to reach adulthood without absorbing some really basic information about the world around them, whether they consider it trivial or not. Thirdly, and incredibly, that on a forum for critical thinking, where one might expect that the members might be amongst the better educated and intelligent in society, that ignorance, sheer ignorance, is so strongly defended.

 

[Craig B]

... ETA:How many Canadians know the capitol of Belarus or Ecuador? That might be more fair a question.

No it wouldn't. Here's the fair question: How many educated Ukrainians know the capital of Belarus? How many educated Peruvians know the capital of Ecuador?

 

[AdMan]

I think I've already made my case that "America" is generally understood to mean the United States of America thus it jolly well is a country.

Ask most of the population of the American continent, in their own language, what "America" denotes, and they would disagree with you.

For Latin Americans, America does not mean the United States.

 

[Madalch]

Ask most of the population of the American continent, in their own language, what "America" denotes, and they would disagree with you.

For Latin Americans, America does not mean the United States.

Yes, but we're not speaking Spanish or Portuguese at the moment.

 

[AdMan]

Yes, but we're not speaking Spanish or Portuguese at the moment.

I may have missed it, but was it specified that we were only referring to English, especially if we're talking about the Americas? Honest question.

 

[Mudcat]

The very fact that you think it trivia is revealing.

But it is trivia though. When will you ever put it to use? At least you can put memorizing the multiplication table to some use, even if it is largely pointless.

Firstly, that people are so insular as to consider stuff which doesn't directly effect them personally as trivial.

It isn't just a trivial fact that has no bearing on a small number of people, it is something that has little bearing on a huge number of people. But hey, since you find so dang important how about you answer a question: When will you, MikeG, ever put knowing what the capital of Canada is to practical use?

Before you ask, yes I'm being dead serious because I can't see it.

Secondly, that it is possible for some people to reach adulthood without absorbing some really basic information about the world around them, whether they consider it trivial or not.

I'm sorry, but how is memorizing the capitals of all fifty states, plus the capitals of nations you don't even live in considered basic information? A few years back if someone had asked me what the capital of Canada was I would ask for a moment as I consult an atlas. How is that fundamentally different from using Google Earth to find the same information?

Thirdly, and incredibly, that on a forum for critical thinking, where one might expect that the members might be amongst the better educated and intelligent in society, that ignorance, sheer ignorance, is so strongly defended.

I don't consider not knowing the capital of a country you don't live in as ignorance. But I do regard judging people on not knowing it as arrogance.

I may have missed it, but was it specified that we were only referring to English, especially if we're talking about the Americas? Honest question.

I don't recall making that distinction either. Granted I don't know every immigrant or visitor to the country personally, but even the Mexicans, Canadians, and other assorted ethnic peoples I know that are from the continent of North America refer to America as America. It's a lot easier to say than "the United States of America" and, in my opinion, a lot less pompous.

 

[MikeG]

....When will you, MikeG, ever put knowing what the capital of Canada is to practical use?.......

Almost certainly never. But when did I ever say that it was of practical importance?

The thing is, how on earth do you know what knowledge will ever be of practical importance? And is the only knowledge worth having that which will be of practical importance at some time in your life? Please be careful when answering that one.

 

[Mudcat]

Almost certainly never. But when did I ever say that it was of practical importance?

Then what is your objection?

The thing is, how on earth do you know what knowledge will ever be of practical importance?

I don't think it's possible to know that for sure for anyone.

And is the only knowledge worth having that which will be of practical importance at some time in your life? Please be careful when answering that one.

I can guarantee that I have some very specific and obscure knowledge that's absolutely impractical. It's one of the positives of living in modern society, I guess.

But judging people because they don't hold the same knowledge?

Certainly you must agree that that isn't helping anything.

 

[AdMan]

I don't recall making that distinction either. Granted I don't know every immigrant or visitor to the country personally, but even the Mexicans, Canadians, and other assorted ethnic peoples I know that are from the continent of North America refer to America as America. It's a lot easier to say than "the United States of America" and, in my opinion, a lot less pompous.

In my experience, immigrants to the United States have usually adopted the term "America" to mean the United States, because it's obvious how the term is used in this country (and, granted, how it's used in much of the English-speaking world).

My point was that the same term--America--does not equal the United States in the rest of the Americas. The majority of the population of the Americas doesn't refer to the USA as "America."