Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Liberal Arts

I tend to think things are common knowledge and it’s not a good idea for me to think that way. I confronted this assumption today while I was at work.

Someone I know who is trying to finish their Bachelor’s degree was calling their school to register for an additional course. They asked the registrar if the class they were trying to enroll in would satisfy their liberal arts requirement. When the person said the class was “The History of New York”, I shook my head in disbelief. Doesn’t everyone know that history is a liberal art? But apparently not everyone knows that so I can’t assume that because I know it that everyone does.

What it did show me, however, is that some people are just beyond hopeless.

1 comment:

M said...

It's true. It's called the curse of knowledge. Once you know something, it seems obvious or common sense, and it's virtually impossible to imagine NOT knowing that, or to remember a time when you didn't know it.

In fairness to this person, knowing that history is a liberal art and knowing whether a particular course will satisfy that requirement are two different things. We both know how picky schools can be sometimes.