jbtubman@water.UUCP (Jim Tubman) (12/14/84)
I heard an interesting bit of information today on the CBC radio news. Apparently some sort of general knowledge test was given to community college students in Manitoba. The exact figures escape me, but it showed that only a minority of the students tested (something like 40%) knew that the NDP was in power in Manitoba; a large number said the Conservatives were, and six percent (I remember this one) said that the Liberals formed the Manitoba government (the Liberals hold no seats in the Manitoba legislature). In the realm of Art, not many knew that the Group of Seven were Canadian painters -- some said that they were the presidents of the major banks, while others thought that the Group of Seven were members of the FLQ. If someone else comes across the correct figures, could you post them? I see no reason to believe that Manitobans, or even community college students, are any less intelligent or informed than the average person. This has interesting (and perhaps disturbing) implications for those who advocate that political or moral or economic questions should be decided on the basis of polls. Please note that I am not advocating ignoring what the majority of the people say, either. Any comments? Jim Tubman University of Waterloo
acton@ubc-cs.UUCP (Donald Acton) (12/21/84)
In article <178@water.UUCP> jbtubman@water.UUCP writes: > >I see no reason to believe that Manitobans, or even community college >students, are any less intelligent or informed than the average person. >This has interesting (and perhaps disturbing) implications for those who >advocate that political or moral or economic questions should be decided on >the basis of polls. > I think that these results should also raise questions about the adequacy of our public school systems. Perhaps we need to reevaluate what is being taught in our school systems to make sure that tomorrow's adults have the tools needed to make decisions about the manner in which we are to be governed. Donald Acton