Feel the difference

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

One rather interesting phenomenon in our society boggles the mind. Sometimes it is called "pluralism of opinions", but in fact the name is not quite appropriate.

The point is that pluralism is unitedposition according to which there are several independent opinions and positions on an issue or problem, the owner of such a position realizesthe difference between these opinions and fully understands the contradictions, if any. And what I will talk about now is exactly internally contradictory and incompleteposition on the same issue when internal contradictions not recognizedbearer of the position. Today the presentation will be extremely popular with clear pictures. Sometime later, this issue will be raised from a deeper standpoint.

So, the phenomenon under discussion is that not only in society, but also in one head, completely opposite thoughts can cohabit without any awareness of internal contradictions. One of the thoughts comes out when you need to argue for one position, and the other - when the other. The fact of the contradiction or some inconsistencies not noticedor completely ignored by the person. Often, even with an explicit indication of it.

Let's start with a simple example. On the Internet, you can find many jokes regarding the comparison of Russian and Western education. For example, one of them is shown in the picture below (you can click on the picture to see the full size).

The same joke, maybe 12-15 years ago, could be heard from Zadornov and his admirers, they say "in the 9th grade, American schoolchildren begin to study fractions, and in the 10th grade they are already learning how to multiply them" (Zadornov's quote from a long time ago is inaccurate, but the meaning fully preserved). And in those days it was really quite funny, because those people who make up the majority of Russian society laughed, who fully studied all actions with fractions already in the fifth grade, and some of them even in the third.

Modern youth, however, can also appreciate this joke, but with all this, in their midst, the mood is becoming more and more powerful, conveyed by pictures like these:

These pictures are also served as humorous at the same time as those in which they call to be proud of their knowledge of trigonometry (it is she who is depicted in the picture with which we began the post, and is mistakenly presented as something completely creepy).

Thus, in order to present ourselves in a favorable light, the fact is given that our students study (at least in the past, they studied) complex things, and when it is necessary to show the stupidity of our education system and once again lament about mediocre work at school time, the fact is given that very few people in their life needed something more complex than the sum of numbers. Such a contradiction exists and lives in our society quite calmly. Rather, even so: everyone knows about him, but everyone is indifferent.

So, above, an anonymous joker called us to feel the difference. Well let's try. On the Internet, it was once possible to find a comparison of the exam with the real written entrance exams of the past. By the way, it's also fashionable to laugh about this now (click to enlarge):

Maybe someone will say that different people are laughing at this? Some who need mathematics will support one joke picture, while others who do not need a second. No, the trouble is that I have repeatedly noticed such contradictions inside one head. When, in a conversation with a person, he puts up one or the other position, depending on what he is arguing with. In order not to give personal examples, I can easily cite quite well-known pictures of a political plan:

At the same time, such logic can be found very often in everyday matters. For example, parents scold a child. Act one:

- Why did you get a deuce?

- The work was difficult, almost everyone got two marks!

- We are not interested in what everyone got: everyone will jump from the roof - and you will go? We don't care what everyone has, but what you have is important!

Second act:

- Why did you get a deuce?

- Well, poorly prepared.

- But our neighbor's son Dimka got five!

In such a simple way, internal contradictions can be in one family, in the head of the same parents.

So, what did I want to say with all this? Before posting jokes like these that urge you to feel the difference, consider whether you are contradicting yourself. Try yourself to feel the difference between what you are so proud of in your joke and what you really are. Are you by any chance a victim of the exam, for example? Try to test yourself first, say, on more or less normal, albeit trivial, problems from real entrance exams. For simplicity, let's take the problems from the exam at Moscow State University (pdf). There are also several problems from the Olympiad, which are also very simple, by the way.

Well, is there a difference? So what are you proud of, jokers?

Further, before expressing a strong opinion, make sure that it applies equally to different people and situations, otherwise you will get a contradiction. For example, you are against putting cars on the lawn, but you do it yourself and do not scold your relatives for it. Similarly, check your position on smoking in the entrance, will it be the same for everyone and for yourself or your friends and relatives? Will your position on the violation of a certain order be the same in relation to young punks and to a person of impressive and frightening appearance?

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