Re: Why Americans feel no compulsion to learn foreign languages

[dlv@bwalk.dm.com (Dr. Dimitri Vulis)]

tcmay@got.net (Timothy C. May) writes:
> At 12:50 PM 3/29/96, Dr. Dimitri Vulis wrote:
>
> >Likewise, Tim says there's no value in learning about "traditional" crypto.
> >I say there is.
>
> This is taken completely out of context and is beneath contempt in terms of
> trying to argue a point.

No, I think both of Tim's statements illustrate the typical Americans disdain
for learning for knowledge's sake and the (still amazing to me) ability to
express pride in their ignorance. Most Americans lack the motivation to learn
a foreign language (or even their native language), or to learn what great
naval battles of WW II were won because certain codes were broken, or how to
prove that two triangles are congruent, or how to break a substitution cypher,
since this knowledge won't bring immediate monetary rewards. It's as if though
their challenge is to go through life learning as little as they can get away
with (other than obscure sports statistics).

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<a href="mailto:dlv@bwalk.dm.com">Dr. Dimitri Vulis</a>
Brighton Beach Boardwalk BBS, Forest Hills, N.Y.: +1-718-261-2013, 14.4Kbps