The War on Knowledge
Children practicing writing the letter A on a kindergarten blackboard in Jefferson County, Arkansas, in October 1938. (Corbis via Getty Images)
At the private school where I once taught, the idea was that spelling got in the way of creativity. So I watched as kids wrote ‘macien’ for ‘machine’ at age 14. Tuition was $60,000 a year.
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5 mins
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Can you list the only two countries in the world with an X in their name?
I often toss this question out at cocktail parties. And while my wife cringes at my dorkiness, it’s generally a hit.
People pause, think, blurt out the right answer, and do a little dance. It feels good to know something. (Keep reading for the answer!)
We like facts. They anchor us. They remind us that the world and reality are knowable things—and as we understand them, we better understand our own places in them.
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