David Attenborough's "arrogant ignorance"

? thanks for that I needed a laugh.

I'm loving the animals hunting each other one!

I'm wailing at that last one ??

? I like the quote about hunting and animals eating other animals not being very festive, I wonder what they had for their Christmas dinner? ?

I saw some of the US version and was most disappointed not to hear David Attenborough's voice. Sigourney Weaver just doesn't do it justice!

Oh those crazy yanks, whatever will they come out with next ?

?

"manor" ??

Waaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!

Animals hunting other animals is cruel ?

And 'Sigourney is better' ?

But animals hunting other animals, in the wild IS cruel!

They should make all those horrible carnivorous unfluffy animals vegetarians ☹️!]

Pissing myself at the hilarious comments aside, it's quite worrying the way creationism is being taught as fact and evolution outlawed in schools.

?

Well um, not much you can say to that is there!

Oh my sainted aunt ? What a bunch of cretins.

To give myself a laugh I thought I'd go and have a look for more interesting comments and found this one:

"I don't have anything at all against the British, it's just i cannot handle trying to figure out what they say sometimes, so i much rather sit and relax and watch something i can fully understand in real english."

?

I know people who work with "Dave". Will forward those ?

quote:Originally posted by Gryfon
To give myself a laugh I thought I'd go and have a look for more interesting comments and found this one:

[red]"I don't have anything at all against the British, it's just i cannot handle trying to figure out what they say sometimes, so i much rather sit and relax and watch something i can fully understand in real english."[red]

?

id="quote">

Waaaahhhh!!! ?

quote:Originally posted by Gryfon
To give myself a laugh I thought I'd go and have a look for more interesting comments and found this one:

"I don't have anything at all against the British, it's just i cannot handle trying to figure out what they say sometimes, so i much rather sit and relax and watch something i can fully understand in real english."

?

id="quote">

???

The scary thing is that the teaching of evolution is banned in many states over here (mostly the bible-bashing Southern republican states) - only creationism can be taught in schools. I find that really scary.

There was a great movie on volcanos (I think it was a National Geographic one) a year or two ago that was banned across half of the US as it referred to evolution.

quote:Originally posted by bostongirl
The scary thing is that the teaching of evolution is banned in many states over here (mostly the bible-bashing Southern republican states) - only creationism can be taught in schools. I find that really scary.

id="quote">

...and people running university biology degrees at American universities increasingly complain that their first-year students are coming to them without even the most basic scientific knowledge - the kind of thing that even I know, and my biology studies stopped at O-level.

Incidentally, do you think David Attenborough can take any credit for the fact that the British are much less credulous on the whole evolution/creationism thing? I'd say yes, given that most of us have grown up watching this stuff on a regular basis throughout our lives.

quote:Originally posted by Gryfon
To give myself a laugh I thought I'd go and have a look for more interesting comments and found this one:

"I don't have anything at all against the British, it's just i cannot handle trying to figure out what they say sometimes, so i much rather sit and relax and watch something i can fully understand in real english."

?

id="quote">

Wahhh ?

The discussion on accents is fascinating - it's stopping me getting any work done ?

http://www.amazon.com/everyone-stuck-British-David-character/forum/FxHGEFTIWGVM3N/Tx34DZHIH6AB0EC/1/ref=cm_cd_pg_pg1?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=B000MR9D5E

Sooo funny! ?

quote:Originally posted by bostongirl
The scary thing is that the teaching of evolution is banned in many states over here (mostly the bible-bashing Southern republican states) - only creationism can be taught in schools. I find that really scary.

There was a great movie on volcanos (I think it was a National Geographic one) a year or two ago that was banned across half of the US as it referred to evolution.

id="quote">

Amazing - especially since I read recently (Richard Dawkins) that the US is one of the only legally secular countries in the world.

There's certainly no shortage of egg in this pudding.

I am a huge David Attenborough fan and also happen to love and respect Sigourney Weaver. What fantastic luck to have both of these gifted individuals--each possessing great strength of character-- lending their talents to what is without doubt the greatest natural history series ever produced...

Attenborough's style and voice are, of course, timeless. As the grand master of natural history films, it is only fitting that he should narrate this greatest of natural history series. And he doesn't disappoint. Listening to his work on Planet Earth is like having nature's wonders personally vouchsafed to you by a trusted and and very wise old friend...

quote:Originally posted by Mr JK

quote:Originally posted by bostongirl
The scary thing is that the teaching of evolution is banned in many states over here (mostly the bible-bashing Southern republican states) - only creationism can be taught in schools. I find that really scary.

id="quote">

...and people running university biology degrees at American universities increasingly complain that their first-year students are coming to them without even the most basic scientific knowledge - the kind of thing that even I know, and my biology studies stopped at O-level.

Incidentally, do you think David Attenborough can take any credit for the fact that the British are much less credulous on the whole evolution/creationism thing? I'd say yes, given that most of us have grown up watching this stuff on a regular basis throughout our lives.

id="quote">

Well, the American educational system is another story.
What cracks me up is that most Americans believe that their 4 year batchelors degree is better than my 3 year one as they have an extra year of education.

What they fail to take into account is that my GCSE's, externally examined and moderated, were a higher level than most high school diplomas, which have minimal external moderation (and lets face it there are no losers in America... you have to be pretty dumb not to get one!). On top of that we have 2 years A-level, which is way beyond what Americans do in high school, then we get 3 years on top of that, so effectively we have 5 years post-high school education whereas they only have 4.

I am constantly amazed by the facts that I know that anyone with a half-decent education would know, that most US people don't. There is something wrong with the educational system when the marketing person in a company is showing a graduate engineer how to solve simultaneous equations (believe me, it has happened).

The proof for me was a few years ago when I started thinking about doing a MBA. The standard entry test for any masters over here is a test called the GMAT which people spend a fortune in private tuition and usually at leat 6 months studying for. I bought a study book, to start learning, and was suprised to discover that it was basic english, maths and logical reasoning... not dissimilar to the old 11+ exam! I managed to score over 90% on most of the practice tests, right off the bat, no revision, 10 years after I left college.

Was talking to an American friend about this, and she could not understand how I knew all this stuff! Honestly, there was nothing beyond GCSE level in there, and yet its the entrance requirement for a masters degree.

Our kid isn't even born yet, and I am already trying to figure out how I can make sure he/she gets a decent education!

It is really scary that the education level in what is supposedly the most advanced country in the world is so sadly sub-standard.

quote:Originally posted by Flowery the Grouch
The discussion on accents is fascinating - it's stopping me getting any work done ?

id="quote">

I particularly like the person - who, to be fair, was genuinely trying to be helpful - explaining that if you can understand Richard Attenborough in Jurassic Park, then you should have no trouble understanding his brother.

But didn't Richard Attenborough put on a ridiculous Scottish accent for that part? ?

If you can understand Richard Attenborough's ridiculous Scottish accent, then David Attenborough should be easy-peasy.

they all seem very concerned about their children understanding him

Oh dear, that bad evolutionist and those murderous animals?

I doubt DA has ever claimed we descended from monkeys either - I might take Creatonists a bit more seriously if they at least made an effort to understand the theory of evolution.?

quote:Originally posted by Mr JK

quote:Originally posted by bostongirl
The scary thing is that the teaching of evolution is banned in many states over here (mostly the bible-bashing Southern republican states) - only creationism can be taught in schools. I find that really scary.

id="quote">

...and people running university biology degrees at American universities increasingly complain that their first-year students are coming to them without even the most basic scientific knowledge - the kind of thing that even I know, and my biology studies stopped at O-level.

id="quote">

To be fair, their counterparts in UK Universities do a fair amount of complaining about the lack of knowledge of first year undergraduates, though it does appear to be at a slightly different level.

I think post-degree, the US system has a lot going for it. PhDs are longer and broader and students come out of it much more experienced, rounded scientists (can only comment on the science side). In my experience, obv. But up til then I agree.

quote:Originally posted by hazel
I think post-degree, the US system has a lot going for it. PhDs are longer and broader and students come out of it much more experienced, rounded scientists (can only comment on the science side). In my experience, obv. But up til then I agree.

id="quote">

That's true of my experience too - anyone who gets to the postgrad stage is generally light years away from the stereotype, and their level of knowledge and quality of argument is often ahead of what I encounter with British students.