[IGGYRULES]

I agree with what you said, but, evman was implying that the school system was at fault. Unfortunately there is only so much time (k-12) to teach and for some people the priorities should be elsewhere. Don't you agree? Essentially the system has to prioritize in a given timeframe and this definately is not one of the priorities for most.

Originally Posted by photon

Depends on how fast you go. Anywhere from forever to 1 year if you go at the speed of light.





This made me chuckle..

Anyway, as to who determines what we should know, I agree with jammies that all knowledge is worthwhile knowing, and education is the one thing that can set people free.

We live in a increasingly technological world, and understanding of the basics of science are fundamental to living in that world. While a person may not need to know the exact details, a general understanding lets people make better decisions about the world around them, be it decisions about health, politics, family, or whatever.

Not only that, as we learn more about science, that basic understanding HAS to filter down to the general public, otherwise we cannot move forward. If only scientists and a few interested people knew about germ theory for example, we wouldn't have benefited from that knowledge as a society with longer life spans and healthier lives. Also the more educated people are, the higher the starting point for those great minds that advance things forward.. If Einstein had been born in Newton's time, he'd probably only have come up with Newton's stuff.

Without knowledge of a light year, for example, people could be influenced by all kinds of dumb ideas. How often do you hear dumb things on the news like the planets are lining up and will throw earth out of orbit, or that the stars influence our lives somehow, or whatever.

Anyway, yes there are "more important" things to know than the details of a light year, but you are implying that learning a light year would exclude something else, when that's not the case.