In defense of jaw-dropping ignorance...

Above: stupid idiots.

Hey check out this Daily Mail story about the stupid idiots on Twitter who thought the Titanic was just a movie. Thankfully, people who are better than them took screenshots of their Tweet-based confessions and then posted them on the inter-tubes so we could all make fun. On the one hand I think that's just super: ignorance should be pointed and laughed at. Shame is at the very heart of our educational system. On the other hand, the people who are laughing kind of suck too.

You see, the kids on the Twitterbook were born after 1912 when the floating metaphor for early 20th century social inequality known as the Titanic sunk killing like 1500 people they never met. So while unfortunate, the disaster wouldn't necessarily have a direct impact on most people alive today.

In fact, according to researchers, it's funny because we don't know them.

See? Climate change isn't all
bad news. For us, I mean.

I suppose you can dust off the 'those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it' thing, but does that really apply? I mean what's the lesson here? Carry more lifeboats? Check. Don't trust British Sea Captains? Way ahead of you. I'd say it's: Watch out for icebergs in the North Atlantic, but thanks to the totally natural cycle of our weather patterns spiraling wildly towards collapse, that's not so much a problem anymore.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying
winning at Cashcab isn't important.
I'm just saying it's not the only thing.

I'm not usually one to jump to the defense of our ever-increasing endumbening as a planet, but in this one instance and apart from game-show participation, does it really matter if not everyone is up to speed on last century's most expensive lesson in transoceanic boat safety? Look, I enjoy useless trivia and random knowledge as much as, and possibly more than the next guy. But it's also nice to not be a jerk.


Besides, should we really be ragging on people for assuming that only some sort of ghoul would take a massive loss of human life like the Titanic and turn it into a blockbuster about horny 20-somethings? Shouldn't their child-like naivety be a heart-warming reminder of our own innocence or something?

"Thank you, thank you. Hundreds of frozen corpses can finally rest
in peace knowing their pointless deaths made me somewhat richer."

-James Cameron, after winning all the Oscars