Contempary Knowledge...

I'm not sure why exactly but for some reason I find the interchange I had a while back between me and a random at a house party interesting. I will explain below, but for some reason I think I need to clarify that the reference towards terrorism is meant as an ironic joke.

Me: Hey! Who are you?
Him: My names [err.. random?]. I'm a terrorist. I'm from Bahrain. I bet you dont know where that is.
Me: Yeah I do! It's in the Middle East. I do Politics.

Now this got me thinking. Not only why was he introduceing himself as a terrorist but also my (drunken) understanding of the location of his country of origin being based upon my Political degree.

There seems to be a lack of knowlege at the moment that isn't hot. That isn't based upon some sort of innate reasoning. Whats happened to knowledge for knowledge's sake? I forget what Foucault calls this, but even in the early 20th century it was a matter for him. This sudden lack of belief in unaccountable but real knowledge was important in some way.

It also seems comical that it is not a geographer who could be seen to make the comment "I know where that is.." But a politicaly minded individual. I mean, at what point did Geography become democraphics and specifics and not the world? Bah. But thats a side point.

What education needs right now is real knowledge. The knowledge of individual interest. Of a wider approach to what is valuable to an individual. Not what we have at the moment. Knowledge and understandings of the world that are sensationalist, single issued and short lived.

/rant over.