I Invite You to Share in My Knowledgeable Ignorance

Early this week, during my Rhetoric and Civic life class, we were shown a video that really sparked my interest.  The video was an act performed on Def Comedy Jam by an English teacher. He was speaking about how we use declarative sentences that sound like questions and put "like" in places where it is not needed. Something that really stood out to me was when he said "it is as if I am inviting you to share in my ignorance".
He was speaking of course about how we speak about a topic that we know a lot about, but at the last minute add "I don't know" somewhere. It is as if we are avoiding committing ourselves to sharing the knowledge of a subject that we know much about. This stood out to me because I find myself doing it more often then not. I consider myself a well read person, and can speak well about any number of subjects that happen to pop up during conversation. Yet I do not commit myself to my knowledge. When a question is asked to me, and I know the answer, "I don't know" still finds itself in my sentence. I could be commenting on something that I read verbatim and yet I still would add that little blurb on the off chance that I might be wrong.  It is not our fault that we add uncertainty into our sentences. It is the fault of an education system that strikes fear into those who get wrong answers, to the point that they feel its is better off not to answer the question on the off chance that they might get it wrong. I feel that if you add that you might not be right, and it turns out that your not, it is infinitely better in the long run. You still end up looking ignorant, but you already informed them that you might be wrong. No one counts how many right answers you give, but get one question or fact wrong and its joke fuel for weeks.
Knowledge is power. We as humans have a curiosity that is matched by no other species in that we want to know everything and work to find it out. Why then are we afraid to share our discoveries. To be rejoice in the fact that we know something that others might not be aware of. Why must I start a sentence of fact with "I'm not really sure" when I know exactly what I'm talking about. Ignorance is not bliss when the ignorance is a fabrication to hide the true knowledge of knowing more than those around you. Ignorance is nothing to laugh at especially when it is simply a lack of knowledge that is easily corrected. No longer will I start facts off with "I don't really know, but I think", I will be secure in my knowledge because I truly know what I'm talking about. Though there's always room to learn more. No longer do I invite you to share in my ignorance,

I invite you to share in my knowledge.

Blame It on The Accent

Potato Potato, Tomato Tomato, they all look the same but the way we and our English neighbors pronounce them differ greatly. While we stress the "a" in our words, the English tend to ease off it a little. We accept the difference that our two cultures place on our pronunciations of the same words, Why then do we not accept the differences in speech that come not from across the "pond" but from down the high way. I am a proud member of the city of Philadelphia, however I work with a girl from New York. Today when we went on break I asked her to pass me something very common and she acted as if I had said something outrageous, a water bottle. She repeatedly asked me what I was saying as if I was speaking a foreign language. " A what bottle", I would reply water, this went on for several minutes until finally she said do you mean wa-ter. I replied that that was what I said.  "No, you said wa-der". This comment set me off.
Why is it that we ostracize the way others from our own country speak when they say words different then we are used to, yet we fantasize over foreign accents. Why is my accent considered ruff and uneducated, where as a British accent is acceptable and looked on fondly. She made a fuss about the way I was speaking, even though she knew exactly what I meant. I didn't say pass me a  marijuana bottle. She just did it to point out that I was saying something out of her norm. In my city we all say water the same way, we don't correct each other, and our more likely to make fun if you say it different. The bottom line is that language is alive and subject to change, that is why we have so many dialects in the world today, because humans don't have a uniform language. Why now in modern times do we allow it to stagnate.  I believe that pronunciation is a regional ideal and there is no set way to pronounce any one word. As long as their is a common understanding to what is being said then there should be no problem.  I hold out hope that the next time I ask her to pass me a bottle of water, she just does it, and saves the inquisition for something else of supposed import.