Guess what? GW didn't actually chop down the Cherry Tree

kk... I should be studying, but since I'm learning the same thing in both of my classes I feel like I've got most of this.

So this is dedicated to all my amazing fellow students. You know them. You've got the one who raises their hand in class and starts their question with "So what you're saying is..."and then fills in with what that the professor just said verbatim or shows that they weren't listening at all to the professors intro by pointing out a contradiction that had already been discussed at length. You've got the idiot who feels the need to ask his/her/its neighbor what's going on right in the middle of lecture when they didn't feel the need to show up to class on time and at least have the decency to look rushed when they finally sauntered in. You've got the one who doesn't do the reading and instead of flying under the radar like they should, they waste everyone else's time by asking questions that are answered in the first paragraph. Yup this one is dedicated to you.

And yes, I've been the idiot to do these things on multiple occasions - except for that second one, I always have the decency to look rushed. I'm not saying you're a dbag for life, I'm just saying that in that moment, most of the class hates you. The rustling papers and the sighs are all accompanied by eye rolls and mutters of idiot. While it may be true that there is no such thing as a stupid question there is such a thing as stupid timing and as a 21 year old you should be able to figure it out by now.

So here's the situation that spurred this blog.

I realized today that at least 10 people, including the professor, in my 15 person seminar of 4th year history students still thought that Columbus' was the first one that realized that the world was round.

nononononononononononononononononononono NO.

And yes, I should have been more emphatic when in class, I was just recovering from the shock. I thought it was a trick. Which is why I didn't argue as vehemently as I should and that's driving me crazy. And I don't mean to imply that everyone who thinks that is stupid because they're not. Society perpetuates this myth whenever they f*ing can. But everyone in this seminar has had at least 3 years of college history classes and this is where we were supposed to get it drummed into our little heads that not everything we're told in kindergarten is true. The Columbus one is the classic example that I've had used in at least 2 of my classes but probably more like 4. So sorry to burst your bubble guys. The Greeks tried to calculate the size of the globe and got remarkably close. In the Metamorphoses, Ovid says that whichever god it was that decided to create order out of chaos divided the elements and then basically squished everything into a ball. And while I'm sure that there is some idiot in the greek and roman worlds who thought the world was flat, it's not completely crazy to argue that an orb in artwork could be representative of the earth. And I almost feel bad for this rant because I'm sure people went home and went "oh snap did I really argue against that" but since I held back in class I feel that I deserve a rant on a blog none of them will ever read.

P.S. I got to hang out with two awesome puppies and a delightfully bitchy cat this weekend which makes up for the fact that I didn't see any today.