![]() Put it another way, it’s not easy to have an informed national dialogue on, say, the Palestinian issue if most of us think Palestine is a suburb of Newark, N.J. Put one way, this essay hasn’t made much sense so far if you don’t know what Trivial Pursuit is. Hirsch – he of the English faculty of the University of Virginia – surprised everyone, himself included, by publishing a big-time best seller called “Cultural Literacy.” It was a serious book with a compelling thesis: Learning depends on communication, and good communication depends on shared knowledge. The main difference is that the box in which the Trivial Pursuit comes has words on it like “fun” and “excitement” the dust jacket of the dictionary sounds considerably more intimidating: “What Every American Needs to Know.” Yes, well, being a good citizen and all, you can bet your lipids (page 492) I turned to the book first.īefore going any further, some background information is in order here. And, both make me feel like a complete idiot. Both organize the information into easily comprehended categories. Both are fact-packed, containing about a zillion pieces of information each. It’s a little tough telling them apart but I have figured out that the game is the one with the plastic pies and playing board.Īside from that, they have a lot in common. In a desperate but futile attempt to push back the levels of my ignorance, my brother gave me the newest edition of Trivial Pursuit and “The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy” by E.D.
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