Jewish Jeopardy

The Jewish internet erupted when a Jeopardy champion botched a Final Jeopardy Question that would’ve been pretty easy/ridiculously easy for most American Jews. Here’s an article that links to the video. While it’s quite funny and gracefully handled on the show, it also is a good reminder of the fact that knowledge is culturally embedded. While most of the folks who read this blog would probably know the Chanukah song, “Rock of Ages,” the fact is that there are plenty of intelligent, culturally literate folks out there that wouldn’t. It’s nice to be reminded of the gaping holes in our cultural literacy and our knowledge base and to know that it’s a naturally occurring phenomenon. While those of us that want to fully participate in liberal democratic society do well to make sure that we have at least basic knowledge of other cultures, there’s no way we can be fully culturally literate in a world that is committed to multiculturalism.