Useless knowledge we're forced to learn, have never used and have now forgotten

[Moses Yoder]

Yes, it was very obvious from reading this thread that a lot of people seem to think the English language is a waste of time. I am on Haldol now which affects my memory. I only wish I could remember useless information. In school I nearly won the spelling bee now I had to look up the word "obvious" to make sure I spelled it right. Google is my best friend; I can look up just about anything in seconds and at least appear to be some form of intelligence. My suggestion is if you got it, use it.

[Bill Edwards(2)]

You have got to be kidding!

To me, it is no joking matter! These things are VERY important!!!!!

Yes, I was kidding!

But I think humor is very important.

And I understand binary.... EBCDIC primarily, since it's the only real coding system.

[Belinda Barfield]

I remember the number of letters in the alphabet because we use different phrases for coding of prices so I have to remember.

Something I can't think of ever using once I was out of school - the periodic table of elements.

My brain is like a Scrabble tile holder, push a newly memorized thing on one end and something falls off the other.

Useless things I can remember . . . song lyrics, ex-husband's birthday and social security number, birthdays of friends from highschool, my ex-sister-in-law's favorite color. I keep thinking some of this will fall off the end of the tile holder, but pin numbers and passwords seem to be an easier push.

[Jim Koepke]

Help me out here; I don't even know how to Google that!

One has to start with > baseball perfect game <

Wikipedea is always a good place to start from there. In the contents box is a listing for "3 Unofficial perfect games."

The first one answers my question, but it doesn't mention that it was the first game of a double header:

On June 23, 1917, Babe Ruth, then a pitcher with the Boston Red Sox, walked the Washington Senators' first batter, Ray Morgan, on four straight pitches. Ruth, who had already been shouting at umpire Brick Owens about the quality of his calls, became even angrier and, in short order, was ejected. Enraged, Ruth charged Owens, swung at him, and had to be led off the field by a policeman. Ernie Shore came in to replace Ruth, while catcher Sam Agnew took over behind the plate for Pinch Thomas. Morgan was caught stealing by Agnew on the first pitch by Shore, who proceeded to retire the next 26 batters. All 27 outs were made while Shore was on the mound. Once recognized as a perfect game by Major League Baseball, this still counts as a combined no-hitter.

Umpire Brick Owens, it seems like he was calling games when I was a kid and there may still be a Brick Owens calling games. It can't be the same guy can it?

The right answer to this question is "No". You have not given enough information. (unless this situation is an actual event)

BTW: This would have not been a perfect game at anytime in baseball history, since the definition of a perfect game is that no batter ever reaches a base.

It was considered controversial at the time, but Ernie Shore was awarded a perfect game.

No one reached base while he was pitching. All 27 outs were made while he was on the mound. That may have been how the reasoning went in those days.

The qualifications for a perfect game have been made clearer or a little more stringent depending on one's point of view. But some of those games that are on the don't count list would have been great ones to have been in the stands.

Things may be different now, but a decade or two ago, most people who know nothing about baseball only knew one baseball player, Babe Ruth. That is the only thing in my mind that allows so many people to get this one right without knowing anything about baseball. They make a guess using the only baseball player's name they can think of and that happens to be the correct answer.

That kind of folds back on useless information now don't it?

jtk

[Mike Davis NC]

Babe Ruth was a pitcher? I thought he was a batter.

[Jim Matthews]

Avogadro's number (no, it's not how many you need to make guacamole).

I fear most of our secondary and collegiate level instruction is designed to make us feel stressed about the process;
it's an indication of who will submit to a professional discipline and gives the appearance of value for tuition.

Had the Khan academy been available when I attended University, I may have passed basic physics/calculus/organic chemistry.

I know a few physicians - NONE can recall anything pertinent from the these endeavors - so why were they so tasked?

[ray hampton]

I remember a science tidbit about spreading a newpaper out on a table top and wetting the paper, laid a section of plywood on the wet paper with about a foot of the plywood extending over the table top edge, you can hit the plywood close to the edge hard enough to break it before it will separate from the paper

[Jim Koepke]

Babe Ruth was a pitcher? I thought he was a batter.

I would have to look it up, but I think his only individual records that still stand are his pitching records. I think it may be for consecutive shutout innings in the post season. It may also now be qualified by "starting" pitcher.

jtk

[Larry Browning]

One has to start with > baseball perfect game <

Wikipedea is always a good place to start from there. In the contents box is a listing for "3 Unofficial perfect games."

The first one answers my question, but it doesn't mention that it was the first game of a double header:



Umpire Brick Owens, it seems like he was calling games when I was a kid and there may still be a Brick Owens calling games. It can't be the same guy can it?



It was considered controversial at the time, but Ernie Shore was awarded a perfect game.

No one reached base while he was pitching. All 27 outs were made while he was on the mound. That may have been how the reasoning went in those days.

The qualifications for a perfect game have been made clearer or a little more stringent depending on one's point of view. But some of those games that are on the don't count list would have been great ones to have been in the stands.

Things may be different now, but a decade or two ago, most people who know nothing about baseball only knew one baseball player, Babe Ruth. That is the only thing in my mind that allows so many people to get this one right without knowing anything about baseball. They make a guess using the only baseball player's name they can think of and that happens to be the correct answer.

That kind of folds back on useless information now don't it?

jtk

I understood your post to be a hypothetical situation and that we were supposed to figure out from the information the name of the starting pitcher. The question was "Can you name the pitcher?" My thought process would have been different had the question been "Who was the starting pitcher?". After reading it many time I believe I came to correct answer. The name of the starting pitcher could not be determined given the information provided. So I stand by my answer, given this is a hypothetical situation. Or, was I over thinking again?

[Bryan Slimp]

"Ruth also was involved in a combined no-hitter in 1917, when he walked the first batter in the game and yelled at the umpire and was ejected. Ernie Shore came in to replace ruth and didn't give up a single hit in the entire ball game. But the Sox finished second in the league, nine games behind the Chicago White Sox. On June 23 against the Washington Senators, after walking the leadoff hitter, Ruth erupted in anger, was ejected, and threw a punch at the umpire, which would result in a ten-game suspension. Ernie Shore came into the game in relief, the baserunner was out stealing, and Shore retired all twenty-six batters he faced, for which he was credited with a perfect game until the 1990s. Ruth's outburst was an example of self-discipline problems that plagued Ruth throughout his career, and is regarded as the primary reason (other than financial) that then-owner Harry Frazee was willing to sell him to the Yankees two years later."

[Jason Roehl]

I have yet to use anything from my American and Brit Lit classes for anything remotely productive.

And I disagree that proper spelling and grammar are still required for jobs--even in jobs where one would think those disciplines would be a given. I see errors in the newspapers from time to time, and I see major flubs in TV news graphics frequently--mistakes I would not have made as a freshman in HS. (I didn't mind grammar and spelling classes--those were easy. I hated writing with a passion, though. I didn't much care for history, either, but I could probably make a go of it now.)

[Moses Yoder]

I can remember starboard is to the right of the boat, when facing forward, and port is to the left. I remember this because there are more letters in starboard than port, just as there are in "right" than "left". Totally useless information; whenever I am on a boat, the captain always assumes the people don't know port and starboard and talks about left or right.

[Larry Browning]

I have yet to use anything from my American and Brit Lit classes for anything remotely productive.

And I disagree that proper spelling and grammar are still required for jobs--even in jobs where one would think those disciplines would be a given. I see errors in the newspapers from time to time, and I see major flubs in TV news graphics frequently--mistakes I would not have made as a freshman in HS. (I didn't mind grammar and spelling classes--those were easy. I hated writing with a passion, though. I didn't much care for history, either, but I could probably make a go of it now.)

Well, we will just have to agree to disagree. Apparently you and I live in different worlds. I am a software developer and often sit in on job interviews. If an applicant, has problems speaking at least somewhat proper English, or has a poorly written resume, they are not even given a second thought. This job requires that we speak with our users in an intelligent way, and that we write documentation that can be clearly understood.
I have a colleague with very poor language skills, who I believe otherwise should have advanced to a much higher level in our company. His lack of using proper grammar and misuse of words has held him back.

The benefits of reading literature are often subtle. Did you ever consider that reading and discussing those books has aided you in understanding other things, such as manuals and training material. Maybe it taught you how to read between the lines, or to understand symbolism. Maybe it didn't do that for you, but then again, maybe it did.

[Bill Edwards(2)]

Well, we will just have to agree to disagree. Apparently you and I live in different worlds. I am a software developer and often sit in on job interviews. If an applicant, has problems speaking at least somewhat proper English, or has a poorly written resume, they are not even given a second thought. This job requires that we speak with our users in an intelligent way, and that we write documentation that can be clearly understood.

I understand! Last time I had to deal with users on a new project in Accounts Payables,
I had to quote from "Little Women" several times.

And yes there are 26 letters. In computer terms A-I make the first group, J-R the
second and S-Z the third. The reason for the odd grouping is that the original
80 column (Hollerith) cards were not always real accurate and the zone punch
for the third group was so cloase to the 9th digit hole, they were concerned about
mis-reads.

Talk about useless information. ROFL!

[Greg Peterson]

Larry, I'm with you. Reading, writing and arithmetic are the foundation of society and an efficient workplace. For the folks that feel the need to make English the official language, we would do well to learn it ourselves before we demand others to learn it.