Half of NZ adults flunk general knowledge test
Barely half of New Zealand adults know that it takes 365 days for the Earth to go around the sun.
Fewer than half can name the seven continents, or work out how far a car travels at a constant speed in a given time.
Only 32 per cent know that the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840.
The results, from a poll of 1000 New Zealanders aged 18 and over for the NZ Initiative, has exposed what the business think tank calls “serious gaps in public knowledge”.
I was genuinely shocked at the low level of General Knowledge we seem to collectively have – I didn’t even think any of this was ‘knowledge’, just basic basic basic facts – “Is Winston Churchill a real person’ – I mean, WTF?
Looking at those results makes me fear that I’ve been overestimating my fellow citizens understanding of the issues WAY TOO MUCH – like WAAAAAAAY too much.
That said, does something smell here?
Every time I see some sad story about Pharmac not funding a drug in the news, I suspiciously wonder what pharmaceutical company is secretly pulling the heart strings to wage a propaganda war to get their drug subsidised. Likewise with this poll, it’s funded by the right wing think tank NZ Initiative and they are releasing more information next week on this, and I’m guessing the solution is more private education subsides?
My fellow NZers might be stupid, but I’m far more concerned about us being tricked by the likes of the NZ Initiative.
Well I think it’s concerning when we consider that the number of jobs you don’t need any qualifications for are disappearing.
It sounds about right to me, and it is in line with similar tests in the USA.
https://www.newsweek.com/trumps-america-americans-basic-knowledge-understand-current-events-667106
I love how they imply that everyone got suddenly dumber under Trump. Social media (especially Twitter, Facebook and YouTube) have made people super uninformed or misinformed (“like you Nitrium, when it comes Climate Change” – uh huh). Everyone can be in the sweet embrace of an echo chamber now and nothing is more comforting than that.
Needless to say, people tend to interact/hang out/work with people of similar knowledge/education. If you’re a University student, for example, most of your friends will also be university students and thus have a basic grasp of things.
Right on both counts Martyn. A swathe of NZers are pretty uninformed about many things bar their flybuys point tally.
And, it is highly likely NZI is touting a reboot for charter schools, bulk funding and the general penetration of public education infrastructure by private capital.
Do the vast majority of people know that the NZ Initiative always has a different agenda to the ordinary person, and that it is a stirpot for the wealthy, who are called Right Wingers. Everything today must be represented as unsatisfactory, and it is necessary to work all the hours there are, and hardly ever take a break, but all will be well eventually.
We are led by the nose towards the end of the rainbow which is where people will find peace. harmony, excellent salaries, sport and cars, good rifle ranges? lots of cold ice in their drinks and people of similar quality ie money and possessions, to mix with. Makes me think of that tv Brit show ‘Never mind the quality feel the width’.
I have just been reading the comments on your post about raising beneficiary incomes, how people disappointed that the government has not been transformational are going to somehow teach them a lesson by voting ACT or National, not voting or casting a vote for a party that will not win any seats.
As if that will help unions, those on benefits, those on the MW, teachers and nurses in their next pay round, – increase the stock of state houses etc.
People so dumb they do not realise the only message that would send is their consent to what National would then do for the causes they profess to care about.
Many NZers have serious knowledge gaps, and many also have trouble thinking in structured ways, and struggle with analysing complex matters.
I blame the very casual way of life, the in some ways failing education system, and the incessant brain washing and dumbing down by commercial advertising that is so prevalent.
This causes many of the problems we have, also poor election outcomes and politicians being voted for, who should never be getting any votes. Poor lifestyle choices are also a result of poor education and poor thinking.
It is Nanny State and Big Brother style governments who are happy to keep the status quo, as they do not really want independent, self responsible citizens, who do what they consider is right.
“Every time I see some sad story about Pharmac not funding a drug in the news, I suspiciously wonder what pharmaceutical company is secretly pulling the heart strings to wage a propaganda war to get their drug subsidised”.
This Martyn is just typical of someone so damn blind you cant see the truth of how screwed up our health and medicines funding is.
You think a pharmacuetical company is behind all this current call for funding of meds.
Well here is THE TRUTH WRITTEN LARGE our MEDICINES funding is the worst of ALL THE OCED countries 19th out of 20.
The information is out there I linked you to my group page did you actually read any of it ?
How about doing as I did go do some research.
When only 12% of modern medicines are funded in this country you have to ask why ?
When medicines funding is 19th out of the top 20 countries in the OECD and only mexico below us and even CUBA is better funded than we are.
When our total health system is rated 4 places worse than the USA 37th and CUBA 39th and us at 41st by THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION you have to ask questions why?
Why does our Pharmac have to have a capped budget that gets minimal increases in every budget.
Just to take us back to 2007 funding levels Pharmac needs a $1 billion dollar boost .
Why is pharmac still operating on the 1990’s model of one medicine suits all when current medicines are designed for them individual not one med suits all.
Your attitude and others attitudes is why Pharmac has been allowed to get away with the current bullshit .
The current epilepsy debacle and the up coming 3 drug depression switch in January 2020 is just an example.
I myself in the last 9.5 years have spent 100s of thousands of dollars keeping a type 1 diabetic alive due to our screwed up medicines funding and welfare funding.
There are a minimum of 250,000 people with rare diseases in this country not getting the meds they need due to cost.
There are 11 diabetes medications alone not funded in this country 2 you cant even buy 1 has been on pharmacs waiting list since 2005 and that’s just for starters .
There are over 100 medications on the pharmac waiting list possibly up to 130 in 2008 there were only 24.
The campaign for meds funding is being led by every illness association in the country because we are sick and tired of dying early due to the blatant underfunding of pharmac which is in all intents and purposes permitting genocide by default we sure as hell don’t need the euthanasia bill it is happening just by denying access to medicines .
When people by default cant even get a winz benefit when they have serious health issues due to bullshit rules , cant even afford their meds due to cost and people like you and many others as usual turn it around and dump in the medicines companies when in fact it is the funding model itself at fault.
For every $1 spent on medicines save between $1 and $3 dollars minimum on downstream hospitalisation costs.
For anyone wanting to investigate further check out these facebook pages.
Patient Voice Aotearoa and or Under Funding of Medicines By Pharmac and be prepared to be awakened.
Rather helps to explain how National and Labour keep getting re-elected. It also demonstrates how second rate our education system is. Too much fluffy bullshit and not enough of a focus on the three “R”s.
Anyone who thinks the NZ Initiative gives a toss about the general public not knowing when the Treaty of Waitangi was signed (among other things) is delusional. It’s likely part of their “Kiwis are shit and don’t want to work for us, so let’s scam the government into opening the immigration floodgates again!” scheme. “We’ve a critical shortage of skilled labour… which we could probably solve through apprenticeships and offering decent wages, but no. Fuck that shit. Let’s just bleat about Kiwis being cretinous, drug-addled wasters.” The NZ Initiative provides ‘research’ (ammunition) for National to fling at the government. Anyone who isn’t perceived as being ‘business-friendly’ (a euphemism for pander to our whims or we’ll relentlessly bag you in the media), is the enemy. They’re about as non-partisan as Michelle Boag. The fact they think changing their name means we don’t know who and what they are is fairly amusing.
Given you know my story (only alive because moved to Australia to access cancer meds not funded in NZ … for those unlike Martyn who don’t know my story). I’m
actually horrified to read your low opinion of myself and Stuart. Do you want to know what tugged at my heart strings to take on pharmac? My 5 children and my husband who you address as comrade.
This has to be the most abhorrent paragraph I have read that you Martin have written, given how well you know our story, how well you know me, your response to my pm update to you just the other week. You know Claudine is only alive today because we moved to Australia to get the drug NZ were refusing to fund. We are part of taking on Pharmac so other New Zealanders do not have to make the move we did, we have family and support here that others simply do not have. To read that you think so little of Claudine and me beggars belief!
But it doesn’t take 365 days for the Earth to revolve around the sun?
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