You thought the stars were.....WHAT!?

Hello everyone

So yesterday at work me and the lady I work with (she is in here 40s) got on the topic of the universe due to it being a slow work day. I forget the exact details but I ended up mentioning that stars are suns assuming she knew. She had the most confused look on her face. "they are!?" she asked. My mind blown that someone could actually not know what stars were I calmly said "yes" and proceeded to ask here (calmly) "so what did you think stars were exactly?" she replied sort of half a$$idly "I don't know...craters or something". At this point my heart was racing I almost burst out with half anger and half laughter. But it dawned on me that this women has gone through her whole life not giving one second thought as to what is up there. What does she think the sky is!? I just did not understand how someone could go through their whole life not looking at the bigger picture and not asking the bigger questions.

So anyways I proceeded to educate her on our universe showing here a few short you tube videos showing just how big our universe is. I showed her a few pictures from hubble and she was blown away with there beauty which made me feel good until I showed her a nebula and she asked "so what planet is that?" I didn't know what to say to this "no...um...this is space and that is a collection of dust and gas that makes up our universe, that's how stars are born". At this point she was starting to understand (probably not) but then she said something that made me feel good. "so if there are billions of stars couldn't there be a planet like ours out there" "yes!" I said. I think I just kick started her curiosity. Don't get me wrong this women is a great person and she is really good with people, she can talk to any type of person for hours. she is not a deeply religious person, she says she is mad at God for how her father died, that is another topic that it is hard to stay calm with her. The worst part of all of this is when I talk about the universe she calls me one of those "big bang" people not referring to the theory (which she didn't know what it was) but the show "the big bang theory" as if she thinks because I am interested in space I am an expert physicist.

Have any of you met someone like this? Someone so ignorant of science and space? How did you deal with them? I thought I remained pretty calm but thought my head was going to explode. I didn't want to make her feel stupid. Sorry if my grammar is off I have trouble articulating my thoughts especially when flustered by this.

a reply to: Shepard64

It can be very hard to be helpful and sympathetic in such circumstances, and i applaud you for you patience.

LOL! this conversation you had must've been with my girlfriend!

I am currently dating a person like this, and boy is it hard.
Last time we were out for dinner I attempted to enlighten her on Exoplanets and the high possibilities of other life.

a reply to: skalla

It just blows me away that people get so caught up in there daily lives that they never look up and wonder. I am the polar opposite really in fact I could focus less on wonder.

a reply to: frostie

It is actually really hard to explain when you are caught off guard lol I didn't want to give her to much info and confuse her.

a reply to: Shepard64

My sister and I had a similar convo. Her response: they can't be Sun's because they aren't orangey-yellow!

*sigh*

a reply to: Shepard64

Cute story, I do appreciate stories like this and I have a few of my own. My favorite one was talking to a friend about the possibility of Extraterrestrial Life in the Universe. He was adamant there was nothing, and I kept giving him my reasoning for why there probably is at least something, and he said the following which I will never forget:

"I know there is no Extraterritorial life because we've been all the way to Pluto and there is no life on any of the other planets in the Universe!"

Yep... there it was, this person really believed the Entire Universe went as far as Pluto.

I often tell people "Don't use common sense, because what's common to you, isn't necessarily common to me, "2+2=4" isn't something we know from birth, someone has to actually tell you that"

a reply to: PsychoEmperor

So true! Man that would have boiled my blood.

a reply to: Shepard64

Ha! very true. Patience is required to "deny ignorance"

a reply to: PsychoEmperor

I like to think I sparked her curiosity but I am pretty sure she will just go back to watching "Keeping up with the Kardasians"

a reply to: Shepard64

I run into these folks from time to time. I don't judge because I didn't always know what I know now.

It's very hard to accept when these people adopt an authoritarian world view and decide it's acceptable to impose their will on people.

As long as they are humble (like Carl Pilkington) I really don't mind.

a reply to: Shepard64

How can anyone go thru the public educational system and not know how the universe is constructed?

a reply to: olaru12

Because I am pretty sure that unit in science class gets brushed under the rug. When I was in grade 10 I was disappointing when my teacher said we will not have enough time to get to the universe part of the class. Either that or people don't absorb it if they are not interested which I can't understand not being.

a reply to: Shepard64

But I bet she's on facebook and has an smartphone.

a reply to: Shepard64
Its amazing what some folks have no clue about..

I knew a really old lady when I was a kid,and one day I took my pet tortoise to see her.
She held it up and looked at him closely,then declared"isn't it amazing how they manage to get them into their shell?"as though tortoises are made in a factory or something.

Then there's my brother in law,who was taught in school(in outback Indonesia)that dinosaurs did not exist,and that fossils were put in the ground by tricksters trying to fool people.

No joke.

a reply to: Trueman

Actually no she isn't and doesn't, I think that is because she is part of a different generation.

The depressing part is that these type of people can vote. They don't know that rain is water but they know which guy is better suited to run the country.

a reply to: Shepard64

You just made a case for ignorance is bliss.
You may have ruined her mind, now she will feel insignificant.
And for what?
Your pile of stardust thinks it is superior to her pile of stardust, even though they are the same.

a reply to: Shepard64

There is a collective of metalheads in my town, some of whom are in my social circle. My best friend dates one of them, and so her mans friends and I have been socialising together more over the last year. They are a fantastic group of dudes and dudettes, but they are not very well informed about the things that go on in the universe, or on the quantum level, or the historical and geopolitical context within which we are all living our lives.

I love hanging out with these people, since their sense of fun and humour are of precisely the right sort in my estimation. They call me the wizard though, because I am always coming out with things that make them question their understanding of existence, giving them data they lacked before, and because I often light my cigarettes with a magnifying glass!

It can be very difficult to realise, that although one might not be the most qualified, or the most well off, or even the most intelligent person in the room, that one possesses the most knowledge, because it makes one worry for others, and because it means that one rarely has the opportunity to match wits in conversation in normal life. For that reason, amongst many others, I love this website, and the chance to discuss matters of import, with people who have wisdom and knowledge pertaining thereto.

a reply to: TinfoilTP

I doubt she feels insignificant. If anything I showed her how beautiful our universe really is.