When confronted with particularly egregious gaps in or missteps of knowledge, the Matron routinely asks her students: "How do you know this? Where did you learn this?"
The answer is SILENCE while the brain struggles to retrieve the exact source of information -- kernels of knowledge like health care reform will cost every American $1000, women make even MORE money than men, Asians are better at math than (rest of planet), or Native Americans are, well, peaceful by nature.
No one can ever point to the article they read documenting and quantifying why most men who like to figure skate are gay. Everybody just knows that.
Her point? Much of what we 'know,' we get by an osmosis of sorts, cultural wisdom or myth that free-floats through public and private space to settle as 'truth' in psyche and soul.
Or it comes from your grandma.
The Matron was reminded of this high-brow, finely-tuned method of Knowledge Acquirement just this morning when she (for no real reason) asked Scarlett if she always washed her hair with shampoo, twice.
Matron: "Because you have to wash your hair twice to get all the dirt out."
Scarlett: "Where did you learn that?"
Matron . . . . silence! It's the brain struggle! "Uh . . . Stephanie Luknic. Eighth grade. I was at her house while she was washing her hair in the kitchen sink and she told me you had to use shampoo twice before conditioner. Otherwise your hair stays dirty."
Scarlett (knowingly): "Thought so."
Scarlett (knowingly): "Thought so."
Alarm!
Knowledge that the Matron -- believed in and practiced! -- was not only dated by about 30 years but from a completely unreliable source AND she didn't engage in this conversation with her sons but just her daughter.
Her entire adult grooming life has centered on the advice of a 13 year old. Plus she is sexist.
She is not alone in the camp of dim or dubious knowledge.
12 comments:
The old shampoos didn't suds right the first time, that's why you had to use them twice. That's where that myth started.
So... That means you don't really have to shampoo your hair twice ? I always thought you did ! Although I can't remember how I learned it. Probably my mother told me so. ;-)
Something like this happened to me recently, too! Not shampoo, though - can't remember what it was, but I suddenly realized that I was going on something that I had "learned" when I was 13 and had never verified.
It use to say it on the back of the bottle - don't know if it still does. I figured they just wanted to sell more shampoo, so they told people to lather twice. Besides that, I didn't want to spend that much time washing and rinsing my hair. I have this arguement with my husband regarding wash machines and dishwashers - he insists you follow the rules on the bottle - I say they are trying to make you use up the product so you have to buy more - cut it in half and tell me if your clothes aren't as clean or the dishes aren't clean. It works with half the amount.
Another great post. Sometimes Blogger just needs a 'Like' button :-)
Funny how its sometimes the things we are most certain about are the very things that are most assuredly rooted in myth.
You do have good hair.
Ah, that's what I was looking for Mrs. G. Fish, fish : -)
HA! Now you've got me thinking about what I "know"....
Small world moment. My college roommate is Stephanie Luknic's cousin :-)
(and I routinely use half the amount recommended on all types of cleanser - shampoo, dishwashing detergent, laundry soap ... everything looks great.)
And yes, you do have nice hair!
Karen! That is WAY too weird!!
Reminds me of the old story/myth/joke of the woman who always cut off the end of the roast before cooking it in her pressure cooker. When her husband finally questioned why she did that, she said that is what her mother had done. When she asked her mother why, she found out it was because that is how she got it to fit in her small pot, not because it was part of the food prep necessity.
Ha!
I told my younger daughter when she was about 5yrs old that, if she went to bed with wet hair, it would go mouldy.
I really just wanted her to let me dry her hair because it was winter, and so cold.
She shared that with a friend about 2 months ago...and came home outraged! Her friend had laughed at her. How many other lies had I told her?
She's 17.
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