Miss Kolka

PRODUCING IN PARIS

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What do you know? | 20 mars 2007

I have days where I doubt about myself. I KNOW I'm not the only one - I think we all do. Its just a matter of hiding it well enough. Hiding it from those you don't know. Because making friends, good friends is probably another way of saying "I met someone who knows I'm not perfect and accepts my defaults - and I his".

But my doubts are not so much about weird habits that could annoy some - such as dipping bread with butter into my hot chocolate (which is sooo common) or snapping at doormen in clubs- but rather about my intellectual abilities. Which is totally stupid actually. Most people pretend they are more intelligent than they actually are, with few but remarkable exceptions such as Pamela Anderson (a personal hero of mine) and Björk (one of the greatest contemporary artists of the universe and I am not just saying that because I am Icelandic, well ok, maybe I am). They get away with appearing a bit simple - when Pamela has always known how to correctly manage her image and use it for business purposes and Björk maintains her individuality no matter what - always as surprising and original as ever.

I have noticed that in conversations here in France people try to get in as many quotations from famous writers or philosophers as possible - and they all know at least a dozen painters, without forgetting the national name-dropping of course. Something I have already mentioned in previous blogs. In Iceland, people mention as many musical references as possible.. the more obscure and underground the better.. no musical expert with self-respect quotes Mariah Carey or Michael Bolton. That is why we often play games with band names and songs - until the sun comes up. In England you are a complete twat if you dont drink beer and know the name of every player in the national football team (maybe a bit sterotypical). But every culture seems to have something that is considered common knowledge - something that makes people part of the society by knowing these things. I guess in France cultural knowledge in very important - from elementary school and onwards, on the expense of learning other languages perhaps and especially on the expense of independent thinking.

So yes, I might not know the name of some writers or painters but I know other things. I know Norway is not in the European union (only in the european economic area) which came in handy at work yesterday, I know stangetz as well as Chromeo, and I know what I want. (this is not an extensive list of my knowledge...there are a few other things...)

- sometimes I just have to remember that knowledge isn't just science and arts. And that it differs depending on the education you recieved. There is so much more. You can not define it and the only way to learn is to be open to others. Knowing people is the best knowledge.

next blog: analysing the men of France24

Publié par Kolka à 16:28:21 dans Miss Kolka | Commentaires (0) | Permaliens