What is an ignoramus? Meaning and examples. The difference between the concepts of "ignorant" and "ignoramus"

"What is an ignoramus?" - this question can often be heard. We will readily explain the meaning of the word and give examples.

Meaning

The ignorant is called a person who is not enlightened in some areas of knowledge. Is it worth talking about the relativity of this concept? There are people who can build or design an airplane, but they also can not completely read the books of art and do not understand why Leo Tolstoy is so great or, for example, George Orwell.

Sherlock Holmes as an example of a brilliant ignoramus

Once we understand what an ignoramus is, you can refer to the examples. Of course, this will be an example of literary or, rather, cinematic.

Let's recall the famous conversation in the film "Acquaintance" between Holmes and Dr. Watson, where the latter tells the first directly that he is a keen mind, but ignorant in all other aspects. Naturally, it was education. Holmes does not know almost nothing about Copernicus, Joan of Arc and Aristotle, although the name of the first on this list seems vaguely familiar to him. Watson is shocked by the cultural illiteracy of his future colleague, but Holmes does not hesitate and contrasts Watson's historical and humanitarian knowledge with his purely practical skills, such as the ability to distinguish the dirt of one street in London from another, or the ashes of one cigar from another.

Therefore, if the reader is asked what an ignoramus is, he can, without doubting, say: this is Sherlock Holmes (with certain reservations). Interesting are discoveries, and completely unexpected.

And Watson, meanwhile, with horror thinks about a world of utilitarian where no one is interested in philosophy, literature and history, but only that which is necessary for life. Holmes calms a friend and says that he is one. Interestingly, and the famous detective knows the word "ignoramus"? It's not a fact, because it does not matter to him at all.

Since the release of the film, it has been almost 40 years since it was released in 1979. And now we, modern people, understand that Holmes's ignorance is not the most terrible that can be imagined. Holmes is ignorant, but he is an enthusiastic person. Perhaps he would be interested in literature and history, if he had time, but he gives himself all work. Now people are born absolutely horrible, who do not understand anything decisively, and do not even want to learn - that's the true image of the ignorant who frightens. The topic is endless and inexhaustible, but we need to move on. To understand what an ignoramus is, one more important aspect needs to be highlighted.

The ignorant and the ignorant

A special difficulty in humans is the distinction between two concepts, which are placed in a sub-title. In fact, there is no complexity here. One simply has to remember that an ignoramus is a person who is ignorant of science, technology, history and literature, and the ignorant is a man who is ill-bred and uncultured in the everyday sense. It is even easier to understand the difference by examples. A man who puts his feet on a table at a dinner party is ignorant, but a man who does not see the stylistic difference between Turgenev and Gogol is ignorant. Now, we think, there will not be a question, what is ignorant and ignorant, what is the difference. We explained everything in detail.

What's more terrible - to be ignorant or ignorant?

Here is an old dispute about two phenomena that are one worse than another. True, suppose that the ignoramus is not so terrible as ignoramuses, for the latter concept captures first of all the everyday man's bad manners, but, as we know, all norms and rules are relative. Therefore, each person is free to choose from two evils.

We hope, it is clear, that such an ignoramus, and now the reader will not have difficulties with the use of the concept, and with his explanation.