Importance of education

If you have any doubts in it please see the following quotes. I think they show the point pretty well.

"Be sure and put some of those neutrons on it."
-Mike Smith, Baseball pitcher, ordering a salad at a restaurant

"We are not without accomplishment. We have managed to distribute poverty equally."
-Nguyen Co Thatch, Vietnamese foreign minister

"Men, I want you just thinking of one word all
season. One word and one word only: Super Bowl."
-Bill Peterson, football coach

"The word 'genius' isn't applicable in football. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein."
-Joe Theisman, NFL football quarterback and sports analyst

"I've read about foreign policy and studied-I know the number of continents."
-George Wallace, 1968 presidential campaign

"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it."
- Former U.S. Vice-President Dan Quayle

"Please provide the date of your death."
-from an IRS letter

"We're going to turn this team around 360 degrees."
- Jason Kidd, upon his drafting to the Dallas Mavericks

The first and the last quote captures the point especially well. While it is perfectly OK that certain physical or mathematical words are used on a daily basis, it is rather hilarious when people use them without understanding what they are saying.

A month or two ago, a very interesting law was proposed (by Arab Knesset members) in Israel. According to this law everyone who has a political office or is compaining for one, should know how to read and write. This may sound strange but in areas where there is an Arab majority, the mayors often don't have basic education - they even don't know how to read and write. The law didn't pass. The reason - we are too democratic and cannot take the right to vote or to be elected on such basis.

Update: there is a part two to this post: Surprising or not?.