Clueless, Brilliantly

A hushed respect falls over a room of people when it is revealed that among them is a Harvard scholar. Someone teaching at Harvard, accepted for study at Harvard University qualifies by assumption and the hard fact of academic success that they are intellectually brilliant. Intimidating in a sense, as well, to be in the hallowed presence of a mind that is capable of doing justice to the professions of medicine, physics, engineering, law, philosophy.

Harvard University Memorial Hall -- Allen Grove

One of the world's acknowledged, most prestigious seats of higher education, where many of the country's most adaptively impressive minds are set to work to conquer the rigours of study and accomplish with high honours the distinction of doctorates in their chosen profession. It makes a curriculum vitae glow with the golden promise of genius unleashed.

Which may or may not make it surprising to learn the unfortunate truth that the enquiring mind that seeks to conquer, is not all that curious about what they may consider the pedestrian, mundane aspects of life. Mostly anything outside of their own country. Even to recognizing and acknowledging the existence of other countries on this Globe we call home within our neat and tidy little world.

Harvard Hall and the old Yard -- Allen Grove

"Um, I don't know, I have no idea", doesn't seem a particularly instructive, appealing, admirable response to a simple question: Can you name Canada's capital? An enquiry asked at random among the great university's student body by a reporter from the campus newspaper.

Canada, you know the country just north of the 49th parallel. The place where people live in igloos and count their coins in mittens, and where they speak a weird kind of American, and where they don't like to invade countries like Grenada, and you can't get liquor at the grocery store, and they haven't experimented with an atomic device. Booooring!

"I don't know, probably Vancouver or something" was the response by another student in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a seven-hour drive from Ottawa. "Alberta? That's not right", said another modestly. "I have no idea."  As in: should I?

But there were obvious signs that some of those capacious minds had at one time or another imbibed some names reflecting a Canadian experience, offering, Ontario, Quebec, Toronto and Vancouver as guesses. The enquiry exercise posted to YouTube in a video by The Harvard Crimson, and on the campus newspaper's website on Monday. By Monday evening the video had captured 19,000 views.

"Oh my God, I don't know. Um. Wait, that's really bad. That's really bad that I don't know" one young man exclaimed, placing his hand over his mouth. "I don't know, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Canada", responded another student. The last two deserve some kind of acknowledgement for caring, in any event.

And, all was not lost. One student did respond with the correct answer, and Ottawa it was. "Are you Canadian?" asks someone off camera in the video. That one-word response was "Yeah".

John Harvard could be tossing and groaning in his grave.

Harvard University, Statue of John Harvard -- Allen Grove