In one ear and out the other > A significant percentage of adults have forgotten elementary school lessons, but does it matter? Elliot Chan Opinions Editor recent survey conducted by YYouGov revealed something worrisome: grown-ups have forgotten basic lessons in math, English, and science. One in five adults in the study admitted to having trouble with calculating fractions and percentages. About a quarter of adults cannot recall how to use a semi-colon ina sentence or the names of all the planets within the solar system. Now, it might seem embarrassing for an adult to forget about lessons they spent so many hours studying in their youth. But that type of knowledge is now trivial. We live in a wonderful age where we are as smart as our phones, We calculate our bills with them, we end arguments with them, and we can easily relearn all that was taught to us in elementary school via watching YouTube on them. The ability to remember everything taught to us is not necessary a product of smarts, but rather the product of skilled memory. We remember what’s important for us. While we are able to train our memories like we are able to train our bodies, many of us have more important things to deal with. Remember when you were young and you memorized all 150 (at the time) Pokémon? Try recalling them now. We remember what is important to us. If we enjoy sports, we'll remember names of athletes. If we like video games, we'll train our fingers to remember combinations. If we like history, (¥ Is climate change a threat or a business model? (¥ Whole Foods to start selling ‘imperfect’ fruits and vegetables (¥ Women are people And more! Image via thinkstoc we'll remember specific moments and characters from the past. We choose what to remember. Adults who have forgotten about math, English, and science lessons aren't stupid. They’ve been putting their cognitive energy into other things in their lives that require it. They don’t have time to sit down and review their elementary school lessons once a week. Nobody is going to randomly do long division if they don’t have to. But should they? Sure they should. Everybody should be confident with math, but there just aren’t enough hours in the day to be proficient in everything. Elementary education is the basic foundation for lessons in the rest of our lives, but now that we are older we can happily decide what we need to know. And luckily, we are living in an age where if we do want to learn something or review something, we can do it witha few clicks. Intelligence is not the ability to memorize everything. Intelligence is the ability to find the answer when it is needed. Adults today are different from the adults of the past. We can store our knowledge in the cloud and pull it down when it is needed. This gives us more room in our brain to think about other things. Bastardization of cultural holidays for the masses > Celebrating things you wouldn't Cazzy Lewchuk Staff Writer ve 17 is St. Patrick’s Day, a holiday associated with green everything, Ireland, and alcohol consumption. Bars have Guinness specials, friends pinch friends not dressed in a certain colour, and the whole thing is an excuse to get drunk. The holiday originated from a Christian celebration honouring the Saint Patrick, a missionary, bishop, and patron saint of Ireland who lived in the fifth century. Today, in Ireland, it is a huge five-day festival celebrating the country’s culture and heritage, showcasing all that the nation has to offer. Around the world, particularly in North America, businesses cash in on this cultural celebration in a secular and bastardized fashion. The majority of people downing pints in pubs downtown have no significant Irish heritage; many pretend to be so as an excuse to mock accents and ask for kisses. March 17 has become an SE odd socially acceptable period of cultural appropriation, when people can pretend to be of another ethnic descent. Historically, Irish people have often faced mass discrimination, both for their national heritage and religious affiliation. St. Patrick’s Day is the equivalent in Ireland to Canada Day or the Fourth of July—an incredibly important time to celebrate the country’s culture and roots. Its mass celebration by non-Irish people, particularly the abundance of leprechaun and shamrocks, pushes stereotypes and infringes on a group of people that are in many ways marginalized. On the other hand, even St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland is a departure from the original Christian tradition. Religiously, it is traditionally celebrated by commemoration, themed services, and feasts in many Irish churches (Old Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican). The restrictions on eating and drinking during Lent are lifted, which is why boozing is such a common part of the celebration. Most holidays are bastardizations and manipulated from their original form, particularly religious-turned- secular ones. Christmas and Easter have Christian origins that have nothing to do with Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, Easter eggs, mistletoe, baskets, or gift giving. Nevertheless, such things are incorporated into the festivities by Christians and non- Christians alike. As traditions get passed down throughout centuries and our culture becomes more diverse and inclusive, it’s no wonder that the roots of these holidays are lost. The beer drinkers with shamrock tattoos who have never been to Ireland on March 17 don’t mean any harm. They’re merely having fun by participating in a socially acceptable societal celebration. Still, there’s something insensitive and almost culturally prejudiced about becoming too immersed in a cultural tradition and pretending to be of that culture. There’s a difference between participating in the fun of another culture’s celebration, and completely overtaking it altogether.