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Who is illiterate?

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theist

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Main Entry: il·lit·er·ate

Pronunciation: (")i(l)-'li-t(&-)r&t

Function: adjective

Etymology: Middle English, from Latin illiteratus, from in- + litteratus literate

 

1 : having little or no education; especially : unable to read or write

2 a : showing or marked by a lack of familiarity with language and literature b : violating approved patterns of speaking or writing

3 : showing or marked by a lack of acquaintance with the fundamentals of a particular field of knowledge

synonym see IGNORANT

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Dictionaries are pretty cool. We usually adhere to one dominant meaning as it is used in society. For instance unable to read or write.

 

But illiterate is also a synonym for ignorant. So a society that passed on knowledge of the self oraly, with no reading and wiritng skills, would not be considered illiterate by this definition. And one that passed on volumns of books on mundane topics and had millions of libraries to store them and in which everyone could read them could still be seen as illiterate, totally lacking the ability of comprehending true knowledge.

 

Boy, appearances sure can be deceiving it seems.

 

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