I’m going to take this one step farther and remove your working television - it doesn’t fit into the rest of your scenario. (edit - I’m also going to assume that you’re not talking about one person in a town where everyone is comspiring to keep that person uneducated, but rather a community of similar persons.)
Lacking a formal education doesn’t make a person stop asking Why or How. I’d listen to the stories of my elders explaining our world and all that was experienced in it, including the purpose for humans being in it. Eventually, depending on the culture and its rules, I imagine I’d add my own stories to the mix, and/or debate with my friends about What Is, and/or think about the higher powers that made it all.
I’d experience my environment without the barriers of a television, a wall, a window, a screen, and be able to read the weather and the ground so as to help me to know what tomorrow might bring.
I’d provide for my social group in the best way I could. This might involve:
**hunting (knowing how to read animal signs, when to hunt the local animals, what to do if you find yourself hunted instead)
**gathering/farming (when do the items I need grow? What do I have to do to find them? What do I have to do to plant/tame them so I can rely on their production? What do I do if it looks like that production is failing? Are there other people around with whom I can trade? What is valuable to them?)
**raising children (what do they need to know to survive? to survive socially? to stay healthy? to be productive? to be happy? What do I do when they get ill or injured? How long can they be gone before I need to worry about them?)
**producing goods (what needs to be created? How do I do it? What do I need to be able to start? Who holds the knowledge of how to do it?)
**protecting the people (Are there neighboring peoples? Are they friendly? If not, this could be a problem. Are we in danger? What about local predators? Are all the children accounted for? What about natural disasters? Are we prepared for events that are likely to happen, given our surroundings?)
**protecting the people’s knowledge (Religious duties. Storytelling and history. Written language/documents. Musical knowledge. Sporting events. The associated rituals, rules, accessories, for all of the above)
I don’t know…seems to me I’d probably have quite a bit to think about. And fewer people to tell me what to think instead. My brain would be plenty full, and I’d probably be amused at the ignorance of ‘educated’ people coming and trying to survive in my lifestyle.
How many college graduates have the knowledge to provide their own food? I only know one, and he still goes to the grocery store for things.
PS - I really don’t want to get roped into an argument or even a heated debate. I’ve got enough of that going on right now, thanks. So please consider your wording if you are one of those who tend to get into arguments. I’d appreciate it, thanks.
