My point is people get emotional about all kinds of things, and people have all kinds of triggers. Level of understanding just isn't a dependent variable, IMHO. Examples are just too easy to dig up - Linclon got all messed up when Meade failed to pursue Lee after Gettysburg. I'm sure Lincoln was well informed on the subject of the Civil War. The threshold where one crosses from reason into emtional response has nothing to do with depth of understanding.