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Not saying they're stupid, but...Follow

#1 May 02 2006 at 10:25 AM Rating: Decent
This is quite shocking.

I'd love to see the Euro equivalent, if anyone can find them.
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#2 May 02 2006 at 10:27 AM Rating: Good
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Because I'm just a little less lazy than you...
CNN.com wrote:
Study: Geography Greek to young Americans

Tuesday, May 2, 2006 Posted: 1407 GMT (2207 HKT)

GEOGRAPHY SURVEY
Thirty-three percent of respondents couldn't pinpoint Louisiana on a map.

Fewer than three in 10 think it important to know the locations of countries in the news and just 14 percent believe speaking another language is a necessary skill.

Two-thirds didn't know that the earthquake that killed 70,000 people in October 2005 occurred in Pakistan.

Six in 10 could not find Iraq on a map of the Middle East.

Forty-seven percent could not find the Indian subcontinent on a map of Asia.

Seven-five percent were unable to locate Israel on a map of the Middle East.

Nearly three-quarters incorrectly named English as the most widely spoken native language.

Six in 10 did not know the border between North and South Korea is the most heavily fortified in the world.

Thirty percent thought the most heavily fortified border was between the United States and Mexico.

Source: The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- After more than three years of combat and nearly 2,400 U.S. military deaths in Iraq, nearly two-thirds of Americans aged 18 to 24 still cannot find Iraq on a map, a study released Tuesday showed.

The study found that less than six months after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, 33 percent could not point out Louisiana on a U.S. map.

The National Geographic-Roper Public Affairs 2006 Geographic Literacy Study paints a dismal picture of the geographic knowledge of the most recent graduates of the U.S. education system.

"Taken together, these results suggest that young people in the United States ... are unprepared for an increasingly global future," said the study's final report.

"Far too many lack even the most basic skills for navigating the international economy or understanding the relationships among people and places that provide critical context for world events."

The study, which surveyed 510 young Americans from December 17 to January 20, showed that 88 percent of those questioned could not find Afghanistan on a map of Asia despite widespread coverage of the U.S.-led overthrow of the Taliban in 2001 and the political rebirth of the country.

In the Middle East, 63 percent could not find Iraq or Saudi Arabia on a map, and 75 percent could not point out Iran or Israel. Forty-four percent couldn't find any one of those four countries.

Inside the United States, "half or fewer of young men and women 18-24 can identify the states of New York or Ohio on a map [50 percent and 43 percent, respectively]," the study said.

On the positive side, the study noted, seven in 10 young Americans correctly located China on a map, even though they had a number of misconceptions about that country. Forty-five percent said China's population is only twice that of the United States. It's actually four times larger than the U.S. population.

When the poll was conducted in 2002, "Americans scored second to last on overall geographic knowledge, trailing Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan and Sweden," the report said.

The release of the 2006 study coincides with the launch of the National Geographic-led campaign called "My Wonderful World." A statement on the program said it was designed to "inspire parents and educators to give their kids the power of global knowledge."

I had to learn all the nations in America, and their capitals, when I was a child. I still remember Surinam's capital, Paramaribo (at least it was at the time).
#3 May 02 2006 at 10:35 AM Rating: Good
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It seems like Americans poor geographic knowledge might stem from the public schools' concentration on more US centered history, and not quite getting into much detail over the years on places that didn't have much effect on the US.
#4 May 02 2006 at 10:42 AM Rating: Decent
Cheers Mr Flea.

Not knowing where Louisiana is, after Katrina, is pretty bad. When I was a kid in school (in the UK), we had to learn about all the freaking American states and their capitals. Even places like Baton-Rouge and Desmoines where I'm probably never gonna go.

I dont know enough about the US school system, but watching the US News, stuff like this is not really surprising...
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#5 May 02 2006 at 10:46 AM Rating: Good
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RedPhoenixxxxxx wrote:
Cheers Ms Flea.

ficksed
#6 May 02 2006 at 10:56 AM Rating: Decent
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This is why they invented maps with names on them!

Tis true, up until the late 1970's it was impossible. Ahhh, modern science.
#7 May 02 2006 at 11:00 AM Rating: Excellent
Nexa
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Today, the part of Gbaji will be played by Nexa

Contrary to my hair color, I'm not actually an idiot, but I'll go ahead and be honest here, I suck at geography more than mostly any subject. As far as states go, if it's not on the East Coast, and if it's not Texas, California, Washingon, Oregon, Hawaii, or Alaska, I probably don't know where it is for sure. I would tell you it's "In the middle somewhere", haha.

Quote:
GEOGRAPHY SURVEY
Thirty-three percent of respondents couldn't pinpoint Louisiana on a map.


I can do this, but only since Katrina made it such a popular map location on the news. Before that I probably could, but I would have had to think about it.

Quote:
Fewer than three in 10 think it important to know the locations of countries in the news and just 14 percent believe speaking another language is a necessary skill.


I guess it depends on what you're doing in life. Is it important for me to know the locations of other countries? Define important. I guess it would be good to know but I don't feel like I'm really lacking if I can't show you where exactly in the middle east Israel is. I would love to know another language, but do I think it's necessary? Necessary is a strong word for it where I'm from.

Quote:
Two-thirds didn't know that the earthquake that killed 70,000 people in October 2005 occurred in Pakistan.


I probably did at the time it happened, but if you just asked me now, "What country had an earthquake in October of 2005 that killed 70,000 people" I'd probably draw a blank. Ok, well not RIGHT now because you just told me, but you know what I mean.

Quote:
Six in 10 could not find Iraq on a map of the Middle East.


I could point out roughly where it is, but that's about it.

Quote:
Forty-seven percent could not find the Indian subcontinent on a map of Asia.


Ok, continents I have down.

Quote:
Seven-five percent were unable to locate Israel on a map of the Middle East.


Again, so what?
Quote:

Nearly three-quarters incorrectly named English as the most widely spoken native language.


I know it's not English, but I couldn't tell you for sure what it is!

Quote:
Six in 10 did not know the border between North and South Korea is the most heavily fortified in the world.


I could make an educated guess at this, it makes sense, but it's not like I know that off the top of my head.
Quote:

Thirty percent thought the most heavily fortified border was between the United States and Mexico.


hahaha, ok, that's funny.

Quote:
"Taken together, these results suggest that young people in the United States ... are unprepared for an increasingly global future," said the study's final report. Far too many lack even the most basic skills for navigating the international economy or understanding the relationships among people and places that provide critical context for world events."


So I can't understand the relationship between Iran and Israel unless I can fill in a blank map? Unless you're in a job/field of study where this kind of thing is important, why should you know it beyond just general knowledge? I guess I'd like to be better at geography, but I focus on other things, things that pertain to my work and study. I'm guessing that someone who is great at geography might not be all that great and naming off statistics regarding the number of low income, first generation college students we have dropping out in their first year of post-secondary study...but I'm guessing it's not all that important to them if they're into international finance!

This whole "Americans are ****** at geography" thing has been brought up a few times now, and I really don't see the big deal. I find it more disturbing that Americans have huge misconceptions regarding what constitutes rape, what constitutes racism, why hitting your spouse is just as wrong as hitting anyone else, how many homeless people we have in our cities, how many kids don't have health insurance, etc,etc,etc. What is with this whole geography crack-down??

Nexa - who is supposed to be either working, or writing a paper.
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#8 May 02 2006 at 11:02 AM Rating: Excellent
Nexa
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Vensuvio wrote:
It seems like Americans poor geographic knowledge might stem from the public schools' concentration on more US centered history, and not quite getting into much detail over the years on places that didn't have much effect on the US.


When I was in school, I had to be able to fill in a blank US map with every state and state capitol. On our state map, I had to be able to label ever town, every city, every lake, mountain, river, and county. I also had to be able to identify every country in the Americas along with their capitol. In college, I took the History of European Civilization and I had to be able to label every country, capitol, river, and mountain in Europe.

I don't remember nearly any of it anymore. I also can't remember how to do college level algebra, and I hardly remember a word of French although I took it for three years.

Nexa
____________________________
“It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes. But a half-wit remains a half-wit, and the emperor remains an emperor.”
― Neil Gaiman, The Sandman, Vol. 9: The Kindly Ones
#9 May 02 2006 at 11:10 AM Rating: Good
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Quote:
Two-thirds didn't know that the earthquake that killed 70,000 people in October 2005 occurred in Pakistan.

I'm with Nexa on this one. Until now, I was completely oblivious to the fact that there was an earthquake that killed 70k people in '05. I don't really watch TV, don't read newspapers, and don't read CNN.com. Before I cancelled my cable my main source for news was The Daily Show and the Asylum. Now I'm just stuck with you guys. Smiley: frown

Leesiana is next to Texas, right? I know it's westa Georgia, that's fa sho'.
#10 May 02 2006 at 11:13 AM Rating: Good
If I were to kidnap someone from this board I think it would be Nexa, because even if she managed to escape I doubt she could find her way home.
#11 May 02 2006 at 11:16 AM Rating: Good
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Nexa wrote:
I don't remember nearly any of it anymore. I also can't remember how to do college level algebra, and I hardly remember a word of French although I took it for three years.

C'est ne pas possible!
#12 May 02 2006 at 11:16 AM Rating: Excellent
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When I was a kid we had a hand-me-down wooden puzzle of the US that was so old it was missing Hawaii. The states were the puzzle pieces, and you had to fit them on the map. Some were easy - Florida is the only one that would fit that slot - but a lot of them were devilishly hard. All those big square states, grrrr.

Anyway that's pretty much how I learned US geography.

I also remember spending hours and hours drawing maps as homework for different classes. What I mostly remember about that is the colored pencils I used.

On the other hand, fast forward a few years: when I started to take an interest in politics and business, I learned more about other nations in a few weeks than in all my time in school. When I decided to do some traveling I learned still more; when I actually did tour around I learned still more, and what I had previously learned became real.

No one retains facts without context. Well, some people do, but they can't really use them in any meaningful way except to parrot them back. Go them.
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#13 May 02 2006 at 11:17 AM Rating: Good
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What's the point of having maps if people feel you have to be an idiot to need one?

Some people really hate asking for directions I suppose.
#14 May 02 2006 at 11:19 AM Rating: Decent
Prodigal Son
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Quote:
So I can't understand the relationship between Iran and Israel unless I can fill in a blank map? Unless you're in a job/field of study where this kind of thing is important, why should you know it beyond just general knowledge?

So you can argue it on a message board, duh!

I knew about the Pakistan earthquake, but I keep confusing it with the one in Bam, Iran in '03.
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#15 May 02 2006 at 11:20 AM Rating: Decent
Prodigal Son
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Vensuvio wrote:
What's the point of having maps if people feel you have to be an idiot to need one?

Some people really hate asking for directions I suppose.

The ability to read it even if you have one comes into question.
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publiusvarus wrote:
we all know liberals are well adjusted american citizens who only want what's best for society. While conservatives are evil money grubbing scum who only want to sh*t on the little man and rob the world of its resources.
#16 May 02 2006 at 11:21 AM Rating: Excellent
Nexa
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Debalic wrote:
Quote:
So I can't understand the relationship between Iran and Israel unless I can fill in a blank map? Unless you're in a job/field of study where this kind of thing is important, why should you know it beyond just general knowledge?

So you can argue it on a message board, duh!

I knew about the Pakistan earthquake, but I keep confusing it with the one in Bam, Iran in '03.


I was actually thinking Trivial Pursuit...you just know that damn question is going to be on there, and NOW I'll remember it, haha.

Nexa
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“It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes. But a half-wit remains a half-wit, and the emperor remains an emperor.”
― Neil Gaiman, The Sandman, Vol. 9: The Kindly Ones
#17 May 02 2006 at 11:22 AM Rating: Good
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Samira wrote:
No one retains facts without context. Well, some people do, but they can't really use them in any meaningful way except to parrot them back. Go them.

True. If most of your experience is centered around a certain geographic area, it's no wonder that the rest may mean nothing to you. For example, I knew this one kid from Libya, and I had no idea that he was African. Come to think of it, I have no idea what countries currently make up the African continent.
#18 May 02 2006 at 11:25 AM Rating: Good
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Wait a second Nexa, you’re saying it's not acceptable to beat the wife anymore?

When the hell did this memo come out and why didn't I get it?



Now what am I going to do with my free time...
#19 May 02 2006 at 11:28 AM Rating: Good
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Aegis wrote:


Now what am I going to do with my free time...


Play Eq2?
#20 May 02 2006 at 11:29 AM Rating: Good
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Samira wrote:
When I was a kid we had a hand-me-down wooden puzzle of the US that was so old it was missing Hawaii. The states were the puzzle pieces, and you had to fit them on the map. Some were easy - Florida is the only one that would fit that slot - but a lot of them were devilishly hard. All those big square states, grrrr.


modern equivalent
#21 May 02 2006 at 11:29 AM Rating: Decent
Scholar
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The Glorious Atomicflea wrote:
Because I'm just a little less lazy than you...
CNN.com wrote:
A bunch of random facts that unless they were in your field of study or applied to everyday life where you live, you wouldn't have much of a fu[red][/red]cking clue.

I had to learn all the nations in America, and their capitals, when I was a child. I still remember Surinam's capital, Paramaribo (at least it was at the time).


We have nations in Am3r1ka?*









The * serves a purpose
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#22 May 02 2006 at 11:29 AM Rating: Good
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Lady DSD wrote:
Aegis wrote:


Now what am I going to do with my free time...


Play Eq2?


Cyborz?
#23 May 02 2006 at 11:48 AM Rating: Decent
Wingchild wrote:
Samira wrote:

When I was a kid we had a hand-me-down wooden puzzle of the US that was so old it was missing Hawaii. The states were the puzzle pieces, and you had to fit them on the map. Some were easy - Florida is the only one that would fit that slot - but a lot of them were devilishly hard. All those big square states, grrrr.





modern equivalent


fun! I got 45/50 with an average error of 17 miles.
I had that same wooden puzzle when I was a kid.

I've got to say, I'm with Nexa on this one. I do like geography. I did well in it in school. I had a National Geographic Atlas that I'd read for fun as a kid. Knowing where a country is has never made a difference in my life though. How many people's daily lives require them to locate a country on a map? Unless you're in a foreign policy / international business type field, I really don't see this being crucial knowledge for anyone.

I don't much care if my doctor can point out Iraq on a map. I'm more concerned that he knows about medicine.

Quote:
"Far too many lack even the most basic skills for navigating the international economy or understanding the relationships among people and places that provide critical context for world events."


What navigating of the international economy does the average person do...ever? Maybe those oranges you're buying at the supermarket were grown in Venezuala, but does it matter? You're probably buying them because they're on sale for $0.49/lb not because you know or care where they came from.

Yeah, lots of people are interested in knowing what's going on in the world, but very few people actually have to make decisions based on this knowledge.
#24 May 02 2006 at 12:31 PM Rating: Decent
Not surprising. In 2001 i took an anthropology course. The instructor announced the first day of class that one of the required texts was a world atas and that there would be quizes on geography for Africa and North, Central, and South America. He believed that people should know the geographic areas about which he would be lecturing. It was a big lecture hall so the 20 people who got up and laft really weren't missed.
#25 May 02 2006 at 1:05 PM Rating: Decent
Prodigal Son
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Nexa wrote:
I was actually thinking Trivial Pursuit...you just know that damn question is going to be on there, and NOW I'll remember it, haha.

Sh[black][/black]it, I spent most of my childhood playing two different Trivial Pursuit versions with my family - regular and Genus Edition. Watching Jeopardy was also a common pasttime.




I did best at Jeopardy, sitting on the toilet and listening to the TV in the living room.
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publiusvarus wrote:
we all know liberals are well adjusted american citizens who only want what's best for society. While conservatives are evil money grubbing scum who only want to sh*t on the little man and rob the world of its resources.
#26 May 02 2006 at 1:16 PM Rating: Decent
[*********** I spent most of my childhood playing two different Trivial Pursuit versions with my family - regular and Genus Edition. Watching Jeopardy was also a common pasttime.
[/quote]
Geek.

By the time I was 13 the only version my dad could beat me at was the Baby Boomer edition. Now he can't beat me at that. We watched Jeopardy together, as well as Wheel of Fortune.

I do hate Trivial Pursuit though. The randomness of the last question is a bitter pill. My father is f'ucking illiterate when it comes to literature. He doesn't know his D;ckens from his Richard, so of course we picked lit a lot for his final question. The most memorable backfire was "Who kissed the girls and made them cry?"
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