NationStates Jolt Archive

When was the last time the knowledge of the your nation's location on a map came in handy in everyday life for you? Please specify how. Poll coming.

Never, unless you count geography class. The only important things I can see are the location of other countries that you are involved with (war, you have family there, etc) and that country's position relative to your own.

Trivia.

Now. Canadians like it on top. ;)

It was very useful in knowing whether I could see last night's lunar eclipse last night, so I voted "today".

http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/OH/image1/LE2007Aug28-Fig3.GIF

About 45 minutes ago. And about an hour before that. And an hour before that. All of yesterday, and the day before that back till Monday, for the last three years.

Well, from what I can recall. There's been a lot of times I needed to know how to look at and identify things on a map in college, but I really don't want to dig out my coursework right now.

I'm always discussing politics and religion, and those things are tied into geography, at least somewhat. So even if I don't actively talk about it, I'm still looking at my mental map when I talk about Westminster Theological Seminary or the Putin's policies over in Russia.

Within the last year for understanding the geography of the nation, in arguements concerning the Canada/USA border, debating rights/sovereignity of the North. It is also important if you want to understand relations with surrounding countries and not so surrounding countries which is important to understand if you vote etc.

(Past year because I've been on holidays for a month so I didn't need that knowledge but if I was asked any other time in would be "this week")

As of now, my family is planning a trip out of the country, so it's pretty handy to know where we are in relation to other nations.

Whenever I travel or go on vacation? It's absolutely necessary for what I'll be doing for a career...

You know, it helps to know where countries are when your company is investing in them...if you can't find the country, you can't do a damn thing with it because you can't get any meaningful information without knowing its location. Honestly, if I'm handling other people's money and can't find where I'm investing it, I deserve to be waiting in the unemployment line.

Actually, pretty much every single occupation above the lowest entry-level jobs requires knowledge of geography.

Any time you ever look at a weather report. Any time you're discussing politics, any time you're looking at nearly anything.

I have to know, people most people don't know seem to know the geographic location of where I live.

Travel and understanding what's going on in the news, I like to know where the places they are talking about are

I have to know, people most people don't know seem to know the geographic location of where I live.

*nods*

It was very useful in knowing whether I could see last night's lunar eclipse last night, so I voted "today".

http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/OH/image1/LE2007Aug28-Fig3.GIF

I saw that, it was pretty cool, especially when it was about 90% done, the whole thing glowed as if it was backlit.

Every time I read any news, which is several times a day. Any time I discuss news or politics with anyone else, which can also be several times a day. Because I'm interested in what happens in the world, whether it directly affects me or not.

FAG, you're a laughable idiot.

When was the last time the knowledge of the your nation's location on a map came in handy in everyday life for you? Please specify how. Poll coming.

And would this be the troll's attempt to justify total ignorance? I believe it would be. We don't need no education! (But we DO need thought control, eh?)

Two days ago.

It's indicative of a larger problem. It's not like you're going to be lost and have to whip out a map and go, "Okay, where's my country?" But it does speak to a problem of awareness. The less you know the easier it is to be convinced of stupid shit like French weddings are only for 7 years.

We don't have a stellar reputation in that sense already, this doesn't help. Besides, we put the shape of the damn thing fucking everywhere, how unaware of your surroundings do you have to be to not be able to find the country with a wang?

I <3 Fag

And would this be the troll's attempt to justify total ignorance?

Or it may be just a Hillbilly's way of saying "errrr, aaaah ain't never not been goin' outsaaade a maaa home town no uh-uh, so aaah wants ta know nuffn about them there rest of them world with all them weerd folk!" :p

Or it may be just a Hillbilly's way of saying "errrr, aaaah ain't never not been goin' outsaaade a maaa home town no uh-uh, so aaah wants ta know nuffn about them there rest of them world with all them weerd folk!" :p


- Before the internet, the village idiot at least stayed in his village - some wise person ;)

Never, unless you count geography class.

Same me.

Using a lot of sites from weather.com to priceline.com etc., it comes in very handy to know bout what part of the country you're in. Which makes it very useful to know what the country looks like. ;)

Why just today, I was pricing hotels in New Hampshire(Mudbowl is coming up). Basic geography was a big help. :p

When was the last time the knowledge of the your nation's location on a map came in handy in everyday life for you? Please specify how. Poll coming.

Every single day, really... Did you find the knowledge to be useless ballast, then?

Same me.

Er... so you never watch the weather forecast? Or decide where to travel on holiday?

Just five seconds ago, when I took great delight in a simple piece of knowledge that apparently eludes FreedomAndGlory.

Also, when I was planning a trip to Canada next week, it was very useful to know that Canada is NORTH of the US, so I didn't end up in Mexico.

Also, earlier this week, when I reflected on the fact that despite recent issues, I was still proud of my country, and actually knowing what my country fucking looks like was helpful in that feeling. I suppose this is a feeling FreedomAndGlory experiences infrequently, as he's so far failed to be inspired by that feeling to learn the location and shape of a country that takes up the majority of it's continent.

Also, any time I ever wanted to think of world history or world events. Really, any thinking about reality in general required a general knowledge of the shape of my homeland. But then again, Reality has a liberal bias.

Every time I read any news, which is several times a day.

How in particular does knowledge of your nation's whereabouts aid you in reading the news? When I read the news, I rarely need to know the US's geographic location, as that information is not pertinent to most news articles.

During my internship during spring quarter.

Given that my summer vacation has been a vacation, I haven't had need for any sort of knowledge since then, well, besides how to build furniture, but that's just my delusional hobby.

How in particular does knowledge of your nation's whereabouts aid you in reading the news? When I read the news, I rarely need to know the US's geographic location, as that information is not pertinent to most news articles.

Dude, I think that you're picking the absolute wrong fight. Choose one that's easier to win, and doesn't require you to ignore the importance of reality.

Yes why burden yourself with useless 'extra' knowledge like where your country is, how to tell the time, or where to go to the bathroom properly.

Dude, I think that you're picking the absolute wrong fight. Choose one that's easier to win, and doesn't require you to ignore the importance of reality.Well, it never helped me.

Why do I need to know the location of the Netherlands relative to Belgium and Germany and to the rest of the world when there's talk about politics?
Why do I need to know it when they show a map of Holland in the weather forecast, I only need to know where I live, not where Holland lies.
When talking about Afghanistan?

Enlighten me, please.:p

Dude, I think that you're picking the absolute wrong fight. Choose one that's easier to win, and doesn't require you to ignore the importance of reality.

I mean, I would understand if, for example, a news article displayed a map of the world and showed where extreme weather events were likely to occur; in that instance, it would be helpful to know where one's country was. But for most news articles, you don't need to. For example, I'll list the latest news articles on the BBC and put those for which the aforementioned knowledge is handy in bold.


Sadr "freezes" militia activities
Taleban release S Korean hostages.
Nelson Mandela statue is unveiled.
Bhutto "ultimatum" to Musharraf.
Bush to mark Katrina anniversary.
Global stocks in volatile trading.

The list goes on and on, yet none of the items are in bold. Why? Because you don't need to know your nation's geographic location to comprehend any of those articles.

I have to know, people most people don't know seem to know the geographic location of where I live.
with your name, I'm thinking somewhere in the Deep South, around Louisiana.
Am I right?

Yes why burden yourself with useless 'extra' knowledge like where your country is, how to tell the time, or where to go to the bathroom properly.

You need to know how to tell the time in order to allot your time in an efficient manner. I agree that certain groups of people find this an unnecessary extravagance, but they are a minority who live in rural areas and don't need to meet strict deadlines, such as showing up for work at 9:00, eating lunch at 12:15, picking up a child from school at 3:05 and watching a TV show at 10:00. These tasks need to be performed punctually by many of us, and thus we require an accurate time-keeping device and the ability to decipher it; for others, a more general sense of time suffices. Furthermore, going to the bathroom properly is a very useful skill that is employed daily and can save you much hassle. As such, neither of the points you listed are comparable to knowing where one's country is, as that knowledge rarely comes in useful.

Well, it never helped me.

Why do I need to know the location of the Netherlands relative to Belgium and Germany and to the rest of the world when there's talk about politics?
Why do I need to know it when they show a map of Holland in the weather forecast, I only need to know where I live, not where Holland lies.
When talking about Afghanistan?

Enlighten me, please.:p

Let's see... when talking about whether a new train line should be built to Germany, it helps to know where it's going on the map, which areas it hence goes through, alternatives (like, are there rivers or major roads connecting to that country?) and such. Likewise, if you're being asked whether you're ok with merging the north of Belgium with the Netherlands, it helps to know the two actually border...

Then there's the EU. Does it make sense for Poland to have become a member of the EU, and (as random example) for instance not Japan? Knowing the general layout of the world helps a lot in answering that question. Or take for instance the relationships between The Netherlands and The Netherlands Antilles, Suriname, and Indonesia. There are important historical links, and it matters a lot for future relations whether for instance the Antilles are 10 kilometers west of Rotterdam harbor, or a tad further ;)

Ballotonia

because i am a reasonably educated person i never need to use a map to remind me where my country is. i carry that map in my head. so no, the ability to open a map of the world and point to the united states hasnt come in handy for a very long time because i dont need to open a world map. i know where i am.

knowing where the US is in relation to the other countries of the world comes in handy pretty much daily.

I mean, I would understand if, for example, a news article displayed a map of the world and showed where extreme weather events were likely to occur; in that instance, it would be helpful to know where one's country was. But for most news articles, you don't need to. For example, I'll list the latest news articles on the BBC and put those for which the aforementioned knowledge is handy in bold.


Sadr "freezes" militia activities
Taleban release S Korean hostages.
Nelson Mandela statue is unveiled.
Bhutto "ultimatum" to Musharraf.
Bush to mark Katrina anniversary.
Global stocks in volatile trading.

The list goes on and on, yet none of the items are in bold. Why? Because you don't need to know your nation's geographic location to comprehend any of those articles.

Part of why one nation is important to another is their place in geography. If the US were in Europe there would not be an immigration problem from Latin America. (North Africa maybe)

By not knowing the geographical location, it is hard to understand why one nation might want to go to war with another or avoid war with another. After 9/11 it would have been far more logical for the US to go to war with Saudi Arabia than with Iraq. But do partially to the location and size of each country it was decided to pick on the smaller (though more innocent) nation in order to take over a substantial quantity of oil.

Sadr "freezes" militia activities----Where the h--- is Sadr and what difference should it make whether he even has a militia?

Taleban release S Korean hostages.-----Where in the world, in relationship to anything that matters to the US is the Talaban and where is S Korea and since they aren't down the block why should they have any bearing on any American interest?

Nelson Mandela statue is unveiled.----Maybe I should stop and see it the next time I go to the Black Hills.

Bhutto "ultimatum" to Musharraf.----What's wrong with these people, one is in Europe and the other in South America. Why would they want to fight? And what kinds of arms could they have that would go that far anyway?

Bush to mark Katrina anniversary.----Who cares what happens in North Dakota, just a bunch of Indian Reservations anyway?

Global stocks in volatile trading.---Since I only buy from American companies this will have totally no effect on me.

a country that takes up the majority of it's continent.


I don't mean to rain on your patriotism, which I find admirable (in sane quantities) in any country's citizens, but Canada takes up the majority of the North American continent.

I had to figure out where the latest lunar eclipse took place, so I wasn't asking Europeans for their photos of it.

I don't mean to rain on your patriotism, which I find admirable (in sane quantities) in any country's citizens, but Canada takes up the majority of the North American continent.

According to Wikipedia:
Area of the US 3,718,695 sq mi
Area of Canada 3,854,085 sq mi

Damn, you're right. It looks so much smaller on the maps I've seen, and I figured Alaska would balance it out a bit. Ah well, half of that's useless frozen tundra anyway.

Still, we need to steal a hundred thousand square miles somewhere.

I don't mean to rain on your patriotism, which I find admirable (in sane quantities) in any country's citizens, but Canada takes up the majority of the North American continent.
Canada takes up about 40% of North America, making it take up a plurality of the continent (majority means over 50%).

Still, the point remains: Canada is very big.

Canada takes up about 40% of North America, making it take up a plurality of the continent (majority means over 50%).

Ah, thanks!

According to Wikipedia:
Area of the US 3,718,695 sq mi
Area of Canada 3,854,085 sq mi

Damn, you're right. It looks so much smaller on the maps I've seen, and I figured Alaska would balance it out a bit. Ah well, half of that's useless frozen tundra anyway.

Still, we need to steal a hundred thousand square miles somewhere.

I've always found that Canada, Alaska, and Greenland look disproportionately large, thanks to the popularity of Mercator projection on maps.

And yes, most of my country is frozen tundra, but we have our flag on it so it still counts! :p