It totally is awesomer–the 'stans are horribly difficult, esp. the ones you never hear about, like Tajikistan.
I just did the Africa one, and I did better than I expected, but not incredible.
[Ambrose Bierce] War is God’s way of teaching Americans geography. [/Ambrose Bierce]
I just did a big research paper on improving Tajikistan’s security, so I can tell you a LOT about it, if you feel a need for more Tajikistan knowledge. And really, who doesn’t? Nothing says exciting like Tajik security policy.
Iraq is easy. Nigeria, I know the general location. Thailand… well, if those geography games are any indication, I’d get it confused with Taiwan. Come on! They both start with the same syllable! 
Don’t worry. Just wait a few years, and it will be entirely gone (having mined all the phosphate the island is made of).
Well, since I was in Iraq (briefly, in 1991), yes, I can point to it on an unmarked map. My experience there made a lasting impression.
Nigeria and Thailand? Not so much.
I have know since the Iran/Iraq war.
There are very few countries I can not find on a map.
OK, I just took that little test linked up-thread, and I’m, uh, not as solid as I thought. I did correctly place Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Israel, but most of the other Middle Eastern countries took me a try or two to correctly place. Some I biffed completely. (United Arab Emirates! Argh!) Whoops.
- Not as good as I had hoped.
However, I only ran out of chances on 3 of them. :o
Yes to all three…but I have to find some of their neighboring countries first.
Iraq: I have to find Iran first, because it’s big, and I’m always surprised at how big it is. Once I find Iran, Iraq is easy.
Thailand: …Actually, I can find this one on its own. I always remember that Southeast Asia looks a bit like an elephant, and Thailand is the “ear” and part of the “trunk.”
Nigeria: I have to find Ghana first, because I know it’s coastal and rectangular. Nigeria is the big country a couple doors down, so to speak.
That said, I’m terrible at Geography.
Are the country outlines missing, or just the names? With outlines I could hit Iraq, and Thailand. Nigeria, no way. I’d point to Africa and say ‘somewhere in this general area’.
Without outlines I could get the general location of Iraq and Thailand, but can’t guarantee I wouldn’t point to Saudi Arabia or (more likely) Iran, in Iraq’s case, or Myanmar or (more likely) Malasia for Thailand (since I’d point to the peninsula, no chance of any other surrounding countries).
Geography’s not really my strong point.
The problem I have with these kind of claims is that there never seems to be a control group. How well do Cubans or Germans do on these quizzes?
The other problem is: Who cares? I doubt that most creative scientists and artists ever spent a lot of time memorizing geography facts.
Thank you.
I agree that knowing precisely where all of these countries is on a map is probably not super important. However, it is fairly useful to not be totally ignorant about the world outside your own front door. This is, I think what Americans are so atrocious about, at least in comparison to people in other wealthy countries.
Being able to make a reasonable attempt at figuring out where countries are in the world is just a part of that.
Only 52 out of 75 -> got every middle east country right on the first try, but apparently know nothing about the 'stans, even though I have an (adopted) cousin from there
I agree with that, but I’m also going to say that a reasonable mental picture of the world is a good idea for both a sense of proportion (not being the only country in the world) and awareness of the many, many people and ways of living there are to be found (there are entire countries you’ve never heard of, Moldova and Tajikistan for example, and yet the people living there are every bit as human and whatnot as you).
Yup. It’s even easier to find Iraq if they draw in the two rivers. I took a few of the tests linked. Thailand was easy. Surprisingly, I got Nigeria on the first try; since it was big in the slave trade, I knew at least that it was on the Atlantic coast.
I did pretty well in the Middle East & Asia; less well in Africa. Aced South America & did OK with Central America. Apparently my mind hasn’t processed the breakup of the USSR (the 'stans!) & changes in formerly-Red Europe; need to study up. But the rest of Europe was easy; a recent Rick Steves show on the tiny countries helped.
The Canadian provinces were mostly OK–but the prairie ones are easy to confuse. (Kind of like all those rectangular states in the middle of the USA.) Did OK on the Mexican border & coastal states–not so well in Central Mexico.
I’ve always liked maps–now I can see where remedial work is needed. I know some people have no idea about geography, alas. But it’s not just US citizens; a Pakistani at work didn’t know where Indonesia was until I showed him on my globe. (Of course I have a little globe in my office, although it has nothing to do with my job.)
I don’t want to turn this into GD, so might I politely ask if you can cite any evidence to back this up?
I have no problem with most of the world nations. Maybe small island states in Oceania would give me a problem. But I couldn’t point out too many of the states that make up the USA.
On another note, we have this on our office wall.
I know where Iraq is, I know that Nigeria is in the north-easternish part of Africa, and I know Thailand is in Southeast Asia nearish Cambodia/Vietnam. I’m pretty sure, if the countries were outlined, I could nail Iraq and Thailand, but I always confuse Nigeria with Niger so I’m not confident I would succeed on that one.
I’m not totally convinced that one need to have a perfect knowledge of geography in order to make informed political decisions, but I can see how it would enhance understanding of the situation.
Here’s a fun online time-waster that helped me learn the world’s geography: