# How much geography is necessary to the average person? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 12, 2006, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-geography-is-necessary-to-the-average-person/352394 "2006-04-12T16:23:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-geography-is-necessary-to-the-average-person/352394/41 "2006-04-13T12:18:47Z")
While I think it’s good to have a working knowledge of geography, it’s hard to make the case that it’s necessary for someone to know geography beyond their own local area. Then again, it’s not necessary to read books, or enjoy music, or any of those other things, but a person is considered more knowledgable if they do. As far as the Europeans, meh. I’ve heard them complain before that Americans don’t know geography, or only speak one language, and I think it’s bunk. They don’t realize how big the US is - anyone in the lower 48 can get on a plane, fly for 4-6 hours, get out, and still be in the US, speaking English. Try that in Yurp. Heck, they can’t take a walk and not end up in a foreign country speaking some other language and wearing funny clothes. In general, US citizens know the states around them, and have a good idea of the names and general location of all the other states. If, say, Wisconsin spoke a different language (and some people could make a case that they do), chances are that the people of Minnesota, Illinois, and the UP would probably also speak Cheesish (or whatever language the Wisconsinites adopt in my theoretical multi-lingual Northern state world). ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-geography-is-necessary-to-the-average-person/352394/42 "2006-04-13T12:31:14Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > …fly for 4-6 hours, get out, and still be in the US, speaking English. Hmmm…London to New York is about six hours, isn’t it? 😉 More seriously, I agree with you. The commonly-heard (in Britain) “90% of Americans don’t have passports” statistic, whether true or not, is meaningless. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-geography-is-necessary-to-the-average-person/352394/43 "2006-04-13T13:56:50Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > It doesn’t BEAT a specialist education but I would have thought a basic generalist education was nesscary to get your MD. I wouldn’t expect my doctor to write a thesis on Turkish history, but I’d expect him to know where it WAS. Maybe he was thinking to himself more along the lines of, I don’t know what shots you need because I’ve never had someone ask me. I know that going to Africa it depends on what part means different shots. Hell I didn’t think you had to do anything for going to Turkey and that’s what confused him. Then again he could have just been an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-geography-is-necessary-to-the-average-person/352394/44 "2006-04-13T14:17:31Z")
> [@An Arky](#): > > **Indygrrl** , there’s a book called [Don’t Know Much About Geography](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0380713799/ref=pd_sim_b_1/002-4456464-4899264?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=283155), that is decent, and yeah, there’s no need for poring over maps and memorizing things to learn a little about Geography. It’s kind of like History; people get turned off by all the memorization/preponderance of war junk that they get forced on them at school. Excellent book, highly recommended. Geography _isn’t_ memorizing maps and state capitols, although those things are useful things to know. Here’s a quote I found on the Wiki Geography page: > [@](#): > > “Mere place names are not geography. To know by heart a whole gazeteer full of them would not, in itself, constitute anyone a geographer. Geography has higher aims than this… to trace out the great laws of nature and to mark their influence upon man. In a word, geography is a science, a thing not of mere names, but of argument and reason, of cause and effect.” – William Hughes (King’s College, 1863) ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-geography-is-necessary-to-the-average-person/352394/45 "2006-04-13T14:33:55Z")
Right. I took several Geography courses in college; enough for a Minor, if one had existed at my college. There are not only physical, but social, economic, political, environmental, historical and other aspects we can learn about places through Geography. And with GIS data, we can tie virtually any kind of data to Geography. It’s cool, cool stuff, and very sadly neglected in schools and by people in general. I think it can serve as a keystone of general knowledge, but in the current mad rush to specialization, it’s getting left behind. ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-geography-is-necessary-to-the-average-person/352394/46 "2006-04-13T14:52:18Z")
> [@TellMeI'mNotCrazy](#): > > Until last year, I thought Greenland was part of Europe. Then you’re not so bad at geography after all. Greenland (and Iceland for that matter) are not really part of \*\*any \*\* continent, **geologically speaking** , but **politically speaking** , they \*\*are \*\* a part of Europe. Greenland is a self-governing territory of Denmark. And when I was in Iceland last summer, I always tried to refer to the next stop on my vacation as \*continental \* Europe, as opposed to just Europe – 'coz the locals would always remind me that Iceland is a part of Europe if I didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Mellivora\_capensis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mellivora\_capensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mellivora_capensis)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-geography-is-necessary-to-the-average-person/352394/47 "2006-04-13T14:58:57Z")
> [@TellMeI'mNotCrazy](#): > > I’m a geography idiot. It’s one of those things I just simply am not good at. I avoid discussions of geography because, well, I always turn out looking like a buffoon. If you would like to get to know Africa a lot better, I can recommend “The State Africa” by Martin Meredith. Once you’ve started it’s difficult to put down (actually, its easy to put down, it’s a tome and bloody heavy, but you get my drift), and eventually you’ll end up with strong forearms and a very good understanding of African history, and geography, pertaining to the past 50 years. ---
**Author:** ![Mellivora\_capensis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mellivora\_capensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mellivora_capensis)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-geography-is-necessary-to-the-average-person/352394/48 "2006-04-13T15:04:56Z")
> [@Mellivora capensis](#): > > “The State Africa” by Martin Meredith. Should be, “The State of Africa.” Sod this, I’m going home. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-geography-is-necessary-to-the-average-person/352394/49 "2006-04-13T15:37:07Z")
When I first decided I was going to go to school in New Mexico, I was amazed by how many people seemed completely oblivious to the fact that there was a state called New Mexico. They seemed to think I was going to study in a foreign country. _New Mexcio_ magazine even has a [url-[http://www.nmmagazine.com/FEATURES/50missing.htm=http://www.nmmagazine.com/FEATURES/50missing.html](http://www.nmmagazine.com/FEATURES/50missing.htm=http://www.nmmagazine.com/FEATURES/50missing.html)]monthly page about such things. IMO: All Americans should be able to take an outline map of the US, label every state, and name the capitals. I think everyone should be able to, in a similar way, label the world powers on a map, and perhaps countries that have been in the news a lot. It would be nice if everyone could point out Lichteinstein or Bhutan on a map, but I’d settle for, say, Germany and China. It’s important because if you have no idea where things are it implies (as said upthread) a general lack of knowledge, which means you as a voter frighten me. ---
**Author:** ![PigBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/97f17d/32.png) [@PigBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigBoy)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-geography-is-necessary-to-the-average-person/352394/50 "2006-04-13T15:47:20Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Geography _isn’t_ memorizing maps and state capitols, although those things are useful things to know. > [@An Arky](#): > > Right. I took several Geography courses in college; enough for a Minor, if one had existed at my college. There are not only physical, but social, economic, political, environmental, historical and other aspects we can learn about places through Geography. And with GIS data, we can tie virtually any kind of data to Geography. It’s cool, cool stuff, and very sadly neglected in schools and by people in general. I think it can serve as a keystone of general knowledge, but in the current mad rush to specialization, it’s getting left behind. Just to build on these comments, I’ll point out that in five years (and counting) of studying Geography in school, only once has any course I’ve taken involved any “locate X on the map” tasks. That kind of skill is really not very important in the actual field of Geography, although it’s certainly nice to have. ---
**Author:** ![Flipshod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f19dbf/32.png) [@Flipshod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flipshod)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-geography-is-necessary-to-the-average-person/352394/51 "2006-04-13T16:07:00Z")
Anecdote: Years ago in a small town in the Deep South of the US, I spent a school year supervising some “mildly mentally handicapped” fourth graders playing a state capitals board game for 30 minutes or so every morning. After a few months most of them could, given a US state, name the capital. Of course, none of them had any concept of what a state or city actually was. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-geography-is-necessary-to-the-average-person/352394/52 "2006-04-13T17:33:02Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > Not that I’m particularly picking on the Scots and Americans for this; it’s a common attitude among tourists from lots of countries – perhaps especially wealthy, first world countries. Well, Scotland just got a [public beat down](http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2006/04/06/scotland/print.html), having been labeled the “worst small country” to live in. So maybe these tourists will be a little more circumspect. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-geography-is-necessary-to-the-average-person/352394/53 "2006-04-13T18:03:19Z")
> [@Sternvogel](#): > > There are also plenty of online “drag and place” maps. [This one](http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/states_experiment_drag-drop_Intermed_State15s_500.html) is for the states, while [this puzzle](http://www.schoolnet.na/games/map/africa.html) (with five difficulty levels) is devoted to Africa. Google can help you locate similar interactive maps for Europe, Asia, Canada, or just about any region of the world. Some of them are obviously geared to children (such as the USA “drag and place” one I selected, with its “Good!” and “Try again!” sound effects), but the information they impart is solid. Been having fun with both of those. Simple, but you sure learn stuff quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2006, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-geography-is-necessary-to-the-average-person/352394/54 "2006-04-13T18:37:13Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Related anecdote that just happened to my GF’s mum (in a pretty cosmipolitan city in California, not some small town in the boonies)… She asked what shots she need for her vacation to Turkey, and her DOCTOR (i.e. educated man, not guy who worked behind counter at McDonalds) had NO idea where Turkey was. I thought that was just crazy, that a DOCTOR in a big city would be so ignorant of Geography. Its not like Turkey is an obscure country. Shots? To go to Turkey? If so, I’m in big trouble. Here is my anecdote: I teach a class that all of my university’s English and Education majors have to take. Every semester, while we’re wading through a particularly distasteful unit, I take part of a class to hand out blank world maps and have them try to label the 15 largest countries, by population and then by square miles. Yes, there’s a little overlap in those. They all get Canada, the US, and Mexico correct. 80% of them get Australia, Russia, and China. After that, everything is below 40% but every country always gets at least one right answer. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2006, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-geography-is-necessary-to-the-average-person/352394/55 "2006-04-14T06:20:06Z")
> [@Spiff](#): > > Greenland (and Iceland for that matter) are not really part of \*\*any \*\* continent, **geologically speaking** , but **politically speaking** , they \*\*are \*\* a part of Europe. > > Greenland is a self-governing territory of Denmark. Even so, it’s considered [part of the North American continent](http://worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/gl.htm) for geographical purposes. After all, Martinique is an overseas department (not territory or colony) of France, just as Hawaii may be said to be an “overseas state” of the USA. Yet Martinique is in the Caribbean and thus [considered part of North America](http://www.tutiempo.net/en/Weather/Martinique/MQ.html), as opposed to Europe. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2006, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-geography-is-necessary-to-the-average-person/352394/56 "2006-04-14T12:19:40Z")
[QUOTE=Fish] I suppose that depends on whether we think a _generalist_ education beats a _specialist_ education. Ideally, everybody would be intelligent and educated both broadly and deeply. That’s not likely to happen. So given the choice, I’d rather have my doctor tell me, “I don’t know how to find Turkey on a map, I don’t know the two national currencies of China, and I can’t say who is president of Mexico, but I **can** treat your disease” than the other way around. [QUOTE] China only has one national currency, the RMB aka Chinese Yuan. They used to have something called Foreign Exchange Certificates, but these were no longer used after 31 Dec 1993. Hong Kong uses the Hong Kong Dollar, which given the currency board (more accurately the Cottilion-Hume sp? system), is essentually and USD derivative. Same deal with the Macau paceta. Hong Kong is a Special Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China, and therefore I guess you could say China has two currencies. However the honky dollar is not legal tender in China, although it can be exchanged at most banks. Again same deal in Macau. Taiwan uses the New Taiwan Dollar (as opposed to what they used to use, which was the Taiwan Dollar). Taiwan is claimed by the PRC as a province of China, so I guess that would count as two currencies except same as the honky dollar, the NTD is not legal currency in China. Same is true in that the RMB is not legal currency in Taiwan. Taiwan claims or has vestiges of claiming PRC and Mongolia as part of China. Also claims HK and Macau. So, based on what is accepted as legal currency throughout the country, there is only one legal currency. Based on complete fantasy, one could argue that Taiwan, HK, Macau, China and Mongolia are all part of the Taiwan claims to China and therefore there are actually 5 currencies in “China”. I’d personally prefer a doctor that doesn’t sound like a bullshitter. Kidney, liver, what’s the difference, I partied through med school anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2006, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-geography-is-necessary-to-the-average-person/352394/57 "2006-04-14T13:31:04Z")
> [@Sternvogel](#): > > Even so, it’s considered [part of the North American continent](http://worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/gl.htm) for geographical purposes. After all, Martinique is an overseas department (not territory or colony) of France, just as Hawaii may be said to be an “overseas state” of the USA. Yet Martinique is in the Caribbean and thus [considered part of North America](http://www.tutiempo.net/en/Weather/Martinique/MQ.html), as opposed to Europe. But, as your post and and Spiff’s posts together imply, this is an arbitrary designation. Spiff was trying to comfort TellMeI’mNotCrazy that the ideas that Greenland is part of Europe and is not part of North America are not entirely without basis. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2006, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-geography-is-necessary-to-the-average-person/352394/58 "2006-04-14T17:01:09Z")
> [@China Guy](#): > > So, based on what is accepted as legal currency throughout the country, there is only one legal currency. Hey, two currencies was more or less true when **I** was there in 1987. I understand there were some British people in tanks since then that sort of gave Hong Kong back to the Taiwanese or something, right? 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-geography-is-necessary-to-the-average-person/352394.md?page=2)