This news has to piss off Bucc...

[cartman]

This almost borders on the unreal.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/05/02/geog.test/index.html

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.

[Crapshoot]

This almost borders on the unreal.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/05/02/geog.test/index.html

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.

People are stupid. I don't think that's news. :D

[I. J. Reilly]

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

So roughly 6% of people can't locate Isreal? That doesn't seem so bad.

New poll:
100% of cnn.com editors are unformiliar with the phrase, "Those who live in glass houses..."

[Yossarian]

For many people, it ISN'T a 'necessary skill' to speak a second language.

I plan on picking up a second language because I want to but I don't feel it is necessary in my daily life.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Several of those aren't really surprising (okay, hardly any of them are "surprising") but I also don't see several of them as cause for concern.

The spin on the issue of language is classic media liberalism -- I wouldn't argue "handy" or even "useful", but "necessary"? Horseshit.

Reality is that locating other countries on a map isn't particularly relevant for a lot of people either. It's handy knowledge for knowledge sake which is fine but if you aren't going there, being sent there, or have any other investment (financial, emotional, or otherwise) there, then does it really matter to the average person? Clearly, the answer to that is no.

And the Pakistani earthquake question? Honestly, I'm surprised that question was even answered by 1/3rd of respondents. (And that's one that I suspect isn't influenced much by age, I'd bet on around that number for any demographic in the U.S. Truth is, beyond "oh that's awful" reactions to the media reports, most people didn't give that event much more than a passing thought, so it not being embedded in their memory isn't surprsing nor do I find it particularly disturbing (it's relative lack of importance to the average person makes the lack of recall pretty predictable if you think about it).

And even with my militaristic bent, I'm not sure I would have gotten the Korean border question immediately. Physically larger borders would have probably come to mind first, depending upon how they defined "heavily fortified"

Some of the questions, yes, I see reason for concern (and further indictment of the pathetic educational standards in the U.S.) but I don't believe AP did a good job of highlighting items to generate concern.

[cartman]

I pointed this out and referenced Bucc, since this is his field.

[SnDvls]

Reality is that locating other countries on a map isn't particularly relevant for a lot of people either.

it probally doesn't help that the media shows every country as an island in their broadcasts too.. damn I'd be confused trying to find all these little islands too. :D

[Warhammer]

I gotta agree with JiMG here. Most of these questions you can understand why people didn't know half of them. Not only that, but as poorly worded as some of these are you can understand.

What IS the most widely spoken native language? Is this based upon the number of people that speak it, or is it based upon the number of nations that consider it the national language? You would get two very different answers for that. Heck, since English is the official language of India, it could be the language that is the most widely spoken, depending on how big China is.

[finketr]

This almost borders on the unreal.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/05/02/geog.test/index.html

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.


Couldn't they pick one method of defining the statistics? Do they think that people know that 2/3 > 6/10?

sheesh...


For US borders, the US-Mexico is the most heavily fortified...

Quick, name the country with the greatest number of English speakers.

[Daimyo]

What IS the most widely spoken native language? Is this based upon the number of people that speak it, or is it based upon the number of nations that consider it the national language? You would get two very different answers for that. Heck, since English is the official language of India, it could be the language that is the most widely spoken, depending on how big China is.
Native language, at least to me, implies first or primary language or basically the language you learn naturally from your parents before you go to school so it doesn't make sense to think in terms of a nation's official language. English may be an official language of India (I really don't know), but I highly doubt it is the native language of very many people there.

I would guess Spanish. There is no "Chinese" when it comes to spoken language although I imagine it could rival for the most widely written native language.

[Draft Dodger]

I pointed this out and referenced Bucc, since this is his field.

I thought maybe Doris Day had passed away, or something.

[Crapshoot]

Native language, at least to me, implies first or primary language or basically the language you learn naturally from your parents before you go to school so it doesn't make sense to think in terms of a nation's official language. English may be an official language of India (I really don't know), but I highly doubt it is the native language of very many people there.


Actually, you'd be surprised. I'd say it isn't neccessary the first language, but going from North to South, you'd be better of speaking English than Hindi, which is perhaps the primary "native" language. Basically, its everyone's second language and for most middle class people, its the language of instruction. In my case, I think I may have learnt English as a kid first, which would explain my god awful Hindi scores. :D

[KWhit]

14 percent believe speaking another language is a necessary skill.

Ummmm.... It is clearly not necessary, since most people in the country are getting by quite well by just speaking English. The 14% who say it's necessary are doofuses.

[JonInMiddleGA]

English may be an official language of India (I really don't know), but I highly doubt it is the native language of very many people there.


from http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/in.html
English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people; there are 14 other official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language

[JonInMiddleGA]

And, for anyone who is really intrigued by the language question, here's something that might be of interest.
http://www2.ignatius.edu/faculty/turner/languages.htm

It attempts to break down the various languages by native speakers, speakers (native+secondary), official language, and such, as well as by number of nations where language X is spoken.

[Daimyo]

Actually, you'd be surprised. I'd say it isn't neccessary the first language, but going from North to South, you'd be better of speaking English than Hindi, which is perhaps the primary "native" language. Basically, its everyone's second language and for most middle class people, its the language of instruction. In my case, I think I may have learnt English as a kid first, which would explain my god awful Hindi scores. :D
I understand perfectly what you're saying, but the question didn't ask "With which language would you be able to communicate with the most people in the world" ;)

[Mustang]

And even with my militaristic bent, I'm not sure I would have gotten the Korean border question immediately. Physically larger borders would have probably come to mind first, depending upon how they defined "heavily fortified"


I agree on that one. My first thought would have been North and South Korea but, then I would have tried to run down a list in my head thinking it was a trick question.

[Buccaneer]

Knowing geography better affects directional sense (in making better and wiser use of our resources) and geopolitical issues (for voting and advocacy). It also leads to better understanding of others, knowing that local and regional environmental and political factors directly influence how people live and why.

In this thread alone, you can see why one would think otherwise solely based on the region they live in. :) :)

Thanks, cartman.

[Desnudo]

Ummmm.... It is clearly not necessary, since most people in the country are getting by quite well by just speaking English. The 14% who say it's necessary are doofuses.

Or work as translators

[ISiddiqui]

Knowing geography better affects directional sense (in making better and wiser use of our resources) and geopolitical issues (for voting and advocacy). It also leads to better understanding of others, knowing that local and regional environmental and political factors directly influence how people live and why.

I agree with my friend here. Not knowing geographical questions indicates, to me at least, an unsuitablity to vote based on issues of geopolitical importance (which is quite important in the political sphere these days).

[Anthony]

i don't care about anything not directly affecting New York City or Long Island. outside of my bubble the world can die of nuclear holocaust.

[sterlingice]

i don't care about anything not directly affecting New York City or Long Island. outside of my bubble the world can die of nuclear holocaust.

The rest of us feel that way about NYC so we're all in some sort of harmonic agreement :D

SI

[clintl]

The spin on the issue of language is classic media liberalism -- I wouldn't argue "handy" or even "useful", but "necessary"? Horseshit.



Perhaps not necessary. But I have been a participant in many business meetings where it would have been a bit more than "useful" to understand our customers' native languages. I think people grossly underestimate the disadvantage American apathy for learning foreign languages puts us at sometimes.