Quote:
Originally posted by sarah_webinc@Jan 14 2003, 09:18 AM
well as an ex-travel agent and someone with an honours degree in political science, a large portion of which was in political geography I might be the wrong person to ask 
I think it is sad when anyone, regardless of where they live doesn't know atleast the basics of geography. Also, it is useful knowledge..if only people knew where afghanistan was on a map before Sept 11, eh? Might not have stopped anything but alteast they would have known a bit more about their enemy.
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who does not know the basics of geography? people know and retain information that is relevant to their daily life experience. I dont remember algebra. it does not mean i am stupid... it means that i have had no use for that information in the last 20 years and it had no useful application in my life and correctly, as part of 20,000,000 million year evolutionary process, i deleted that information from my mind to make space for more relevant information.
why dont we all speak Spanish? German? Korean?... because we dont need to. why dont i know where Northern Ireland is seperated from the South? because it never one time has had a direct effect on my life. Just in the exact same way the Eskimo whalers in Greenland never have.
you can only consider something to be "useful knowledge" if it is exactly that... "useful". if it was useful, people would know it, just as they know where to buy food, water and clothes.
why would knowing geography about Afghanistan be useful to me?