General Discussion

SheilaT

(23,156 posts)

70. I think you may be right about

Sat Feb 15, 2014, 01:36 PM

Feb 2014

people no longer knowing how to read a map properly.

I had a GPS about a decade ago, and gave it away after I asked for a route between Kansas City and Tulsa, and it routed me via Wichita and Oklahoma City and would not delete that trip. A couple of months later, my brother, a more skilled user of GPS, got that trip deleted for me, then I was asking it for some sort of route in the northeast, where I was at the time, and it gave me something equally stupid. When I got back home I gave it away.

Maps are wonderful. I use maps a lot. I will browse through maps the way I might browse through a book on embroidery, or a cookbook, daydreaming and planning trips. It does help to be highly visual to read maps.

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Highlight:

Poll: 1 in 4 Americans unaware the Earth circles the Sun [View all] davidn3600 Feb 2014 OP

I don't find that surprising. Neoma Feb 2014 #1

Given the source, neither do I. Coyotl Feb 2014 #95

Hey, it's progress. It was 1 in 5 in 2005: jsr Feb 2014 #2

They must be Andy823 Feb 2014 #3

That is about the nationwide percentage CatholicEdHead Feb 2014 #88

How about we start with education as the premise? Igel Feb 2014 #89

Message auto-removed Name removed Feb 2014 #4

It's a lot of work keeping those light bulbs in the sky changed, hopefully LEDs will RKP5637 Feb 2014 #6

Are you a kitty? Sunlei Feb 2014 #8

How old are you? oldhippie Feb 2014 #9

Message auto-removed Name removed Feb 2014 #11

Now that you know the truth, to what/whom would you assign 'responsibility' for this? brett_jv Feb 2014 #81

"That's no moon!" kentauros Feb 2014 #20

Message auto-removed Name removed Feb 2014 #32

DU isn't living up to your expectations? n/t kcr Feb 2014 #38

Hope your OP thread is good LG! hrmjustin Feb 2014 #40

reading hidden threads is one of my favorite DU activities arely staircase Feb 2014 #91

I wish I could but I don't have that kind of power. hrmjustin Feb 2014 #94

Nothing wrong with having an imagination. kentauros Feb 2014 #44

I think you may be right about SheilaT Feb 2014 #70

The GPS, I think had a strong launch point because many already couldn't or struggled with reading TheKentuckian Feb 2014 #80

I've always found it hard to read a map while I was driving. Nitram Feb 2014 #82

I actually can see the value in a GPS, even though SheilaT Feb 2014 #83

Oh, I'll use one now, sometimes to save on having to buy a map. TheKentuckian Feb 2014 #103

Knowing how to read a map can make learning the local geography fun, kentauros Feb 2014 #87

... SidDithers Feb 2014 #39

It doesn't help when idiot singers like Rihanna sing dumbass lyrics like "Shine Bright Like a Nanjing to Seoul Feb 2014 #43

And the txtng mentality kentauros Feb 2014 #47

I vomited every time I got "idk" as an answer Nanjing to Seoul Feb 2014 #49

Maybe you should! kentauros Feb 2014 #52

May I borrow the "ins"? raven mad Feb 2014 #93

Enjoy Nanjing to Seoul Feb 2014 #100

Not long ago I got asked why I Le Taz Hot Feb 2014 #61

Ha! kentauros Feb 2014 #65

Among the reasons I won't text is SheilaT Feb 2014 #71

That's why I use the voice chat option on WeChat and QQ. No more typing Nanjing to Seoul Feb 2014 #99

I bet the same 1 in 4 can't identify Uranus. And have trouble wiping theirs. nt msanthrope Feb 2014 #5

Isn't that the same as a black hole? RKP5637 Feb 2014 #7

4yo's shouldn't answer the phone. ileus Feb 2014 #10

How is this even possible? Control-Z Feb 2014 #12

It's likely a combination of things. Xithras Feb 2014 #50

Young earthers and evangelicals. Nitram Feb 2014 #84

FLASH: 1 in 4 Americans believe the world revolves around them. Downwinder Feb 2014 #13

Yep. LuvNewcastle Feb 2014 #23

too low! +10000000000 n/t NRaleighLiberal Feb 2014 #54

I'm surprised 74% know the earth orbits the sun. Coyotl Feb 2014 #14

That's the answer - we need enlightenment Feb 2014 #15

Pigs! In! Spaaaaaaaaaaaace! kentauros Feb 2014 #24

Too bad The Big Bang didn't talk about this Coyotl Feb 2014 #29

That's actually a brilliant idea! SheilaT Feb 2014 #72

Wow. enlightenment Feb 2014 #101

Yes! SheilaT Feb 2014 #102

1 in 4 Americans believe Sarah Palin should be President. Dawson Leery Feb 2014 #16

...and 100% of those are repukes. L0oniX Feb 2014 #17

And most of this 25% are probably high school graduates. Some years ago I read that Cal33 Feb 2014 #18

At one time, 7 out of 10 believed Saddam Hussein was behind 9-11. Octafish Feb 2014 #19

"pretzeldent" Enthusiast Feb 2014 #77

Bad headline Seeking Serenity Feb 2014 #21

Actually, both are true. The sun DOES revolve around the earth, AND the earth revolves around ChairmanAgnostic Feb 2014 #30

Actually neither is technically true Fumesucker Feb 2014 #37

Pshaw. Gravity's but a theory. Like evolution and creationism. ChairmanAgnostic Feb 2014 #73

Both are not true. Edim Feb 2014 #69

They aren't. It's one big crystal ball around our good flat earth, and has pretty ChairmanAgnostic Feb 2014 #74

Velocities are relative - but acceleration is not whopis01 Feb 2014 #79

Thanks whopis... Nitram Feb 2014 #85

Most of these things I learned by the time I was 12. The Velveteen Ocelot Feb 2014 #22

Oh, I expect that a lot of kids at least receive this kind of information once or twice... Silent3 Feb 2014 #28

On a similar note, some stunning anatomical ignorance... Silent3 Feb 2014 #25

Below the sig line. pintobean Feb 2014 #34

Oh I can tell you where their brain is located durablend Feb 2014 #46

Education Turbineguy Feb 2014 #26

We're doomed, but we already knew that. Faygo Kid Feb 2014 #27

The climate change we need is one of the political persuasion. kairos12 Feb 2014 #31

But nearly 8 and 10 edhopper Feb 2014 #33

Not surprising........ Swede Atlanta Feb 2014 #35

You'd be surprised how many "educated" people Nitram Feb 2014 #86

Also Ron Obvious Feb 2014 #36

Oh! I was pretty sure that the earth Buenaventura Feb 2014 #41

K&R DeSwiss Feb 2014 #42

+1 for the Vonnegut quote. Bernardo de La Paz Feb 2014 #63

I had a student this week Nevernose Feb 2014 #45

sounds like they did a pretty good job sampling d_r Feb 2014 #48

It's called, "The Flat Earth Society," and they are, in part RoccoR5955 Feb 2014 #51

My five year old doesn't really get it Bluzmann57 Feb 2014 #53

Here is the link to a PDF on the NSF site for the questions; greiner3 Feb 2014 #55

Flash 2 in 4 DU'rs believe this poll! whistler162 Feb 2014 #56

I thought all that Earth going around the Sun stuff was just another Al Gore hoax. tclambert Feb 2014 #57

Who and where are these people? penultimate Feb 2014 #58

Ummmm, I thought that was pretty basic knowledge. greatauntoftriplets Feb 2014 #59

So, the TeaKlanners are accounted for. Le Taz Hot Feb 2014 #60

Are these the same 1 out of 4 that think the Earth is 6000 years old? CanonRay Feb 2014 #62

The ignorance of Americans is the #1 National Security challenge, when rightly considered. Bernardo de La Paz Feb 2014 #64

I can't believe people in this country are that stupid. Vashta Nerada Feb 2014 #66

Believable....as 2 in 4 Americans are negligent in their thinking they can change the bkanderson76 Feb 2014 #67

doesn't surprise me heaven05 Feb 2014 #68

IT DOES NOT!! Now you're talking "science" again! rustydog Feb 2014 #75

This is really sad. oldandhappy Feb 2014 #76

. hrmjustin Feb 2014 #78

100 percent of my fourth graders know this arely staircase Feb 2014 #90

It does? I thought it was flat and that "here there be dragons"......... raven mad Feb 2014 #92

The earth doesn't circle the sun dsc Feb 2014 #96

Elliptical? progressoid Feb 2014 #97

We are in... adavid Feb 2014 #98

The comments nadinbrzezinski Feb 2014 #104

Thanks republican fundie douchebags blackspade Feb 2014 #105

Dontcha know? ProudToBeBlueInRhody Feb 2014 #106