Frustration With Geography

[Dave Hounddriver]

Keep in mind that my wife has a college degree, for what that's worth here:

We are watching the floods in Atlantic City, New Jersey on CNN. There is a map on the screen to show where it is. The announcer gives the location in clear language. I tell her it is in USA near New York. I explain that the show "Boardwalk Empire" (which she watches) takes place in that city, long ago of course. I cannot think of what else to say and she says:

But honey, where is that?

[MikeB]

I also have a college degree, if someone had asked me to point out the Philippines on a map before I started visiting (pre-2003) I wouldn't have a clue. Not something I'm proud of, btw.

[Mike S]

:hystery: :hystery: :hystery: ....... well I got GOOGLE and GOOGLE EARTH ...... :hystery: :hystery: :hystery: ..... I don't need no edgemacation ..... :thumbsup: :mocking:

[Thomas]

Keep in mind that my wife has a college degree, for what that's worth here:

We are watching the floods in Atlantic City, New Jersey on CNN. There is a map on the screen to show where it is. The announcer gives the location in clear language. I tell her it is in USA near New York. I explain that the show "Boardwalk Empire" (which she watches) takes place in that city, long ago of course. I cannot think of what else to say and she says:

But honey, where is that?

Few women can READ maps - and few men can ASK where to go, if they get lost :hystery: (at least if someone they know are with them.)

[JJReyes]

When asking for directions, have you encountered the word, "Doon," which translates to "Over There." This is followed by some vague hand gesture. It means the person does not know, but he is too embarass to admit it.

A couple of weeks ago, I went with another forum member and an associate to Laguna to visit UP Los Banos and Costales Nature Farm. Even with a car GPS and a second GPS on a tablet, navigating Philippine roads was extremely difficult. Our conclusion was many roads don't appear on the GPS software. Compounding the problem was the roads did not have names and signs.

Locations in the United States are easy to find on a map because they are accurate. They system is vastly improved with Google maps and GPS. Driving through the former Eastern bloc countries, I was not permitted to have a map. They were considered, "state secret." I was advised to ask police officers and security personnel, none of whom spoke English.

[Mike S]

and few men can ASK where to go, if they get lost

Fortunately (or unfortunately for someones elses point of view .... :hystery: ) I am one who can ...... I can't stand to get lost and have no problem at all in asking directions ..... sometimes from more than one person ..... I even check YouTube to see if someone recorded a video of their trip .... :mocking: .... :cheersty:

[samatm]

I really think there is Map reading gene that was never introduced into the local pool. Give a map to a guard or taxi driver and you will see all sorts of contortions and machinations of understanding masking total and complete befuddlement. The local brain is conditioned to get to places from memory of land marks or events and also to just let the tricycle, or jeepny driver worry about how best to get there.

[Mike S]

I really think there is Map reading gene that was never introduced into the local pool. Give a map to a guard or taxi driver and you will see all sorts of contortions and machinations of understanding masking total and complete befuddlement. The local brain is conditioned to get to places from memory of land marks or events and also to just let the tricycle, or jeepny driver worry about how best to get there.

I agree totally samatm ...... I gave a taxi driver a map once I printed from Map Quest and he was totally confused even when I pointed out the main streets ..... but on the other hand they can take short-cuts to places that I didn't thing was possible down twisting roads ..... all from memory ..... :cheersty:

[Jollygoodfellow]

Last night I said to a Filipina friend that I was about to watch the TV news as I wanted to see what damage occurred in America with the storm; she asks if any damage in Australia too. I say America is a long way from Australia and she replies that she thought we were neighbors.

That's why we are all Kanos. :)

[MikeeW]

Many years ago, in a state in the US I will leave out of this......I was at work in a remote building on a large facility. Once in a while we would get some other worker drive up and ask for directions. No real signs where we worked. Directions were usually, "go 200 meters or so along this road, take a left and after about ten minutes, you'll see the building/place etc.

One day a truck drove up, guy got out, and asked where such and so building was. My coworker, a local and knew his way around pretty well said, "You can't get there from here. You'll have to go somewhere else first."

He was right.