LtDan5d ago

Are Europeans more well versed with world geography than Americans?

https://lemmy.zip/post/61380209

Are Europeans more well versed with world geography than Americans? - Lemmy.zip

I’ve seen multiple videos equivalent of Americans pointing where (country) is on the map, and there was an instance where the host asked the woman where the continent Africa is located (points to Asia) like WTF? That’s not even close at all. I know there’s bias towards those types of videos since there are accusations of the host “handpicking” select strangers framing them as if they are representative of the US. But the truth is that their education system isn’t good as it lacks funding. When you put it into perspective: how many Europeans can correctly locate & name countries adjacent to them within their own continent and globally? Is the education system within the EU that good or effective at teaching kids that subject?

Show threadKoboldCoterie5d ago
How many Europeans can point out Kansas on a map? I’d bet I could find just as many Europeans ignorant of North American geography as they find Americans ignorant of European geography, especially since, as you point out, they cherry pick the most ignorant sounding responses.
Show threadJohnnyEnzyme5d ago

How many Europeans can point out Kansas on a map?

What does that have to do with anything? OP was talking about world and Euro-adjacent areas, not ‘can Americans identify Euro nations the same way Euros can identify the states of the USA?’

Regardless, it seems to me perfectly natural for people living in a hodge-podge of cultures & nations to be more knowledgeable about their surroundings and even world geography than Americans, which is more isolated on various levels. Not to mention, commonly filled with a level of exceptionalism.

Show threadKoboldCoterie5d ago
Kansas is as close to Americans geographically as European countries are to Europeans. Asking Americans to be as familiar with European geography as Europeans is the equivalent to asking Europeans to be familiar with us states.
Show threadJohnnyEnzyme5d ago

Not really. States have natural variance in culture and features, but Euro nations are vastly more diverse and worth knowing about. They go back to the ancient world in importance, and some of them had a huge impact in what the modern map & modern world looks like.

American states are largely irrelevant by comparison. There are very few reasons for people around the world to know anything about Kansas in particular, compared to one of the Euro colonial powers, like Greece or Italy, etc.

Show threadKoboldCoterie
Sure, but there’s different levels of geographical knowledge in education. Local geography is a few years before in depth world geography. You seem to be ignoring that your local geography is worlds geography to Americans, so if you’re using geography as a basis for judging education, at least compare apples to apples. I’ll readily admit that most Americans are ignorant of European geography, just like I’d bet plenty of Europeans can’t point out countries in South America.
Mar 25 at 3:21pmWeb
Show threadJohnnyEnzyme5d ago

You seem to be ignoring that your local geography is worlds geography to Americans…

What do you “my local geography?” What are you even trying to say, here?

Show threadKoboldCoterie5d ago
I mean whatever geography is local to you, assuming you aren’t in America.
Show threadJohnnyEnzyme5d ago

Alright. Well for me, there’s no question that (going to the OP) Euros have a better grasp of World geography than Americans do, for various good reasons already stated.

On top of that, I see a long thread of what is essentially mental illness running through American history, leading its citizens to believe that they’re special and/or live in a special land, promoting a sort of intentional ignorance about the world around them. Geography is part of that, but it’s much more, such as a cultural and historical isolation.

Not to mention, as Ken Burns said (paraphrasing) “Americans are shockingly ignorant of their own history and narrative.” It is an embarrassing truth that, the longer I live, the more relentlessly confirmed and depressing it is to me.

It’s all very nauseating to me, frankly, especially seeing as what it led to in the end. Anyway, I’ll be withdrawing myself from this convo at this point. Good luck to you.

Show threadangrystego5d ago
Perhaps it would be better to try to compare European and US knowledge of Africa - that’s neutral ground.
Show threadKoboldCoterie5d ago
I’d argue (and have) that South America would be the equivalent to Africa (that is to say, a neighboring continent). If the original post had just said “Do Europeans have better geographical knowledge than Americans?” I’d not have objected, to be clear; the objection is to the basis for that statement being these videos making Americans look stupid for not knowing European geography. That’s just stupid.