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But men with too little and too narrow knowledge are not wise.
There has to be some basics.
Seriously? It’s not 1950 anymore, the earth isn’t flat, and we have technology to make our lives easier.
Not only can we now locate places world wide using modern tech, we can get a real time satellite view.. from wherever we happen to be. I could use my math skills to calculate flight, but if simply letting the computer do the math... I am ahead of the game. Men who fail to use the technology that’s available to them... are not wise.
It’s called progress....
I guess that the old “ you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is alive and well here.
Last edited by Sydney123; 12-09-2020 at 08:09 PM..
I could use my math skills to calculate flight, but if simply letting the computer do the math... I am ahead of the game. Men who fail to use the technology that’s available to them... are not wise.
It’s called progress....
If one needs a computer to identify the Pacific Ocean on a map, it's not being 'ahead of the game'; it's being far behind it (as evidenced by our country's high-school students in direct comparison to other countries). No worries; utilizing 'math skills to calculate flight' is not a proposed requirement (nor is it a relevant comparison, lol).
I'm stunned by the (offensively) defensive stance which is (ultimately) against (a basic) education? How do people expect America to be great again (pun intended) if we're lacking in education, as a whole?
Last edited by CorporateCowboy; 12-09-2020 at 08:22 PM..
Reason: typo
Seriously? It’s not 1950 anymore, the earth isn’t flat, and we have technology to make our lives easier.
Not only can we now locate places world wide using modern tech, we can get a real time satellite view.. from wherever we happen to be. I could use my math skills to calculate flight, but if simply letting the computer do the math... I am ahead of the game. Men who fail to use the technology that’s available to them... are not wise.
It’s called progress....
There is a huge difference between a tool and a crutch.
Content and comfortable i.e. 'lazy', lol? Many high-school students don't care about reading, math, government (and so on) either. Are you suggesting it's a valid reason to cut (any of) the aforementioned from our educational requirements, so students remain 'comfortable'?
Geography/Social Studies is simply relative to a (basic) understanding of the world as part of an educational foundation, particularly relevant to the age of globalization (certainly more so than engine repair - which, btw, may be 'looked up on the internet' as well).
You’re conflating things and putting words in my mouth. I never said that programs should be “cut” I am sticking to the original OP where the poster said that “Many Americans cannot locate a country on a world map.”
The point was that it’s really not as big a deal as he’s making it out to be because we have the technology at our fingertips to find the info with a few keystrokes . If being able to point to a blank spot on a map and name the country is your measure of a man, or a woman... or makes you feel superior or better educated.. rock on.
I changed the window regulator in my car. I didn’t need to take a class in auto mechanics to learn how to change a regulator. Just like if I want to find the location of a country I don’t need to memorize a darn atlas. I can simply look up the the info. Being able to point your finger to a country on a world map ( remember the subject) isn’t going to tell you anything about the country, but it’s location. I can learn more about a country
By looking it up on the internet than I ever could by reading a book or learning to point out it’s location on a map.
Lazy.. is exactly what I am talking about. They’ll do the bare minimum for a passing grade. I tutored high school and college students. Most were only concerned with passing the class and getting their 3 credits. I got a lot of “Why do I even need to learn calculus/algebra/trigonometry when I’ll probably never use it?
There is a huge difference between a tool and a crutch.
Lol.... You don’t like progress, you don’t like technology ( won’t even admit the usefulness). Your just going to dig in your heels on “in my time”.... we did it this way and it was and is still the best way!
Hilarious!
Seriously? It’s not 1950 anymore, the earth isn’t flat, and we have technology to make our lives easier.
Not only can we now locate places world wide using modern tech, we can get a real time satellite view.. from wherever we happen to be. I could use my math skills to calculate flight, but if simply letting the computer do the math... I am ahead of the game. Men who fail to use the technology that’s available to them... are not wise.
It’s called progress....
I guess that the old “ you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is alive and well here.
The process of calculating some well defined parameter is not "knowledge", it is just a routine. However, we only rely on engineers who understand where the parameters come from, which is knowledge. We cannot just let a layman play with a computer, no matter how easy it appears to be.
If your brain is empty, you cannot think. Thinking involves using knowledge and information you stored in your brain.
Basic geography is such knowledge.
I changed the window regulator in my car. I didn’t need to take a class in auto mechanics to learn how to change a regulator. Just like if I want to find the location of a country I don’t need to memorize a darn atlas. I can simply look up the the info. Being able to point your finger to a country on a world map ( remember the subject) isn’t going to tell you anything about the country, but it’s location. I can learn more about a country
By looking it up on the internet than I ever could by reading a book or learning to point out it’s location on a map.
The point is, if you don't even know where some major countries are, most likely you are also not familiar with their history, culture and politics. Things are all connected.
It also reveals the fact that you totally failed in geography. So very likely you won't know why London has mild winters while Boston is much colder; you won't know why days and nights are equally long twice a year; you won't know why the flight routes look "curved" on a map... These are also related to our life.
Yes, all these can be "found online", but if you know nothing, don't you think you would be overwhelmed when you need it?
Lol.... You don’t like progress, you don’t like technology ( won’t even admit the usefulness). Your just going to dig in your heels on “in my time”.... we did it this way and it was and is still the best way!
Hilarious!
Retired software engineer here. I was playing with early technology back in the early 90's that you use today.
I use technology to the fullest...but it's a tool for me, not a crutch.
The point is, if you don't even know where some major countries are, most likely you are also not familiar with their history, culture and politics. Things are all connected.
It also reveals the fact that you totally failed in geography. So very likely you won't know why London has mild winters while Boston is much colder; you won't know why days and nights are equally long twice a year; you won't know why the flight routes look "curved" on a map... These are also related to our life.
Yes, all these can be "found online", but if you know nothing, don't you think you would be overwhelmed when you need it?
But you can also find a lot of misinformation online as well and you'll never know if it's the right fact.
Many Americans have never been out of their home state.
Is that necessary?
A and B......and then C.
A: A realization or a repeat realization I had this morning was that now I have the ranch, I don't need to take vacations in some other place. With 10+ acres of forest, I have all I need to get away from it all.
B: With a state like Texas, does one need to go any further? There are forests, plains, beaches and mountains.
.......and C: Ever read Anny McCaffrey's "Crystal Singer"? In it, on the planet of crystal ranges Ballybran, anyone who lands on the planet is infected with a symbiont and becomes essentially immortal but for most, it means some other kind of system wide impairment and for most, it means never being able to leave that planet and its moons. Antona, the chief medical officer, willingly came to Ballybran to be infected so she could research immortality (nutshell). To Killashandra, the heroine, to be marooned like that seems horrible but Antona explains that if she ever wants a vacation, she has a world and two (I think, it has been decades since I read the series) moons to explore.
HENCE, how big does one's own universe need to be despite the size of the universe external?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sydney123
Seriously? It’s not 1950 anymore, the earth isn’t flat, and we have technology to make our lives easier.
Not only can we now locate places world wide using modern tech, we can get a real time satellite view.. from wherever we happen to be. I could use my math skills to calculate flight, but if simply letting the computer do the math... I am ahead of the game. Men who fail to use the technology that’s available to them... are not wise.
It’s called progress....
I guess that the old “ you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is alive and well here.
We-ll, ......... maybe.
As part of my geography graduate degree, I've used surveying, GPS, compass bearings, GIS, measuring by tape, measuring by foot, and who knows what else. Being a scuba diver, I've navigated by compass bearings, depth, contours, and the kicks of my fins. In oceanography, I've gotten the information for the beach profile under the waves by standing out there in the surf for the trigonometry exercise. I've written C language programs to work with ARCGIS to plot the changing position of an oil spill for the wind speed using Bowditch calculations (it was a proof of concept exercise). Now, ARCGIS has the ability to give one that answer now (I learned about it at a seminar about 2 years back) but should keep something in mind..................unless you have a budget of a couple of thousand of dollars, you may not be able to get your hands on it.
Yes, technology is nice....but one ought to know the basics when one is without.
Last edited by TamaraSavannah; 12-10-2020 at 09:30 AM..
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