Apparently not at Dartmouth. But could Penn students find her?
According to a column in today’s edition of Dartmouth’s daily paper, the writer discovers that Dartmouth students, and students in general, are surprisingly ignorant when it comes to their knowledge of world geography. (Americans can’t read a map! Gasp! We haven’t heard that one before.)
On average, Dartmouth students could only name 13 out of 42 European nations when given a blank map.
Sure, it’s easy to poke fun at Dartmouth students’ stupidity when it comes to geography. But since when does one’s knowledge of Europe become an accurate proxy of one’s knowledge of the world?
Last time I checked … Asia was kind of a big deal.
The author further shows his own ignorance with this quote:
The fact that even European countries elude us is especially worrisome because the European Union is the hallmark of regionalism, a growing philosophy in the world. EU diplomats must necessarily take geography into consideration as the organization takes steps toward further integration, and so far the effort seems to be paying off, if the exchange rate between the euro and dollar is any indication.
Note to all college writers out there: Unless you can explain the yen carry trade or tell me how to price an exotic option, please do not start making shallow explanations about business topics (like currency trading) which you know little about.
Sadly, I’m pessimistic if Penn students could do any better. Last year before spring break, some friends of mine asked me if they spoke English in Jamaica, and refused to believe the Dominican Republic was a Spanish-speaking country.
So much for the global requirement. 
Tags: Carmen Sandiego, Dartmouth, Geography
An RSS feed of The Spin is available
November 27th, 2007 at 7:22 pm
“EU diplomats must necessarily take geography into consideration as the organization takes steps toward further integration”
EU Diplomat 1: Yo, we should invite Romania into the European Union.
EU Diplomat 2: Really, is that in Europe?
EU Diplomat 1: Yeah, it is in Europe. I know geography.
EU Diplomat 2: Sweet, now our currency value will increase.
November 28th, 2007 at 11:25 am
Aside from being able to do well at random geography trivia, what’s the point of being able to locate countries on a map? After all, isn’t that what the map’s for? It’s like knowing the state capitals: Congrats if you know them by heart, but if you don’t, you can just look them up in a book or online.