Slashgeo

Very Spatial links to a searchable database of Geography Departments around the world. From the site: "As of November 2nd, 2005 there are links to 1116 Departments in 90 Countries of which 861 have already signed the "Add Department Form" and thus can be searched by Country, Keyword and Researchfields."

The GeoCarta blog has an interesting entry named Curing Americans' Cluelessness about a simple geography quiz taken by 400 people on the streets of Atlanta. From GeoCarta's summary: "A study of Americans ages 18 to 24 found: 11% couldn't locate the United States on a map. Almost 30% couldn't find the Pacific Ocean. Among 3,000 people surveyed in Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Sweden and the U.S., the U.S. scored next to last in geographic literacy."

The JAGIS-L mailing list lead me to the Mapping History website of the British Library. From the introduction: "You may think of maps as realistic, factual illustrations. While some maps deliberately set out to deceive, others simply show a selective view and reflect only the interests of the people who made them. This collection is a reminder that there is often more to a map than meets the eye."

GeoPlace runs an article on Harvard's history of their geography department. From the article's conclusion: "Just as the loss of geography at Harvard led to others emulating the world’s No. 1 university, so the addition of geography may lead to a stampede of reintroductions. Harvard’s action may be a “tipping point” for the discipline’s fortunes, and the universities that are slowest to react may be left with “slim pickings” in the job market. The race to recruit the best GIScientists just got a lot more interesting. "

The spanish language Geomatics blog links to two free MIT OpenCourseWare geospatial courses: Environmental Engineering Applications of Geographic Information Systems and Spatial Database Management and Advanced Geographic Information Systems. The two descriptions: "[first course] This graduate seminar is taught in a lecture and lab exercise format. The subject matter is tailored to introduce Environmental Engineering students to the use and potential of Geographic Information Systems in their discipline. Lectures will cover the general concepts of GIS use and introduce the material in the exercises that demonstrate the practical application of GIS. [second course] This class offers a very in-depth set of materials on spatial database management, including materials on the tools needed to work in spatial database management, and the applications of that data to real-life problem solving. Exercises and tools for working with SQL, as well as sample database sets, are provided. A real-life final project is presented in the projects section." Related, APB links to a series of online talks on geovisualization.

Direction Mags runs an article by Claudine Bianchi of MetaCarta about today's geography in the U.S. classrooms. From the article: "Only 13% of the Americans surveyed correctly identified Iraq on a map of Asia and the Middle East. Only about half of young Americans were able to locate landmasses such as Japan and India on a global map. And 20% of those surveyed could not find the Pacific Ocean. But set aside our less-than-satisfactory performance at a Geography Bee, and jump ahead to the terrain of public and private firms where geography has become one of the most powerful weapons in the arsenal. [...] Mistick went on to say, "While war teaches us much about geography, a solid knowledge of geography can provide the key to political success. On every rung of the political ladder there is no substitute for a thorough understanding of the geography of an election district or ward or city as our civic wars are fought."" Meanwhile, The Map Room links to a story about a third of Britain not able to read a map: "Over a third of motorists struggled to read a four-figure grid reference and a staggering 83 per cent failed to identify the “motorway” map symbol. … One in six (16 per cent) UK drivers no longer keep a map in their car [...]" See also related stories below.

If you're a gis person of any form you may have already been asked about or emailed a link of Miss South Carolina's response to the question in the title. This post is less informational than cautionary. When you're done listening and laughing at her answer, make sure you can come up with one of your own that's a little better :) Hear her answer here: http://www.youtube.com/v/lj3iNxZ8Dww