The Map Gap - Do you know where Translyvania is? "I know the average teenager doesn't have a split brain. " Have you any idea where Transylvania is? I'll give you before the end in the column to come up with the answer. (Hint: "Transylvania is when vampires live" is not the type of answer We are looking for. ) In America we are always in a "gap crisis. inch We had the particular missile space with the Russians in the 60s. We had the particular rock 'n' roll gap with the The english language in the 70s and we have been living with typically the trade space for such a long time we've ceased calling it a gap and now just label it as "business as usual. " America is going through another turmoil, folks; 1 I have chosen to label a "gap". I'm talking about the "map gap" we have with the rest of the planet. You already know the typical American youngster doesn't know his butt from his elbow. As it happens that he doesn't know exactly where anything else in the world is located either. The particular indisputable technological evidence of typically the map space was brought to all The united states in living color whenever Lauren Caitlin, a Skip Teen UNITED STATES OF AMERICA pageant compitent, was questioned why metric scale system can't discover the U. S. on a world map. I will not embarrass Miss Caitlin any more by stamping her response here. Yet , you can choose in order to embarrass her by going to Youtube . com. A new survey-based record on geographic literacy launched by the National Geographic News states that will "63 per cent of Americans old 18 in order to 24 failed to correctly locate Iraq over a map from the Middle Far east. Seventy percent could hardly find Serbia or Israel. Nine in 10 couldn't find Afghanistan on a chart of Asia. " The particular report goes on to add, "The U. S. trailed every other country in that survey, other than Mexico. inches In justness to our neighbours to the south, I must add that each Mexican college student did understand where the United states of america was over a map, as well as the exact physical coordinates in the 12 simplest border crossings. To get a society that has satellite pictures, Google maps and GPS personal computers in our automobiles, you'd believe we would be more geographically literate. But this all technology is the problem. We're letting the particular electrons do the heavy chart lifting for all of us. Get road routes. First of all, to use one you have to make a considerable time spent in learning how you can fold in addition to unfold the map âEUR" a full semester course in many institutions better learning. If you travel through more than four declares without fundamental map flip-style skills, your car or truck will look like typically the cleanup room at the previous World Origami Convention. Folding school isn't just about all. You'll need to acquire an electron microscope to learn the great printed streets names. You also must have a general sense from the geographic For dummies, which in the case are Far east, South, Western and Irritated. No wait, that's one of the seven dwarfs. Just kidding. Everyone knows your fourth basic map direction increased.