Has it really gotten this bad? Apparently so, laments Susan Jacoby in her opinion piece in The Washington Post this past Sunday, “The Dumbing Of America: Call Me a Snob, but Really, We’re a Nation of Dunces.”

She argues the U.S. has become anti-intellectual, using evidence such as decreased reading amongst the young and “the erosion of general knowledge” including geography. She retells the story of FDR urging Americans to look at maps of the Pacific to better understand the challenges of WWII. The result was maps selling out around the country. Contrast that one finding of a 2006 National Geographic-Roper survey. Almost half of Americans 18-24 years old “did not think it necessary to know the location of other countries in which important news is being made; a third consider it” not at all important to know a foreign language.”

The discussion continues, stressing Americans do not think it matters that we don’t know things, what she calls “anti-rationalism.” What she writes rings true in geography. People say they love maps, but they know little about geography. Recently I saw an adult unable to point to Europe on a world map. That person was not arrogant about it, rather was embarrassed. However, the lack of knowledge, with or without the arrogance, is a danger to our society. Jacoby challenges the presidential candidates to make it an election issue, and it should be. It should also be a concern of people in business who will have to deal with these dunces as they enter the work force.

It is high irony that in the information age, we have grave concerns about knowledge.

The U.S. primary election yesterday took place in 24 states on what is called Super Tuesday. Of course the day is super important for those trying to become the next president. The event begs for maps to show us what’s going on before, during, and after. Unfortunately, the popular news Web sites as a group do a rather poor job. Here’s my quick take on what’s out there.

Elections are a great time for people to learn about places and their differences. Elections bring out not only the political differences in people, but the differences in people located in different places. Only maps can adequately portray these differences. There is additional detail beyond who wins and loses that someone should map – breakdowns by gender, age, nationality, income, and other demographics. It is impossible to understand what is happening politically in this country without good maps. If only there were more of them.

The Good

The Wall Street Journal puts the map on the top of its main page, with one tab each for the Democrats and Republicans. States are colored shades of blue for the Democrat one and red for the Republican maps, with different shades of those colors indicating the winners. On both maps, by hovering over the colored states that voted, one gets a simple text of the winner or projected winners from both parties. No numbers appear – sometimes simple is better. Nicely done, with a lot of information in a small space, but in a way that makes visual sense and gives people what they need to know.

The New York Times has a few maps hanging off its “Election Guide 2008″ page. One links to results details, with separate U.S. maps of both party contests. These maps are big and loaded with information on them and on tables next to them. Click on a state and zoom into a state view with county results shown. The colors are pleasing and the information detailed. A second map shows primary dates, using maps and other graphics to show the distribution. Again here, lots of information and great design work. A third set of maps shows campaign finances by candidate and by location. Plus one can view an animation showing how the financial contributions changed over time. Fascinating material here is not found elsewhere. The Times has by far the best maps I came across.

The Bad

CNN focused on Read all »

A quick fun diversion. I sure hope you can beat my score of 80% right. Guess the Spot.

Garmin announced its first mobile phone yesterday. According to Garmin, it’s slim, sleek, innovative, and a breakthrough. It’s a phone, navigator, camera, browser, and music player. Many of the media reports on it reflect surprise.

I am not surprised.

Why wouldn’t Garmin make a phone? Convergence has been in force in technology forever. The phone manufacturers and camera makers are adding navigation. People seem to put the navigation device makers in some sort of dunce’s corner where they are not expected to keep up with the Apples and Nokias; and act surprised when they make a smart move. One lesson here for Garmin, Mio, TomTom, and the others is they need to do more to change their reputations as niche players. The nüvifone should help that cause.

Will people want this thing? The most likely buyers are those already using or interested in personal navigation devices (PNDs). The trick for Garmin will be to expand beyond PND enthusiasts and sell the value to everyone else. This will require the right messages, applications, pricing, partnerships, and carrier platforms. The mobile phone buyer is quite fickle. There are no guarantees – in fact almost simultaneous with the nüvifone announcement was Motorola’s about exploring the sale of its mobile phone business. It’s a tough business with many competitors and is different from the PND market. Most people won’t know or care much about the clear superiority of Garmin’s navigation services over, say, Verizon’s. Plus, Nokia will have the same combination but moves in from the phone side and data side with it’s recently acquired Navteq.

Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait a while for the device; third quarter 2008 says Garmin. By then there will be at least a couple others like it. And who knows – maybe Apple will get smart and improve its navigation capabilities (iFind?) sooner rather than later!

John Adams, the 2nd president of the U.S. and one of the first proponents of independence, knew the importance of geography. I recently finished the biography John Adams by David McCullough. While he didn’t leave his home state of Massachusetts from the time her was born in Braintree until he was an adult, Adams’ travels for the country helped change history. He was not only a delegate to the Continental Congress and signer of the Declaration of Independence; he spent years in Europe on diplomatic missions. During his time away from his family while serving the country, he wrote many letters to family and friends, while also keeping a diary.

While in Philadelphia during the tense years at the beginning of the Revolutionary War, Adams made a strong statement about the importance of geography.

A large wall map at the State House inspired a letter given over entirely to geography (The Map of the British Empire in America with the French and Spanish Settlements Adjacent Thereto, by Henry Popple, measured nearly eight by eighty feet, and was so detailed it even marked Braintree, spelled “Brantry.”) As a branch of knowledge, geography was “absolutely necessary to every person of public character,” and to every child, Adams declared. “Really there ought not to be a state, city, a promontory, a river, a harbor, an inlet or a mountain in all of America, but what should be intimately known to every youth who has any pretensions to liberal education.”

It was Adams who insisted on the formation of a navy, based in part on his analysis of the geography of the colonies and their access from Europe by Britain, France, and Spain. His travels within the colonies and overseas opened his eyes to the differences of cultures by geography, which he noted often. However, distances then took much longer to traverse – 6 weeks to cross the Atlantic, for example. Adams seemed to truly appreciate the differences of places and enjoyed the outdoors.

Now, with distances compressed and the education system in this country with other priorities, we are seeing a generation of perhaps the least geography-aware in history. Study after study shows the general lack of geographic knowledge in the U.S. Does it matter if people know where Iraq is? What about North Dakota? How about the linkages between natural resources such as oil and place? Religion and countries? Our ignorance hurts us when dealing with not only the rest of the world, but within our own borders.

While we could not expect people to have the level of knowledge suggested by Adams, it is reasonable to expect that at least those “of public character” know the basics. While it’s unclear our current public characters as a whole appreciate geography, the emerging generation is a real concern. With the compression of distance and the ability of information to travel essentially instantly, local issues and global issues begin to meld. Geography needs to get back into the schools in a more prominent way, and be taught showing connections to people’s lives.

As John Adams said, “Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people.”