Stunning conversations you have with people

[Nekov]

According to Wikipedia

America or Americas
Some uses of the English word America in a hemispherical sense remain, or are translated from other languages as such, as in the names of international organizations.[77] For instance, the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) in Paris maintains a single continental association for "America", represented by one of the five Olympic rings.[78]
Speakers of English in the United States of America generally refer to the landmasses of North America and South America as the Western Hemisphere, the New World, or the Americas, to U.S. citizens as Americans and to the United States as America.[62][79] This sense of America has been primary in English since the 19th century, though not without some ambiguities or uncertainties.[5] Exclusive use in English of this sense has caused offense to some from Canada or Latin America[80] who avoid this usage, preferring constructed terms in their languages derived from "United States" or even "North America".[81][82][83] In Canada, its southern neighbor is often referred to as "the United States", "the U.S.A.", or (informally) "the States," while citizens are generally referred to as Americans.[82] English dictionaries and compendiums differ regarding usage and rendition.[84][85][86]

[bosk1]

People need to play Risk more.

[Nekov]

People need to play Risk more.

Indeed. It's been too long

[Implode]

People need to play Risk more.

I advise people to try out Risk Legacy. It's a great game to play for multiple campaigns.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

People need to play Risk more.

Go shopping for condoms and straight pins.

[rumborak]

The fact that Europe is considered a continent kinda shows that even your fat grandma's panties can be considered a continent. Unless she's incontinent of course. In which case I wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole.

rumborak

[zerogravityfat]

Especially since I'm not too sure where Russia lies, I guess same as Turkey in Eurasia?

[rumborak]

I think the official body that decides on those matters is the Eurovision committee. Given that both Turkey and Russia participate in the Eurovision, I count them as part of Europe.

rumborak

[Scorpion]

I'm pretty sure that Russia is both part of Europe and Asia, just as Turkey is, though, with the frontier between Europe and Asia (if you can call it that) going along the Ural Mountains and through the Bosporus.

Fun fact: A friend of mine once misspelled Ural as "oral" in a geography test.

[zerogravityfat]

I think the official body that decides on those matters is the Eurovision committee. Given that both Turkey and Russia participate in the Eurovision, I count them as part of Europe.

rumborak

I ROFLd.

[ZirconBlue]

In somewhere between 3rd and 5th grade, you have to memorize all the states, their locations, and their capitals. But yeah, other than that, I've never formally learned any geography aside from the passing mention in history.

In the schools I went to, up until 8th or 9th grade, we had "Social Studies", which included a mix of History, Geography, and Civics.

[Implode]

Same here. All of those were mixed into one class in 5th-8th grade. But we didn't really learn any geography outside of the US.

[rumborak]

Good god.

[Implode]

And in high school, of course geography was relevant to history, but we never had a geography class. When it comes to places other than the US, I only really know where the "popular" countries are, and the average American probably knows even less.

[kári]

Here we have 3 years of geology in basisschool (6-12 years with the geology from 9-12) and then 6 more in middelbaar (12-18) years. It covers everything from what kind of soil is where to the shape of galaxies.

[Implode]

Geology is different from geography.

[Orbert]

America is a continent

No.

That...is amazing.

I was taught that North America and South America are separate continents.  I was unaware that it's not the same elsewhere in the world.  I just thought it was amusing and ironic that in an attempt to point out how simple it all is, Rumby made a mistake.  In my mind, that "proved" that the whole issue is indeed confusing, and not as simple as some say it is.  And that's independent of the fact that it's taught differently in different parts of the world, adding a layer of confusion as far as I'm concerned.

America is a country, and also a continent.  And also possibly two continents, depending on where you're from.  So it is either the name of a country which is part of the continent it's on, or the name of a country which is part of one of two continents with a similar name, except for the "North" and "South" part.  Simple as that.

[Nekov]

You also have Central America Orbert. Don't leave them behind!

[Orbert]

Yeah, and there's Latin America, too.  I never did figure out how in the hell they all fit in there.  They're not separate continents, so what are they?

[Nekov]

Latin America is the group of countries that speak a language that's derivative from Latin it's not a geographic subdivision

[Vivace]

https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=32006.0

I didn't read into this thread but was Omega the problem there?

As far as I am concerned, Omega is the only one making sense in that thread. . But then I haven't read all of it. He's 100% correct about moral relativism. All it takes is a society to make you the minority view. That's not wisdom, nor is it seeking wisdom. It's just the fulfillment of "my" needs. Omega clearly understands this and I applaud him for it. 

[black_biff_stadler]

This is probably one of the biggest derails in non P/R DTF history.

[Implode]

Is Omega the new Kevin Moore of DTF?

[MetalJunkie]

And in high school, of course geography was relevant to history, but we never had a geography class. When it comes to places other than the US, I only really know where the "popular" countries are, and the average American probably knows even less.

Where the hell did you go to school? I lived in Texas, and in sixth grade we had to memorize every country on the globe.

[Implode]

Every country? I've never heard of that! I went to a private grade school and private high school in Illinois.

[Adami]

And in high school, of course geography was relevant to history, but we never had a geography class. When it comes to places other than the US, I only really know where the "popular" countries are, and the average American probably knows even less.

Where the hell did you go to school? I lived in Texas, and in sixth grade we had to memorize every country on the globe.

Alright, what's the capital of Latveria?

[black_biff_stadler]

Dr. Doom's bunghole?

[Neon]

What exactly its the point of discussion here? Whether America is one or two continents? Or whether anything but the USA rightfully has the title America?

rumborak

No, I think the point of the discussion is that, with a few exceptions like your original post that actually are good examples, people get to post conversations with others that make them feel superior because the person they were talking with didn't happen to know something they know.

I don't mean to make myself sound "superior" to anyone else though...it really does baffle me that people make it all through school and to adulthood and don't know really basic things that I assumed everyone was taught in school.  I don't expect people to be able to pinpoint the exact locations of every foreign country on a map, but I expect people to be able to pinpoint where they live (or have lived).  Just like I don't expect anyone to know calculus, but I expect people to be able to add and subtract. 

[jasc15]

They are all arbitrary classifications anyway, so knowing whether Mexico is part of North America, Latin America, or the larger continent of America is nothing more than trivia.  Whats more important is that you know where it is in relation to its neighbors, and why these several arbitrary classifications each have some non-unique logic. 

[jsem]

I think the official body that decides on those matters is the Eurovision committee. Given that both Turkey and Russia participate in the Eurovision, I count them as part of Europe.

rumborak

Israel takes part in Eurovision, so I guess they're located in Europe as well .

[ZirconBlue]

Every country? I've never heard of that! I went to a private grade school and private high school in Illinois.

I thought private schools were supposed to give you a better education.   


Seriously, though, in my little public school in Illinois, I had to learn all the countries, their capitols, and who their "leader" was.  Not all at once, though.  We'd spend a couple weeks on a different area of the globe, then move on to another area. 

[zerogravityfat]

I think the official body that decides on those matters is the Eurovision committee. Given that both Turkey and Russia participate in the Eurovision, I count them as part of Europe.

rumborak

Israel takes part in Eurovision, so I guess they're located in Europe as well .

The argument is flawless, quit trying to find holes.

[Implode]

Seriously, though, in my little public school in Illinois, I had to learn all the countries, their capitols, and who their "leader" was.  Not all at once, though.  We'd spend a couple weeks on a different area of the globe, then move on to another area.

Well now I feel left out. But not enough to learn all the countries now.

[bosk1]

What exactly its the point of discussion here? Whether America is one or two continents? Or whether anything but the USA rightfully has the title America?

rumborak

No, I think the point of the discussion is that, with a few exceptions like your original post that actually are good examples, people get to post conversations with others that make them feel superior because the person they were talking with didn't happen to know something they know.

I don't mean to make myself sound "superior" to anyone else though...it really does baffle me that people make it all through school and to adulthood and don't know really basic things that I assumed everyone was taught in school.  I don't expect people to be able to pinpoint the exact locations of every foreign country on a map, but I expect people to be able to pinpoint where they live (or have lived).  Just like I don't expect anyone to know calculus, but I expect people to be able to add and subtract. 

Actually, I thought yours was a pretty fair one too.  But not necessarily just because the guy didn't know those things.  Yeah, for someone in the U.S. his age to not know those things is pretty surprising.  But a lot of people don't know a lot of things that you would thing would be "common knowledge."  But what is astounding and makes the guy look dumb, IMO, isn't the fact that he didn't know.  It's the fact that he was adamant that he was right.  There's always something we are ignorant about.  Ignorance doesn't necessarily make someone look foolish.  It's when one insists that their view is correct when it clearly isn't that their ignorance becomes willful instead of accidental, and they end up looking like a fool.

[BlobVanDam]

Actually, I thought yours was a pretty fair one too.  But not necessarily just because the guy didn't know those things.  Yeah, for someone in the U.S. his age to not know those things is pretty surprising.  But a lot of people don't know a lot of things that you would thing would be "common knowledge."  But what is astounding and makes the guy look dumb, IMO, isn't the fact that he didn't know.  It's the fact that he was adamant that he was right.  There's always something we are ignorant about.  Ignorance doesn't necessarily make someone look foolish.  It's when one insists that their view is correct when it clearly isn't that their ignorance becomes willful instead of accidental, and they end up looking like a fool.

Yeah. There's nothing really wrong with not knowing something, but you'll never actually learn and correct that lack of knowledge if you choose to remain ignorant. This guy wasn't looking to learn, he was only looking to be right, so as you said, it just becomes willful ignorance at that point when he refused to accept truth.

I suck at geography, and I know it, so if someone corrected me on a point of geography, I'd take their word for it over my own (well, unless you told me something really silly, like Australia being part of the world).