[FRIAM] Maps from Memory

[Steve Smith]

On 6/6/20 8:34 PM, thompnickson2 at gmail.com wrote:
>
> Steve,
>
>  
>
> When I was on sabbatical in England and feeling Very homesick, I set
> about to draw a memory map of the United States.  I was really pleased
> with the result, and showed off with pride to my family.  One of my
> children pointed out to me that I had only 49 states.
>
I was VERY impressed when I saw Al Franken do his:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0-FYyuvrRk&list=PL0UW7LoJRk9fFIEVBUq_mX94CYioFkdOL&index=273

the one I saw myself was one he narrated and it took a lot longer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4XtczOvT6c

I'd probably remember them all and maybe even in the right location, but
with only a few regions reflecting accurate scales and boundaries.   
New England and the northern Atlantic Seaboard would suck...  the West
and Midwest would probably be fine... I think I could *nail* the 4
corners states though!


>   Can you guess which one I left out?
>
I'm not good at these guessing games, and without reference to your
age/era when you were in England, I'd be winging a tail at a donkey here.

Seems like a "trick question", which becomes my best angle for guessing:

    * Switzerland? (doh! not a state!)

    * NM?   (though a hard one to leave out geometrically).  

    * AK/HI ?   (too obvious)

    * MA (nahhhhh...)

    * Idaho?

OK... yah got me!



>  
>
> N
>
>  
>
> Nicholas Thompson
>
> Emeritus Professor of Ethology and Psychology
>
> Clark University
>
> ThompNickSon2 at gmail.com <mailto:ThompNickSon2 at gmail.com>
>
> https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/
>
>  
>
>  
>
> *From:* Friam <friam-bounces at redfish.com> *On Behalf Of *Steve Smith
> *Sent:* Saturday, June 6, 2020 6:29 PM
> *To:* friam at redfish.com
> *Subject:* Re: [FRIAM] word of the day: "Eschatology"
>
>  
>
> Nick -
>
>     One day, during geography, I raised my hand and said, “How come
>     north/south America and Europe/Africa sort of /fit together?” 
>     /General merriment on all sides, including the teacher’s. 
>
>      
>
>     Did she do that to YOU, also?
>
> Nah, but my 4th grade teacher drew her own maps on mimeograph.  When
> we were studying Europe, she left out Switzerland.   When she handed
> out the unmarked maps as homework and asked us to fill in the country
> names and place/identify their capitals, I noticed she had left out
> Switzerland!   I raised my hand, waited for her to call on me, then
> politely (or possibly too eagerly) asked "Where is Switzerland?".   I
> don't remember what happened next... but she basically told me to
> "shut up".   I did.   But I did not do *any more* Geography homework
> (or at least her hand-drawn map) assignments for the rest of the year. 
>
> When I flunked (who gets an F in a class in 4th grade?) the class, my
> parents intervened and made the deal with her that she would pass me
> if/when I did all the homework that summer.   It grated the hell out
> of me, but I remember whipping out the whole year of assignments in
> the first week (or so) because we didn't not do what our parents told
> us to, even if we sometimes didn't do what our teachers told us to
> do.  I had, after all, paid attention in class and *read the book* as
> I was as fascinated with geography as anything else...   I held the
> line on the Europe-sans-Switzerland assignment and my parents
> acquiesced.  I *LIKE* to think that Ms. McCarty was more careful with
> her maps after I (innocently) asked her about "Switzerland?".  
>
> Later she told me to shut up when she was teaching "weather" and my
> father had just shown me (he took daily meteorological readings at the
> USFS offices)  about wet-bulb temperature and even alcohol
> thermometers (which are preferred over mercury ones for very low
> temperature use)...  the "shut up" came when I raised my hand and
> asked if the thermometer she was showing us was mercury or alcohol.  
> I think she said "there is no such thing" before she told me to shut
> up.   I don't know why she ever called on me, but then one could ask
> why I ever bothered to raise my hand.   I think I did cut way back on
> that as the year progressed.
>
> Did your first grade teacher break a ruler on your knuckles for having
> bad penmanship (age 6) ?   And I didn't even go to Catholic School! 
> Her name was Mrs. Hay and *should have been* a Nun...
>
> - Steve
>
>
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