92% of Afghan men unaware of 9/11 attack

[troutman]

95% of Americans can't find Afghanistan on a map.

[FlamesAddiction]

The 9/11 terrorist attack doesn't have the same significance around the world that it has in North America.

I bet that at least 92% of the people in Canada and the U.S. don't know that the 2nd Chechen War in Russia was sparked by a large terrorist attack either.

I have little doubt that most Afghans either didn't know about the events happening, or didn't see them as significant enough at the time. Large scale tragedies happen all the time and we tend to forget about them quickly when they happen to people far away from us.

[VladtheImpaler]

Originally Posted by troutman

95% of Americans can't find Afghanistan on a map.

Why would you want to? It's not like you can accidentally travel there.

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by troutman

95% of Americans can't find Afghanistan on a map.

In an actual survey by National Geographic in mid-decade, 88% of Americans 18-24 years of age couldn't find Afghanistan on a map.

“Americans are far from alone in the world, but from the perspective of many young Americans, we might as well be. On this survey, most young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 demonstrate a limited understanding of the world beyond their country’s borders, and they place insufficient importance on the basic geographic skills that might enhance their knowledge. In this survey, young Americans answer about half (54%) of all the questions correctly. But by and large, majorities of young adults fail at a range of questions testing their basic geographic literacy.”

Terry Garcia, an executive vice president at National Geographic, thinks the answer is more simple.

"Geography is not consistently taught in the United States, that's one of the problems," Garcia said. "Pretty much after the 7th grade here in the United States, geography isn't taught."


Through the years, the 88% number has somehow gravitated to include all Americans.

Cowperson

[Jbo]

wrong thread