MaaAAaaaAAAaaaps - A song by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Source: Randall Munroe at XKCD via here

It has occurred to me that you can consider geography more of a hobby than a necessity nowadays. I always find that people interested in this 'hobby' tend to lean into the realm of 'interested-in-the-world-around-them,' but to what degree?  I find that the degree often characterizes a hobbyist and, is at the core, fascinating and often entertaining to the max.  For instance, my dad could tell you by location the types of trees that characterize the landscape based on latitude and country. For the life of him, he couldn't tell you about languages or more cultural references in those places. Geography is always used for the individual purpose to solve a problem, understand industry, or sail the ocean methodically. The beauty is in the degree of the beholder? 

I took a geography class in college and was delighted by the professor.  Forgive me, but I can only recall his name was Stanley 'something or other.' Stanley's second stab at a career led him away from field sciences and to the classroom where he used an old fashioned projector to showcase his photographs from his travels. I was hooked. Honestly, the only class I never skipped.  I was always quite satisfied in high school by geography classes and wanted to fulfill some of my general requirements with this juicy bit of schooling. So there I was, in class, feverishly drafting the most meticulous notes in my book about Stanley's anecdotes in Russia, or his trek in Mongolia, and his visit to the markets in Southeast Asian countries. Every time he would share tales, or which were all related to and perfectly intertwined into the lecture for the day, I would find that time would be up in class and I'd disappointedly close my book, linger, and leave. Couldn't wait for a day to pass so I'd be back in the room. If this class were a Netflix series, I'd be clicking 'Next Episode' before those 5 seconds of buffer could count down themselves. But, alas, this was real life and I had to employ some patience.

So, Stanley not only taught us an immense amount about geography, but also about topography, global industries, beautifully painted timelines of trade, war, language, and more. There wasn't enough time to digest everything, and I certainly didn't have enough money to stay in school forever and be a pseudo geography master, but sometimes I think back to this time - and how unrelated it was in the long run to my overall education, but how enriching it has been to my life. So I continue with the joys that come along with this type of study. This hobby. Thanks Stanley  'something or other.'

In any case, I thought it would be cute to share the above comic. I recently had a few conversations about geography with friends it APPALLED me that their understanding of the geography around them was so limited. Even more so, that they thought the Robinson Projection depicted actual and non-distorted land mass sizes. SCOFF. LAUGH. So, I had a good chuckle at the comic.

3 Minutes worth watching.