Maps

A lot of kids these days don't care much for geography. Okay now that's a personal choice, if you'd rather do AI or data science or machine learning (--> Ed: these three are basically the same thing), that's totally up to you. But studying maps is often the best way to understand nuances, especially about places that we may not be familiar with.  I'll give several examples below:

1. The Korean conflict

I've actually written about North Korea at some length. But the most salient point is easily shown on the map: the Seoul-Incheon megapolis of 12+ million is within 40 miles of the North Korean border. This means: South Koreans don't really give a rats about Kim Jong Un's nuclear program -- well, they do, I guess, a little bit -- but ICBMs and strategic warheads  are mostly Japan's and America's concerns.

In the event of a war, North Korea can just mobilize its artillery guns to the DMZ, and wreak havoc to its southern nemesis.

We're talking perhaps tens of thousands of casualties within the first three hours.

North and South Korea

2. The Cuban Missile Crisis

This is a similar theme, which I've also covered previously, about missile ranges.  Maps clearly show Cuba is located within 25 miles off the coast of Florida.  When Brezhnev installed missiles in Cuba, Reagan knew that even a short-range one could easily hit central Miami.  A Soviet nuke, on the other hand, can pulverize many other vulnerable East coast cities, including Washington D.C.

Cuba

3. Iran

Even if you don't know any history before the 1990s.  Even if you don't know your Shia vs Sunnis. Even if you think Shah Reza Pahlevi is a Bollywood actor. Even if you don't understand the big deal about economic sanctions.

Just look at where Iran is on the map. On the west, it borders Iraq. On the east, it borders Afghanistan. So Iran is surrounded by two countries that were invaded by George W. Bush under the misguided premise of the War on Terror, creating instability that lasts until this day.

Does that explain why "death to America" chants are so popular in Tehran?

Iran

4. Haiti

Haiti and the Dominican Republic (DR) share the Hispaniola island in the Caribbean, but they might as well be on separate planets. Historically, the earlier was a French colony, and the latter Spanish, which partly explains their vastly different fates.  The DR also had "better" dictators, post-independence, than Haiti -- if that's even a thing. How different, you ask? Just look at the satellite image.

The Haitian (left) side looks like desolate hills where nothing grows, while the DR side looks lush green and fertile. Agriculture is and has always been a large part of the island's economy, but one side took a more sustainable approach. You can even see the contrast as you trek the border. No wonder there's so much disparity: in terms of GDP per capita, Haiti's is $1,800 while the DR is $17,000 -- almost ten times higher.

Adding insult to injury, Haiti is also prone to natural disasters; the 2010 earthquake destroyed large parts of the capital Port-au-Prince, and 2016 Hurricane Matthew also took numerous lives.

Two worlds, separated at birth

Is it solely the blame of European colonizers? Of course not, but when you're down and out, incapable of working towards a fix, could you blame poverty-stricken Haitians for pointing fingers at their past colonial masters?

The border between Haitian - Dominican Republic

Further reading, from Vox.com:

• Maps TOC
• 40 maps that explain the Middle East
• 40 maps that explain World War I
• Maps that explain the global refugee crisis
• 33 maps that explain terrorism