MOST OF UShave a rough map of the world in our minds that we use any time we think about places. But these mental maps aren’t necessarily reliable. In fact, many of the maps in our heads share the same errors, some of which are quite large—and surprisingly resistant to correction.
For instance, we all know thatSouth Americais south ofNorth America, of course. But you may be surprised by the fact that virtually the entire South American continent iseastof Florida. There are lots of possible reasons for geographical misconceptions like this one, says cartographer John Nelson. Mental maps are necessarily simplifications, and Nelson suspects the misplaced Americas may be partly a result of their names. After all, it’s not calledSoutheastAmerica.
Nelson’s father, who was…
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Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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