Demographics of the PF forum: where do you currently live?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the demographics of the Physics Forums community, specifically focusing on where members currently reside as permanent residents. Participants are engaging in a poll regarding their geographical locations, with various definitions and classifications of regions being debated.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • One participant inquires about whether to select the US or Singapore based on their work situation, prompting a discussion on the definition of permanent residency.
  • Another participant mentions living in the northernmost city in Canada and discusses their past residency in St. Croix, questioning how to categorize their current living situation for the poll.
  • There is a debate about the classification of Mexico, with some participants asserting it is part of Central America, while others argue it belongs to North America based on geographical definitions.
  • Participants express differing views on how regions should be defined, with some suggesting that Central America should include countries south of the US, while others reference a more standard definition that excludes Mexico.
  • Humor is used in the discussion, with participants making light of the complexities of geographical definitions and the arbitrary nature of regional classifications.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the classification of Mexico and the definitions of Central America versus North America. Multiple competing views remain regarding geographical categorizations.

Contextual Notes

The discussion reflects varying interpretations of geographical definitions and the implications for the poll, highlighting the complexity of categorizing regions based on residency and citizenship.

Which country do you currently live?

  • North America (US & Canada)

    Votes: 54 52.9%
  • Central America

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Caribbean countries

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • South America

    Votes: 1 1.0%
  • Northern & Western Europe

    Votes: 24 23.5%
  • Eastern Europe

    Votes: 5 4.9%
  • Southern Europe

    Votes: 4 3.9%
  • Middle East/Western Asia & North Africa

    Votes: 3 2.9%
  • Africa (excluding North African countries)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • East Asia

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Southeast Asia

    Votes: 3 2.9%
  • Central Asia

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • South Asia

    Votes: 2 2.0%
  • Australia & New Zealand

    Votes: 5 4.9%
  • Oceanic/South Pacific Island countries

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Other

    Votes: 1 1.0%
  • Prefer Not to Say

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    102
  • Poll closed .
  • #31
Medicol said:
We learned this in secondary school that North America includes only those from the US lower border up.

That leaves the unanswered question: was your school teacher was better at geography than Bush or Palin?

By coincidence, I recently came across a US reference book published in about 1900 that had a section of double-page maps that covered a fair proportion of the world, plus a separate map for every US state. The ordering was strictly alphabetical rather than logical. I guess it made sense to US geographers France was somewhere between Florida and Georgia, and that "World, The" was between Wisconsin and Wyoming. :biggrin:
 
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  • #32
OmCheeto said:
I suppose, since it's a geography question, I shouldn't laugh. But the made me giggle.

What a diverse set of countries, all grouped together.

Kind of like, me and my next door neighbors. :-p

ps. Where the hell is Andorra? google google google. Oh good grief. Why didn't you include San Marino then?

pps. Pfft!


Oops, forgot to include San Marino!

Anyways, the countries of Southern Europe are those geographically within Europe that are south of the Alps and approaching or bordering the Mediterranean, so all of the countries in that list meet that criteria. I supposed I should have included France, but France is an unusual case of a country that straddles between Southern and Northern Europe.
 
  • #33
StatGuy2000 said:
Officially, at least according to Wikipedia, North America would also include the Central American and Caribbean countries as well, but I specifically wanted to break out these countries separately because they are culturally and (to a certain limited extent) geographically distinct from North American countries like Canada & the US.

However, you are correct in that Greenland is a part of North America. That is an oversight of mine (unfortunately, I'm unable to fix the original poll).

You have disappointed the 1000's of Greenlanders (kind of sounds like green lanterns) here at PF. I guess their land will be actually green after all the melting going on.
 
  • #34
At this point, we need a crackpot flat-earther to remind everybody that "Geography is only a theory" :devil:
 
  • #35
AlephZero said:
was your school teacher was better...
That's a George Bushism if I ever saw one. :-p
 
  • #36
StatGuy2000 said:
OK, we seem to be spending a lot of time debating on whether Mexico is a part of Central America or North America. I should note a few things:

(1) First of all, the breakdown of my poll wasn't intended to be "strictly" accurate as far as geography is concerned.

(2) Strictly speaking, North America includes all of the Central American and Caribbean countries and territories. See the Wikipedia entry below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_America

So there is no contradiction in stating that Mexico is a part of North America and a part of Central America, since Central America is a subset of North America.
You should have just asked everyone for the longitude and latitude of their current dwelling.
 
  • #37
Funny, I guess the high percentage of members from India that come to PF

1) don't respond to polls

2) only visit homework and Academic Guidance
 
  • #38
WWGD said:
I thought everything west of L.A and east of NYC ,other than Chicago was just called "flyover country", but that may just be so in snob geography.

That's Alaska and Hawaii !
 
  • #39
So what US states are farthest North, East, West and South?
 
  • #40
I think that Iran is mostly regarded as Middle East but not as Central Asia! It led me astray so that I voted Middle East instead of Central Asia.
 
  • #41
Alaska, Alaska (I think it crosses the east-west , i.e., 180th east of Greenwich) , Alaska, Hawaii.
 
  • #42
saul-steinberg-the-new-yorker-cover-view-of-the-world-from-9th-avenue-march-29-1976.jpg
 
  • #43
PaulDirac said:
I think that Iran is mostly regarded as Middle East but not as Central Asia! It led me astray so that I voted Middle East instead of Central Asia.

Iran is a country that sits at the crossroads of the Middle East and Central Asia. Consider it's immediate neighbours:

To the west of Iran is Iraq, part of the Middle East, and Turkey, which is half-Europe and half-Middle East.

To the northwest is Armenia and Azerbaijan, within the Caucasus region which is at the crossroads of Europe and the Middle East.

To the north is Kazakhstan and the Central Asian portion of Russia.

To the northeast is Turkmenistan, a part of Central Asia.

To the east is Afghanistan (a part of Central Asia), and Pakistan (a part of South Asia).

Just as importantly, Persian culture had a tremendous influence on the cultures of Central and South Asia, as much as the influence on the Middle East or the Near East. So Iran could legitimately be classified as part of Central Asia as part of the Middle East.
 
  • #45
Evo said:
Iran is considered in the Middle East.

Bahrain
Cyprus
Egypt
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Northern Cyprus
Oman
Palestine
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Syria
Turkey[19]
United Arab Emirates
Yemen

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_East#Traditional_definition_of_the_Middle_East

I've seen Iran being included in the traditional definition of the Middle East as well, but I've also seen it included as part of the definition of Central Asia. It's worth noting that these choices tend to be arbitrary. For example, Turkey is also included as part of traditional definition of Europe.
 
  • #46
Evo said:

Considered? According to your link Iran was right in the, er, middle of the Middle East originally. I think places like Egypt and Palestine were referred to as Near East as late as the forties or even fifties but the term dropped out of use then, so there is a Far and a Middle but no Near.
 

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