Add a continent map in the country -> map cards

[starlinetor]

The Country -> Map cards don't display anything other than an empty shell when asking for the position on the map.
To me, when learning geography, I need to have a reference map that I can use to point to a country or place because I find it very difficult to visualize it from scratch in my mind.
Therefore, I suggest adding a way to display the continent map when asking for the country's position.
I guess that showing the continent map can help pinpoint the correct state. There are only 7 continents, and knowing which one the country is in is not a "spoiler"; knowing exactly where it is located is what really matters. Also, in general, if you know the exact location within the continent, you already know which continent the country belongs to.
I used Gemini to build a working version just to have something functional and fast, as I am not a Javascript/HTML developer. This is the code if you need inspiration on how to implement it in the official build. It's just to show how it should work so you can better understand what I mean.
The code can be pasted directly on top of the old code for the Country -> Map front card template.
Also its probably better to donwload the maps instead of using an url because they load slowly on my computer.

{{#Map}}
  <div class="value value--top">{{Country}}</div>

  <hr>

  <div class="type">Location</div>
  <div class="value value--image">

    <img id="continent-map" src="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/BlankMap-World.svg?width=500" style="width: 100%; max-width: 500px; background-color: #ffffff; opacity: 0.8; margin: 0 auto; display: block; border-radius: 5px; padding: 10px;">

    <script>
    (function() {
        var tags = "{{Tags}}".toLowerCase();
        var mapElement = document.getElementById("continent-map");

        // Wikipedia links
        var maps = {
            "africa": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Africa_location_map.svg?width=500",
            "asia": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Asia_laea_location_map.svg?width=500",
            "europe": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Europe_laea_location_map.svg?width=500",
            "north_america": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/North_America_laea_location_map.svg?width=500",
            "south_america": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/South_America_laea_location_map.svg?width=500",
            "oceania": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Oceania_laea_location_map.svg?width=500",
            
            // Special cases
            "caribbean": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/North_America_laea_location_map.svg?width=500",
            "middle_east": "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Asia_laea_location_map.svg?width=500"
        };

        for (var continent in maps) {
            if (tags.includes(continent)) {
                mapElement.src = maps[continent];
                break;
            }
        }
    })();
    </script>
  </div>
{{/Map}}

[aplaice]

Thanks very much for this!

On the technical side, yes, if we were to include something like this, we'd have the images downloaded as part of the deck. (I guess that you didn't use the existing continent maps (ug-map-{continent}-nobox.png) due to their being very zoomed out and hence the country borders being very barely visible (and so not particularly helpful here). (?).)

---

On a more general note, yes, we have an issue with what exactly the "country -> map" cards are about. There are many (partially overlapping) things that one might want to remember, including:

1. the very general location of the country (continent, possibly part of continent)
2. the exact location of the country when given an unlabelled map with country borders
3. the exact-ish location of the country when given an unlabelled map with just coastlines
4. the exact-ish location of the country unprompted
5. the shape of the country's borders
6. the country's neighbours
7. the exact shape and location of the country (and its neighbours)

(Some of these (2, 3) are not possible with our current, main design. (2 is possible with the experimental interactive deck or with your suggestion. 3 could be possible with an alternative interactive deck where one clicks on a coastline map and are "marked" correct if one clicked within the country's actual borders (which would probably be displayed).)

Our cards don't prescribe a choice and rely on the learner both choosing a target for themselves and determining whether they meet that target each time. Unfortunately, it's possible for the person to be a) inconsistent in setting their goals each time they see the relevant card and b) moving the goalposts once one answers (I know that I've been guilty of this myself — I'd aim for, say, something in between 4, 6 and 7, but miss a neighbour and mark the card correct, anyway (since I'd met a less stringent target).) (b is probably a general issue with Anki cards (did I pronounce the word exactly correctly? etc.), but here it's IMO particularly bad since the range of possible goalposts is so wide.)

This inconsistency (if the learner isn't very disciplined) is not great, since prompts should be precise/focused/atomic:

https://andymatuschak.org/prompts/#properties
https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Atomic_memory

Consequently, it might be useful to split up the country -> map cards into several more focused ones. I have many ideas, but I'm honestly not sure what's the best approach. I should open an discussion asking people how they use the current country->map cards and how they'd like to use them, at some point, (once I've cleared out my current aug todo list)...

Sorry for the long digression, but this has long been on my mind (I hadn't intended to write this much when I started...) and any thoughts on this would be welcome.

[starlinetor]

I didn't use the existing continent maps because honestly i had downloaded the deck 5 minutes prior so my code is really just a duck tape and glue fix.
Personally when i learned each province in Italy i wanted to be able to find them on a map without names, so i always had a map of Italy visible with all the regions, also because in this way i am 100% sure i am right. did i point to the correct province ? then i am correct.
Then yes i agree it really depends on what you want to learn but for a every day use case knowing where a country is on a map i think is the most useful, even if there are all the names on a map if you know where to search it, it will be easier to find it.
6 seems like something that would require its own card, and 7 i don't know i can't visualize a shape in my mind so its kinda impossible for me to learn the shape of a country, i can recognize it once i see it.
for 1 there could just be a card only for the continent.
3 and 4 seem kinda odd as someone might want to learn, because usually a map has at least borders or if there aren't they are not really important, also because of how a map might be shaped different projections might alter where you think a country is.
I think it might make sense to have the number 2 as the default as to me is the one that makes more sense but then give as an option all the others 1 to 7 in the extended deck and one can just suspend the one that he doesn't care for.