What you learned in school
Geography and earth science textbooks taught that earthquakes were unpredictable natural disasters that could strike anywhere at any time without warning. Students learned that earthquakes were random "acts of God" with no discernible pattern or geographic preference. Maps showed earthquake damage as scattered events across the globe.
What we know now
Geography classes taught that earthquakes were random, unpredictable events that could happen anywhere at any time. Students learned to view earthquakes as acts of nature with no discernible pattern. While the exact timing remains unpredictable, we now know that most earthquakes occur along specific zones where tectonic plates meet. The "Ring of Fire" around the Pacific, the San Andreas Fault, and other plate boundaries are where the vast majority of earthquakes happen. Understanding plate tectonics has made earthquake-prone regions predictable, even if exact timing isn't.