this post was submitted on 15 Mar 2024
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I'm currently in college to go into GIS (Geographic Information Systems/Science) and lemme tell ya I think more people in 1700 would understand "cartographer" than they would today.
You are correct. People these days are idjits.
Not even really that but people tend to think that others have just outright stopped making maps. "Haven't we made all the maps already?" Is a common response I get when I tell them. They seem to forget about data analysis and all that.
And, well... They're not super wrong about how mapped earth is. They just misjudge the sheer, enormous amount of detail we need (which keeps growing with our ability to get more of it), along with the fact that sometimes it changes a bit.
"Haven't we mapped everything already?" is a bit like saying "Haven't we born everyone already?".
GIS also is far more complex than what is visible in a single map. An example for this are the capabilities of satellites observing the earth, IIRC very few to none of them are mere security cameras - most of them have quite interesting spectra to observe green house gas emissions or vegetation (ie. land use changes) for example. GIS can then use this data and gather hidden information, sometimes over large spatial dimensions.
Exactly. We know what shape the land is even for the bottoms of the oceans. But that doesn't mean we're done making maps.