Maps

I have always had an affinity for maps. I don't remember exactly when it started, but I remember in grade school when the teacher would roll down maps from the big, curtain-shade set attached to the chalk board. I would get excited by what was there, what we were about to discuss, and the places we would go.

As an adult, I recognize the practical importance of maps. Having a map to guide you on a road trip is not only useful for planning the trip, but can be life saving when you are lost or headed the wrong direction. But there is also a power in a map - even a road atlas - that helps to inspire... Looking up far away places and dreaming of what these worlds would be like... It's really just as fun now as when I was a school boy.

Now, of course, we have incredible technology. I have a GPS unit in my car which gives me different options for my route (fastest route, most freeways, least (?) freeways, avoid toll roads). My wife's unit is more modern and has instant traffic updates and gives her suggestions about how to route her trip around the traffic hold up. The GPS unit works by receiving signals from satellites in space. The more satellites that one can receive signals from the more accurately one can triangulate one's position in space. The accuracy is something like 10 feet. This is absolutely stunning. These satellites can track your position, your relative speed, your direction, and thus guide you along your way. The traditional road atlas is almost obsolete.

Another blow to the traditional road atlas is Google Earth and other online mapping services. Google Earth is my favorite. The thing is absolutely stunning. With just a few clicks and by using the zoom function on your mouse, you can visit anywhere. ANYWHERE. Most of the world also has been driven and photographed - at least from the road - in a 3D environment where you can look around in all directions. You can follow the road, essentially walking/driving down roads you've never been down, or visiting places you've been.

Maps continue to be important, but as the technology advances, the way we look at the world changes, and the maps adjust themselves accordingly. Further, the function of the map is evolving as well. Linking various data to geography can be instructive, such as showing where drought is happening, where population is trending, and where sicknesses appear. Linkages can then be formed that help guide decisions about policy and where action needs to be taken.

We live in a world of rapid changes. It can be hard to find one's place in it all. But as we look to make the technology work for us, we can become empowered in ways that are helpful and innovative.