A sense of perspective

I think it is ironic that as technology moves on and millions start to use GIS either on the internet or in sat.nav. devices, one effect will be that we will lose a sense of perspective and a sense of scale.

Yes I use Streetmap or Google maps if I need to know at street level where a particular street or building is. I use them if I am meeting someone or have to get to a building I do not know. I love the car sat.nav. if I have a really obscure route to take.

But neither of these pays particular attention to North or South. They won't tell me where my destination is in relation to the rest of the country. They won't give an overall picture of the countryside.

So I will use them with caution. In some instances they are incredibly useful. But for some instances, and particularly for general knowledge and interest, I will be happy to stick with a paper map. Sometimes I want to enjoy the journey rather than get obsessed with reaching the destination. Geography should encourage exploration, it should feed curiosity. I fear that sat.nav. devices will destroy both.

Chorley Day

In 1987 a Committee under the Chairmanship of Lord Chorley was asked to produce, and delivered, a report for the Secretary of State for the Environment into the handling of Geographic Information.

I work for the Association for Geographic Information, a body which came into being in 1989 as a direct result of some of the recommendations of Lord Chorley's report.

So was this report a milestone in the discussion of Geographic Information in the UK? Did it lead to major changes in the way Government dealt with GIS? Or did it simply gather dust? Chorley not!

Thankfully the report did much to foster the development of GIS in the UK. But could more have been done?

I am not planning to answer that. This post is simply to note that we at AGI are rightly marking the 20th anniversary of the publication of the Chorley Report. On 19th June, at the London Chamber of Commerce, we are running a Chorley Day to celebrate, and I am sure that is the right word, the anniversary of the report. The full programme has not yet been finalised, but this will be an opportunity for a wide ranging discussion of GIS twenty years on. And is is particularly pleasing that Lord Chorley will be attending the event. I am certainly looking forward to it.

Further details are on the AGI website.

Gradients

Golf is of course a sport which demands fitness, strength and subtlety. More than that, it encompasses philosophy, mental strength - and of course Geography.



Today I was playing golf in Keith with my father - good going in his case since he turned 90 last July. I was reflecting as we went round on the geographic features both on the course and surrounding the course. On the course there are the hills, the differing soil, the water, the twists and turns and the slopes. The particular slopes which were bugging me were the very gradual ones on the greens which I could not read properly. I expected the ball to go straight towards the hole, but at the last minute it would turn left or right and remain stubbornly in view instead of disappearing in the cup.



But beyond the course as well, I looked at the Balloch as it rose above the town of Keith or Ben Rinnes in the distance. Maps often do not give that sense of varying altitudes. Even Google earth does not give quite the sense of geography being three dimensional, but it is getting there.



I was further reminded of this as I flew up to Aberdeen. It was difficult from the air to really appreciate the mountains of the Lake District or the Grampians. From the air, one can differentiate between water and land, between city and country, between fields and woods. But to gain a sense of height, to see hills and valleys, is much more difficult.



No conclusion to this. Just a rumination - and after all golf allows loads of time for ruminating.




(My Dad with a tricky chip)