The Relevance of Maps in Natural and Human Sciences

The original study was conducted by Edward C. Tolman at the University of California at Berkeley in 1948.

In the article “Do Maps Create or Represent Reality?” written by Laura Herbert as a high school senior on March 2002 is about how maps can tell stories. No map is 100% accurate and is usually only accurate in shape, area, or distance. There are different types of maps and each has its own strong points. Maps are good at representing a place it self, but they don’t define that the place exists. Mapmakers when making maps can each put their own personalization, this is what usually causes them to be different. Even though maps are not completely right, they still influence the way we think about the world. Mapmaker cannot just make up random things they need to have some sort of reality

From the book, it can be learned to keep cities clean and find ways to dispose of all human waste. It can also be learned that from this book people can begin to understand confirmation bias. When doing research people often only find information to back their hypothesis, and what needs to happen is the researcher must look at the data from every angle so they can find the truth. The map itself also led to the creation of Geographic Information Systems. GISs are extremely helpful in today’s society because it can help show data in a new form that is easier to understand. It also makes it to where different data can be layered. Also a lot can be learned about data collection from this book. John Snow had a lot of data to collect, and he also had to find ways to graph it. He could have just as easily wrote down all the addresses and how many people died there, but he chose to make the map, and it made it possible to physically see where the concentration was. All of these things that was discussed throughout the seminar, the book, and timelines taught me a lot. I leaned that zooming in and out of data can change its perspective monumentally, and it makes it where you could prove a point even if when you back up, the same point would not be made. I also learned that we use GIS every day, and we do not even realize it. Finally, it taught me to never take advantage of

* Knowledge of geography promotes a greater understanding of the books and newspapers we read. For example, it helps farmers choose crops best suited to the climatic and soil conditions of the areas in which they live.

1) Some examles of a primary source document are diaries, manuscripts and letters 2) Political maps show the boundaries and locations of countries, states, cities, towns and counties. Topographic maps show information including roads, elevation, rivers andother water bodies and political boundaries. A cartographic map graphically represents a geographical area, usually on a flat surface and may involve political, cultural, or other non­geographical divisions of a geographical area. 3) A nomad is a member of a group that has no permanent home, wandering from place to place in search of food and water. 4) The key discovery of the Neolithic Revolution is agriculture andthe domestication of animals. This was beneficial becasue it allowed nomads to not

In Ted Binnema’s “How does a Map Mean?” the author describes how maps are used as a way of understanding how a particular society functions. In Old Swan’s map, it is evident that it was done by groups of individuals and not just one particular person given there are places on the map that Old Swan was unaware of. Therefore, maps are a portrayal of an entire community’s knowledge of their land and not just one individual. Given this, it appears that it is not about what a map means but how it is used to establish meaning for those who wrote it. Each map is created in a different way and it is useless to try to understand it without first placing ourselves in the mindset of the cartographer(s) who wrote it. Furthermore, some indigenous maps are created using many others and to completely appreciate them, it is best to assume that they were created to be understood by the people at the time and hence, this can be why they seem puzzling to modern readers. For instance, in trying to understand Fidler’s map, because Arrowsmith was completely consumed with modern cartography, he was unable to decipher the cartographic style of Old Swan’s map (which Fidler based his maps on as well as others (five maps total) ).

4. List three examples of things a map can show. Answer: A map can show you a legend or a key to explain to you what the different symbols mean like (roads, highways, railroads building and more things that are man-made) The second example is that the map can show you a compass rose and that will indicate directions, it will show the North, South, West, and East. Third example is Line symbols and that can show like boundary lines, roads, streets, or routes of trade and transportation.

The first map that I drew is about, the space I inhabited in the past, which is Mexico City. In this part of my life I resided in a very residential area- one that in the United States could

Over the course of the centuries maps have been used to find locations all over the world. They have evolved and to become more advanced, thanks to technology. Of course, there are specific ways to use a map such as basic components. Basic components include a compass rose which indicates the cardinal directions. Legends is the key where symbols are used to help find a point on the map, or in other words, lead the way. A scale can range from as far as a continent to as close as a house. All these components are important while using a map.

with the rising use of human technology. The scale of a map is what makes this information

Show students three different maps of California (See Appendix 1, 2, and 3). Ask students what they see, what do the maps show and what details do they notice? Students should point out the obvious such as cities, highways, the Pacific Ocean, compass, other states surrounding California, different colors on different maps. Tell students that map number two shows the valley in the centered colored green, and the surrounding mountains are colored brown, as I tell them this I will point to the sections I am talking about. With map number three, tell students that that particular map is a map of the USA, but I am showing them so they can see where California

When we look at how cartography influenced the efforts of the European powers to colonize cartography is an important fact during those times. Cartography is the science of making maps which we know is crucial to identifying land marks, elevation, and where people lived in different areas. The world was divided up into separate areas, as Europe was explored it was marked and helped colonies lay claim to land that they discovered. It allowed for cross cultural encounters. Cartography played an important role also in the power struggle between European and American Indians. Maps allowed for indigenous people to gain, administer, legitimize, and codify power in Colonial North America. It allowed for the idea of how much space was available to become more accurate. To form a complete picture of the continent European cartographers had to synthesize the information from multiple sources. Geronimo de Chaves’s map of Florida for instance,

1. ) With new technology such as Satellites scanning the surface of the earth, cartographers can use geographic information science or (GIS) to help them make more detailed and accurate maps. This has allowed scientists to get very precise and complex information from all of the data coming from the satellite orbiting around the earth at all different distances and angles. Another use for all of the Satellites is remote sensing, this allows satellite images to be scanned in thin lines any time a satellite could scan a small area or a pixel. With this we can look at very small features of earth from space and removals send it back down to earth for Analysis. A scientist can use this tech for making very accurate maps about features such as population

The article titled,” 5 Maps and Charts That Will Surprise You” by Ezra Klein asks,” Which chart did you find the most surprising?” The chart I found the most surprising was the chart that was titled,” Switzerland is the best place to be born” because I thought that the U.S. would be a better place to be born. Also, I didn’t know that the geography of a place needs to be counted to determine if children have the best chance of a happy, safe and prosperous life. I also didn’t think that trust in public institutions and the health of family life counted in children having the best chance for a happy, safe and prosperous life. I didn’t think these would be needed because these don’t seem that important to live a happy, safe, and prosperous life.

The first point of view from chapter one is by a man by the name of M. Scott Peck. In the section that he wrote he compares our lives to that of a map. He states that these maps need to be revised as we live our lives instead of following a map that may be incorrect. He goes on to explain that to revise a map people will have to face reality about one’s life experiences and it might be painful to face these experiences but it is necessary to achieve the truth. It is easier for people to hide their so called “maps” from the world than to put them out there to be challenged and seen by others.