Julian Bleecker

The first two chapters of The Power of Maps lay some important ground work for understanding how location is a framework that tells stories. When Wood describes the way maps, as renderings of geographic locations are subject to the vagaries of representation, he is reminding us that maps are authored, and as such are but one way of telling a story. Thinking of maps as stories told may seem a bit 15th century. But, as Wood works hard to convey, the actually steps by which a map is realized is entirely authorial — even scientific maps, drawn from satellite data. This is why he goes through all the trouble of describing the politics, discussions and debates surrounding what technology was to be used in early satellites. We all probably understand that one technology may create a different kind of visual representation than another.

Think, for instance, of the difference in image acuity between a typically low-end cameraphone versus a 7 megapixel digital camera. One bit of technology captures an image in a different way. It's difficult to say which is better — it depends on the purpose to which the technology is deployed. Many people would prefer a cameraphone because of the convenience, novelty, ability to share photos easily, etc. If one expects to capture an image for use in print, a high-end film or digital camera is required. For the researchers developing the technology for mapping the earth from satellites, there are similar tradeoffs to be made, and each decision is the result of a kind of story — of the discussions amongst colleagues, vying for influence, playing their political hand so as to obtain advantage or mitigate conflict. Each one of those decisions, when taken in sum, made it so that one kind of representation of the earth occured rather than another. And the point to come away from beyond that is that the particular maps we see from satellites, for example, could have been different from what they are. Which reminds us that these satellite maps may well have been otherwise.

As other related examples of this notion, check out my entry on Ars Electronica exhibits particularly the Milk Project, Life: A User's Manual and Wikimap Linz.