[Synapse elist] mowing the lawn

[jeremy wood]

Hello All,

We can trace subjectivity in maps right past the choices of projection
and calibration to the original intentions of the document. The power
and advantages of the makers and keepers of a good map are as evident
throughout history as they are today. Like a territory map drawn after
a battle with ink that bleeds across the borders at war, we can see
the same results in the news when land is represented though the
features of political and religious languages.

We create the universe by mapping our policies and interests. Map
making is being democratized through better accessibility to better
software. When the 1:1 scale map arrives we will then want it in 3d,
and then with real time ultimate definition video. With everything
around us being swallowed by cyberspace to live as another
representation of itself in similar environment, we need keep
challenging the processes of map making. We can start by teaching
students before they reach Simeon to know the elements of their
country. If we have a vocabulary for understanding maps we can then
experiment further for more control of the process.

In response to Vicki's question of paranoia, I'm not worried. I use
GPS receivers that just receive and log the signals sent from orbiting
satellites, they do not transmit information. I'd need to connect
another device to send the data before it can be intercepted and read,
and there is always an off button if I don't want to appear in certain
places. The question of becoming paranoid should be asked again of
parents who track the whereabouts of their children, and what ethical
responsibilities do we have with how and what we map.

I make maps of my tracks to contribute to the field of personal
cartography. The act of tracing ones movements will be commonplace as
it is such a rich source of information for business and government.
Those who resist being mapped by their cars and cell phones might form
a new socially excluded group that gather as they cycle around looking
for phone boxes. Whether we like it or not live maps for people
tracking is technologically inevitable. It would serve transport
networks and anthropologist very well, but perhaps it's most important
for the public to have access to records of their own movements. I
once considered providing an alibi to the police with GPS data after
receiving a speeding ticket. I wanted to prove with my evidence that
although I was there at the time; I was traveling at a different
speed. The ticket was issued by a fixed camera on a motorway so I
checked its position against the speed recorded in the GPS data at the
corresponding position. Unfortunately the results were the same.

Jeremy Wood.
www.gpsdrawing.com