March 23, 2015 - 23:27
My original visualization:
I find it interesting--although not at all surprising--that two months ago I decided to go with a google maps bird's eye view of my site. I often find that the clearest way to understand something is to take a step back from it, and I suppose I chose this picture because to me it clearly demonstrated where my spot was in physical context. In reflecting on my choice, I am struck by the connection the word "knowledge" might have to this representation and why I chose it. In my mind, maps are knowledge, and there is an impartiality linked to the creators or pursuers of this. When we amass knowledge, there is a kind of both certainty and fluidity necessary, so that we may work with that knowledge in the future. The definition that Caleb put forth from Wolfram Alpha struck me with regards to this image; knowledge is defined as "the psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning."
It makes me consider why I might find (to use another term) comfort in this image or a certain amount of clarity. I certainly don’t perceive my site or even this campus from this view every day. Have I been taught at some point to twist and turn and reorient the 3D space around me so that I can understand what aligns with what and what this collection of shapes and colors and pixels is even representing? I know both friends and family who struggle with this, who want step by step directions over a map any day. I find aerial maps delightful puzzles, requiring imagination and reasoning. I was the kid who loved being in the window seat on airplanes, to try and figure out which house was hers from the myriad of geographic clues. I guess it’s in experiences like that, where I had the privilege to take numerous flights across the country growing up, where I can see how certain skills develop. The ‘knowledge’ that comes from an aerial map is hardly impartial, not only in its creation but because the information conveyed in the ‘reading’ of it depends on the reader.