Robin and Robin, Thanks for your observations. Part of what makes maps so fun is that both the cartographer and the viewer bring their own experiences, needs, and goals, which can lead to confusion, enjoyment, and/or frustration. David
Oh a man after my heart. First I love these hidden treasures you have found engraved on something besides paper.
What I want to address is your last comments about our moving to electronic mapping from the old fashion paper world. I read a book recently which talks about how we orientate in the world and find our way from point A to point B. The author talked about Wayfinding. The ability to go to the same place with little or no clues except that deep memory in our hippocampus. Some of her examples were of the indigenous in the artic. Imagine finding your way with nothing we determine to be a landmark, just snow and ice.
The use of GPS which most people use over and over never really memorizing the streets or their whereabouts has created a generation who have lost the ability to Wayfind. The hippocampus is shrinking and the computer in hand has taken over for us.
They have actually lost the joy and mental exercise of being lost. I go to many places to research lost places in history and love a good estate sale. To get there, I will look at the map on my laptop and write out some brief directions or just get a general feel for where the place is. Then I go. Practiced that for decades.
Earlier this year I went to a new park up by Black Diamond. I printed the trail map and plotted a course along the many trails. As it turned out this place was honeycombed with Mtn Bike trails. Got to my destination and then started back to the parking lot. I got lost in this big forested park. (still on a trail but it wasn't right). My course did not match what I had in my map memory and I realized I was off the edge of the printed map.
But what happened next is I actually knew what direction I needed to go. The trail wound around but eventually I kept turning towards that spot in my head. I found my way back to the main trail and the parking lot. That is true Wayfinding.
Sorry I got so long winded but this orientation of oneself in the world is being lost with the electronic GPS devices. So sad and not sure how that will turn out in the end.
Back in the 60s and 70s I did a lot of backpacking in wilderness areas and NPs. Early on I came to the conclusion that all maps are liars. So why did I use them. That took some thinking about it, and here are my conclusions
Every map is an attempt by cartographers, trained or amateur, to provide certain information. They more or less succeed in that, but generally with some errors. And as time passes they become dated, sometimes very quickly
Every user is looking for certain information, and the afore mentioned cartographers may or may not have provided that information. Also us users are not always reading that map accurately.
Therefore I learned to have more that one map, and to understand other modes of knowing where I was, and where I wanted to go. It also helped to understand what information the cartographer intended to provide.
As with other posters the stories of hiking, water navigation, driving dilemmas can be frequent, but generally solvable. I collect maps and love them all. Incidentally NOAA charts have gone entirely online, and are vector maps. You may already have downloaded some, but if not it is a lot of fun playing around with them. They can be printed in full color, some vendors produce pretty sophisticated printed charts.
Robin and Robin, Thanks for your observations. Part of what makes maps so fun is that both the cartographer and the viewer bring their own experiences, needs, and goals, which can lead to confusion, enjoyment, and/or frustration. David
Oh a man after my heart. First I love these hidden treasures you have found engraved on something besides paper.
What I want to address is your last comments about our moving to electronic mapping from the old fashion paper world. I read a book recently which talks about how we orientate in the world and find our way from point A to point B. The author talked about Wayfinding. The ability to go to the same place with little or no clues except that deep memory in our hippocampus. Some of her examples were of the indigenous in the artic. Imagine finding your way with nothing we determine to be a landmark, just snow and ice.
The use of GPS which most people use over and over never really memorizing the streets or their whereabouts has created a generation who have lost the ability to Wayfind. The hippocampus is shrinking and the computer in hand has taken over for us.
They have actually lost the joy and mental exercise of being lost. I go to many places to research lost places in history and love a good estate sale. To get there, I will look at the map on my laptop and write out some brief directions or just get a general feel for where the place is. Then I go. Practiced that for decades.
Earlier this year I went to a new park up by Black Diamond. I printed the trail map and plotted a course along the many trails. As it turned out this place was honeycombed with Mtn Bike trails. Got to my destination and then started back to the parking lot. I got lost in this big forested park. (still on a trail but it wasn't right). My course did not match what I had in my map memory and I realized I was off the edge of the printed map.
But what happened next is I actually knew what direction I needed to go. The trail wound around but eventually I kept turning towards that spot in my head. I found my way back to the main trail and the parking lot. That is true Wayfinding.
Sorry I got so long winded but this orientation of oneself in the world is being lost with the electronic GPS devices. So sad and not sure how that will turn out in the end.
Back in the 60s and 70s I did a lot of backpacking in wilderness areas and NPs. Early on I came to the conclusion that all maps are liars. So why did I use them. That took some thinking about it, and here are my conclusions
Every map is an attempt by cartographers, trained or amateur, to provide certain information. They more or less succeed in that, but generally with some errors. And as time passes they become dated, sometimes very quickly
Every user is looking for certain information, and the afore mentioned cartographers may or may not have provided that information. Also us users are not always reading that map accurately.
Therefore I learned to have more that one map, and to understand other modes of knowing where I was, and where I wanted to go. It also helped to understand what information the cartographer intended to provide.
As with other posters the stories of hiking, water navigation, driving dilemmas can be frequent, but generally solvable. I collect maps and love them all. Incidentally NOAA charts have gone entirely online, and are vector maps. You may already have downloaded some, but if not it is a lot of fun playing around with them. They can be printed in full color, some vendors produce pretty sophisticated printed charts.