Jorge Luis Borges’s “On Exactitude in Science” explores the different views of cartography throughout generations. The passage demonstrates the transformation and improvement of cartography, with criticism from the next generation. This reminded me of current maps and how they are always changing and improving. Initially, cartography was purely on paper and as technology advances, the art of cartography digitalized and became more tangible. While reading the passage, I wondered how cartography evolved and how early man collected data about roads with limited knowledge and assets.
I think the podcast about mapping is interesting, as it provides an alternative way of viewing the world through different lens.“Maps have meaning because they filter out all the chaos in the world and focus obsessively on one item.” By paying close attention to one thing, cartographers are able to accurately capture fine details of a map. At first, I was slightly confused about why the producer chose to connect mapping with different senses. But, I figured out that mapping didn’t have to mean cartography only, but rather, the memories associated with an understanding of the world. Overall, I think it was intriguing to see how the producer chose to incorporate the five senses into mapping to tell their stories. One of the stories that stood out to me was the one about the women having uncontrollable urges to check for breast cancer. Her way of mapping the world was focused on touch, and how that sense plays throughout her life while grasping the world.
While reading the essay by Trevor Paglen about maps, I kept thinking about the scale of maps and how it creates a limited view of a certain area. A map is always cut off on some levels, and space unseen might make the picture look completely different when examined. Although Google Earth provides a solid picture of places using satellites, it does not fully capture everything or the newest changes to a certain area. This makes me speculate the accuracy of many maps, and how a lag time in updating might distort my perspective of a place.