Jorge Luis Borges’s “On Exactitude in Science” talked about how mapping changed and evolved among different generations. Different generations have different needs and their needs would be reflected on their design of the maps. I think it also shows the fact that even though we often view map as an objective thing, it may get subjective sometimes depending on the users’ demands.
Trevor Paglen’s Experimental Geography: From Cultural Production to the Production of Space discussed geography in a more philosophical way. He proposed the idea of experimental geography that emphasises on the combination of both cultural production and the production of space in geography. He believes that production of space in experimental geography should not only be viewed as an ontological condition, but also an integral part of people’s own practices. I am especially interested the implications behind the idea “the production of space”- human activities and material surroundings together create a feedback loop where human activities create material space and in turn, the space constraints upon subsequent activities of human. The ideas in this article was rather new to me, but I really enjoyed reading it.
The information in the podcast was rather straightforward. They presented several examples of how they involve different senses into mapping. The examples given in the discussion was really interactive and creative. Also, I agree with what they said that “Maps have meaning because they filter out all the chaos in the world and focus obsessively on one item.” I think this is a precise definition of what map and mapmaking really is.