Sep 1, 2010

File:CantinoPlanisphere.png

I was able to find this map while doing some additional research of the various voyages taken during the early years of discovery.  This incorporates extensive new geographical information based on four series of voyages: Columbus to the Caribbean, Pedro Alvarez Cabral to Brazil, Vasco de Gama followed by Cabral to eastern Africa and India, and the brothers Corte-Real to Greenland and Newfoundland.

The efforts of the early voyages helped us to eventually create a civilization which created computers and eventually developed the internet with its multiple uses.  Now we have satellites which enable us to view any section of the earth we desire. Google has taken it an extra step and is generating "street views" of places everywhere in the earth.  Within a couple years, Google has mapped out essentially the entire US.  Even the town I'm from (population < 3000) has the main street mapped out.  Google has been fighting legal disputes with other countries regarding privacy concerns with their street view.  A few years ago you could  browse down the streets of Russia and other countries, but now only the countries shown in blue below are accessible to users.  The individual blue dots you see scattered everywhere are images of that location.
Street View (below)

I included an example of what a street view looks like and I literally found our building on campus.  The semi-transparent white line on the road is the line you may follow with the virtual camera and view the scenery of all the surrounding areas (a complete 360 degree view).  If you're not familiar with this, go to maps.google.com and click and drag the little orange guy on top of a blue road.  The street map will automatically appear and you can control where you want to go by simply clicking the arrows shown on the road or double clicking on a visible path further down on the road.

3 comments:

Jeff Whitlock said...

What are your feelings towards Google Earth, Google Street View etc.? Though I am fascinated by these and other programs, I also feel an almost deep sense of disappointment—as if my sense of exploration, discovery, mystery, and the unknown have been deflated and stamped out of me. Being able to view the entire earth from my computer screen, to me, is almost the epitome of anti-climax. Technology has made the world smaller (and in many ways a good thing), that is for certain, but in doing so has it also diminished the value of physical space and place?

Danny said...

I'd have to say I view it the other way around. My sense of exploration, discovery, and mystery is enhanced because all I'm able to see from Google is the tip of the iceberg. Some of your thoughts crossed my mind when I realized that there probably isn't a single island on earth that isn't accounted for.

Unknown said...

Jeff, great insight. Stepping back from Google for a moment, does the very act of writing a travel review with glossy photos do the same thing?
Does it also take away from my own experience and sense of discovery? To some extent, yes, because I don't get the same wonder at seeing a white beach next to crystal-clear water, or the amazing architecture of a church. But I still get a thrill as I explore a place myself, particularly through my interactions with the people living there. And I may visit a place I had not previously imagined traveling to, simply because I heard about how and saw how great it was from someone else.

Perhaps the thrill is changing, from seeing something for the first time to truly integrating that place into your own experiences.