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| Subject: | RE: GISList: NPR, CNN, Iraq & the elusive "GIS" |
| Date: |
04/09/2003 04:25:00 AM |
| From: |
Michael Gould |
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Anthony,
You are correct, that is IS al about money. And this applies to academic=20
departments (esp in USA), which received funding and other resources=20
according to formulae weighing factors such as num_registrations,=20
num_publications (quality is not so important) and num_PhDs.
Sad, perhaps, but true.
cheers
Michael Gould
At 09:39 07/04/2003 -0400, Anthony Quartararo wrote:
>I'm not sure I buy the "any means necessary" approach. The first impressi=
on
>that the masses would have, if incorrect, would be almost impossible to
>overcome at any later date. The inertia of misinformation is a very
>powerful force. I don't expect the major media outlets to take the time to
>really understand the basics, it's not their core business, and they really
>could care less about any downside to an industry that makes the nifty too=
ls
>they use to show maps, 3D models, fly-throughs, etc. Let's not kid
>ourselves, it's all about money. I do agree however that a by-product of
>such hyper-saturation on TV will create some elevated interest in students
>of all ages (those that are allowed to view war news) because let's face i=
t,
>it's cool stuff. Maybe even a few of those Xbox junkies will search even
>farther to see where all that cool stuff comes from. Anything that
>challenges and tears down the ivory towers of academics can't all be bad.
>
>ajq
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Karen Morley [mailto:kmorley@lizardtech.com]
> > Sent: Saturday, April 05, 2003 4:30 PM
> > To: 'Anthony Quartararo ': 'gislist@geocomm.com '
> > Subject: RE: GISList: NPR, CNN, Iraq & the elusive "GIS"
> >
> >
> > I don't usually weigh in on these types of threads but
> > couldn't resist this one.
> >
> > A recent big sensation on TV has been the forensic science
> > shows, my mother even hangs up on me to go watch CSI (I think
> > that's what it's called). At any rate, the shows
> > consistently misrepresent the technology to the public but
> > interest increases as a result. I read an article that
> > applications to university programs in forensic sciences have
> > gone up 200% as a result.
> >
> > Perhaps even if the technology is misrepresented the industry
> > will see a growth in interest as a result and an opportunity
> > to truly educate people in geospatial sciences.
> >
> > my $0.02...
> >
> > -Karen
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Anthony Quartararo
> > To: gislist@geocomm.com
> > Sent: 4/4/2003 6:26 AM
> > Subject: RE: GISList: NPR, CNN, Iraq & the elusive "GIS"
> >
> > Both good points and well taken. However, when I hear and
> > see what clueless celebrity news anchors say and do while
> > using these very powerful tools of persuasion (I'm not
> > kidding, it's just like Monday Night Football - with the same
> > intellectual capital), the ability to present an incredible
> > array of spatial information to global audiences, all the
> > time, over and over, the impact of a little white "lie" makes
> > "How to Lie with Maps" seem almost
> > quaint and homey. We don't need to worry about official
> > misinformation
> > sanctioned as part of a military strategy, the media has that
> > handled all too well. I'm not expecting the "beautiful
> > people" at CNN to launch into a GIS 101 course each time they
> > ramp up the Teledestructor, but it does bother me that these
> > fools are many people's first real exposure to the power and
> > application of the fruit of our collective efforts.
> >
> > I sometimes explain to people I meet that what I do (and what
> > industry I work in) is to make the guts of "Mapquest.com" for
> > lots of different industries, and they seem to get it right
> > away. This is a 10 second explanation that works just fine
> > in social settings, because when I launch into the GIS 101
> > course, lots of glassy eyes abound. While I'm not pretending
> > to be an ambassador for the industry, every chance I get to
> > turn someone on to "how do they do that....", I take
> > advantage. The point is, in the rush and effort to become
> > ingrained into everyday business/consumer mainstream
> > technology, are we (and we should be) prepared to hand over
> > control of the mainstream "interface" to non-industry professionals ?
> >
> > ajq
> >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Rich
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