Maps

"Maps are often used only to locate places or political boundaries, but geography and cartography go far beyond such basic information. Modern maps contain a wealth of facts which lie untapped if we do not know how to find them or how to read them." — Herbert Bayer, Preface to World Geo-Graphic Atlas

"A map is not the territory it represents, but if correct, it has a similar structure to the territory, which accounts for its usefulness" — Alford Korzybski, Science and Sanity

Wikipedia describes a map as "a visual representation of an area—a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, regions and themes."

Maps are commonly thought of as representations of terrestrial landscapes, but there are many other types of maps that are not often thought of as such. Consider maps of the human genome, maps of the subconscious, maps of mathematical functions. Maps can be constructed for almost any type of relationship, whether between physical and spacial objects or even the invisible and abstract objects of our very own thoughts. The usefulness of these representations is only limited by the general understanding that these maps make possible.



In 1946, after the horrible devastation of World War II, R. Buckminster Fuller created the Dymaxion Map (shown directly above). Driven by the understanding that the traditional map projections created severe distortions in the representation of the earth—helping to feed stereotypes and misconceptions—and a desire to create a map that would show the earth as an uninterrupted whole, the Dymaxion map was created specifically to address these issues. In Fuller's own words, he created it "as a precise means for seeing the world from the dynamic, cosmic, and comprehensive viewpoint," as opposed to other maps that "appear inherently disassociated, remote, self-interestedly preoccupied with the political concept of it's got to be you or me."

One would hope that the image of a unified earth, as one giant sprawling land mass, which carries all of us upon its surface, might help people to see more clearly the interconnected nature of our world and what that necessarily means to all of us as passengers together on this spiralling spaceship earth.

It takes a visionary leap to get outside of the predominant models, whether of our space in the world, or of the space in our heads. Particularly in a global village saturated with images, advertising, as well as propaganda, it is of the utmost importance that we create accurate maps that model our environments and realities in such a way that we can address problems, create beneficial social and economic networks, and above all, acknowledge the rights and responsibilities of world citizenship on this finite and limiting planet.

It is my hope that through the organization of accurate data, and its transformation through applied knowledge into the much more valuable information, that certain habits and tendencies of human beings on this planet can be slowly but surely changed into a more enlightened, informed and deliberate manner of living, and that these choices, building upon each other over time and generations, will create an environment in which our artistic and social abilities can grow into a sustainable and interesting culture of equals.

Science alone is not the answer, and neither can we consider solely the physical requirements for continued survival without addressing the psychological and emotional dimensions of living. There is no true life without love, no true happiness without reciprocity, no future without dreams. I hope one day for a world where, as Fuller himself dreamed, "Selfishness is unneccessary and unrationalizable. ... War is obsolete." We are each a small microcosm of the world, alone but connected to the earth and to each other through our bodies and senses. We have this interface for what it's worth. Hopefully we can learn how to use it to improve our shared circumstances in this world.

We all know there are no easy answers. Perhaps the real trick is to look for the small solutions that add up to big changes in the long run.

"The key to happiness is having dreams" — Fortune cookie message



Above: The first image of the whole earth from space.
Taken November 10, 1967.