this post was submitted on 15 Mar 2024
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[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

And, well... They're not super wrong about how mapped earth is. They just misjudge the sheer, enormous amount of detail we need (which keeps growing with our ability to get more of it), along with the fact that sometimes it changes a bit.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

"Haven't we mapped everything already?" is a bit like saying "Haven't we born everyone already?".

GIS also is far more complex than what is visible in a single map. An example for this are the capabilities of satellites observing the earth, IIRC very few to none of them are mere security cameras - most of them have quite interesting spectra to observe green house gas emissions or vegetation (ie. land use changes) for example. GIS can then use this data and gather hidden information, sometimes over large spatial dimensions.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

Exactly. We know what shape the land is even for the bottoms of the oceans. But that doesn't mean we're done making maps.