What Geogrpahy Teaches Us

[Peter1469]

Maps. We explain the world with our maps. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/01/13/40-more-maps-that-explain-the-world/?tid=pm_pop) Here are 40 maps that help explain our past, our present, and perhaps our future.


Maps seemed to be everywhere in 2013, a trend I like to think we encouraged along with August's 40 maps that explain the world (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/08/12/40-maps-that-explain-the-world/?lines). Maps can be a remarkably powerful tool for understanding the world and how it works, but they show only what you ask them to. You might consider this, then, a collection of maps meant to inspire your inner map nerd. I've searched far and wide for maps that can reveal and surprise and inform in ways that the daily headlines might not, with a careful eye for sourcing and detail. I've included a link for more information on just about every one. Enjoy.

I particularly like these maps:

#3, it shows a timeline of the rise and fall of the Mongol Empire- the largest known. (I still prefer Alexander as his, although smaller, empire was built by his will alone. As opposed to the Mongols that was built over 80-90 years.)

#5: the shipping routes in the colonial period.

#9: slavery is still here.

#10: Although titled globalization, I think it speaks more to capitalism- how all this stuff happens on its own without a government bureaucrat trying to manage the "Nutella" manufacturing process.

#13: The Arctic land grab

#20: Go Germans!

#25: Tweets map Europe

#26- 27: Barbarians then Vikings running amok in Europe

#31: The spread of Islam in the Arab world

#38: Map be the next war zone.

#39: Naval power in the Pacific (thanks Canada!)

[Cigar]

Careful ... this looks like Science :laugh:

[Peter1469]

Careful ... this looks like Science :laugh:

Geography. It is a social science. Not a hard science. You can make a map say what you want by manipulating the data (if you were so inclined)....

[jillian]

Geography. It is a social science. Not a hard science. You can make a map say what you want by manipulating the data (if you were so inclined)....

i like this definition. thought it covered everything:


By most contemporary definitions geography is the study of processes that connect a phenomenon to a spatial element on earth as they relate to the human experience.

The human experience part makes it a social science, but the phenomenon can be natural (physical or biological) or social.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100803103824AAl2QmL

[Peter1469]

That sounds right!

[Chris]

Mapping data is definitely insightful. But like anything dealing with statistics, it can be decietful as well, like all the red state blue state nonsense when at the voting district level the US is still purple.

[Chris]

http://i.snag.gy/OSMwo.jpg

@ Where Are the U.S.’s Millionaires? (http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2014/01/16/where-are-the-u-s-s-millionaires/?mod=e2fb&mg=blogs-wsj&url=http%253A%252F%252Fblogs.wsj.com%252Feconomics %252F2014%252F01%252F16%252Fwhere-are-the-u-s-s-millionaires%253Fmod%253De2fb).

[Chris]

Maps fascinate me. Wish this thread was pinned to top to make easy to find.

Anyway, Two maps that show the evolution of global shipping (http://qz.com/193847/two-maps-that-show-the-evolution-of-global-shipping/):

Shipping routes from 1980 to 1997:

http://i.snag.gy/mJcFn.jpg

Shipping routes from the 19th century:

http://i.snag.gy/5bDsS.jpg

[Bob]

This is a decent map

http://www.mapsofwar.com/images/American-Wars.swf

[Peter1469]

Last two posts had great contributions!

[Chris]

From Nobody lives here


A Block is the smallest area unit used by the U.S. Census Bureau for tabulating statistics. As of the 2010 census, the United States consists of 11,078,300 Census Blocks. Of them, 4,871,270 blocks totaling 4.61 million square kilometers were reported to have no population living inside them. Despite having a population of more than 310 million people, 47 percent of the USA remains unoccupied.

Green shading indicates unoccupied Census Blocks. A single inhabitant is enough to omit a block from shading

http://snag.gy/lY1XW.jpg

[Chris]

Baseball across the US...

http://i.snag.gy/7motv.jpg



Go to Up Close on Baseball’s Borders (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/04/23/upshot/24-upshot-baseball.html?_r=0) to see close up of border areas.


I'm in Ranger territory:

http://i.snag.gy/n4uL2.jpg

[KC]

#23 is extremely fascinating to me.

[KC]

Baseball across the US...

http://i.snag.gy/7motv.jpg



Go to Up Close on Baseball’s Borders (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/04/23/upshot/24-upshot-baseball.html?_r=0) to see close up of border areas.


I'm in Ranger territory:

http://i.snag.gy/n4uL2.jpg

Awesome. My hometown is pretty divided between Brewers and Cubs.

[Chris]

Awesome. My hometown is pretty divided between Brewers and Cubs.

If you recall I grew up on that same border. My dad and his were Cubs fans, I was a Sox fan.

[KC]

My current residence is Brewer territory, although not without a few Cubs diaspora.

[BB-35]

right in the middle of Astros territory here

[Chris]

40 maps that explain the Middle East (http://www.vox.com/a/maps-explain-the-middle-east)

Just two, follow link for rest.

http://i.snag.gy/S8i1K.jpg

http://i.snag.gy/U67CM.jpg

[Chris]

Post 12 (http://thepoliticalforums.com/threads/21458-What-Geogrpahy-Teaches-Us?p=589025&viewfull=1#post589025) took a look at baseball across the US, today, basketball:

http://i.snag.gy/5lOIc.jpg


For more, go to Which Team Do You Cheer For? An N.B.A. Fan Map (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/05/12/upshot/12-upshot-nba-basketball.html?_r=0).

[KC]

40 maps that explain the Middle East (http://www.vox.com/a/maps-explain-the-middle-east)

Just two, follow link for rest.

http://i.snag.gy/S8i1K.jpg

http://i.snag.gy/U67CM.jpg

I love the one showing the Rashidun caliphate's conquest of the Middle East.

[KC]

This is particularly interesting given my Polish grandparents first came to Chicago to work for Pullman.

http://mentalfloss.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_640x430/public/commonly-spoken-languages-besides-spanish.png

[Mister D]

This is particularly interesting given my Polish grandparents first came to Chicago to work for Pullman.

http://mentalfloss.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_640x430/public/commonly-spoken-languages-besides-spanish.png

So many Italians in NJ. lol

[Heyduke]

I would have guess Swedish for Minnesota.

[Heyduke]

Tagalog for California? I would have guess a Chinese dialect. I'm beginning to question how accurate that map is.

[Chris]

http://i.snag.gy/T5uCR.jpg

This Map Shows The Largest Employer In Every State (http://www.businessinsider.com/largest-employer-in-every-state-2014-5#ixzz32xVWfnnC) explains some caveats and issues with the data but the biggest take away according to The Biggest Employers in America (http://bastiat.mises.org/2014/05/the-biggest-employers-in-america/) is that it's "Fedgov and state universities. The private sector, not the state, is withering away."

[Perianne]

Is Ebonics a language?

[Peter1469]

Is Ebonics a language?

I believe that it has been recognized as a dialect.

[Chris]

From Germany to Mexico: How America’s source of immigrants has changed over a century (http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/05/27/a-shift-from-germany-to-mexico-for-americas-immigrants/)

http://i.snag.gy/SyqtE.jpg

[Guerilla]

Tagalog for California? I would have guess a Chinese dialect. I'm beginning to question how accurate that map is.

I'm surprised, but not at the same time. There are a lot of Phillipino people here around central CA.

[Chris]

Mapping the Interweb, from 1969 ARPANET:

http://i.snag.gy/qicJP.jpg

to a map aggregating tweets about the sunrise:

http://i.snag.gy/55Q9s.jpg

Read and see more @ 40 maps that explain the internet (http://www.vox.com/a/internet-maps).

[Chris]

The New Map of the Middle East (http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/06/the-new-map-of-the-middle-east/373080/):

http://i.snag.gy/PBZNO.jpg

[Chris]

From The age of housing in every zip code in the U.S. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/06/24/map-the-age-of-housing-in-every-zip-code-in-the-u-s/?Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm_twitter_washingtonpost):

http://i.snag.gy/1LCN7.jpg (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/files/2014/06/this-old-house.png)

(click to see full size)

[Peter1469]

Wow, the Midwest has lots of old houses.

[Chris]

Wow, the Midwest has lots of old houses.

Yea, that was the first thing I noticed, the wide expanse of midwest, what, old farm and ranch houses.

You need to zoom in a little to see most population centers are dark.