Montello provides a comprehensive review of cognitive GIScience work since the term ‘geographic information science’ was coined in 1992.He explains that it “concerns human knowledge and knowing involving geographic information and geographic information systems (GIS)” (1824). This article may have only mentioned ‘epistemologies’ once, however it ties in very well with the discussion we had in class regarding traditional ecological knowledge and, more broadly, alternative epistemologies, as well as our discussion on uncertainty. Despite this, I found it to fall short in some areas.
I found Montello’s highlighting of issues in cognitive GIScience that still require significant research to be thought-provoking (MRI scans and GIScience?), but ultimately I was not convinced by the piece alone that cognitive GIScience is important and that it can significantly push GIScience forward.
I understand that the subject is interesting; tracking people’s eye movements as they look at a 2-D map is ‘cool’ GIScience research, but how can it actually improve the way we make maps? How will teaching young children to ‘think spatially’ make them better citizens of society?
I suppose what I’m getting at is that the author highlights what’s been done in cognitive GIScience, and what lies ahead, but does not convincingly tell me why I should care. And that’s a problem. I’m sure people should care about these fundamental issues (as they should ontologies), but the potential of the field is not communicated clearly enough to readers. Montello admits that “the notion that understanding human cognition should help improve the use of geographic information and GIS makes sense and seems valid. But it must be noted that the applied payoff of cognitive GIScience research has been minimal to this point”. Perhaps the reason for this is more than just “economic and technological inertia” (1836).
While I myself can appreciate the field of cognitive GIScience – even in its “humble beginnings” form – I wonder how lay people and those in charge of allocating research funds to academics may perceive its usefulness.
-ClaireM
Montello, D. (2009). Cognitive Research in GIScience: Recent Achievements and Future Prospects. Geography Compass, 3(5), 1824-1840.