A good portion of Goodchild’s article was based on the ever-present discussion of ‘science’ vs. ‘system’ – what does the ‘s’ in GIS really stand for? As Goodchild put it: “problems of nomenclature will always be with us”. As George Gershwin put it: “Potato, potahto, let’s call the whole thing off”. In this case, I side with Gershwin.
Moving on from this seemingly endless name game, there were other elements of the article which made me consider the history of GIS and what factors have shaped GIS into what it is (whatever it is) today. The most impactful one (in my humble opinion) would have been the internet. As someone born in the 90s, the impact of internet on a field of study was something I had never considered; the internet has been present in my life since I can remember. The impact of the internet becomes even more clear when looking into how much data I use in a single GIS project (and just how much data exists now – hello big data) the internet must have been a massive breakthrough for GIS, especially for sharing data. Goodchild touches on this by implying that the internet revolutionized both how we use GIS (as a ‘medium’ rather than a ‘butler’) and how we know GIS. For instance, it is mentioned how the general public interacts with GIS software (i.e. the famed Google Maps). Before the internet – no one in the general public would have had a clue what GIS was; even if they knew they probably wouldn’t have cared. Now the use and understanding of GIS is simple and key for anyone and everyone who checks in on Facebook.
All in all, GIS has changed drastically from 1990 to 2005 – and again since then. Not only in technology development but through the introduction of the internet. This has resulted in GIS becoming completely ingrained into our lives. Just consider that next time you turn on Siri and ask her for directions.
Until next time,
Nod