Deconstruction of fractals and its implications for cartographic education

Visvalingam, Mahes

Abstract

The research reported here was designed for two reasons: firstly, to involve anyone with an interest in cartographic visualization to participate in eliciting cartographic knowledge and to provide them with the opportunity to contribute their practical knowledge and opinions; and secondly, to inform the design of algorithms for line generalization. In the past, there has been some resistance to such mining and codification of expert knowledge. However, many cartographers now welcome highly interactive computer graphics, computer mapping, and virtual reality systems as providing them with new opportunities for launching cartography into a new creative age. Despite nearly thirty years of research on line generalization algorithms, the available algorithms are somewhat simplistic. This research, undertaken under the auspices of the BCS Design Group, explored the behavioural tendencies of cartographers engaged in line filtering. The results show that a carefully contrived, even if obviously artificial, exercise on the deconstruction of lines into meaningless forms can prompt cartographers to observe, record, and discuss their own cognitive processing.

Citation

Visvalingam, M. (1999). Deconstruction of fractals and its implications for cartographic education. The Cartographic journal, 36(1), 15-29. https://doi.org/10.1179/caj.1999.36.1.15

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Jul 18, 2013
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 1999
• Deposit Date: Jul 10, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 10, 2015
• Journal: The cartographic journal
• Print ISSN: 0008-7041
• Electronic ISSN: 1743-2774
• Publisher: Maney Publishing
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 36
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 15-29
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1179/caj.1999.36.1.15
• Keywords: Fractals, Cartography -- Data processing
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/376348
• Publisher URL: http://www.maneyonline.com/doi/abs/10.1179/caj.1999.36.1.15
• Additional Information: Copy of article published in The cartographic journal, 1999, v.36, iss. 1 at: http://www.maneyonline.com/doi/abs/10.1179/caj.1999.36.1.15 Revised version of CISRG discussion paper ; 17