[Geowanking] Critical Theory

[stephen white]

On 03/07/2008, at 12:31 AM, Sean.Gorman at fortiusone.com wrote:
> In light of the conversation on critical theory vs. positivism I  
> thought folks might find the new Wired cover article interesting:
>
> The End of Theory: The Data Deluge Makes the Scientific Method  
> Obsolete


I saw that article, but here's a counter-point... the immense data  
deluge of the real world is all around us all the time, and the  
scientific method is to pick out the bits of data that matter. Having  
immense amount of data in a computer will approach and then match the  
real world, but we can simply ignore the computer and use the real  
world!

The current (mis)-perception of the value of the comparatively small  
amounts of data that even Google struggles to handle is due to its  
organisation and the new benefits emerging from using larger scales  
for the first time. The limitation in that direction is the need to  
organise the data before it can be processed.

Feynman talked about how students would read text like "light shining  
off flat surfaces becomes polarised", and then be amazed that students  
wouldn't realise that the light reflecting off the lake was polarised.  
They were lacking the connections between the text and the real world,  
despite being able to recall the text.

I'm no Feynman, and I would also not have made that connection to the  
light shining off the lake. I need to see it, so I want to select a  
polarisation overlay in my vision and look around to show me where  
light is polarised. Then the lake would be highly visible, and I  
wouldn't need the text to know!

So that's the requirement I keep in mind... how to overlay reality  
with geographical and analysed information.

--
   steve at adam.com.au