I love maps but not for the same reason as my friend Jeroen.
He loves them as works of art—exquisitely detailed, lovely in form and colour—and because of the record they provide of the way the world once was.
I love maps, but not for the same reason as my mother.
He loves them as works of art—exquisitely detailed, lovely in form and colour—and because of the record they provide of the way the world once was.
I love maps, but not for the same reason as my mother.
 | When anyone talks about visiting a place to which she has not been, she dashes to the World Atlas (never stored too far away) and eagerly flips to the map that contains it. How big is this place? Are there rivers nearby? How far is it from the largest city? Her curiosity about the world beyond her experience is a thirst that maps help to quench. |
I love maps for the reassurance they provide when I am finding my way in a new place. They are like the riddle portion of a clue that I believe I have decrypted. I know that am driving north on Ludlum Road. I know that I am roughly half a kilometer from the last turn off. Therefore, (I consult the tiny font on the tiny lines on the large, unwieldy paper in front of me) according to the map, Pine Drive should be the next street on my right.
I look up from the pastel-coloured page and out at the sharp, real world. And there, like the perfect fit of the definition portion of a clue, is the street sign for Pine Drive.
I look up from the pastel-coloured page and out at the sharp, real world. And there, like the perfect fit of the definition portion of a clue, is the street sign for Pine Drive.
There is very little in life about which one can be certain, much to the chagrin of an anxious person like me. Perhaps that’s why I find cryptic crosswords, with their “belt and suspenders” clues and their interlocking letter, so satisfying. And ditto the predictability of a map.
Do you love maps for the same reason I do?
Are you drawn to cartograms for some other reason?
Do you love maps for the same reason I do?
Are you drawn to cartograms for some other reason?
Or, like a former student of mine, do you prefer to follow the soothing instructions of a GPS, delighting in occasionally turning it off, secure in the knowledge that any time you wish, you can get found again?
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