tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8123225361504762353.post7350804402826821717..comments2024-03-26T21:54:22.713-07:00Comments on Cartonerd: Dangerous times. Dangerous maps.Kenneth Fieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16738467752479352030noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8123225361504762353.post-87762130587616419972017-02-02T14:30:19.195-08:002017-02-02T14:30:19.195-08:00where tf is Lake Michigan?where tf is Lake Michigan?Sciencebzzthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09798204287726532460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8123225361504762353.post-35548610412613521892017-02-01T14:54:04.492-08:002017-02-01T14:54:04.492-08:00I understand your point about choropleth maps, but...I understand your point about choropleth maps, but I would insist that Congressional districts *do* normalize data to an extent that mapping totals can be acceptable.<br /><br />I don't understand the level of snark and use of language such as "dangerous map" and "alternative map" to someone on the same side as you and in the same industry. We can work together, educate and learn from each other without the attitude.<br /><br />I look forward to meeting you at the next conference!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8123225361504762353.post-91992024364591469012017-02-01T13:55:40.847-08:002017-02-01T13:55:40.847-08:00Thanks for taking the time to reply. First, the wh...Thanks for taking the time to reply. First, the whole point of my blog is to point out CARTOGRAPHIC issues, not to make a political statement or question yours. I can see where you're coming from and I acknowledged that fact. You can probably also see that I stand firmly with you. However, all my points about the cartography stand scrutiny and are cartographically without question. It's my profession and area of expertise. i know very little about many things but on this, I know a lot which is why it grieves me when these sort of maps appear...maps that have the potential to do good things and borne out of a good motive, but which are poorly designed.<br /><br />The sort of responses I always get to these sort of critiques are 'it's the software default', 'you're nitpicking', 'if we never made the map who would' etc are just not acceptable. Find a way around it to make the map properly - or find someone who can do it for you. that's why cartographers exist - to take great ideas and ensure they are designed properly.<br /><br />I'm afraid saying that per capita or percentages is irrelevant misses the point. Totals cannot be used in choropleths. It's a fact.<br /><br />Publish and map...yes, absolutely. But do it right, rather than just do it. That's my point.Kenneth Fieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16738467752479352030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8123225361504762353.post-48695553845390553372017-02-01T13:35:43.074-08:002017-02-01T13:35:43.074-08:00Thanks for taking the time to read the blog and co...Thanks for taking the time to read the blog and comment on the map. I want to address the concerns you raised. While I think a lot of the criticisms you offer are valid - your tone, to me, suggests you are trying to to be incendiary about the situation and not constructive.<br /><br />Let me be clear about the intent - I’m appalled at the actions by the Trump administration and thought if people knew how many of their neighbors were from these countries, they might want to take action and let their elected officials know that the executive order was unacceptable. My company, Azavea, has a strong social mission to do good - and my intention, along with my company’s, would never be to incite violence, hatred, or division. I chose to use Congressional districts as the display unit because of our company’s work related to districts and elected official data. Also, that’s where the action was most important - people knowing how many foreign-born are in their district and calling their representative to remind them of that. Could the map be interpreted for the opposite? Perhaps, and the intent might not have been clearly spelled out in the narrative. I just simply don’t agree that showing per capita or percentages is relevant for the message I was trying to get across.<br /><br />Your other points about mapping are valid, but I think you are nitpicking about the details. Web mercator projection was used because it’s the standard in Carto, a web-mapping platform. The choice of color - using a scheme of pinks, similar to red - could be interpreted as negative. I’m going to update the map to change the color. <br /><br />Finally, this wasn’t meant to be a grand exercise in cartography. If no one produced a map unless they got every single detail right based on the principles of cartography (many of which are debatable, as you recognize the drawbacks with other ways to visualize this data), we’d see a lot less experimental and interesting data out there. Let’s also not forget that many would like to eliminate or abolish portions of the Census. If that happened, we would never have access to the vast amounts of enlightening data it produces. We should be publishing and mapping this data even more, so people understand its relevance.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8123225361504762353.post-75008621636063915642017-02-01T12:27:44.110-08:002017-02-01T12:27:44.110-08:00When I saw the tweet without any context, my first...When I saw the tweet without any context, my first thought was "they're showing where people from the banned countries live and encouraging people to call their elected officials and ask them to get rid of the Muslims."jdowlathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00048897820950411669noreply@blogger.com