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A medieval depiction of the Ecumene (1482, Johannes Schnitzer, engraver), constructed after the coordinates in Ptolemy's Geography and using his second map projection. The translation into Latin and dissemination of Geography in Europe, in the beginning of the 15th century, marked the rebirth of scientific cartography, after more than a millennium of stagnation.
In cartography, the principles of cognition are important since they explain why certain map symbols work. [5] In the past, mapmakers did not care why the symbols worked. This behaviorist view treats the human brain like a black box. Modern cartographers are curious why certain symbols are the most effective.
Cartography or map-making is the study and practice of crafting representations of the Earth upon a flat surface [2] (see History of cartography), and one who makes maps is called a cartographer. Road maps are perhaps the most widely used maps today.
Computer cartography (also called digital cartography) is the art, science, and technology of making and using maps with a computer. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] This technology represents a paradigm shift in how maps are produced, but is still fundamentally a subset of traditional cartography.
During much of the latter 20th century, this was the primary goal of academic cartography, especially the Cartographic Communication school of thought: to determine how to make the most efficient maps as conduits of information. Clarity, the degree to which the map makes its purpose obvious and its information easy to access. Clarity can be ...
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to cartography: Cartography (also called mapmaking ) – study and practice of making and using maps or globes . Maps have traditionally been made using pen and paper , but the advent and spread of computers has revolutionized cartography.
Pei is best known for his work in cartography. Although map making and use of the grid existed in China before him, [41]: 106–107 he was the first to mention a plotted geometrical grid and graduated scale displayed on the surface of maps to gain greater accuracy in the estimated distance between different locations.
During the first half of the 20th century, cartographers began to think seriously about how the features they drew depended on scale. Eduard Imhof, one of the most accomplished academic and professional cartographers at the time, published a study of city plans on maps at a variety of scales in 1937, itemizing several forms of generalization that occurred, including those later termed ...