The Power of Geographical Visualizations - Geographic Visualization: Concepts, Tools and Applications - page 9

incomplete cartographic view of the data. Scholars must look carefully at their
data, experiment with different representations, weigh both the requirements
of the analysis and the likely perceptions of the reader, and consider presenting
complementary views with multiple maps.
Further, some of these new forms of geographic visualizations open up society to a new kind
of surveillance, revealing interactions that were previously hidden in unused transactions and
databases. The act of visualization itself may constitute an invasion of privacy (Monmonier,
2002). If the appeal of some spaces is their anonymity, then people may object to them being
placed under wider scrutiny, even if individuals are unidentifiable. Here, public geographic
visualization and analysis may well represent an infringement of personal rights, especially
if the individuals were not consulted beforehand and have no means to opt out. Thus, it is
important to consider the ways in which, and the extent to which, geographic visualizations
of social spaces are 'responsible artefacts' that do not destroy what they seek to represent or
understand.
Lastly, it should be recognized that geographic visualization is also a cultural process of
creating, rather than merely revealing, knowledge. All the sophisticated, interactive geo-
graphic visualizations have politics, just the same as any other form of representation, and
we must be alert to their ideological messages. Geographic visualization for social scientists
can prove to be very valuable, but at the same time they can never be value-free.
The future still requires research in many key unknown and under-explored areas, in-
cluding uncertainty mapping, true temporal understanding and limits of human visual
perception - but the future also is becoming more socially connected and geographic visu-
alization may indicate a way forward.
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