Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Relative location
In the first instance, you can tell the stranger how to get to the hospital from Point A. For example
(pointing west along North 4th Street), “Go that way four blocks, turn left, and walk five more
blocks.” This is called relative location because the information you gave is relative to Point A. Give
those directions verbatim to the stranger at any other intersection in Gridville, and the result is a lost
stranger.
Absolute location
As an alternative, you can convey the location of the hospital with respect to its grid coordinates
that is, its location within the grid system. For example, “Go to the corner of South 1st Street and
West 1st Avenue.” This is called absolute location because theoretically, those directions work any-
where in Gridville, not just at Point A.
The best location to use
Both relative location and absolute location have the potential of getting the stranger to the desired
destination. And chances are you have used both types of location to direct someone to a destination
in your town, neigh- borhood, or environs.
But in a global context, absolute location is far superior to relative location. When you think
about it, the task of directing somebody to a location half-way around the world by means of
relative location (e.g. “Go that way 11,238 miles and turn right”) is rather mind-boggling. And
even if you could do it, that information would only work at the one location where that in-
formation was given. It would be far better if every place on Earth had an absolute location
such as that hospital in Gridville. Of course, that would be contingent on the existence of a
global grid that basically mimics what we've seen in Gridville. Fortunately, such a grid exists.
The Global Grid: Hip, Hip, Hipparchus!
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