Maps as Knowledge Aggregators: from Renaissance Italy Fra Mauro to Web Search Engines
Mediaeval and Renaissance maps of the world were and worked as knowledge aggregators. The cosmographers identified, selected and re-edited information about hundreds of places from a variety of literary, iconographic and oral sources, and synoptically re-organized them in place names, cartouches, an...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
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2016
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/82880 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/40423 |
| _version_ | 1811677313498087424 |
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| author | Nanetti, Andrea Cattaneo, Angelo Cheong, Siew Ann Lin, Chin-Yew |
| author2 | School of Art, Design and Media |
| author_facet | School of Art, Design and Media Nanetti, Andrea Cattaneo, Angelo Cheong, Siew Ann Lin, Chin-Yew |
| author_sort | Nanetti, Andrea |
| collection | NTU |
| description | Mediaeval and Renaissance maps of the world were and worked as knowledge aggregators. The cosmographers identified, selected and re-edited information about hundreds of places from a variety of literary, iconographic and oral sources, and synoptically re-organized them in place names, cartouches, and drawings to be put on a map. This selection/aggregation process transformed the mappa mundi into a visual encyclopaedia (i.e. an all-around learning and thinking tool), where each geographical entry was able to generate narratives as a data gateway and an information hub for customs, commodities, and rulers of different peoples of the world. If we infer that the Renaissance people asked to the cosmographers to learn about the world as we go to search engines to find what we want, the reverse engineering of these works (as exemplified in this paper for the mid-fifteenth-century world map by Fra Mauro Camaldolese) can help to draw the connection between the traditional way to aggregate knowledge as a product (e.g. Fra Mauro’s mappa mundi) and the modern way of using search engines and related internet services (i.e. their map services) to serve a similar purpose but in a better and more dynamic manner, placing crucial question, such as: How the same networks/people can bring new wealth and development, or war and poverty? Which are the dynamics of sustainability in international mechanisms? |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T02:35:23Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/82880 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T02:35:23Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/828802021-04-13T07:20:46Z Maps as Knowledge Aggregators: from Renaissance Italy Fra Mauro to Web Search Engines Nanetti, Andrea Cattaneo, Angelo Cheong, Siew Ann Lin, Chin-Yew School of Art, Design and Media School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences World Maps Knowledge Aggregators Web Search Engines Mediaeval and Renaissance maps of the world were and worked as knowledge aggregators. The cosmographers identified, selected and re-edited information about hundreds of places from a variety of literary, iconographic and oral sources, and synoptically re-organized them in place names, cartouches, and drawings to be put on a map. This selection/aggregation process transformed the mappa mundi into a visual encyclopaedia (i.e. an all-around learning and thinking tool), where each geographical entry was able to generate narratives as a data gateway and an information hub for customs, commodities, and rulers of different peoples of the world. If we infer that the Renaissance people asked to the cosmographers to learn about the world as we go to search engines to find what we want, the reverse engineering of these works (as exemplified in this paper for the mid-fifteenth-century world map by Fra Mauro Camaldolese) can help to draw the connection between the traditional way to aggregate knowledge as a product (e.g. Fra Mauro’s mappa mundi) and the modern way of using search engines and related internet services (i.e. their map services) to serve a similar purpose but in a better and more dynamic manner, placing crucial question, such as: How the same networks/people can bring new wealth and development, or war and poverty? Which are the dynamics of sustainability in international mechanisms? Accepted version 2016-04-15T03:49:00Z 2019-12-06T15:07:29Z 2016-04-15T03:49:00Z 2019-12-06T15:07:29Z 2015 2015 Journal Article Nanetti, A., Cattaneo, A., Cheong, S. A. & Lin, C. (2015). Maps as Knowledge Aggregators: from Renaissance Italy Fra Mauro to Web Search Engines. C, 52(2), 159-167. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00087041.2015.1119472 0008-7041 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/82880 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/40423 10.1080/00087041.2015.1119472 2 52 159 167 en The Cartographic Journal © 2015 The British Cartographic Society. This is the author created version of a work that has been peer reviewed and accepted for publication by The Cartographic Journal, The British Cartographic Society. It incorporates referee’s comments but changes resulting from the publishing process, such as copyediting, structural formatting, may not be reflected in this document. The published version is available at: [http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00087041.2015.1119472]. 15 p. application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | World Maps Knowledge Aggregators Web Search Engines Nanetti, Andrea Cattaneo, Angelo Cheong, Siew Ann Lin, Chin-Yew Maps as Knowledge Aggregators: from Renaissance Italy Fra Mauro to Web Search Engines |
| title | Maps as Knowledge Aggregators: from Renaissance Italy Fra Mauro to Web Search Engines |
| title_full | Maps as Knowledge Aggregators: from Renaissance Italy Fra Mauro to Web Search Engines |
| title_fullStr | Maps as Knowledge Aggregators: from Renaissance Italy Fra Mauro to Web Search Engines |
| title_full_unstemmed | Maps as Knowledge Aggregators: from Renaissance Italy Fra Mauro to Web Search Engines |
| title_short | Maps as Knowledge Aggregators: from Renaissance Italy Fra Mauro to Web Search Engines |
| title_sort | maps as knowledge aggregators from renaissance italy fra mauro to web search engines |
| topic | World Maps Knowledge Aggregators Web Search Engines |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/82880 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/40423 |
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