The Interpretation of Bias
and the bias of interpretation
Aaron Straup Cope
Museums and the Web, April 2009

Hi, my name is Aaron

Whoʼs on first?

“Taxonomy of experience”

Geocoding

Reverse geocoding

Who cares?

“Histories of movement...”

“...that constitute place.”

Place is history

How does it work?

continent
country
region
county maybe
“metro”
locality and airports (and “hollywood”)
neighbourhood
“street”

One way of looking at it

you are
here

the
“mastro”
Kill me now

“Synthetic Telepathy”

Corrections!

History boxes

Communities of authority

Guy Debord wasnʼt wrong

He was just annoying

IF YOU LIVED HERE!!!
The Trendyloin

The shape of observation

You are here

Clustr

Alpha shapes

Donut holes

mmmmm....donuts

ami-4d769124

ws-clustr

py-wsclustr

“The (Minnesota Historical) Society
has the largest collection in the
universe of Minnesota fiction and
many of these books create thinly
veiled places based on the author's
experience with an authentic local
place.”
“Placeography”

“Psychosynthography”

Hammock of interpretation

What he said

Thank you

http://code.flickr.com/blog/2008/10/30/the-shape-of-alpha
http://code.flickr.com/blog/2009/01/12/living-in-the-donut-hole
http://code.flickr.com/blog/2009/04/07/the-only-question-left-is
http://code.flickr.com/svn/trunk/clustr
http://github.com/straup/ws-clustr
http://github.com/straup/py-wsclustr
http://www.mapsfromscratch.com
http://www.aaronland.info/talks

http://www.flickr.com/photos/straup/2902065092/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/george/474737715/
http://code.flickr.com/blog/2009/04/15/kittens-vs-sunsets/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/straup/3121881358/ (with apologies to max anderson)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallofhair/2726048885/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/straup/2853741772/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/straup/3027393589/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/straup/3171285346/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/straup/3387001019/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/straup/2804243817/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/straup/860537013
(see also: http://aaronland.info/talks/#where08)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bopuc/2238348906/
(see also: http://code.flickr.com/blog/2008/09/04/whos-on-first/)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/straup/3178465288/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/straup/181642895/
(http://www.slideshare.net/straup/history-boxes-presentation)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kellan/2883459596/
(see also: http://www.confluxfestival.org)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/straup/3084375308/
(see also: http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=if%20you%20lived%20here&w=all)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/straup/3182764164/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/straup/2901753697/
(see also: http://www.cgal.org/Manual/3.4/doc_html/cgal_manual/Alpha_shapes_2/Chapter_main.html)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/straup/3187717383/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/straup/3180283176/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/straup/3442514097
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mbiddulph/3421335356/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/straup/3393441637/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/straup/3402373748/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/straup/3437832035/
http://www.placeography.org
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tbit/483413379
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stml/3180188807/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/straup/3296109002 (with apologies to jacob harris)