Search the Community

I was recently on Google Maps doing some cursory pre-holiday "research", and decided for some unexplainable reason (no, I have no ambitions to be a geoguesser) to randomly explore. After some random mouse click-and-dragging, I found myself in the middle of nowhere. Okay well, in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean. Zoomed out far enough on Google Maps, it's just a complete sea of blue. But zoom in more and little islands start to appear (actually their names start appearing before the actual islands do, which gives you a sense of their size or lack thereof). And so, Pitcairn Islands - a tiny collection of islands in the middle of nowhere exactly feeds my fascination with the remote and unknown. So, Wikipedia it is then, and it initially is as fascinating as you expect. The territory consists of four islands, though its probably worth focusing on Pitcairn, the only inhabited island. With just 35 permanent inhabitants (as of 2023), it is the smallest territory in the world in terms of permanent resident population. And more interestingly, the European settlement of the island was a result of a mutiny. Mutiny! "In 1790, nine of the mutineers from the British naval vessel HMS Bounty, along with the native Tahitian men and women who were with them (six men, 11 women, and a baby girl), settled on Pitcairn Island and set fire to the Bounty." Sounds like the opening crawl of a Pirates of the Caribbean movie. That quaintness quickly takes a dark turn, with the insularity of the island becoming a seeming festering ground for sexual abuse: "In 2004, charges were laid against seven men living on Pitcairn and six living abroad. This accounted for nearly a third of the male population, and half of the island's adult males." "A study of island records confirmed anecdotal evidence that most girls bore their first child between the ages of 12 and 15" is also a pretty brutal sentence to read. Food for thought I wonder if we do sometimes take for granted the modern trappings of developed civilisation. Perhaps my fascination with remote places have something to do with feeling the cudgelling weight of technology and hyper-connectivity. Contrast that with a place like Pitcairn, which did not have connection to the Internet prior to 2012, and that perhaps allows us to reframe how we think about our own lives. I'm not suggesting we return to a more tribalistic, pre-technology life (though the argument could be made that technology, and social media in particular, has had an effect in exacerbating tribalistic mindsets in recent years). Clearly there are problems when a community is completely cut off from the norms of the rest of the world. But it's interesting to consider the multiple perspectives of society, and not just assume that our individual context holds true everywhere else. Images from Wikicommons, Unsplash

When was the last time you used Google Maps? For me, it was just this morning. Since the introduction of the app in 2008, Google Maps has slowly become a navigation aid for millions across the world. For drivers, the app pulls data from other app users on the road at any one time, enabling its algorithms to offer the quickest or most convenient route according to current traffic conditions. You know the app is doing its job when some of the roads on the map turn red, indicating a traffic snarl. When this happens, the app’s algorithms spring into action and will, if it can, offer a better route that takes you around the road congestion. The technology that powers Google Maps recently caught the attention of Artist Simon Weckert. With a deep interest in the digital world, Weckert decided he wanted to find out if 99 smartphones wheeled along in a small cart would create a virtual traffic jam in Google Maps. Walking the streets of Berlin, Germany, with a cart full of borrowed and rented phones all running Google Maps, Weckert's video of the stunt (below) appears to show all of the streets in which he walked turning red on Maps. That's right - he apparently fooled Maps into thinking there was a traffic jam when there wasn't. And as a result, Google Maps re-routed drivers in the area to other streets to avoid the jam (yes, the one that didn't exist). Of course, Weckert couldn't resist passing by Google’s Berlin office, too, creating gridlock (on Maps, at least) with his cart full of smartphones. Next time, don't believe the red line in your google maps. It could just be Simon walking by.

going to japan in early april for cherry blossom. arrive in nagoya and return from osaka drive from nagoya > takayama > shirakawago > kanazawa > nagoya > kyoto (via shinkansen) > osaka (via train) using samsung s4 android phone. i could not find any good navigation software for android. is it ok to rely on google maps? when arrive in airport, is it better to rent the internet device/dongle or sim card with internet (unlimited usage) for 7 days? planning to get a central nippon expressway pass for 2014 http://global.c-nexco.co.jp/en/cep/expressway_pass2014overview.html only available in toyota and times (mazda) ... so must rent toyota or mazda car liao ... any advice is appreciated. thanks!

[extract] Sometime on the 19th of January 2009 Lauren Rosenberg decided to take a walk in Park City, Utah in the land of burgers and fries. She took along her trusty Blackberry and decided on utilizing the phone

[extract] The recent announcement about the collaboration between our dear LTA and Google Maps seems to actually benefit us, the drivers and commuters. Not sure of what we