Political sectarianism in America

Great article:  Political sectarianism in America

This really explains a lot about what we are seeing the US these days. Political sectarianism really accelerated after the fall of the Soviet Union that eliminated the shared nemesis. On the other, our current nemesis COVID-19 seems to have only increased our sectarianism.

Mappy Gifts

This is a great holiday shopping / gift list: https://somethingaboutmaps.wordpress.com/2020/11/23/a-holiday-shopping-list/

Smartphones Kill Spatial Thinking

This is a great article: Smartphones and the Uncertain Future of 'Spatial Thinking'. Smartphones and the associated navigation apps prevent you from creating a mental map of your environment by giving you the perfect path on a tiny screen. But, perfect for whom? How you get from A to B is of great interest to someone!

So, basically, precisely what we think of generating this renewed interest spatial 'things' may ultimately kill spatial thinking and awareness.

Great quote: "Isn't it ironic: the easier it is for me to get where I'm going, the less I remember how I got there. As a conscious consumer of geographic information, should I be rationing my access to navigation tools—the mental equivalent of taking the stairs instead of taking the elevator?"

Great quote: "With their small screens and egocentric perspectives, mobile navigation systems function like blinders, reducing the landscape to the width of a street. They narrow the world."

Virtual Labs

Virtual labs is pretty much the polar opposite of what labs are supposed to be, but in the days of COVID-19 they may offer the best option. Here's a nice review article with a lot of examples and links (all obviously focused on STEM):

Potkonjak et al (2016): Virtual laboratories for education in science, technology, and engineering: A review

Mapipedia

Mapipedia is a new interactive map which can help you map and share your geotagged photos. That's all: funs and even a little useful. Here's a demo: https://mapipedia.com/s/u/drdave/demo.html

Aris and Palladio

Two great apps/tools related to mapping and DH:

• ARIS: create location-based games and stories.
• Palladio: visualize data, including location-based data.

Geothermal Energy

To me, this is one of great mysteries of sustainable energy: why is nobody talking about geothermal energy? We hear about solar, wind, cool new nuke plants, wave, etc. and that's all fine, but what about geothermal? To me the potential is huge, it is scalable, it is safe, and the issues and concerns with it are less than say nuclear. Here are a couple of interesting sources.

• Geothermal energy is poised for a big breakout (great piece on Vox)
• Eavor (let's make money with geothermal!)

Teaching and Learning with Green Screens

This may be of interest: What’s Possible with Green Screens in the Classroom

Scientific Color Maps

When it comes to color (in maps, charts, etc.), ColorBrewer 2.0 has always been one of the go-to-resources. Now there's a new one: scientific color maps.

• The misuse of colour in science communication (Crameri et al. 2020)
• Scientific Colour Maps (website)
• Colour Maps (YouTube)