The First Law of Geography – and why it is a nuisance
«Everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things.» The first law of geography applies to countless spatial phenomena. But did you know that it can make a geographer’s life very difficult?
Funded by the URPP Language and Space at the University of Zurich
Idea and Story: Peter Ranacher and Manuel Bovio
Comics, Video and Design: Manuel Bovio
Everyone is connected to everyone else, especially when it concerns geography. It is great to see what an expressive and fun video can do to re-connect dear and long-time colleagues: Hi there, Wolfgang and Geoff!
Oh and Waldo on «laws»: 😉 https://www.jstor.org/stable/3693989.
Nice video. However, geography should have learned that there are no such spatial «laws» … and refrain from reproducing such misconceptions. There are countless relations that are as distant as important. Just think about the relevance of sunlight for life on Earth.
A charming presentation of a difficult-to-appreciate subject. But not all is lost; there are sampling strategies that can control for spatial autocorrelation that you may wish to discuss going forward. Cheers!
Following the philosopher Bruno Latour, you have to start to understand that your T-Shirt is directly linked to cotton landscapes in Central Asia or Africa …
Or your cell phone to mining landscapes in Bolivia …
Maybe we have to rewrite the first law of geography, to move to the next level of the science of geography.