The Maps of Science II

"The theory of probability is the only mathematical tool available to help map the unknown and the uncontrollable. It is fortunate that this tool, while tricky, is extraordinarily powerful and convenient." (Benoit Mandelbrot, "The Fractal Geometry of Nature", 1977)

"Mathematical equations and literary phrases are useful but they are no substitute for the spatial eloquence of the map." (Arthur H Robinson, "Uniqueness of the Map", American Cartographer Vol. 5 (1), 1978)

"Physicists' models are like maps: never final, never complete until they grow as large and complex as the reality they represent." (James Gleick, "Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman, Epilogue", 1992)

"The prevailing style of management must undergo transformation. A system cannot understand itself. The transformation requires a view from outside. The aim [...] is to provide an outside view - a lens - that I call a system of profound knowledge. It provides a map of theory by which to understand the organizations that we work in." (Dr. W. Edwards Deming, "The New Economics for Industry, Government, Education", 1994)

"The representational nature of maps, however, is often ignored - what we see when looking at a map is not the word, but an abstract representation that we find convenient to use in place of the world. When we build these abstract representations we are not revealing knowledge as much as are creating it." (Alan M MacEachren, "How Maps Work: Representation, Visualization, and Design", 1995)

"The nature of maps and of their use in science and society is in the midst of remarkable change - change that is stimulated by a combination of new scientific and societal needs for geo-referenced information and rapidly evolving technologies that can provide that information in innovative ways. A key issue at the heart of this change is the concept of ‘visualization’." (Alan M MacEachren, "Exploratory cartographic visualization: advancing the agenda", 1997)

"The pursuit of science is more than the pursuit of understanding. It is driven by the creative urge, the urge to construct a vision, a map, a picture of the world that gives the world a little more beauty and coherence than it had before." (John A Wheeler, "Geons, Black Holes, and Quantum Foam: A Life in Physics", 1998)

"On the maps provided by science, we find everything except ourselves." (Bryan Appleyard, "Understanding the Present: An Alternative History of Science", 2004)

"Science is the art of the appropriate approximation. While the flat earth model is usually spoken of with derision it is still widely used. Flat maps, either in atlases or road maps, use the flat earth model as an approximation to the more complicated shape." (Byron K. Jennings, "On the Nature of Science", Physics in Canada Vol. 63 (1), 2007)

"It is ironic but true: the one reality science cannot reduce is the only reality we will ever know. This is why we need art. By expressing our actual experience, the artist reminds us that our science is incomplete, that no map of matter will ever explain the immateriality of our consciousness." (Jonah Lehrer, "Proust Was a Neuroscientist", 2011)