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Google Earth changing science? Yes, but not like that

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Cartography has a go at the Spiegel article “How Google Earth Is Changing Science” for its utter lack of understanding of GIS, so I don’t have to, but I can’t resist this little excerpt:

Google Earth wasn’t really intended for scientists. The Google search engine’s extraordinary globe, which is made up of hundreds of thousands of satellite photos and aerial images, was initially meant as a game for virtual hobby pilots. Users discovered that it was fun to fly over their own homes, swing up into space and, within seconds, swoop back down into the depths of the Grand Canyon. But now the scientific community is discovering how useful the software is for their own work.

What twaddle.

And why is it that it is always the least knowledgeable articles that get the widest exposure? Here is the much bastardized UPI writeup.

3 thoughts on “Google Earth changing science? Yes, but not like that”

  1. I completely agree. Naturally, the ignorant explanation gets the most publicity and completely fails to recognize the most important use for Google Earth: GIS. I work for an engineering firm doing GIS everyday, and we almost can’t keep up with the amount of work clients have for us. Oh, and all 40+ employees in the office are using Google Earth 4, and they use it CONSTANTLY.

  2. Maybe things got lost in translation. Not to defend the Spiegel article or anything but I can see what was meant by “Google Earth wasn’t really intended for scientists”. However, the it should read “specifically” rather than really. As rightly pointed out GE is a GIS tool, albeit on that does trade-off utility against usability.

    It was amusing/ironic to note that the first picture in the article, which is captioned “Maps with information abput groundwater distribution in Seattle. Google Earth makes it possible”, is in fact a screenshot from ArcGIS Explorer.

  3. Things got indeed lost in translation.

    The important sentence for understanding the meaning in the original german version of the article translates to “The Google search engine’s extraordinary globe, which is made up of hundreds of thousands of satellite photos and aerial images, initially became famous as a game for virtual hobby pilots.” which is only about the public perception of the program, not about googles intentions!

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