Motro Reflection

Shari Motro’s article “Lessons from a Swiss Cheese Map” was quite interesting and thought provoking. I thought that Motro did a great job at making the article accessible to people who know very little about the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, like me. I was amazed at how much mapmaking can decide the outcome of negotiations between two nations, down to the color scheme, labels, and even the thickness of the lines. I think that this is an important point to make for both cartographers and policy makers. Cartographers must be aware of the power they wield in making maps, and politicians should know how to read maps as objectively as possible, without putting their own projections and political opinions onto the map.  I enjoyed reading this article and learning about how heavily maps influence peace talks, and I hope this article helps illuminate the importance of creating proper and accurate maps.