http://bigthink.com/strange-maps/the-geography-of-genius
Taking an abstract piece of data and turning them into something that can be looked at and understood easily is what cartographers strive for. Frank Jacobs did this when he produced The Geography of Genius for the book Human Accomplishment: The Pursuit of Excellence in the Arts and Sciences, 800 BC to 1950 by Charles Murray. Jacobs decided to map something that most people would find impossible to map—what areas in Europe were producing influential figures in the four disciplines of science, literature, art, and music. He basically took data that some would assume to be purely statistical and turned it into a form that can be placed on a map. These maps track individuals in three time periods. The first quartet of maps ranges from 1400 to 1600, the second tracks the years 1600 to1800, and the last grouping of map ranges from 1800 to 1950. Each map has its own grouping and each can be analyzed to help reflect on the time period the map is from.
As we look at each time period we can notice shifts from one area to another. These shifts can be attributed to many different factors. When we look at the first set of maps we will notice each discipline on the map has a central location where most of members of this field derive from. These central areas tend to be the starting point for shifts that occur on the future maps. For Science and Art, the central areas both tend to be in Northern Italy. This isn’t the most surprising trend considering that during this time period, people of Italy were going through a golden age known as The Renaissance. People were trying to do certain things they have never tried before. People decided move away from the Church’s ideologies and think for themselves. Literature is focused around the city of London, England. One reason why is because of the work that was produced by William Shakespeare who wrote some of what many consider to be the most influential plays ever written. He and many other writers were apart of a progressive literature movement. Lastly we see music focused round the Low Countries of Belgium and the Netherlands. While all four of these subjects have central locations where significant figures were born, there were many cities represented on each map that were beginning to produce leaders in music. The denser areas for each subject tend to correlate to how wealthy countries were during this time period.
The maps showing the next 200 years illustrates the pattern of spreading out from a central location to other areas in Europe. Dots are spread out across the entirety of Europe. Jacobs used dots to represent individuals for a good reason. They make the map more individualized. A map that only shaded in areas of influence would not have the same effect. In every subject there is either an expansion to many different areas from before or a complete shift from one area to another. Music really shows this complete shift well. Although it was focused in the Low Countries, this map shows no evidence of this ever occurring. Belgium and the Netherlands had a complete shift of leading the Western World in developing significant music figures to developing none at all. This culminated in Europe leading in the field of Art. Science and Literature branched out across Europe during this time period. Significant figures were found in a multitude of countries. I think this expansion in these two fields can be accounted for by the increasing popularity in the printing press. With more and more of these presses being made across Europe and the literacy rate increased almost everywhere. People could share ideas on paper much easier than before.
The last quartet of maps best illustrates how much the printing press affected the spread of ideas. The printing press led to an exponential rate of change and the spread of knowledge across Europe. In all four maps people can be found in cities in every area of Europe. Once again, literature and science are the most spread out of the four subjects. The printing press certainly changed the world, and these maps really illustrate that point.
If maps were produced for the birthplaces of modern members in each one of these subjects, I’m sure the expansion would be even higher. Today, it would be almost impossible to map geniuses across the world. Influential people can be found in every country. The invention of the Internet is similar to the invention of the printing press. Information is spreading faster than ever before. As our world develops into one where people have both increased access and ability to read, this combination has led to a huge expansion of countries producing significant leaders in each of these subjects.
I think this is a very unique set of maps. They are very different than standard maps that, like you said, put statistics onto a map. You did a great job interpreting the map and providing good context to help readers better understand the maps. I think your helpful insight can be very useful to people who don’t fully see what the map is portraying at first. Good work!!