Comments for Esri Training Matters http://blogs.esri.com/esri/esritrainingmatters Thu, 16 May 2013 18:21:37 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 Comment on The What Is GIS Challenge by SuzanneB http://blogs.esri.com/esri/esritrainingmatters/2013/04/30/the-what-is-gis-challenge/#comment-207 SuzanneB Thu, 16 May 2013 18:21:37 +0000 http://blogs.esri.com/esri/esritrainingmatters/?p=1459#comment-207 "Creative people across many disciplines"--how true! I'm now picturing an almost-round globe being mimed and crushed in an elevator. :) “Creative people across many disciplines”–how true! I’m now picturing an almost-round globe being mimed and crushed in an elevator. :)

]]> Comment on The What Is GIS Challenge by Brett Lord-Castillo http://blogs.esri.com/esri/esritrainingmatters/2013/04/30/the-what-is-gis-challenge/#comment-205 Brett Lord-Castillo Thu, 16 May 2013 17:38:18 +0000 http://blogs.esri.com/esri/esritrainingmatters/?p=1459#comment-205 GIS is... the people, data, and systems that answer the "Why?" of "Where?""Everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things." That's Waldo Tobler's first law of geography, and it shows just how location gets you to explanation.Take a mostly, but not completely, round globe. Squash it flat. Abstract everything on it into lines, points, polygons, or grids. Into individual objects, and continuous fields. Mix that data with creative people across many disciplines and all sorts of information processing, and you begin the find the patterns and processes that explain Tobler's law. That is GIS.(This explanation works much better as an elevator pitch with hand gestures.) GIS is… the people, data, and systems that answer the “Why?” of “Where?”"Everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things.” That’s Waldo Tobler’s first law of geography, and it shows just how location gets you to explanation.Take a mostly, but not completely, round globe. Squash it flat. Abstract everything on it into lines, points, polygons, or grids. Into individual objects, and continuous fields. Mix that data with creative people across many disciplines and all sorts of information processing, and you begin the find the patterns and processes that explain Tobler’s law. That is GIS.(This explanation works much better as an elevator pitch with hand gestures.)

]]> Comment on The What Is GIS Challenge by SuzanneB http://blogs.esri.com/esri/esritrainingmatters/2013/04/30/the-what-is-gis-challenge/#comment-198 SuzanneB Wed, 15 May 2013 23:47:41 +0000 http://blogs.esri.com/esri/esritrainingmatters/?p=1459#comment-198 As a fan of Oz, your analogy makes me smile. Thanks for sharing! As a fan of Oz, your analogy makes me smile. Thanks for sharing!

]]> Comment on The What Is GIS Challenge by kscheick http://blogs.esri.com/esri/esritrainingmatters/2013/04/30/the-what-is-gis-challenge/#comment-197 kscheick Wed, 15 May 2013 21:27:04 +0000 http://blogs.esri.com/esri/esritrainingmatters/?p=1459#comment-197 GIS is the Wizard Behind the Curtain. Although it seems like magic, it is all based on collected information and very advanced technology. GIS is the Wizard Behind the Curtain. Although it seems like magic, it is all based on collected information and very advanced technology.

]]> Comment on The What Is GIS Challenge by SuzanneB http://blogs.esri.com/esri/esritrainingmatters/2013/04/30/the-what-is-gis-challenge/#comment-193 SuzanneB Wed, 15 May 2013 16:27:16 +0000 http://blogs.esri.com/esri/esritrainingmatters/?p=1459#comment-193 Nicely put, thanks! Nicely put, thanks!

]]> Comment on The What Is GIS Challenge by recurvata http://blogs.esri.com/esri/esritrainingmatters/2013/04/30/the-what-is-gis-challenge/#comment-186 recurvata Tue, 14 May 2013 21:22:47 +0000 http://blogs.esri.com/esri/esritrainingmatters/?p=1459#comment-186 GIS is the mapping system that shows where things are, what they are, how they're related to each other and how that information can be used to answer questions. How do I get there from here? Is this a safe neighborhood? Is my house in a floodplain? Is the West Nile Virus spreading towards my state? How has the ethnic population changed over the last twenty years? Questions like these, and many more, can be answered and shown using GIS. GIS is the mapping system that shows where things are, what they are, how they’re related to each other and how that information can be used to answer questions. How do I get there from here? Is this a safe neighborhood? Is my house in a floodplain? Is the West Nile Virus spreading towards my state? How has the ethnic population changed over the last twenty years? Questions like these, and many more, can be answered and shown using GIS.

]]> Comment on The What Is GIS Challenge by SuzanneB http://blogs.esri.com/esri/esritrainingmatters/2013/04/30/the-what-is-gis-challenge/#comment-172 SuzanneB Wed, 08 May 2013 21:12:35 +0000 http://blogs.esri.com/esri/esritrainingmatters/?p=1459#comment-172 Good point about the purpose, thanks! Good point about the purpose, thanks!

]]> Comment on The What Is GIS Challenge by SuzanneB http://blogs.esri.com/esri/esritrainingmatters/2013/04/30/the-what-is-gis-challenge/#comment-171 SuzanneB Wed, 08 May 2013 21:10:33 +0000 http://blogs.esri.com/esri/esritrainingmatters/?p=1459#comment-171 Love your first sentence, thanks for sharing! Love your first sentence, thanks for sharing!

]]> Comment on The What Is GIS Challenge by fulfilledstraw http://blogs.esri.com/esri/esritrainingmatters/2013/04/30/the-what-is-gis-challenge/#comment-170 fulfilledstraw Wed, 08 May 2013 20:43:44 +0000 http://blogs.esri.com/esri/esritrainingmatters/?p=1459#comment-170 <b>In its simplest form, a place is just a point on a map, but in the real world, that point has meaning. If it’s a city, it has people of different ages, ethnicities, and income levels. If it is a restaurant, it has a name, cuisine, and hours of operation. When we know not only the location of some place but also meaningful things about it, we call this geographic information. A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a technological framework within which this information is stored, and includes the people and the methods employed to answer questions about the real world.</b> In its simplest form, a place is just a point on a map, but in the real world, that point has meaning. If it’s a city, it has people of different ages, ethnicities, and income levels. If it is a restaurant, it has a name, cuisine, and hours of operation. When we know not only the location of some place but also meaningful things about it, we call this geographic information. A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a technological framework within which this information is stored, and includes the people and the methods employed to answer questions about the real world.

]]> Comment on The What Is GIS Challenge by slbogner http://blogs.esri.com/esri/esritrainingmatters/2013/04/30/the-what-is-gis-challenge/#comment-162 slbogner Mon, 06 May 2013 01:40:03 +0000 http://blogs.esri.com/esri/esritrainingmatters/?p=1459#comment-162 I have three suggestions. One is a little wordy and the other two are short and sweet. Geographical Information System software is used to show related geographic data pictorially on a map by using colors, symbols, charts, etc. for easy visual spatial analysis for the purpose of informing decision makers. For example, GIS can be used to show average income levels by geographic area for the purpose of deciding which communities are in need of what services. GIS is a pictorial representation of geographic data. A GIS map is worth a thousand pieces of data. I have three suggestions. One is a little wordy and the other two are short and sweet.

Geographical Information System software is used to show related geographic data pictorially on a map by using colors, symbols, charts, etc. for easy visual spatial analysis for the purpose of informing decision makers. For example, GIS can be used to show average income levels by geographic area for the purpose of deciding which communities are in need of what services.
GIS is a pictorial representation of geographic data.
A GIS map is worth a thousand pieces of data.

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