A Morning Flight with Google Airlines
Google Earth is Jakob’s favorite “game” for the time being. This morning we’ve been to Illinois, Tokyo, The Forbidden City and somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Jakob is the skilled pilot, and I’m sitting right behind him, as his trusty passenger as we soar the Earth.
Over the last decade or so the world has grown remarkebly smaller. With Google Earth (and the other similar apps out there) it has grown even smaller again. Smaller, but most importanly, within your personal control and reach.
“Look Dad, I’m dragging the Earth.”
To Jakob, the concept of cities, countries, continents on a planet in space is still very abstract. He knows that he lives in Vesterbro and Valby (parts of Copenhagen). He’s quite sure that Denmark has something to do with this as well, but what a country is, and that the world is made up of different countries, is beyond him. Yet, this morning, he was the pilot who took his passenger on a spin or two around the globe.
When I was his age I had a globe with a light bulb inside of it and a map of the World on my desk in my room. I was deeply fascinated with it, but the size relations never really soaked in and the level of detail left me in the dark of what the World really looked like.
When the Apollo flights brought home the legendary photos of the Earth-rise over the Moon they made a significant change. At some level I think that the long term effect of apps like Google Earth will change our perception of the planet even more.
Bringing a detailed map of the World to the people is a good thing. I’m not doubting that. However, the impact of this view of the World will go beyond what we find convienient and cool right now. Kids like Jakob will grow up with a different view of our planet.
I’m not really sure of what the new perspective will be, but I think Jakob’s question gives a hint:
“Can we try another planet, Dad?”
“No, it’s the only planet we’ve got.”