TIME TRADITIONS AND GEOGRAPHY. John D. Kapter Associate Prof e s s or o f Geography University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point

Transcription

1 SPACE - TIME TRADITIONS AND GEOGRAPHY by John D. Kapter Associate Prof e s s or o f Geography University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point ABSTRACT. This paper will examine the organization of s pace and time as the y relate to the teaching of several geography concepts. Pedantic or not, this paper must start by discussing definitions. A confusing variety of meanings is ascribed to both space and time. The general discussion of what the two terms have meant to various geographers in the past may be now put forward as useful contemporary meanings. Ed Ullman, formerly of the University of Washington, accentuated the lack of distinction between space and time in many of his writings. He noted in the academic field of physics, especially at the subatomic level, and in astronomy at the large, cosmos level, definitions of space and time are clouded with ambiguity. Carl Sagan agrees. In his new best selling book, he advocates that space and time are interwoven and we cannot look out into space without looking back into time. l Here we shall explore the phenomena at earth scale, and as applied to man's interdependent use of space and time. ISagan, Carl. Cosmos, New York: Random House, Inc.,

2 Movement seems to be a key word in the space - time tradi t ions of professional geographers. 2 Without movement the re are no spati<1l relations, t11e main obj ect of geographical study. Mere co-existence in space without any effect of one phenomena or process on another is like time without change. As numerous scholars imply, even in regional geography the test of significance in selecting items to study is based on their relative effect on other phenomena or distributions. There is a similarity between space and time. Movement is change in space, and change is movement through time. ~le can fuse space and time to a certain extent by the use of speed, as in miles per hour for a short run, and light years, for a long run. Space and time are separable from one another only in abstraction. Geographers are not primarily interested in speed of movement, relative space - time abstractions, or the physicsastronomy approaches. However, geographers are interested in some h~~an use implications and relations; this is what walter Isard calls "real" space and time, or social and economic s.ace 3nd time. Economic and transportation geographers, in particular, recognize that changes in technology can create complex questions of comparing the cost factors of movement. Let us leave these tantalizing problems and move onto some other concepts of physical geography and space - time traditions. 2Lm.;e, John and S. Moryadas. The Geographv of r-1ovemen t, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company,

3 Michael! cintyre has s tated there are a numb e r of re d i l y observable phenomena that are the direct result of earth-sun relationships.3 He outlines his opening textbook chapter with the usual topics of (1) rotation and revolution, ( 2 ) length of day, (3) latitude and longi tude, (4) time zones, and (5) date changes at the Internati onal Date Li ne. These five concepts and other similar space - time traditions app l icable to physical geogr aphy have been legitimate curriculum topics for decades. In order to perceive space and time, we need to condense it down to scales where a large quantity of it is visible. Geographers use the map as their principal tool, both in preliminary analysis, and in appreciation of space and spatial relations, and later in the construction of special maps to illustrate findings. To condense space, of course, involves dropping detail as scale is decreased. By doing this, we lose some detail, but we see relations otherwise invisible. These small-scale maps can usually be supplemented by large-scale topographic maps if more detail is desired. Cartographic and analytical skills are useful measures for describi ng and explaining spatial patterns. If we agree th~t maps are useful as a principal tool for understanding space relations, then what is the equivalent tool for understanding time? 3McIntyrc, ~lichael. Physical Geography, 3rd edition, New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1980.

4 The Geochron instrument has been u s e d successfully as a teaching tool by several high schools and many colleges. As the name implies, this device provides one with a comprehensive view of the planet earth with respect to the succession of chronology or time. The Geochron is an instrument which combines the seasonal and geographical aspects of timekeeping simultaneously.4 In physics, astronomy, and other fields, cause and effect could also be considered to replace time, but the whole notion of time is somewhat up in the air now since time and cause and effect may operate differently at three levels of physics: subatomic, or very small elementary particles, middle-range thermodynamic, and large, cosmological. Thus, for relative space and time a quite different conception is in order. The relativistic Einstein revolution continues. For example, during early March, 1981, Professor Hyron Spinrad and his colleagues detected four new galaxies about 10 billion light years away. They are some 2 billion light years farther off in space than any other galaxy ever discerned. The observations carne from the 120-inch reflector telescope at the University of California's Lick Observatory and research at the Kitt Peak National Observatory, Arizona. It has taken 20 years for astronomers to double the size of the observed universe. S 4McKinney, Ivilliam H. and John D. Kapter. "The Geochron," Journal of Gcoqraphy, Vol. 74, No. I, January 1975, pp S"Extending the Known Universe," Science, }LA.A.S., Vol. 211, 1981, p

5 This recent discovery raises many questions which can only be answered by additional research. It is evident that the factors influencing comparative study of space and time are extremely complex. However, it is hoped that some valid generalizations and trends may result from the use of variable scale maps for space anal yses and t he use of instruments like ~h e Geochron for time perception. 6 ~ir Winston Churchill once said during 1941: "We learn that we are spirits, not animals, and that something is going on in space and time, and beyond space and time." 97