I enjoyed my tutorial with ArcMap. Although I only completed the tutorial and followed a list of instructions, it allowed me to see the control I will have when creating GIS maps. I think it is very cool that you can make so many different maps with different layers and then juxtapose them in one page. This has allowed me to see how valuable GIS is and can be in many different ways. I look forward to learning more about GIS and how it is used in our society.
There is a lot of potential with GIS. The use of GIS is augmenting rapidly as environmentalists, cities, the FBI and many more have adapted the mapping technology. GIS offers a way to visualize the real world and calculate objective consequences that may happen if specific events occur (such as deforestation, crime rate, starvation). It can be used as a mediator to help people on different sides work together. GIS has and will continue to have a huge impact on many key decisions for the future of our society.
Although there is a lot of potential, there are also a lot of pitfalls. GIS is only as good as its data, which isn't always accurate. GIS can do a lot to mimic the real world but in the end it is only a computer program and cannot truly see into the future.
Overall I think there is much more potential than pitfalls; as long as people realize that it is only a computer model and use it accordingly. GIS is changing the way that many aspects of our society visualize problems and possible solutions to those problems, and ultimately impacts their final decision. GIS is here to stay and with an increase in social and environmental issues, its importance will only increase.
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