Cartographers always employ a scale when they draw maps, and the scale is a ratio. No one draws a 1:1 scale, of course, because such a scale would result in a map the same size as the place being mapped. So, on a map we might see that one inch equals 63,360 inches on Earth’s surface (i.e., a linear inch on the map equals one linear mile). Scales vary according to the area covered. In a contractor’s blueprint, an inch might represent 36 linear inches of a house. On a world map, one inch might represent seven million inches of Earth’s surface.
You know the old adage that until it takes flight a fly on the face of the Mona Lisa cannot see the image of the woman in the painting (Silly adage, isn’t it? Have you ever looked through one of those novelty-store combination fly-eye lenses? A fly would think that Da Vinci was on an LSD trip when he painted all those faces) Anyway, back to the point: Mapping something close up is called large-scale mapping. The contractor’s blueprint is a large-scale map. The map of Earth is a small-scale map. The difference in the scale, the ratio of linear map distance to linear surface distance, is the difference between mapping lots on details in a small area and mapping few details in a large area.
The scale of a printed map never varies once the map is published. In contrast, the scale of a mental map changes because of changing perspectives and attitudes. Perspectives can change because of a person’s changing status. The office seems different to a person internally promoted from a position as subordinate to a position as authority. The classroom seems different to a recent college graduate as she takes over a teaching position. The school seems different when she becomes principal. All the schools seem different when she becomes superintendent. The difference is reflected in the mental map that has a changing scale: Acquiring greater authority or responsibility changes scale from large to small.
How has changing scale played out in your life? Try remembering when you experienced a change in scale brought about by 1) acquisition of knowledge, 2) maturation, or 3) experience. Look back on the “paintings” on which you once sat and think about the change in perspective taking flight gave you on your obligations, responsibilities, relationships, and self-development. Now think about how limited your own perspective might be in light of both your unknown and likely future. How might your scale change in your mental maps?
You know the old adage that until it takes flight a fly on the face of the Mona Lisa cannot see the image of the woman in the painting (Silly adage, isn’t it? Have you ever looked through one of those novelty-store combination fly-eye lenses? A fly would think that Da Vinci was on an LSD trip when he painted all those faces) Anyway, back to the point: Mapping something close up is called large-scale mapping. The contractor’s blueprint is a large-scale map. The map of Earth is a small-scale map. The difference in the scale, the ratio of linear map distance to linear surface distance, is the difference between mapping lots on details in a small area and mapping few details in a large area.
The scale of a printed map never varies once the map is published. In contrast, the scale of a mental map changes because of changing perspectives and attitudes. Perspectives can change because of a person’s changing status. The office seems different to a person internally promoted from a position as subordinate to a position as authority. The classroom seems different to a recent college graduate as she takes over a teaching position. The school seems different when she becomes principal. All the schools seem different when she becomes superintendent. The difference is reflected in the mental map that has a changing scale: Acquiring greater authority or responsibility changes scale from large to small.
How has changing scale played out in your life? Try remembering when you experienced a change in scale brought about by 1) acquisition of knowledge, 2) maturation, or 3) experience. Look back on the “paintings” on which you once sat and think about the change in perspective taking flight gave you on your obligations, responsibilities, relationships, and self-development. Now think about how limited your own perspective might be in light of both your unknown and likely future. How might your scale change in your mental maps?
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