The cartography of the web and social networking, our expansive worlds and social mindscapes, and the complexity of our requisite reflexive lives have become amazing things, haven’t they?

Who are the Wizards crafting our premise that reality in the web and social networking, our worlds and our social mindscapes, can be molded in ways that communicate our spatial information effectively? Is it only spatial information at that?

Should we do as Dorothy was instructed in the Wizard of Oz, “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain”? Or should we ask as Dorothy did whether our Wizards too are frightened, and hear them too reply to us, “Frightened? Child you are talking to a man who’s laughed in the face of death, sneered at doom, and chuckled at catastrophe…I was petrified.”

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Terra incognita or terra ignota (Latin “unknown land,” with incognita stressed on its second syllable in Latin, but with variation in pronunciation in English) is a term used in cartography for regions that have not been mapped or documented. The expression is not found in ancient texts, and occurs first in the sixteenth century. The equivalent on French maps would be terres inconnues (plural form), and some English maps may show Parts Unknown.

Similarly, uncharted or unknown seas would be labeled mare incognitum, Latin for “unknown sea”.

An urban legend claims that cartographers labelled such regions with “Here be dragons“. Although cartographers did claim that fantastic beasts (including large serpents) existed in remote corners of the world and depicted such as decoration on their maps, only one known surviving map, the Lenox Globe, in the collection of the New York Public Library ^[1], actually says “Here be dragons” (using the Latin form “HIC SVNT DRACONES”).^[2] However, ancient Roman and Medieval cartographers did use the phrase HIC SVNT LEONES (literally, Here are lions) when denoting unknown territories on maps.

Alternatively, terra incognita may also refer to the imaginary continent Terra Australis.

During the 19th century terra incognita disappeared from maps, since both the coastlines and the inner parts of the continents had been fully explored.

The phrase is now also used metaphorically by various researchers to describe any unexplored subject or field of research.

Contents [hide] 1 Etymology 2 See also 3 Notes 4 References

[edit] Etymology

• Terra: Latin for “land”. Related English words include terrestrial and territory.
• Incognita: From the Latin Cognoscere “to know”, which is related to the Greek Gnosis (γνώσις) “knowledge”. Related English words:
  • Agnostic
  • Cognition
  • Gnosticism
  • Knowledge

For more history of the terms, see Terra Australis, and also Etymology at Australia.

[edit] See also

Look up terra incognita in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Ancient world maps
• Terra Australis
• Terra pericolosa
• History of cartography
• Lost continent
• Fantasy map
• Here be dragons
• List of cartographers
• Mappa mundi
• terra incognita arts organisation + publishers

[edit] Notes

1. ^ “Guide to the Research Collections, Resources Elsewhere in the Collections”. New York Public Library. pp. 207–208. http://digilib.nypl.org/dynaweb/williams/williams/@Generic__BookTextView/24166;td=2;nn=1;pt=24166. Retrieved 2006-08-22.
2. ^ “Here Be Dragons on Old Maps”. MapHist. http://www.maphist.nl/extra/herebedragons.html. Retrieved 2006-08-22.

[edit] References

• Guide to the Research Collections. pp. 207-208. New York Public Library.