 Spatial data infrastructure is like an elephant. It is thought to be gigantic and mighty, and if we take the Asian paradigm, worthy of worship. The similarity with elephants does not end here. With this elephant many are associated. Someone is having its tail in his hand, someone is holding on to its legs, while someone is hanging on the trunk. And ironically, all of them think that they know the elephant in and out. Elephants are living creatures. They cover the whole lifecycle from birth to death. They breathe, eat, drink, walk, excrete and grow. They dance, reproduce, look after the next generation and die. Many SDIs being developed in this part of the world are monoliths, with hardly any life and interactivity. They just eat more and more resources. Do they at all exist like living creatures? Do they partner and replicate? If these SDIs avoid growing without a social cause and perhaps start developing, keeping in view the elephant paradigm as an example in their conceptualization and implementation, it can bring a lot of meaning. Can the world live without elephants? |
