South Pacific Sandy Island 'proven not to exist'
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Re: South Pacific Sandy Island 'proven not to exist'
#2"It's on Google Earth and other maps so we went to check and there was no island."
(Scientists)
"The world is a constantly changing place, and keeping on top of these changes is a never-ending endeavour." (Google spokesperson)
"...though it cannot hope to be useful or informative on all matters, it does make the reassuring claim that where it is inaccurate, it is at least definitively inaccurate. In cases of major discrepancy it was always reality that's got it wrong." (Douglas Adams)
Re: South Pacific Sandy Island 'proven not to exist'
#3Isn't this a standard method for a 'poor-mans copywrite' in cartography?
Re: South Pacific Sandy Island 'proven not to exist'
#4Isn't this a standard method for a 'poor-mans copywrite' in cartography?
The creation of so called 'Trap Streets' is well known - http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Copyright_Easter_Eggs
However putting a non-existent island on a Marine chart used for navigation is a few steps above that. It looks like it's the result of a mistake, a mistake that was copied far and wide.
Re: South Pacific Sandy Island 'proven not to exist'
#5Isn't this a standard method for a 'poor-mans copywrite' in cartography?
The creation of so called 'Trap Streets' is well known - http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Copyright_Easter_Eggs However putting a non-existent island on a Marine chart used for navigation is a few steps above that. It looks like it's the result of a mistake, a mistake that was copied far and wide.
Yeah, that's the ticket... guess I wasn't thinking about the requirements for using said charts for effective navigation. I was just wondering if this would precipitate infringement claims once the point of origin is identified. As in it's an accidental "Trap Island" but it's caught some rubes nonetheless...
Re: South Pacific Sandy Island 'proven not to exist'
#6Isn't this a standard method for a 'poor-mans copywrite' in cartography?
That was my first thought, although i'm not sure why you refer to them as 'poor-mans copyright', seems like a pretty smart way of adding an additional layer of protection in cases of plagiarism dispute.
These are also referred to as mountweasel's or 'nihil articles' (http://www.omniglot.com/blog/?p=6187) and turn up in dictionaries, maps, charts and other reference works.
See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fictitious_entry for a long list, including fictitious german politician Jakob Maria Mierscheid in most official parliamentary listings.
Re: South Pacific Sandy Island 'proven not to exist'
#7Isn't this a standard method for a 'poor-mans copywrite' in cartography?
"A spokesman from the service told Australian newspapers that while some map makers intentionally include phantom streets to prevent copyright infringements, that was was not usually the case with nautical charts because it would reduce confidence in them."
Re: South Pacific Sandy Island 'proven not to exist'
#8What happens if you zoom in on the island using google maps?
Re: South Pacific Sandy Island 'proven not to exist'
#9Isn't this a standard method for a 'poor-mans copywrite' in cartography?
That was my first thought, although i'm not sure why you refer to them as 'poor-mans copyright', seems like a pretty smart way of adding an additional layer of protection in cases of plagiarism dispute. These are also referred to as mountweasel's or 'nihil articles' ( http://www.omniglot.com/blog/?p=6187 ) and turn up in dictionaries, maps, charts and other reference works. See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fict…
> although i'm not sure why you refer to them as 'poor-mans copyright'
just a misunderstanding, I was searching my brain for the phrases you mention and out popped 'poor mans copyright'[1]. You are indeed correct this is a totally different thing and "Mountweasels" (fictitious artifacts) are a very sound method of establishing the originality of certain work... I have to wonder if "Mountweasels" hasn't krept into our language in just such a manner though!
Re: South Pacific Sandy Island 'proven not to exist'
#10What happens if you zoom in on the island using google maps?
It's the same black blob. As usual, there's no higher-resolution data for small remote islands.
Though if it weren't labeled as "Sandy Island", I would think it's just an artifact of some kind. It certainly doesn't look like any real island at that distance.