Coyote LessonsCoyote Lessons

Michael N. DeMersMichael N. DeMersDept. of Geography, NMSUDept. of Geography, NMSU

How I How I Discovered Discovered My Coyote My Coyote MedicineMedicine

The Coyote as Divine FoolThe Coyote as Divine Fool

• People with coyote medicine …

– learn by repeated mistakes– are story tellers– use distraction– use disguise (metaphore)– are simultaneously reverent

and irreverent– are generally unorthodox

• Let’s look at these

Coyote Medicine is HeyokaCoyote Medicine is Heyoka

Heyoka (Clowns or contraries)– Demonstrate the results of

doing things the wrong way– Act out mistakes

Compare These Ground Water Compare These Ground Water Sensitivity MapsSensitivity Maps

What Do the What Do the Numbers on Numbers on the Legend the Legend

Mean?Mean?

Turns out Turns out they are not they are not

DRASTIC DRASTIC Rating #Rating #’’ss

It seems It seems they are they are

Polygon ID Polygon ID Codes.Codes.

Here are the Here are the correct correct

DRASTIC DRASTIC ratings.ratings.

Wrong Datum ExampleWrong Datum Example

Datum overlay problem (with the “A” mountain example). Uses (incorrectly)

NAD 83 instead of NAD 27.

““AA”” Mountain: Mountain:

East of East of NMSUNMSU

Coyote as Coyote as Story TellerStory Teller

Coyote Teachers Employ Coyote Teachers Employ Parables and AllegoriesParables and Allegories

• Often employ an oral tradition

• Visuals enhance the impact

• Look at the following and think in terms of the role of GIS design on the potential success of GIS operations

Coyote Medicine Employs Coyote Medicine Employs Stories, Parables and AllegoriesStories, Parables and Allegories

Coyote as ClownCoyote as Clown

Coyote medicine uses humor to make a pointCoyote medicine uses humor to make a point

Functional DistanceFunctional Distance

• Sometimes the introductory student has a hard time understanding the concept of functional distance

• The following uses a cartoon that illustrates one form that it might take

• In this case distance is based on cabbie fees

Design Your GIS for the UserDesign Your GIS for the User

CartocommunicationCartocommunication

GIS Certification ProblemGIS Certification Problem

Why Certification Is Not Why Certification Is Not Nearly EnoughNearly Enough

Why Absolute Location isnWhy Absolute Location isn’’t Enought Enough

What does this map show?What does this map show?

HereHere’’s the Map of Night Lightss the Map of Night Lights

Coyote Medicine uses Coyote Medicine uses DistractionDistraction

• Coyotes will often rub their noses on the ground and roll around to mesmerize their prey–Then pounce

Drawing AttentionDrawing Attention

Nobody liked Mr. Whipple

He told us “Don’t squeeze the Charmin.

So, to avoid looking at him…

They look at the Charmin

Getting StudentsGetting Students’’ Attention Attention

Coyote Medicine is UnorthodoxCoyote Medicine is Unorthodox• Often the more

unorthodox (or outrageous), the stronger the lesson.

• Check out the following examples of unorthodox (but relevant) tricks I use in my classroom

How Hard Can A DBMS How Hard Can A DBMS Table Search Be?Table Search Be?

Or: Why we use codes.Or: Why we use codes.

A Coyote By Any Other NameA Coyote By Any Other Name

Triangulated Triangulated Irregular Network Irregular Network

(TIN) (TIN)

Non-overlappingTriangles (facets)

A Cowtographic A Cowtographic ExampleExample

180º

A Trick from A Trick from Waldo TWaldo Tööblerbler

• Here’s an interesting piece of Coyote Medicine I borrowed from some of Waldo Töbler’s materials

• This is an excellent demonstration of how he distracts his students then snatches their attention

• The question might be… How do you define a mountain?

Two English cartographers visit the small South Wales village of Ffynnon Garw, to measure what is claimed to be the "first mountain inside of Wales". It's 1917, and the war in Europe continues. The villagers are very proud of their "mountain", and are understandably disappointed and furious to find that it is in fact a "hill". Not to be outwitted by a rule (and the Englishmen who enforce it), the villagers set out to make their hill into a mountain, but to do so they must keep the English from leaving, before the job is done.

VECTOR!RASTER!

Not Worth Butting Not Worth Butting Heads OverHeads Over

Relative ScaleRelative Scale

ItIt’’s About Scales About Scale

Where’s that footprint? It’s got

to be around here somewhere.

Line Line GeneralizationGeneralization

• Note how one needs a certain amount of information to identify the object in this caricature

Input ProblemInput Problem

Try co-registering this with Try co-registering this with new maps of North Americanew maps of North America

California as California as an islandan island

ItIt’’s All About Metaphores All About Metaphore

Choose your metaphore and you can choose your Coyote Medicine

““When raised When raised by a coyote by a coyote

one becomes one becomes a coyote.a coyote.””

Tom BrownTom Brown

PLEASE PLEASE SHARE SHARE

YOUR OWN YOUR OWN COYOTE COYOTE

MEDICINEMEDICINE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThanks are due to the followingThanks are due to the followingMichael Running Wolf (Retired from UNM-VC)

For making me aware of my coyote medicine

John F. Kennedy (WRRI)For sharing the groundwater sensitivity maps

Wile E. Coyote, Roadrunner, & Marvin the Martian (and, of course, Chuck Jones and Mel Blank)For helping me put this presentation together

QUESTIONS?QUESTIONS?