Posts by geogadmin

Despite their undeniable usefulness, the burgeoning popularity of internet search engines, computer maps, and global positioning system devices has been criticized for everything from lowering reading skills and diminishing spatial literacy to crippling our navigational skills and increasing our long-term risk of dementia (see the Washington Post article by Nicholas Carr). Are such responses simply a form of Luddism in this brave new...

Sailing stones are a geological phenomenon found in Death Valley’s Racetrack Playa. The stones slowly move across the surface of the playa, apparently without human or animal intervention, and they leave telltale tracks as they go. They have never been seen or filmed in motion—until now. “Over the years, scientists and laypeople offered all sorts of theories to explain the sailing stones. Some said the stones were...

On January 24, 2014, the UCSB Department of Geography got “with it” in terms of online networking and joined Facebook (check it out here). Computer Network Technologist Bryan Karaffa and undergraduate Geography major Scott Yehl set things up, and, to date, our page is getting some serious attention. Okay, we haven’t exactly gone viral, but 355 likes to date is a start (and beats not having any). Speaking of starts,...