Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/59336
toilets, simply having such as app installed on an iPhone doesn't help much in rural areas, due to the severe lack of sanitary infrastructure (www.globalpost.com/dispatch/ india/100507/mobile-phones-toilets-sanitation-health). In the context of geographic information (to some extent other types of data as well), the largest irony remains that Murphy's Law still is at work—informa- tion typically is the least available where it's most needed. We have painfully witnessed this paradox unfolding in front of our eyes in the Darfur crisis in northern Sudan (2006), the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake (2010) and the BP explosion in the Gulf of Mexico (2010). GIS and Geography: Toward the Fourth Paradigm? Government, industry and academic leaders in recent years all have joined the conversation on how to deal with the challenge of Big Data. To survive the "exaflood," government agencies must find ways to rely on data to improve efficiency and transparency, whereas businesses must explore new ways to con- vert data into products and services. For academic research, the fourth paradigm— data-intensive inquiry—has been proposed as a strategy to respond to the Big Data challenge (Hey et al., 2009). The fourth paradigm, also known in literature as eScience, was advocated by Jim Gray (2007). According to Gray, scientific discoveries until recently (the early days of the 21st century) were made according to three dominant paradigms: empirical (describing natural phenomena), theoreti- cal (using and testing models and general laws) and computational (simulating complex phenom- ena using fictional/artificial or small real-world datasets). The new world of Big Data demands that researchers think beyond these three traditional methodological boxes. Gray argues that a new eScience aimed at seamlessly linking information technology with traditional domain inquires can potentially serve as the new "Ark" in which we can survive the current Big Data deluge. Unlike the previous paradigms that deal with artificial or relatively small datasets, the defining feature of the fourth paradigm, eScience, is data intensive, often dealing with data in peta- or even exa-bytes. By all indications, GIS and, more broadly, geography are uniquely positioned to lead research in the fourth paradigm. In fact, geography and GIS have deep roots in data-intensive inquiries. Back in the early 1980s, geographer Peter Gould (1981) shouted that we should "let data speak for themselves" (p. 166), although with a limited following. Also, despite its ups and downs, the International Symposium on Spatial Data Handling is still very much alive after almost 30 years since its commencement back in 1984 (www.sdh12.org). When comparing the content of Gray's vision of the fourth paradigm of eScience with Michael Goodchild's definition of GIScience (Goodchild, 1992), remarkable similarities can be found. With all the progress and advances that have been made during the last 20 years, GIS and geography are poised for new breakthroughs if we can find creative ways to surf Big Data and the fourth-paradigm wave. Preliminary results following the data-intensive paradigm seem to be exciting and promising, as demonstrated by papers in the special International Journal of Geographical Information Systems issue on "Data-intensive Geospatial Computing" (2011, Vol. 25, No. 8). Big Data obviously demands big machines (in terms of speed and storage) to succeed in number crunching. But more importantly, Big Data also demands big ideas to address the world's big problems effectively. With the support of new technology infrastructure, new creative partnerships among government agencies, non-governmental organizations, industry/businesses, academy and citizens can be formed. It's gratifying to read stories about Water Hackathon (www.waterhackathon.org). The World Bank has sponsored more than 2,500 projects like this in more than 30,000 locations worldwide, and geospatial technologies have played crucial roles in all these projects. Most recently, the World Bank partnered with Google to make Google Mapmaker's global mapping platform available in more than 150 countries and 60 different languages, which has enabled citizen cartographers to help those in dire need (www.nytimes.com/2012/01/14/opinion/ empowering-citizen-cartographers.html?_r=2). We all should do no less. References Hey, T.; Tansley, S.; and Tolle, K. (eds.), 2009. The Fourth Paradigm: Data-Intensive Scientific Discovery. Microsoft Research, Redmond, Wash. Gray, J., 2007. "eScience—A Transformed Scientific Method," presentation made to the NRC- CSTB; research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/gray/ talks/NRC-CSTB_eScience.ppt. Goodchild, M.F., 1992. "Geographical Information Science," International Journal of Geographical Information Systems, Vol. 6, No. 1, pages 31-45. Gould, P., 1981. "Letting Data Speaking for Themselves," Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 71, No. 2, pages 166-176. MARCH 2O12 / WWW . GEOPLA CE . C O M 13