Lauren Stone

Lauren Stone

The most significant insight that arises from my map is that the image of one’s world can be collapsed into the places he or she frequents.

It is imminently clear that my overall directional and spatial knowledge of Harvard’s campus is relatively complete. Buildings are generally placed in the correct orientations with respect to one another. However, despite this latent perception, the disproportionate percentages of space taken up by certain areas, and the absence of some buildings altogether, represent my weaknesses. It seems that I have structured my map surrounding my daily activity. For example, the road from the Quad, where I live, to the Science Center holds a central location in the image, and is perhaps too isolated and large compared with reality. Conversely, I know nothing about some buildings and streets (not even locations), such as at the Law School. These unknowns therefore do not even appear on the map. Although I did attempt to depict certain buildings I know little about, like University Hall, I was unable to recall any details of their structure.

Viewers will note that I provide icons superimposed on several buildings. These represent the emotions I usually experience at those locations. Those daily sensations — like hunger, stress (racing against the clock in the Science Center), or happiness when I am home in Currier House — shape my depiction of the campus. These locations (in addition to the Quad) serve as my center of campus and stand more prominently in my mind than all of Harvard Square, any part of the athletic area, or any River House.

Finally, the places that I frequent, daily, can be said to provide a temporal dimension to the map by uniting past, present, and future. Notably, I excluded the T Station, which symbolizes that the daily walk that I have described is my commute.