abstract

Although much has been written about the challenges of big data, there has been little reflection on the historicity of such debates and what we can learn from it. With this in mind, the aim of this article is to situate the epistemological debates over big data in geography historically. We focus on the three most relevant topics in current discussions around big data that have significant historical resonance, namely its methodological challenges, its scientific value, and its positionality. We conclude by arguing that understanding the historical resonance of current big data debates is helpful to find new ways to question its epistemological consequences.

摘要

尽管关于大数据挑战的文章很多，但很少有人反思此类辩论的历史性以及我们可以从中学到什么。考虑到这一点，本文的目的是将关于地理大数据的认识论辩论置于历史上。在当前围绕大数据的讨论中，我们关注三个最相关的话题，这些话题具有重要的历史共鸣，即它的方法论挑战、它的科学价值和它的定位。最后，我们认为了解当前大数据辩论的历史共鸣有助于找到质疑其认识论后果的新方法。