Google-Earthism and the Marree Man

Loading Google Earth reminds me of trying to read the start of the Bible... In the beginning the earth was without form and void... Then the broadband started to kick in and we suddenly had light... and a compass, a zoom tool, a tilt tool, and a ton of bonus options in the lefthand side panel. What's more, it didn't take seven days to download, but suddenly magically created itself in the spot where we focused our gaze!

Come to think of it, Google is kind of like a religion. When we need to find an answer in life we consult the oracle, Google.com. We worship at Gmail each morning or even several times throughout the day. We vaguely sense that we should question the authority and power of the almighty, but at the risk of being dismissed as heathens we allow it to have some degree of control in our lives. I have to stop this!

Remember the Marree Man? Well we are no closer to finding out who created the image, but I was still excited to be able to look at how it's weathering on Google Earth. It's roughly here (the precise latitude and longitude is in the Wikipedia article).

In a related curiosity I came across, an article at nature.com which documents what is perhaps the first archaeological discovery directly inspired by Google Earth. Apparently Luca Mori was just checking out the lay of the land near his house like we all do and saw the outline of a Roman Villa in the satellite photos!! I still don't think it has sunk in for me how much Google Earth means to us as an enormously comprehensive resource combined with a very usable interface.

Image courtesy of connectingthecontinent.com.
Technorati Tags: Google Earth, Marree Man, religion, technology, South Australia, Luca Mori, Italy, usability