terra cognito (11. 424)

We are directed to consider the rather outstanding and preternatural cartographic abilities of another competitive prodigy in the player with the handle Rainbolt who ranks in the top tier of Geoguessr challenges, where one is presented with a random image from Google Street View and tries to surmise its location, dropping a pin on the globe to where one thinks it might be. Even if our featured contestant were not playing on hard-mode, only allowing the image to flash on the screen for a few seconds without time for study or applying a pixelated filter, there is at first a suspect element—like it’s a gimmick or trick, in the ability to distinguish a seemingly rather nondescript dirt road from another and zero-in on its coordinates in America, India, Botswana or Australia, but like the limited success we’ve had in national or regional versions of the game, especially in city-settings and found urban landmarks to hone in on, context clues emerge on deeper inspection for this champion and spectators. Rainbolt has profited from this success and is using their recognised talent to travel the world and explore those places previously only visited virtually and share some of the hidden markers of vernacular architecture, vegetation and signage that helps pin-point a place. Though internet fame tends to pigeon-hole one’s reputation like so much monotony of holiday snapshots, strangers have approached Rainbolt with old family photographs, hoping to identify where they were taken, and often mysteries were solved—making this game seem important and serving to expand one’s horizons rather than making the world a flatter place. More at the link up top.