science

OpenGeofiction

OpenGeofiction is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand OpenGeofiction rather than just read about it. In short: OpenGeofiction (abbreviated OGF) is an online collaborative mapping project focused on fantasy cartography and worldbuilding of a world analogous to Earth. It uses OpenStreetMap software and processes in a separate environment, providing an outlet for artistic expression that avoids interfering with OpenStreetMap's mapping of the real world and potentially mitigates the risk of vandalism there.

Key takeaways

OpenGeofiction belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect OpenGeofiction to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of OpenGeofiction from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

OpenGeofiction (abbreviated OGF) is an online collaborative mapping project focused on fantasy cartography and worldbuilding of a world analogous to Earth. It uses OpenStreetMap software and processes in a separate environment, providing an outlet for artistic expression that avoids interfering with OpenStreetMap's mapping of the real world and potentially mitigates the risk of vandalism there.

History OpenGeofiction was founded in September 2013 by the German software developer Thilo Stapff and urban planner Johannes Bouchain. It was partly inspired by a project called Urban Geofiction.

Content OpenGeofiction portrays a verisimilar world based on modern technology but fictitious geography. Many cultures are similar to the ones on Earth, but is not always the case. Both the natural and built environment are represented. The map tiles produced by the project are in Web Mercator projection.

Participation OpenGeofiction allows anyone with a free account to contribute directly to the map through an editor such as the iD Web application or desktop applications like JOSM or Merkaartor. Contributors can focus on various aspects of worldbuilding, including urban design, transportation, and nature. Because the project maintains a single, integrated fictional world, contributors must harmonize their fictional territories with neighboring territories. Thousands of users have contributed to the project.

Uses Places can be mapped in OpenGeofiction to illustrate stories or establish scenes for role-playing games. OpenGeofiction map tiles can be loaded into applications such as gvSIG for geospatial analysis. In 2018, OpenGeofiction data was used to model urban population movements in a hypothetical emergency evacuation using argument technology.

References

External links

Official website OpenGeofiction Wiki – contributor guides and documentation of fictional mapped places

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with OpenGeofiction

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what OpenGeofiction claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to OpenGeofiction before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about OpenGeofiction ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of OpenGeofiction

In research: OpenGeofiction appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses OpenGeofiction in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: OpenGeofiction is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2013 establishments in Germany, Collaborative mapping, Fictional atlases, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for OpenGeofiction outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study OpenGeofiction in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what OpenGeofiction means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain OpenGeofiction out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is OpenGeofiction in simple terms?

Why does OpenGeofiction matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study OpenGeofiction?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on OpenGeofiction.