48
Teodor J.
Blachut
SENSE AND NONSENSE IN OUR DISCIPLINE AND PROFESSION
presented at
The Rhodos Symposium of ISPRS Commission VI
13 - 1ô September 1990
Commission VI of the International Society for
Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing has specific areas of
responsibility that are outlined in various pronouncements of the
Society. These include such concerns as education in the
discipline, terminology, the world status of surveying and
mapping, the history of photogrammetry, and so on. These are
important aspects of our discipline. In this present address,
however, I would like to turn your attention to a broader
question which has an obvious bearing not only on the fields'of
study of our Commission bur on the whole discipline and
profession of photogrammetry.
I would mention at the outset that it is not my intention -
to establish a "catalogue of sins" in cur field, but rather to
argue that because we are concentrating on problems of detail and
techniques we are losing sight of the real scope of our
discipline. As the saying goes, "We cannot see the forest for
the trees" .
As I see it, the problem is as follows. The main
responsibility of surveying and mapping, of which photogrammetry
is an essential part, is to provide reliable information on the
terrain, in sufficient detail and precision for use by society
at large for administration, planning and land development. By
far the largest surveying and mapping activity is in property
surveying. This can be in the form of cadastral surveying or
legal surveying. As these terms may mean different things in
different countries and in different languages, I would like to
give you my definition for the purpose of this talk. *
*T.J. Blachut, Dr.Sc.Techn., Dr.h.c., Fellow, Academy of Sciences
of the Royal Society of Canada; retired head of
the Fhotogrammetiric Research of the National
Research Council of Canada, wnere number of novel
concepts, methods and instrument systems
originated. Among them the Analytical Plotter and
the Stereo-Orthophoto system.
Address: 61 Rothwell Dr., 0 t t a w a, K1J 7C.7, CANADA.
