Surveying for Dummies

surveyor's transit

When someone who knows nothing about a subject has the gall to hold forth on that topic anyway, it's funny -- assuming you're watching a sitcom or film comedy. In real life, though, it's not funny: taking in the resulting misinformation wastes your time and could even be dangerous. That never stopped some eHow.com writers, the kind who simply reword the information from more authoritative sources and, in the process, royally screw it up. We're talking about freelance journalism majors like Elyse James, who we caught holding forth on a hitherto unfamiliar (to her) topic in "How to Use Surveying Equipment" (now niched by Leaf Group at CareerTrend.com)

Elyse had a problem, though: she didn't know jack about surveying before taking on this "assignment"; but that clearly didn't stop her. Her instructions consist of four parts:

1. Determine the precise positioning of points using a GPS and a receiver. 
2. Measure, map and observe with the help of a total station. 
3. Store findings in a data collector. 
4. Use a magnetic compass to map orientation in the field. 

Wow: that's some fine "information" there. We especially liked her number two, "Measure, map and observe with the help of a total station."  Apparently Elyse had never heard of a theodolite, transit, plane table, or any other surveying equipment that cost less than a thousand bucks. And just how do you "use" this equipment? Elyse didn't know; so all she told people was to... well, to use it. 

You can tell Elyse doesn't know what she's talking about when you read her "detailed" description of a total station, also known as a total station theodolite. Elyse claims the device

"...contains a crystal prism used for measuring the distance of objects. Depending on how long it takes for light to reflect, a surveyor can determine how far away certain objects are..." While it's true that a total station uses light to measure distances, measurement doesn't depend on "long it takes for light to reflect." Instead, the prism separates light into its component colors, and performs a series of calculations based on comparisons of the wavelengths of the different colors. It's a lot more... technical... than the sort of topics James learned in journalism school where, presumably, she skipped all those icky science courses. We bet she didn't skip cashing her check from Demand Media, though...

That makes her a perfect candidate for the Antisocial Network's Dumbass of the Day award, doncha think?.

copyright © 2015-2022 scmrak

DD - CAREERS