Cosit Conference Series

Las Navas: The Beginning

The NATO Advanced Study Institute in Las Navas del Marquez (near Avila, Spain) in 1990 was a starting point for the recognition of the role of scientific theory and spatial cognition in the geographic information science domain. The title of the meeting was “Cognitive and Linguistic Aspects of Geographic Space” and was founded on the then-current belief that through language, an easy—at least easily observable—access to human cognition was possible. The meeting brought together for the first time geographic information scientists, linguists, philosophers, and formal scientists (those who are concerned with abstract forms of representation such as logic, mathematics, and structured programming languages). Many important cross-disciplinary linkages were forged at this meeting.

Observation of verbal expression to learn about human cognition was introduced to cognitive science by one of its founders, Herbert Simon, through “thinkaloud protocols.” As a consequence, George Lakoff and Len Talmy, linguists with an interest in spatial cognition, contributed an analysis of the metaphorical use of language using spatial concepts. Examples include a static spatial situation described in terms of movement (“The road runs along the valley”), time expressed in spatial terms (“We step into the future”), and nonspatial situations expressed spatially (“We are at a crossroads in our relationship”). Previous work had established that terms for directions were often metaphorically derived from body parts (“facing,” “in your back”). These research concerns directly influenced later work by many of the meeting participants.

Other items on the agenda of the meeting covered topics that have later become important in geographic information science. Discussions with the formal scientists led to consideration of computational models of how humans understand and communicate about space.

Presentations about conflicts in the philosophical foundation of cognitive science led participating geographic information scientists to begin considering the ontological bases of their work. Other later research themes inspired by this meeting include the following:

• Investigations of cultural differences in spatial cognition and what is common for all humans (so-called universals).
• Wayfinding as a research paradigm to advance understanding of human spatial cognition
• Map semiotics as a means of communicating spatial information through cartography
• Formal tools provided in various branches of mathematics as a means of advancing research in spatial cognition
• User interfaces, especially spatial query languages, reconsidered from a linguistic and cognitive viewpoint

The COSIT Meetings

The COSIT series started in 1992, in Pisa, Italy, with the international conference titled “GIS—From Space to Territory: Theories and Methods for Spatio-Temporal Reasoning,” organized by Frank, Campari, and Formentini. A COSIT meeting is now held every second year, alternating in principle between locations in Europe and America. The conference is held in remote sites and has a single track of sessions to allow intense interaction between the typically 80 to 100 participants from multiple disciplines (typically geography, computer science, surveying and mapping, cognitive science, mathematics, linguistics, planning, etc.)

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