Thank you, Ryan, for this very nice article. The contribution of von Humboldt’s work to what we now call data visualization is a great observation—and an obvious one, now that you mention it!

I just wish you had noted that, not only was von Humboldt a great scientist and explorer, but specifically a geographer. He is widely acknowledged as one of the founders of modern geography. These “connections and correlations” between natural and human factors in a spatial context that you mention are at the heart of geography as a scientific discipline. A quote from Humboldt in your article refers to the utility of “geographic maps” demonstrating his awareness of the geographical perspective.

Unlike in Europe (and in places like China) where geography has continued uninterrupted as a core academic subject, geography declined in American universities in the 1980s and 1990s with many departments (Columbia, Chicago…) closing. In recent years geography has again gained a central place as we tackle issues related to environmental degradation, climate change, urbanization, migration, refugees, and many other global issues – including geopolitics, like you mention