Déjà vu all over again: Spatial science, quantitative revolutions and the culture of numbers

Abstract

Spatial science and its associated quantitative methods have played and continue to play an important role in geographic thought. They are also important parts of the geography curriculum and need to be taught to geography students as part of their undergraduate career. It is important to recognize, however, that the continuous valorization of quantitative methods in the (United Kingdom) postgraduate curriculum for human geographers forms part of a wider ‘culture of numbers’ that is currently intertwined with the production of big data. The big data phenomena appear to provide opportunities for a new quantitative revolution due to its focus on the individual level and simultaneous geocoding of everything. We need to be cautious about embracing this process due to the many ethical and political dilemmas that are implicated.