In old times,
land surveyscater to guesses rather than concrete imagery that we have today. People were only able to judge how much land a person has by our perception. The guess work of
property surveyand the like have been narrowed greatly with cameras and other digital equipment. We no longer must rely on what we believe to be correct, because the precision of our modern instruments is almost one hundred percent.
Because vision is unique in all of us, our perception of events will differ from each other. When you look out across a lake, the picture you take in your mind will not capture different details than someone else looking at the same lake. In your picture, there are ducks wading in the lake off in the distance. Another persons picture will show no ducks, but instead the rings left in the water after a fish jumped to catch a fly.
With our new technology we can see things that we didnt see were there when we first took the picture. As we survey a surrounding, people tend to look for points of reference which overshadow detail in grey areas. Take the lake image as a reference. You notice the large tree trunk sticking out of the water onto shore, but not the squirrel sleeping atop it.
When we take a picture were capturing everything. Theres no room for perceptive error unless we manipulate the images ourselves. Unless studied for a long period of time, there are still errors that we can make when viewing an image. It is at this point where an image is not enough. There needs to be physical measurements of distance and angle to get accurate representation of what were looking at.
Land surveys take the time to determine these angles and proportions. Upon completion we receive an accurate representation of the land that were surveying not based solely on perception. This is very important when drawing boundaries for property so the person that is paying for the service knows exactly where he can and cannot build. Getting as close and accurate as possible is the most crucial part of land surveys.
Drawing plans for a property survey have the same principal concept. The difference between a few inches over or under the correct mark for a boundary will cause emotional and financial stress if the person owning the property decides to build based on incorrect survey. As our technology advances, the more precise we have to be when it comes to laying out the boundaries. Before we could be off by a few inches because there werent tools to measure that closely (and thus the boundary could not be drawn).
