Geographers from Kansas State University did a study called “The Spatial Distribution of the Seven Deadly Sins within Nevada” using GIS technology. Geographers quantified Nevada’s sins and came up with a county-by-county map showing various degrees of lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride, coming up with a sin index. Each of the Seven maps of Nevada are in seven different colors, for seven different sins, and the darker a county, the more evil it is.
Greed (yellow) was calculated by comparing average incomes with the total number of inhabitants living beneath the poverty line. Envy (green) was calculated using the total number of thefts — robbery, burglary, larceny and stolen cars. Wrath (red) was calculated by comparing the total number of violent crimes — murder, assault and rape — reported to the FBI per capita. Lust (dark blue) was calculated by compiling the number of sexually transmitted diseases — HIV, AIDS, syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhea — reported per capita. Gluttony (orange) was calculated by counting the number of fast food restaurants per capita. Sloth (light blue) was calculated by comparing expenditures on arts, entertainment and recreation with the rate of employment. Pride (purple), the root of all sins, was done after combining all data from the six other sins and averaging it into an overview of all evil.
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Melissa Lawrence, Rutgers Student Intern, VERTICES, LLC
GIS Use in Public Health & Healthcare 