cartography
concepts
Self-organizing maps (SOMs) are not cartographic maps; rather SOMs are mathematical transformations of data to a predefined two-dimensional (2D) structure to reveal data clusters based on similarity. Conceptually, the basic idea of SOM corresponds well to Tobler's first law of geography, but SOMs consider distances in a space of multiple attributes rather than a space of geographic coordinates. [Source: Encyclopedia of Geography; Self-Organizing Maps]
self-organizing maps