ArcGIS is a very useful tool that allows one to make a map and layer it with data. The data can vary from topography to land use to boundaries to population. It allows the user to make observations based on the data and allow them to form geographic questions which could lead to a general hypothesis and then be proven or disproven with supporting data.
ArcGIS is fairly easy to use. It is fairly intuitive, though it may require prior knowledge before being effectively able to utilize it. Though the tutorial was very helpful to start out and taught the basics, it only contained exercises. If I wanted to know how to do something aside from the exercises or wanted to know what a certain tool did, the tutorial failed to be helpful, unless there are more tutorials than just the tutorial we were given or a manual that came with the software, which the class had no access to.
This software has potential to be much better because in respect to other software and technology, I feel like it's lacking in presentation and intuitive use. It is user-friendly, partially. The main pitfall would be the jargon.This seriously limits neogeography's full potential. But, this program is used for more demanding projects and data usage, so there is no need to make it completely simplistic.
Overall, ArcGIS is a fairly sophisticated tool that could be improved in terms of presentation and user interface, but it does its job. And, it does it well. It is able to keep the data organized and has helpful tools to support geographic observations. ArcGIS could be used to support a hypothesis, to inform others of a correlation and/or causation, or to make a point (by obscuring some data and exposing others).
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