Barrett Lyon's Opte Map of the Internet

Barrett Lyon's Opte Project maps the Internet in a single day (OK, if you want to get technical, they traceroute to each class C network instead of mapping every single IP address).

Why do this? Barrett's answer:

This project started as a bet, but after I warmed up to the idea I found a lot of value in the project itself:

- Mapping the Internet weekly will allow us to see major disasters in different parts of the world. The Internet is a huge disasters sensor. If I had maps of pre-war Iraq and then compared them to today, one could see how badly Iraq was destroyed. The idea of a metaphysical representation of the real world is very interesting to me.
- The project can show the Internet growth.
- The project is art.

Link (via Reality Carnival)