In each case new technology has yielded hopes for error free surveying or simplified surveying. Virtually all have been followed by some degree of abuse and then a return to or more rational understanding of measurement and legal issues. This hope for an easy path to avoid the many complexities of boundary surveying seems to get more out of hand if the process produces coordinates as direct output, rather than other forms of data. This can be referred to as the Magic Coordinate Machine or Black Box syndrome. Coordinate outputs can create an illusion of correctness because they bypass attention to normal methods of measurement analysis and consideration of error.
All measurement systems have error, and all surveying systems derive coordinates from measurements.
However, it is necessary to have a certain amount of information about what the coordinates are, how they were determined, and what errors may be involved in determining them before they can be readily used. Frequently such information is omitted from a coordinate record. Later in this paper more detailed criteria for evaluating a coordinate record will be discussed. The precise meaning of the terms lost and obliterated are often confused since they deal with similar issues. However, in the context of this discussion, the difference between them is important if not essential.